Dorchester native commits $1 million to Suffolk Law

Judith and Warren Levenbaum

A Suffolk University Law School alumnus and his wife have made a $1 million commitment to a first-of-its-kind program that prepares law students to run their own firms, while also increasing access to justice for underserved clients.

Warren and Judith Levenbaum said that Suffolk’s Accelerator-to-Practice Program has great personal meaning to them both. 

“The education I received at Suffolk has been an integral part of my journey,” said Warren, a Dorchester native who graduated from the law school in 1973 and founded his own solo law firm just a few years later. “Judy and I are thrilled to support a program that teaches law students what they would otherwise have to learn by trial and error. Not only do they receive a strong legal foundation, but they get a really good head start on the business side of practicing law.”

Founded in 2014, the Accelerator-to-Practice Program provides law students with specialized instruction in the management, marketing, and technology skills necessary to run law practices that serve average-income individuals and families.

Suffolk University President Marisa Kelly said the Levenbaums embody the program’s entrepreneurial philosophy. 

“Warren and Judy both know exactly what it takes to build a successful business,” said Kelly. “They are also extraordinarily warm and generous people. We are profoundly grateful that they are creating similar opportunities for a new generation of Suffolk Law students.”

After working his way through college and law school, Levenbaum moved to Phoenix, Ariz., and founded a personal injury law firm. Within 10 years, his one-man practice had grown to 25, and today his firm employs a staff of 60.

Judy Levenbaum went to work straight out of high school, and eventually opened a successful high-end designer clothing store in Colorado — even though her attorney told her that all odds were against her. “For me, those were the magic words,” said Judy, noting that she raised $1 million to launch her business. “The odds have been against me all my life, and I’ve done very well that way.”

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