嘿嘿视频

Foundation Presents Charles J. Soderquist Award

Alumnus Stephen Boutin Lauded for Commitment to 嘿嘿视频

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Three men pose for photo, award winner in middle holds decanter award.
<strong>Stephen Boutin, holding the Soderquist award, is flanked by Chancellor Gary S. May, left, and Darryl Goss &rsquo;83, vice chair of the 嘿嘿视频 Foundation Board. (Sam Sellers/嘿嘿视频)</strong>

Quick Summary

  • J.D. graduate in 1972, co-founder and partner at Boutin Jones Inc. in Sacramento, he gives back to the law school and other campus programs
  • His Aggie roots go back 100 years to a blind date arranged by the university鈥檚 founding father, Peter J. Shields
  • He was 6 when he attended his first Picnic Day: 鈥淚 grew up always feeling 嘿嘿视频 was a special place鈥

The 嘿嘿视频 Foundation recently presented its 2019 Charles J. Soderquist Award to Stephen Boutin, a 1972 graduate of the School of Law. The award is given annually in recognition of philanthropy, volunteerism, leadership and an overall commitment to the university, and is named after the late foundation chair who exemplified all those traits.

Boutin, co-founder and principal in Boutin Jones Inc., one of Sacramento鈥檚 largest law firms, has been a guest speaker, and moderated and served as a panelist for numerous legal education programs at the School of Law. His practice emphasizes business, real property and securities litigation.

He and his firm have been generous supporters of 嘿嘿视频. The School of Law honored him with a distinguished alumni award in 2002, the same year the Cal Aggie Alumni Association gave him a citation of excellence award. He and his wife, Linda, have been generous donors not only to the School of Law, but also to Intercollegiate Athletics and the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. 

Stephen Boutin poses in front of Martin Luther King Jr. sculpture.
Boutin inside Martin Luther King Jr. Hall.

The Sacramento County Bar Association named him its distinguished attorney of the year in 2015, and he has been a Northern California 鈥淪uper Lawyer鈥 for multiple consecutive years, as determined by a rating service that identifies lawyers in more than 70 practice areas who have attained high degrees of peer recognition and professional achievement.

An Aggie destiny

The Boutin family鈥檚 ties to 嘿嘿视频 date back exactly 100 years, when Peter J. Shields 鈥撯 founding father of 嘿嘿视频 鈥 arranged a blind date for the couple who would become Stephen Boutin鈥檚 maternal grandparents, Stephen and Persis Downey.

鈥淚 grew up always feeling 嘿嘿视频 was a special place,鈥 Boutin said. 鈥淚 remember when I was 6 years old and came for my first Picnic Day. It was thrilling and made an indelible, lifelong impression upon me.鈥

Boutin has carried that love for 嘿嘿视频 through his student years on campus and into his career. Boutin, along with Clay Tanaka, director of legal research and writing at School of Law, have sponsored a golf tournament for the past decade, with the proceeds going to the King Hall Legal Foundation. The foundation awards stipends to law students for public interest internships. 

鈥淭he 嘿嘿视频 law school is unlike other law schools,鈥 Boutin said. 鈥淥ur students are not pitted against one another in competition, rather they are collaborative and collegial, and work together to find solutions to difficult legal issues.鈥

Paying it forward

The 嘿嘿视频 Foundation is a nonprofit organization that enhances the excellence of the university by highlighting the impacts of philanthropy and stewarding private donations to the institution. The foundation board created the Soderquist award in 2005 a year after the alumnus and entrepreneur鈥檚 death.

鈥淲e are very pleased to recognize Stephen Boutin as this year鈥檚 recipient of the Charles J. Soderquist Award,鈥 said Bruce West, chair of the foundation board. 鈥淗e represents the Aggie spirit and shows how donors can make a difference in their community.鈥

The award comes with a $5,000 prize, which the recipient donates to a university program or field of his or her choice. Stepen and Linda Boutin considered three options 鈥 one to thank the law school and to support its outstanding efforts, a second to perpetuate Aggie Pride and a third to assist Aggie students in meeting fundamental needs. So the family, including their daughters, Alexis and Brie, decided to support all three with $5,000 each:

  • The School of Law鈥檚 Rex R. Perschbacher Scholarship for first-generation law students
  • The Coach鈥檚 Excellence Fund for the Aggie football team
  • The ASUCD Pantry, providing students with up to three healthy meals a day

The Soderquist award provided the first $5,000, the Boutins matched it and Boutin Jones Inc. provided an additional $5,000.

鈥淚'm not often speechless, but I was when I found out that I received the Soderquist award,鈥 Boutin said. 鈥淭here are so many people who are deserving of this award, whose contributions to 嘿嘿视频 far outweigh my own 鈥撯 I am humbled to receive this honor.鈥

Media Resources

Trevor Stewart, tpstewart@ucdavis.edu

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