Former Law Clerks Honor Judge Torruella by Funding a Memorial Scholarship
The late judge's clerks, who cherish memories of his warmth and wisdom, are enshrining his legacy by spearheading a scholarship in his honor.
Former Law Clerks Honor Judge Torruella by Funding a Memorial Scholarship
First Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Juan R. Torruella (’57) was partial to BU Law graduates when selecting his law clerks. Those grateful former clerks, who cherish memories of the judge’s warmth and wisdom, are enshrining his legacy by spearheading the endowment of a scholarship in his honor.
“He always had an appreciation for those starting their legal careers and devoted much of his time to helping them be successful. So I think that helping people afford a law education would be something he would relish and appreciate,” says Peter Levitt (’93), who clerked for Torruella in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1994–95 and is a partner at Donnelly, Conroy & Gelhaar in Boston.
Torruella, who spent 36 years on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, was the first Puerto Rican to serve on that panel and was its chief judge from 1994 to 2001. Before that, he was appointed to the US District Court for Puerto Rico. The unpretentious judge, who had homes in San Juan and Massachusetts, was a longtime supporter of his alma mater, mentoring students and holding summer barbecues at his Duxbury home that drew dozens of his former law clerks.
One of those clerks was Levitt, who spoke at Barristers Hall last fall at a ceremony unveiling watercolor portraits of three distinguished alumni, all judges on the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit: Torruella, Sandra Lynch (LAW’71, Hon.’12), and O. Rogeriee Thompson (’76). The event was a bittersweet moment for Torruella’s clerks and family. The judge had died in October 2020, during many occupancy restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so his mourners were unable to gather then to grieve his loss and celebrate his legacy.
Judge Torruella’s family stand in front of his portrait in Barristers Hall. | Photo by John Gillooly
Judge Torruella’s family stand in front of his portrait in Barristers Hall. | Photo by John Gillooly
A scholarship, Levitt thought, would be an ideal way to honor him. More than 30 of Torruella’s clerks, 10 of them BU Law alumni, have donated to meet the $100,000 goal. Fundraising efforts are continuing, and the first scholarship will be awarded in fall 2023. Gerry Cohen (’62)—a friend of Torruella, CEO of Western Carriers Inc., and a longtime member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at the School of Law—contributed $25,000. Other non-alumni donors include Asha Rangappa, a legal and national security analyst for CNN and former associate dean at Yale Law School, and Andrew T. Guzman, dean of the USC Gould School of Law and a professor of law and political science.
Support the Judge Juan R. Torruella Scholarship Fund
The first scholarship recipients, who will be selected based on need, are expected to receive about $4,000 each, but future recipients will receive larger gifts as the endowment grows, says Zachary Dubin, BU Law’s assistant dean for development & alumni relations.
Karen Katz (’89) contributed to the scholarship fund in appreciation for her 1989–90 clerkship with Torruella. She learned so much about evidentiary matters and criminal appeals that “it felt like another year of law school,” says Katz, a clinician at Advocates Community Counseling and the former deputy director of the Office of Behavioral Health in Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
“I was a young woman with no work experience and no professional background in law,” so receiving the clerkship was especially meaningful, she says. Katz fondly remembers Torruella and his wife, Judy, dancing the merengue in his office. Affable and kind, Torruella was not only a jurist and legal scholar but also an avid painter, an accomplished sailor, and the embodiment of joie de vivre.
“Whatever he was doing, he was doing it with full exuberance and enthusiasm,” Levitt says. “I think that was a great lesson for his law clerks about how to live your life both professionally and personally…. He was a quintessential Renaissance person, so his legacy is multifaceted. He was a great mentor and friend to a whole generation of lawyers. He had a really broad impact, and he was very loyal to BU and thankful for his time there. That connection to BU was really important to him.”
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