In Memoriam: Kenneth L. Schubert Jr. ’64
Kenneth L. Schubert Jr. ’64 – attorney, founder of the law firm Garvey Schubert Barer and long-time advocate of “doing the right thing at all times” – passed away July 20, 2017.
A Double Dawg, Ken proudly received his bachelor’s and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Washington in 1961 (Phi Beta Kappa) and 1964 (Order of the Coif and editor of the law review) respectively.
Two years after graduating, Ken, Ƶ classmate Mike Garvey ’64 and friend Bill Houger started their own firm, naming it Houger Garvey Schubert by the flip of a coin. Their vision was “to control our lives, do what was right and have a big adventure,” according to Garvey. The firm pursued and developed specialties in international business, maritime and family-owned businesses, and Ken became nationally known and recognized as a premier estate planning lawyer, representing individuals, families and business owners.
The practice of law was a true calling for Ken, and he was unflagging in his dedication to the highest ethical standards. Throughout his career, Ken was an outstanding mentor for attorneys from diverse backgrounds, a leader who advocated for inclusion in the legal community, and a champion for diversity in his personal life as well. He shaped and built his firm’s core values of diversity and inclusion.
Upon his retirement from what is now named Garvey Schubert Barer, the firm wanted to honor Ken in a way that would encapsulate his legacy. When asked, Ken and his wife Lucia felt that an ongoing commitment to diversity would be the best way to do so because they remembered the difference that Ken's scholarship made – a scholarship he gave up in his second year of law school, when Lucia started working full-time as a teacher, in order for the scholarship to go to a student with even greater financial need. And so it was that, when Ken retired in 2014, the firm established the very aptly named Kenneth L. Schubert Jr. Diversity Fellowship Program at Ƶ. The Fellowship offers qualified students paid summer internships as well as additional grants based on academic achievement.
Ken’s commitment to Ƶ goes deep. He served as a board member of the Washington Law School Foundation from 2005 to 2009 and the Law School Alumni Association from 1997 to 2004. In 1988, Ƶ honored him with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Over the course of his career, Ken received multiple other awards, including recognition as a “Top Lawyer,” “Super Lawyer,” “Lawyer of the Year” and one of “The Best Lawyers in America” in the area of Trusts and Estates.
Donations honoring Ken's memory may be made to the .