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Dear Members of the Northwestern Pritzker Law Community,

I am delighted to announce that Linda and Jeffrey Hammes (JD ’85) have generously committed $1 million to establish and fund the Hammes Family Scholarship, which will be used to provide scholarship support for students with demonstrated financial need and high academic achievement who are also of the first generation in their family to attend college. We are extremely grateful to Linda and Jeffrey Hammes for their generosity that will make an important difference for the next generation of legal scholars, and we look forward to awarding this scholarship, together with other scholarships, to incoming students in future years.

The establishment of this scholarship ensures that a student’s opportunities are not affected by their ability to pay, while simultaneously bolstering the Law School’s resources for first-generation students. First-generation students may not always have the same networks, resources, and support as their peers, and this scholarship aims to bridge that gap through needed financial support.

Jeffrey Hammes graduated from the Law School in 1985. He joined Kirkland & Ellis that same year and was a partner from 1991 until his retirement at the end of 2019. He became Chairman of Kirkland's Global Management Executive Committee in 2010 and remains Chair Emeritus. He played a key role in Kirkland’s global expansion as a founding partner of the San Francisco office and leader of the opening of the firm’s office in Houston. He led Kirkland’s entrance into Asia with the opening of the Hong Kong office in 2007. During his tenure as Chairman, he also developed the strategy and implementation of the significant transformation and growth of the firm’s offices in New York and London. Prior to taking on the full-time role of Chairman, Jeff concentrated his practice representing private equity funds in connection with mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and going private transactions.

As head of Kirkland, Hammes facilitated a close relationship with Northwestern and has hired thousands of fellow alumni. He is a life member on the Law Board at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Ravinia Festival Association and the Wisconsin School of Business Advisory Board.

Please join me in thanking Linda and Jeffrey Hammes for this impactful philanthropy, which will make a difference in opening opportunities for our students to pursue legal education.

Best,
Hari Osofsky

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