Steve Boutin, Class of '72

Steve Boutin ’72 is co-founder and principal in Boutin Jones Inc., one of Sacramento’s largest law firms. Before co-founding his firm in 1986 with King Hall alum Chris Gibson, he was a partner at Downey, Brand, which was started by his grandfather Stephen Wheeler Downey, Jr. He has appeared before the First and Third Appellate District Courts and the Supreme Court of California. His notable clients have included General Motors, McClatchy Newspapers, The State Bar of California, then-Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, and CBS.

Steve has served on over 20 regional and community boards committees. At UC Davis alone, he has chaired the King Hall Alumni Association and served on the charter Mondavi Performing Arts Center Board, the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Athletics, and the UC Davis Foundation — which awarded him its 2019 Charles J. Soderquist Award. He has also lectured at King Hall.

For a King Hall alumni profile, we have to start with the day you spent with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What was he like? How did that experience affect you?

It was one of those truly illuminating and energizing experiences in life. I grew up in Woodland and went to high school in Sacramento. I didn’t grow up in a diverse environment. When I was at Occidental College, I had the opportunity in spring 1967 to be a student guide for Dr. King. Meeting him exceeded my high expectations. He was very nice and down-to-earth, with a quick smile. He spoke at Thorne Hall; I was sitting in the front row. In his inimitable way, he built and built and built to a crescendo. I get goosebumps to this day thinking about it. I was then, and am now, electrified and elevated by his words of hope.

Dr. King was not a physically large or imposing man, but he knew how to move people emotionally. He certainly moved and inspired my Oxy classmates and me.

There’s a photo from that day that shows Dr. King and me talking, with the Occidental President and, coincidentally, future King Haller Doug Weill in the background. In the picture Dr. King was engaging me and other students, not just focusing on the President or professors. He asked me questions, he was genuinely interested. He was an impressive, thoughtful, non-pretentious person. I’ve never heard anyone since then with his ability to rally the heart and soul.

Why did you choose to attend King Hall?

Dr. King has a famous quote, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” That ties into the culture of King Hall. It has a culture of “what are you doing for others” and a focus on public interest.

After college I wanted to come back north to be part of the new venture that was King Hall. At the time, they were calling it the Harvard of the West. It had drawn a younger, enthusiastic, top-drawer faculty. It had the advantage of having the energy of a new enterprise. I also liked the idea of coming back to the great outdoors of northern California and to be near family and friends.

People who know you talk about your positivity and energy. What drives that?

I was blessed to have a mother who was eternally optimistic. She saw the best in everyone and never got bogged down by the issues of the past. My mother felt the world was a great place with interesting people and endless opportunities; she always accentuated the positive. My father always took great pleasure and satisfaction in being a dedicated doctor.

My positivity has been rewarded by having incredible friends and experiences. When I look at the glass, it’s not half full. It’s 99% full. That’s my natural state, gifted by my mother and father.

You come from a family of lawyers. How did you chart your own course in the law?

My great grandfather, Stephen Wheeler Downey, practiced law in Washington D.C. before the Civil War. He was a Colonel in the Union Army. Later, he was the first attorney in the United States ever to try a case with a jury that included women. Wyoming had women’s suffrage fifty years before the United States did. He was instrumental in that and is called the “Father of University of Wyoming.”

My grandfather, Stephen Wheeler Downey, Jr., co-founded the Downey, Brand law firm. I worshipped him. My uncle Jack Downey was larger than life as a person and lawyer. People looked up to him and had great respect for him. When it came time for me to choose between business school and law school, I saw that, in law, I could do something for others and a society as a whole. It had more appeal to me. I knew that if I could even reach my ancestors’ knees in terms of accomplishments, I would be more than satisfied.

On a related note, last week dear German friends took my wife Linda and me to visit Nuremburg, Germany, in particular to visit the courtroom in which Robert Jackson prosecuted Nazi war criminals. I got to hear and watch videos of the first Nuremburg trial, including Justice Jackson’s probing questioning. Watching the prosecution made me very proud to be an attorney, as well as an American.

What is your favorite King Hall memory?

Numerous things. They all relate to my friends at King Hall. I met wonderful people. I remember a whole series of events when I was learning with and from classmates. I thank my professors and classmates, with a special shout out to my Learned Hand friends.

You have been an extremely involved and generous King Hall alumnus. Could you talk a little bit about how you stay involved and why?

The answer to “why?” is that I recognize that King Hall was a springboard for my professional success. I like the fact that King Hall has retained its values and priorities. Dr. King said, “Never, never be afraid to do what's right.” Abraham Lincoln said, “Right makes might.” King Hall embodies these sentiments.

Former Professor Margaret Johns, one of King Hall’s greatest alums, used to point out that success is not just about making money. Success was in creating solid, grounded lawyers, regardless of whether they picked careers in public service or private practice. Some law schools are captive to bar passage rates and the private sector. King Hall retained its culture. The faculty reminded students that good people make good lawyers.

I have stayed involved by donating and, at one point, chairing the law school alumni board. We also annually sponsor a golf tournament that supports the King Hall Legal Foundation. (Unvarnished pitch: Next Year’s 15th Annual Steve Boutin Golf Tournament will be on Ides of March (March 15th); please support KHLF.) The Tournament every year funds thirty or more public interest summer externships for King Hall students. The externships give students a chance to test drive public interest law and see if it’s right for them. Clay Tanaka really should get credit for the success of the Tournament. He is the inspiration and the glue.

About 20 years ago, I envisioned a First Amendment program at King Hall and initially worked with Jorja Hoehn to get it off the ground. As hard as it is to now believe, given the current political climate, law schools are not giving, to my way of thinking, sufficient attention to the First Amendment and its modern day repercussions. With the enthusiastic support of Dean Kevin Johnson, and the generous financial support of the James B. McClatchy Foundation, we were able to formulate a program. For over a decade King Hall annually presented legal scholars of national renown, and held weekly First Amendment seminars for UC Davis undergraduates at King Hall. We are all proud that this turned out to be a very informative and timely endeavor.

Our law firm, Boutin Jones Inc., deserves credit for its commitment and financial support over the past 37 years to King Hall. Our firm, however, has gotten the better of that bargain, namely being able to hire many terrific, well-trained King Hall grads.

Of what are you proudest?

I am immensely proud of so many things that have transpired in my 50-year legal career. I am profoundly thankful to the many people who have helped me along the way. I’m proud that I have won my fair share of cases for my clients and that I have been able to work with incredible attorneys and judges. I am also proud that I have been able to pass on some knowledge and skills, and to emphasize the import of integrity and ethics.

Do you have any advice for current law students?

Remember that you are in a profession, not a business; you serve others.

Success in law is like success in life. If you follow the golden rule, and treat people well, you will generally be successful and will know if you have done it the right way.

You succeed in litigation by focusing on the merits. Do not get sidetracked by extraneous issues. Young attorneys can get caught up in personality disputes. Remember, gunslingers have short careers.

Young litigators should remember that outcomes are not necessarily binary where you either win or lose. Litigation can be a win-win situation. Think about what the other side wants and what your own side wants. Do the best to accommodate each other.

There is no substitute for hard work, and being fully prepared.