Bruce R. Hopkins was a successful nonprofit lawyer, author of several books, a law professor, and a popular speaker. So what could possibly make him want to complete a doctorate of juridical science? Simple – it was his dream. In 2012 he took his first class for his new degree. He was 72.

Fulfilling a Dream: The Ultimate Law Degree is the record of Hopkins’ new adventures in law school and completing his dissertation. Sprinting through legal history, Hopkins shares his expertise in tax law, tax procedure, banking and constitutional law, and more, and his reassurances that even seasoned lawyers can find legal writing obtuse, mind-boggling, and downright weird.

Part memoir, part legal study guide, part playful instructions on what to do – and not do – while pursuing a third law degree, Fulfilling a Dream is a smart and hilarious take on pursuing your dreams, no matter the fear.

About the Author

Bruce R. Hopkins concentrates on the representation of tax-exempt organizations, practicing with the Bruce R. Hopkins Law Firm, LLC, Kansas City, Missouri. He is the Professor from Practice at the University of Kansas School of Law. He has authored or coauthored 40 books on nonprofit law subjects, including The Law of Tax-Exempt Organizations, Eleventh Edition; The Tax Law of Charitable Giving, Fifth Edition; The Law of Fundraising, Fifth Edition; Starting and Managing a Nonprofit Organization: A Legal Guide, Seventh Edition; Beware the Commerciality Doctrine and Other Nonprofit Law Poetry; Bruce R. Hopkins’ Nonprofit Law Dictionary; Nonprofit Governance: Law, Practices, and Trends; Tax-Exempt Organizations and Constitutional Law: Nonprofit Law as Shaped by the U.S. Supreme Court; and A Nonprofit Lawyer. He writes a monthly newsletter, the Bruce R. Hopkins’ Nonprofit Counsel, now in its 35th year. 

He is listed in the Best Lawyers in America, for Nonprofit Organizations/Charities Law. He earned his JD and LLM degrees at the George Washington University, his SJD degree at the University of Kansas, and his BA degree at the University of Michigan. He is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and the state of Missouri. See brucerhopkinslaw.com.