USD Law Professors David Brennan ʼ03 (LLM) and Robert Fellmeth to be Honored with a 2025 San Diego County Bar Association Service Award

SAN DIEGO (April 17, 2025) - The San Diego County Bar Association has selected University of San Diego (USD) School of Law Professors David Brennan ‘03 (LLM) and Robert Fellmeth to be honored with a 2025 San Diego County Bar Association (SDCBA) Service Award for Service to the Legal Community. This award recognizes outstanding long-term or significant contributions that further the goals of the legal profession and promote ethics, integrity, and professionalism in the practice of law through legal education, civics education, mentoring, or service to the SDCBA or the legal community. 

Professor Brennan has built a distinguished career, defined by his deep expertise and extensive contributions to both law and education. Before joining the USD School of Law faculty, he was an Associate Professor at Western State University College of Law, where he also directed the Civil-Judicial-Appellate Externship and coordinated Moot Court Competitions. His career as a civil litigator spanned over thirty years in both state and federal courts, where he tried dozens of civil cases. Additionally, he founded and led two law firms and later served as Of Counsel for several litigation firms in Southern California. 

His teaching contributions span subjects such as International Law (Public and Private), Civil Litigation, Mediation & International Commercial Arbitration, and Professional Responsibility. He has been instrumental in mentoring generations of students at USD Law. He is the long-time faculty advisor and coach of USD Law's Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (VICAM) team. He coaches VICAM members in competitions in the areas of international commercial law and arbitration in Vienna and Hong Kong, fostering legal writing, international arbitration, and oral advocacy skills among his students. 

Price Professor of Public Interest Law and Executive Director for the Centers for Public Interest Law (CPIL), Professor Fellmeth has dedicated the entirety of his long and distinguished career to public service. While at Harvard Law School, he became one of the original “Nader’s Raiders,” working as part of the consumer movement of the 1960s and ‘70s with consumer advocate Ralph Nader. His work greatly contributed to the early consumer movement in the 1970s, including the enactment of several consumer safety and environmental statutes of this period.

Retiring in 2025, Professor Fellmeth has had a 47-year career at the USD School of Law and created CPIL, which includes three nationally renowned centers and institutes: the Consumer Protection Policy Center, the Children’s Advocacy Institute, and the Energy Policy Initiatives Center. He has raised millions of dollars to support CPIL; chaired the boards of leading national nonprofit organizations; and engaged in landmark litigation, regulatory reform, and legislative advocacy to protect consumers and children. His accomplishments, passion, and dedication to protecting the most vulnerable members of our community are indeed worthy of this award.

The awards celebrate the contributions and commitment of distinguished individuals and organizations serving both the San Diego legal community and the public. Award winners will be recognized at the SDCBA's Annual Awards Ceremony & Celebration of Community Service on Thursday, May 15 at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

USD School of Law congratulates Professors Brennan and Fellmeth on this recognition. Their contributions have strengthened the foundation of our legal system and enriched the broader community.

About the University of San Diego School of Law

Each year, USD educates approximately 800 Juris Doctor and graduate law students from throughout the United States and around the world. The law school is best known for its offerings in the areas of business and corporate law, constitutional law, intellectual property, international and comparative law, public interest law and taxation.

USD School of Law is one of the 88 law schools elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law school graduates. The law school’s faculty is a strong group of outstanding scholars and teachers with national and international reputations and currently ranks 34th nationally among U.S. law faculties in scholarly impact and 37th nationally in past-year faculty downloads on the Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN). The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949.