John F. Wicks’ (98JD, 98MBA) parents, John R. Wicks (59BA, 64JD) and Nedra Morgan Wicks (62BA), grew up in Iowa City and met at a party above the Airliner bar. His maternal grandfather, Philip F. Morgan, was a University of Iowa engineering professor and the mayor of Iowa City. And although he grew up in Minnesota, his parents took him each year to Iowa City for Homecoming.

He cherishes those memories—“Iowa City was kind of like a second hometown for me,” he said—so choosing Iowa for a joint JD-MBA program was a no-brainer. Now vice president and general counsel for California apparel company 5.11 Tactical, Wicks serves on the Iowa Law School Foundation (ILSF) Board of Directors and its Alumni Relations Committee. That role is itself a family tradition—his father, who died in 2023, was a founding member and one-time president of the ILSF.

After graduating from Iowa Law, the elder Wicks joined Dorsey & Whitney LLP in Minneapolis. His expertise in helping families with their most important and intimate financial and legal decisions led to his being tapped as a member of the firm’s management committee and, later, as the founding CEO of Dorsey & Whitney Trust Company, a still-thriving estate administration and wealth management firm based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

“My dad’s clients would often tell me that they appreciated my dad’s integrity and discretion,” the younger Wicks said. “I don’t think there are two more important qualities in an attorney.”

Today, through their service to the ILSF—including the establishment and sustainment of the John R. Wicks Scholarship Fund—the Wicks family is helping to expand the Iowa Law family. Each year, promising students receive the Wicks Scholarship.

One of several recipients, Patrick Fontana (24JD) summed up the impact of the family’s support. “Rather than stressing about how I would pay for law school, the Wicks Scholarship allowed me to focus on finding the right career path and building friendships and connections that will last for life,” he explained. Fontana, of Littleton, Colorado, is starting his legal career as an associate in corporate law at the international firm Davis Polk.

The younger John Wicks understands Fontana’s feelings well. “The friends I made at Iowa Law are still my best friends,” he said.

And now this third-generation Hawkeye is helping new generations grow their own roots at Iowa Law.