Known for her tireless work as a scholar, advocate, mentor, and educator who continues to inspire and shape the field of elder law, Law Professor Rebecca C. Morgan is the recipient of the 2025 Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Public Service Award.
Decades ago, Morgan identified a gap in expertise when it came to legal, financial, social, and other challenges aging populations face. The 1980 Stetson Law alumna launched into decades of pioneering work to develop and evolve this area of practice. These efforts include inviting leading experts to share knowledge at the Stetson’s National Conference on Special Needs Planning and Special Needs Trusts for nearly three decades, directing Stetson’s Center for Elder Justice (formerly the Center for Excellence in Elder Law), and leading the LL.M. in Elder Law program.
“The landscape of elder law has very few voices who are as knowledgeable, who are as compassionate, and who have been as transformative as Becky Morgan,” said Professor Roberta Flowers, who teaches elder law alongside Morgan, in her introduction. “Many, many of our colleagues and students and staff do not realize where Becky Morgan sits in the elder law arena in the United States of America.”
A prolific career
Morgan’s work in the elder law arena went well beyond the Stetson Law campus. It includes serving as president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the Board of Directors of the National Senior Citizens Law Center (now Justice in Aging).
As a mentor and educator, she has inspired countless students through her courses on trusts and estates, elder law, and related topics with a teaching approach that emphasizes the importance of empathy, ethical practice, and a deep understanding of the unique challenges faced by aging populations.
Alumnus and Stetson Law Board of Overseers Chair Jason Turner ’04 served as a teaching assistant to Morgan, and they developed a dear friendship in the years since. She helped him navigate the challenges of losing his grandfather to ALS. Turner said she embodies the spirit of community and mentorship at the core of Stetson Law’s culture.
“Becky is Stetson,” Turner said in 2024.
Her contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including a NAELA Award for her accomplishments in elder law and the Rosalie Wolf Memorial Elder Abuse Prevention Award. Morgan has also helped shape public policy as it relates to elder populations, including on state task forces addressing elder abuse and guardianship reform, and as a reporter for the Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act.
“Her remarkable career, and it is remarkable, is not just a testament to legal expertise but a profound commitment to serving others and proving that the truest success is not the awards on the wall, but the lives that you’ve impacted,” Flowers said.
Prof. Morgan Honored With Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Public Service Award
Law Professor Rebecca Morgan ’80, the 2025 Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Public Service Award recipient
Known for her tireless work as a scholar, advocate, mentor, and educator who continues to inspire and shape the field of elder law, Law Professor Rebecca C. Morgan is the recipient of the 2025 Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Public Service Award.
Decades ago, Morgan identified a gap in expertise when it came to legal, financial, social, and other challenges aging populations face. The 1980 Stetson Law alumna launched into decades of pioneering work to develop and evolve this area of practice. These efforts include inviting leading experts to share knowledge at the Stetson’s National Conference on Special Needs Planning and Special Needs Trusts for nearly three decades, directing Stetson’s Center for Elder Justice (formerly the Center for Excellence in Elder Law), and leading the LL.M. in Elder Law program.
“The landscape of elder law has very few voices who are as knowledgeable, who are as compassionate, and who have been as transformative as Becky Morgan,” said Professor Roberta Flowers, who teaches elder law alongside Morgan, in her introduction. “Many, many of our colleagues and students and staff do not realize where Becky Morgan sits in the elder law arena in the United States of America.”
A prolific career
Morgan’s work in the elder law arena went well beyond the Stetson Law campus. It includes serving as president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the Board of Directors of the National Senior Citizens Law Center (now Justice in Aging).
As a mentor and educator, she has inspired countless students through her courses on trusts and estates, elder law, and related topics with a teaching approach that emphasizes the importance of empathy, ethical practice, and a deep understanding of the unique challenges faced by aging populations.
Alumnus and Stetson Law Board of Overseers Chair Jason Turner ’04 served as a teaching assistant to Morgan, and they developed a dear friendship in the years since. She helped him navigate the challenges of losing his grandfather to ALS. Turner said she embodies the spirit of community and mentorship at the core of Stetson Law’s culture.
“Becky is Stetson,” Turner said in 2024.
Her contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including a NAELA Award for her accomplishments in elder law and the Rosalie Wolf Memorial Elder Abuse Prevention Award. Morgan has also helped shape public policy as it relates to elder populations, including on state task forces addressing elder abuse and guardianship reform, and as a reporter for the Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act.
“Her remarkable career, and it is remarkable, is not just a testament to legal expertise but a profound commitment to serving others and proving that the truest success is not the awards on the wall, but the lives that you’ve impacted,” Flowers said.
Professor Roberta Flowers introduces Professor Rebecca Morgan, who was being honored for her tireless public service.
Briefly remarking after accepting the award, Morgan encouraged the audience to be brave and to use their legal abilities to help others.
“I want you to think about being brave, and I want you to think about giving more of your time volunteering for legal services folks, writing a letter on behalf of someone can make a huge difference,” she said. “Being a lawyer is an incredible privilege. A lot of folks would like to go to law school, but not all of us get to do it. We make a difference. If we can be brave, we can make life better for people who are willing to stand up.”
About the award
Named for former Stetson Law Professor William Reece Smith, Jr., a legal powerhouse who is credited with saving legal services, the award is given annually to an individual who has provided exemplary service to the legal profession and society writ large.
“Reece was truly a mentor. He was truly a colleague. He was truly a friend. But he was also a leader,” Flowers said. “He was president of the International Bar Association, president of the American Bar Association, president of the Florida Bar Association.”
The award is given in conjunction with the annual Wm. Reece Smith, Jr. Lecture. The 2025 lecturer was Civil Rights veteran Janice Kelsey Wesley, who shared stories about life as a teen “foot soldier” at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, Alabama. Wesley is a fixture of Stetson Law’s popular summer Civil Rights Travel course, which is offered through the Social Justice Advocacy Concentration Program and stops in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama.
Original source can be found here.