Poonam Patel and Reza Torkzadeh Establish New Endowed Scholarship at UCI Law
IRVINE, Calif. (August 7, 2020) — The University of California, Irvine School of Law (UCI Law) is pleased to announce the creation of the Torkzadeh Family Endowed Law Scholarship. The $100,000 gift was established by Reza Torkzadeh ’02, a UCI alumnus and the founder of TorkLaw, and Poonam Patel who is the founder and President of LawWorks.
“We wanted to further our commitment to UCI Law, its students and the impact the school has on our communities. By establishing this scholarship, we hope to provide the future generation of legal leaders with the ability to pursue their dreams of making a difference” said Torkzadeh.
Reza Torkzadeh is the founder and managing partner of TorkLaw, a personal injury law firm in Irvine that represents victims and families of negligence, dangerous products, hazardous roadways, and elder abuse nationwide. Poonam Patel started LawWorks – a space for legal professionals to work, meet with clients, collaborate with colleagues, develop professionally, and grow their practice – also found in Irvine.
“We are grateful for Reza and Poonam’s wonderful and continued support of the law school,” said L. Song Richardson, Dean and Chancellor’ Professor of Law at UCI Law. “Their generous gift helps us in our journey to ensure that young, talented students have the opportunity to pursue their dreams of a legal education at UCI Law.”
Due to a unique matching program offered by UCI, the Torkzadeh Family Endowed Law Scholarship qualifies for a one-to-one match, doubling its impact.
UCI Law is in the midst of a five year, $65 million “Brilliant Future” fundraising campaign. Launched in October 2019, the goal of the campaign is to become a top 10 law school and to accomplish that the UCI Law way: with a commitment to public service, groundbreaking research, and preparing students to confront the challenges of a changing legal profession.
Thanks to the generosity of donors, UCI Law recently established other endowed scholarships like the Carrie Menkel-Meadow and Robert Meadow Endowed Public Interest Scholarship; Choi Family Endowed Law School Scholarship Fund; and the Linda Ray Bridgford Scholarship.
About the University of California, Irvine School of Law
The University of California, Irvine School of Law is a visionary law school and provides an innovative and comprehensive curriculum, prioritizes public service, and demonstrates a commitment to diversity within the legal profession. UCI Law students have completed more than 100,000 hours of pro bono work in the past decade. Forty-eight percent of UCI Law’s graduates are students of color. At UCI Law, we are driven to improve our local, national, and global communities by grappling with important issues as scholars, as practitioners, and as teachers who are preparing the next generation of leaders. The collaborative and interdisciplinary community at UCI Law includes extraordinary students, world-renowned faculty, dedicated staff, engaged alumni, and enthusiastic supporters. More information on UCI Law is available here. Please follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ucilaw.
Media Contact:
UCI Law
Mojgan Sherkat
949-824-7937
msherkat@law.uci.edu