UC Law School San Francisco Scores Another Name Change Win – Above the Law

Law
school
name
changes
can
be
a
big
deal.
Donate
to
a
prestigious
school
to
get
the
name
changed
and
you
risk
nobody
taking
it
seriously.

Sorry
Penn
Carey.
If
you
really
want
to
make
the
most
of
it,
you’ve
got
to
be
there
at
the
inception.
When
Serranus
Clinton
Hastings
put
down
some
cash
to
have
a
law
school
named
after
himself
for
the
duration
of

forever,
it
seemed
like
a
pretty
good
investment.
And
it
was!
For
about
145
years.
At
that
point
UC
Law
School
San
Francisco
decided
to
ditch
its
previous
name
to

shake
off
being
associated
with
indigenous
genocide.
Surviving
Hastings
were
so
tilted
by
the
name
change
that
they
took
the
school
to
court
over
it.
And
after
run
ins
and
losses
with
court
cases,
they’ve
been
handed
another
L.

Law.com
has
coverage:

California’s
Supreme
Court
on
Wednesday
declined
to
review
a
state
law
renaming
the
San
Francisco
law
school
known
for
more
than
a
century
as
the
University
of
California
Hastings
College
of
the
Law.

The
court
without
comment
let
stand
a
First
District
Court
of
Appeal
ruling
last
year
that
rejected
claims
by
alumni
and
descendants
of
namesake
Serranus
Hastings
that
the
Legislature
and
the
school’s
board
of
directors
had
no
authority
to
remove
Hastings’
name.
The
unanimous
appellate
panel
also
found
that
the
state
was
not
bound
by
an
1878
law
requiring
the
school
to
provide
a
seat
on
the
board
to
the
Hastings
family
in
perpetuity.

Womp
Womp.
Quite
a
heavy
loss
for
a
family

expecting
$1.7B
in
breach
of
contract
damages.
Legacy
and
huge
windfall
on
the
line,
the
losing
party
is
hoping
that
the
Supreme
Court
will
give
them
the
ruling
they’re
looking
for.

We’ll
be
sure
to
cover
when
the
court
of
last
resort
tells
them
to
kick
rocks.

California
Supreme
Court
Lets
Decision
Stand
Scrubbing
Hastings’
Name
From
UC
Law
School
[Law.com]

Earlier:

Hastings
Family
Money
Grab
Thwarted
By
California
Judge

You’re
Named
After
Who?
This
Top
Law
School
Will
Have
To
Fight
For
Its
New
Name

Is
Genocide
A
Good
Enough
Reason
For
These
Law
Schools
To
Change
Their
Names?

Top
Law
School
Has
A
Brand
New
Name

Descendants
Of
Serranus
Hastings
Sue
To
Keep
Name
Of
Genocider
On
Law
School

---

Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
 He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, is
interested
in
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected]
and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.