Newswise — On behalf of the late and esteemed attorney M. Peter Moser, the Moser Family Philanthropic Fund will invest $1 million in the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. This gift, created at the direction of Moser’s widow, Liz Moser, and the Moser family, will support the Moser Ethics in Action Initiative Endowment to be established at the law school.
The endowment, which will include a series of action projects and ethics courses, seeks to honor Moser’s legacy of pro bono service and professionalism within the legal field. As part of the Moser Ethics in Action Initiative Endowment, UM Carey Law has committed to raise $250,000 in matching funds.
“We’re elated to have the opportunity to establish an endowment in such an important area of our profession,” said Phoebe Haddon, dean of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. “Professional responsibility and ethics are traits that we strive to ingrain in our students.”
The Moser Ethics in Action Initiative Endowment is the first principal gift given towards the “Carey Challenge,” which is a new matching fundraising effort created in response to the $30 million gift to UM Carey Law from the W.P. Carey Foundation. When this gift was announced in April 2011—the largest gift in the law school’s history—the school committed to raise an additional $15 million in matching funds.
“We’re grateful for the leadership of Liz Moser, Peter’s wife of 59 years,” said Dean Haddon. “She has truly created an honorable way to sustain Peter’s legacy. This gift fits in well with the law school’s mission of promoting a more just society by educating outstanding lawyers and increasing access to justice.”
Peter Moser served the legal profession in many ways, including as president of both the Baltimore City Bar Association and the Maryland State Bar Association. He also served as president of the American Bar Foundation and treasurer of the American Bar Association. His role in helping establish the rules of ethics that govern the profession is unmatched. He also authored numerous law review articles, especially in the area of ethics, making him nationally known in the legal community.
Moser, who graduated from The Citadel in 2½ years and then graduated from Harvard Law School at age 22, was a native Baltimorean who valued the importance of community service. Throughout his career, he was lauded by his peers for his pro bono efforts.
“His focus on providing access to justice to underserved individuals was intense and purposeful,” noted UM Carey Law professor Susan Leviton, a longtime family friend. “Throughout his more than five-decade career, Peter inspired and mentored scores of lawyers—using himself as a living example of strong leadership and commitment to public service.”
Moser, who followed in the footsteps of his late father and grandfather, both Baltimore judges, served as a military lawyer during the Korean War. He spent much of his long career in private practice, focusing on estate planning, business and tax law.
In 1992, Moser joined what was then known as Piper & Marbury, and after a successful merger in 2005, DLA Piper was born. He remained of counsel to the internationally recognized firm until his death in 2008.
About the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
As the third oldest law school in the nation, the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law has established a tradition of excellence and innovation in legal education and scholarship. The school offers a rigorous core curriculum that combines theoretical instruction with experiential learning that enables students to develop practical legal skills. Through the school’s top-rated Clinical Law Program, students gain direct experience in serving as attorneys and helping clients, which provides a solid foundation for their future careers as lawyers, business leaders, judges, policy analysts, activists, legislators and entrepreneurs.
The law school offers several specialty programs and activities, including four ranked among the top 10 nationally: Law and Health Care, Environmental Law, Clinical Law and Trial Advocacy. The law school’s faculty are scholars in a wide range of subject areas, ranging from business law and constitutional law to international & comparative law and intellectual property.
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