Dennis J. Drasco ’73 Establishes Estate Plan Scholarship to Support Future Law Students

Dennis J. Drasco ’73, senior partner at Lum, Drasco & Positan, LLC in Roseland, New Jersey, has established a scholarship by designating Rutgers Law as a beneficiary in his estate plan. While the exact amount has not been shared, this scholarship represents a significant commitment to supporting law students.

He said, “I trace my success as a trial lawyer and a bar leader back to the decision to attend Rutgers Law School and the value I received with my education, the contacts I made while at Rutgers and the value of service to the profession instilled in me while at Rutgers Law.”

Drasco specializes in the trial of complex commercial, construction, condemnation, insurance, medical malpractice and legal malpractice cases in Federal and State Court in New York and New Jersey and the mediation and arbitration of those cases in ADR forums. Among his many accomplishments, he is a long-time member of the Lawyers Advisory Committee to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the Litigation Counsel of America. He also received a Rutgers Law School Distinguished Alumni Award in 2018.

Rutgers Law Dean Johanna Bond said, “We are deeply grateful to Dennis for his generosity and lifelong commitment to Rutgers Law. Gifts like this create transformative opportunities for our students. We hope Dennis’s example will inspire other alumni to consider how they, too, can make a lasting impact on future generations of lawyers.”

Newly wed to his college sweetheart and newly graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1970, Drasco chose to attend Rutgers Law in Newark where his wife got a position at an insurance company. After working over the Christmas holiday at Hahne’s in Newark, he landed an internship in Public Service from the New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs. This move placed him in the Newark Law Department working for the Corporation Counsel William H. Walls, who would go on to become a United States District Court judge.

“Judge Walls invited me back after the summer to work for the City of Newark as a Law Clerk which helped my get my first job after graduation at Lum Biunno & Tompkins in Newark,” Drasco said. “This helped launch my career as a trial lawyer which included service to the bar as Chair of the ABA Litigation Section and President of the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey. I was honored to have Judge Walls swear me in as President at the Federal Bar’s Annual Justice Brennan Dinner.”

Drasco went on to spend his entire legal career at the Lum firm, which now bears his name.

“It is natural that I can express my profound gratitude to Rutgers Law for the opportunities it provided me,” he said. “I hope the scholarship opportunities the gift will provide will help the next generation of Rutgers Law grads!”

Any alum, especially if you're at or near retirement, can follow Dennis' lead and start a scholarship in your name by designating Rutgers Law as an IRA beneficiary or naming it in your will.  For further information, contact Sy Nicholson (Camden) or Robert Steinbaum (Newark).