Spence Gift Supports UW Law School Student Enrichment

A $1 million gift to the University of Wyoming College of Law from the Spence Foundation on behalf of the late Gerry Spence, legendary trial lawyer, and his wife, Imaging, will benefit student success and enrichment -- an institutional priority for the university.

“Gerry’s connection to the College of Law began with his attendance and graduation in 1952 and remained an important part of his life and legacy,” says Christopher Hawks, the son of Imaging Spence. “My mother shared Gerry’s deep commitment to education, justice and the people of Wyoming, and this gift reflects the values they built and supported together. 

“As Gerry’s stepson, a 1991 graduate of the College of Law and president of the Spence Foundation, I am deeply honored that the foundation can make this $1 million gift to the student enrichment fund in their honor,” Hawks continues. “The opportunity for the gift to receive matching funds from the state makes it especially meaningful and will expand its impact for future generations of Wyoming law students and lawyers.” 

The gift -- announced today on the first anniversary of Gerry Spence’s Aug. 13, 2025, passing at the age of 96 -- will be doubled to $2 million through the Wyoming Legislature’s endowment matching program. The matching funds come from the $10 million the Legislature allocated to the program during its most recent legislative session.

“At the University of Wyoming, our responsibility is to ensure that talented students have every opportunity to pursue their ambitions and make a difference,” says UW President Shane Reeves. “This extraordinary gift from the Spence Foundation honors Gerry and Imaging Spence’s legacy by investing in future generations of Wyoming lawyers. It reflects the power of philanthropy to expand opportunity, strengthen our College of Law and prepare graduates who will serve their communities with integrity and leadership.”

Student enrichment funds like this one are flexible investments that directly support student success by providing scholarships and expanding access to opportunities that improve the law school experience. At their core, these funds help remove financial barriers that can stand between a student and earning a law degree.

For some students, scholarship assistance can make the difference between pursuing their legal education and having to put those aspirations on hold. Beyond scholarships, these funds allow the college to respond quickly to students’ needs and emerging opportunities rather than waiting for more traditional funding sources.

“Gerry Spence came to the University of Wyoming with few resources or connections to the legal community,” says Julie Hill, dean of the UW College of Law. “From that humble beginning, he built a legendary career. We are so grateful that this gift will continue his inspiring legacy by helping the next generation of lawyers.”

Born in 1929 in Laramie, Spence was widely regarded as one of the greatest American trial lawyers of the 20th century. He first graduated from UW with a degree in English and then from the UW College of Law in 1952. While at UW, he served as an editor of the Wyoming Law Journal.

Spence began his legal career with experience as both a defense attorney and a prosecutor. Over the course of his career, he became best known for his work representing plaintiffs in high-profile civil cases and defending clients in criminal matters, areas that composed the bulk of his practice. In 1978, his firm, the Spence Law Firm, relocated from Casper to Jackson.

Spence described himself as a champion for people: “I represent people against unliving corporate entities, and I represent people who have been charged by the massive power of the state.”

The press described him as “Wyoming’s Cowboy lawyer,” an “imposing presence” and “a John Wayne of the courtroom.”

Spence went on to build a remarkable courtroom record -- he claimed to have never lost a criminal trial before a jury, either as a prosecutor or a defense attorney. He did not lose a civil trial after 1969, though some verdicts were later overturned on appeal.

His most famous cases include his representation of the family of Karen Silkwood in a wrongful-death suit against a nuclear facility; his defense of Randy Weaver following the Ruby Ridge standoff; and his defense of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos.

Spence was a storyteller at heart. He used that skill not only to connect with juries, but also to connect with readers through his books. He published more than two dozen books, including his memoir, “The Making of a Country Lawyer,” and the bestseller “How to Argue and Win Every Time.”

Spence’s ties to UW ran deep. In addition to his undergraduate and law degrees, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1990. He also lent his name to the Spence Historic Trial, a joint effort by the College of Law and his firm to educate students and the public about historical legal events through fictional mock trials.

In 1994, Gerry and Imaging founded the Trial Lawyers College on the Thunderhead Ranch in Wyoming to train trial lawyers. Gerry also founded Lawyers and Advocates for Wyoming, a nonprofit firm providing pro bono representation to the indigent.

Imaging is an architect who designed their sweeping 12,000-square-foot log-style home in Jackson Hole. She was a source of inspiration for Gerry’s signature persona. She hand-sewed his trademark buckskin fringe jacket -- the outfit that became instantly recognizable to the American public during his highest-profile trials and television appearances.

The couple divided their time between homes in Dubois and Santa Barbara, Calif., and, at the time of Gerry’s death in 2025, they had been married for 57 years.

“We are deeply humbled by this generous gift from Gerry and his wife Imaging, which will support University of Wyoming College of Law students in perpetuity,” says John Stark, president and CEO of the UW Foundation. “We are equally honored that Gerry’s extraordinary legacy as one of the greatest trial lawyers of our time will be forever intertwined with the University of Wyoming College of Law and the generations of students who will benefit from his remarkable generosity.”

This gift by the Spence Foundation honors Gerry’s history as a student who worked his way through law school and later built his name representing what he termed “the poor, the injured, the forgotten, the voiceless, the defenseless and the damned,” quoting muckraking journalist Lincoln Steffens’ description of famed American lawyer Clarence Darrow. This fund will help today’s students afford the same kinds of formative experiences.