Drake Law School is celebrating the retirements of two esteemed professors.
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David S. Walker, the Dwight D. Opperman Distinguished Professor of Law, is retiring after 40 years of service to Drake Law School, including two terms as dean.
Walker received his B.A. from Yale University and his LL.B. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He joined the Drake Law School faculty in 1975 and served as dean of the Law School from 1987 to 1996 and again from 2003 to 2008. Previously, he served as Director of Litigation for Legal Services of Indianapolis and assistant professor at the University of Akron School of Law.
Walker’s areas of expertise are in corporate and business law, nonprofit organizations, sales, and contract drafting. While at Drake Law School, he successfully led the Public Service Scholarship Program and organized the annual Halloween Hoops event.
His accomplishments also include serving as chair of the Iowa State Bar Association Business Law Section and Corporate Laws Committee; co-chair of the Legal Redress Committee for the NAACP Des Moines Branch; and chair of the Iowa Supreme Court Long Range Planning Implementation Committee. In 2004, he was honored with the Iowa State Bar Association President’s Award.
Walker has been one of Iowa’s Uniform Law Commissioners since 1992 and has been chair of the Iowa Commission since 2000. He also serves as chair of the Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Unincorporated Organization Acts, a joint project of the Uniform Law Commission and the ABA’s Business Law Section.
A reception celebrating Professor Walker will be held Thursday, Feb. 11, 3 p.m., at Cartwright Hall, Kern Commons.
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Marty Begleiter, the Ellis and Nelle Levitt Distinguished Professor of Law, is also retiring after 38 years of service to Drake Law School.
Begleiter earned his B.A. from the University of Rochester and his J.D. from Cornell Law School. Before joining Drake Law School in 1977, he worked as an attorney for Kelley, Drye & Warren, NY.
His areas of expertise include wills and trusts, estate planning, and taxation.
Begleiter has served as a member of the American Law Institute; advisor for the Restatement (Third) of the Law of Trusts; and Academic Fellow of The American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel (ACTEC).
He was also an ABA advisor to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws revision to Uniform Probate Code as well as the Uniform State Laws Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. In addition, he was one of the principal drafters of Iowa Trust Code.
A reception celebrating Professor Begleiter is planned for Thursday, March 3, 3 p.m., at Cartwright Hall, Kern Commons.