Alumna/Alumnus Monthly Highlight
This is the first in a series of monthly features highlighting just a few of our many fabulous alumni. Each month a different S.J. Quinney College of Law Alumna or Alumnus will be highlighted. Each graduate of the College makes a unique and valuable contribution to the practice of law and the community, and we regret that we cannot feature all of you. This monthly highlight is a way to familiarize ourselves with each other and the contributions we are making in our daily lives. We invite nominations for alumni of the month, with an encouragement to focus on the full diversity of our alumni around the country in a range of different careers.
Alumnus of the Month – January 2016
Rodney G. Snow, an attorney at Clyde Snow & Sessions, is January’s Alumni Highlight. Rod is President of his firm, Past President of the Utah State Bar, a strong supporter of the S.J. Quinney College of Law, and a true pioneer on access to justice issues.
Many members of the public don’t know how much Rod does for pro bono work. During his tenure as Utah State Bar President Rod advocated tirelessly for funding for the legal services organizations in Utah. He worked to have the pro bono program implemented and strongly supports the Pro Bono Initiative at the College of Law.
Prior to Rod’s position as President of the Utah State Bar, he and Margaret Plane spent countless hours working on implementing the Bar’s Mentoring Program. The New Lawyer Training Program has been highly successful and has been replicated in several other states. Further, the Program received an award from the American Bar Association in recognition of the program’s benefit, not only to new lawyers, but to the entire legal profession and the public.
In addition to Rod’s work promoting pro bono, he also maintained an exhaustive private practice, much of which centered on defending attorneys against malpractice claims. In recognition of Rod’s work he was awarded the Bar’s Lifetime Service award in 2014.
Rod has accomplished much of the above after recovering from laryngeal cancer. As a cancer survivor Rod has a heightened awareness of disabilities and how disabilities could impact the practice of law. Because of that awareness, Rod spearheaded a change to the Bar’s Diversity Pledge to broaden the categories of diversity the Utah State Bar seeks to eliminate in the practice of law.
For all Rod has done, he is January’s highlighted Alumna/Alumnus of the Month.
Please send nominations to: Lori.Nelson@law.utah.edu