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Mississipi Law alum pays it forward with donation to clinic fund

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Bobby Wood, a University of Mississippi School of Law alumnus contributed $60,000 to the fund he established in 2016, the Bobby Wood Clinical Programs Student Award Fund.

In his final year at UM Law, Wood and his wife worked hard outside of a busy law school schedule to support their baby.

One weekend his law professor. Robert Khayat, stopped by the store where Wood worked and called him into his office the next Monday. Khayat asked Wood how much financial aid he would need to not work his final semester.

With the support of Khayat and other faculty, Wood received $500 and graduated with a Juris Doctor degree in 1975.

“Our school faculty had a great interest in students and Bobby is an example of how we were able to help,” said Khayat in a news release. “We were always grateful when we had the chance to do the right thing for people.”

The scholarship allowed Wood to increase his GPA in his final semester to get him on the path to success. He was able to open a firm in his hometown, Wood & Carlton Attorneys at Law.

“I had been getting maybe four hours of sleep at night after being in school then working full time, but that last semester was wonderful,” Wood said. “I was able to participate more and be awake for class.”

In 2016, Wood established the Bobby Wood Clinical Programs Student Award Fund, awarding $500 each to full-time students who excel in the fieldwork component of a clinical course. This was a tribute to the help he received in his final semester of law. This year Wood decided to increase his support with the $60,000 gift to the Law School Clinical Programs Fund.

“Law students know more theory, but the practicality is what the Clinical Programs provide for them,” Wood said. “The programs are much needed and make all the difference in the world.”

UM Law offers the following clinics: Child Advocacy Clinic, George C. Cochran Innocence Project, Housing Clinic, MacArthur Justice Clinic, Pro-Bono Initiative, Transactional Law and Clinical Externship Program. More information can be found on the school’s website.

Julia Brunette Johnson

Julia Brunette Johnson

Julia is a contributing reporter for the National Jurist and preLaw magazines.

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