Todd J. Anson, ’80, and
John A. Denniston, ’83
They met playing basketball at U-M’s Intramural Sports Building, when Todd Anson, ’80, was in law school and John Denniston, ’83, was an undergraduate.
Their friendship blossomed when both worked as associates, then as partners in the San Francisco office of Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison, returning to the Law School as a team every fall to recruit young lawyers and cheer for the Wolverines.
Now the two have come together to create a lasting memorial to Denniston’s father, John L. Denniston, ’51—“as loyal a Michigan man as ever there was,” his son says. They have made a joint gift of $500,000 for the building project to name a space in the Quad for the elder Denniston.
“It was Todd’s idea, and I’m forever indebted to him,” says Denniston, of Atherton, California. “My dad was my hero and my role model.” He hopes their joint gift will motivate other friends to consider doing the same.
Both men were inspired by Denniston senior, whom they affectionately called “Pops,” and who was a name partner in the Chicago law firm he helped found.
Each was a Midwesterner—Anson from Mount Pleasant, Michigan; Denniston from Winnetka, Illinois—and each forged a career path that led eventually from the law firm into real estate development (Anson) and into green-tech venture capital (Denniston).
And they treasured those annual football weekends in Ann Arbor, when they’d sit with Pops on the 50-yard line of Michigan Stadium.
“I looked forward to seeing John’s dad every year,” says Anson, of Coronado, California, and Charlevoix, Michigan. “That was when I learned how to really appreciate the University, Michigan athletics, and the Law School. That was the gift that they gave to me.”
Anson has passed along those passions to his sons, Christopher, a 1L at Michigan, and Ryan, a senior undergraduate in LSA. “I know that traces back to John’s very special relationship with his father,” he says.