Background
Emil Joseph Stache made great personal sacrifices to fight for justice on behalf of the public interest. His trust is funding the Emil Joseph Stache Scholarships so that this fight can be continued in years to come.
Stache worked as a manager of quality engineering and reliability for Teledyne Relays in California. During the course of his work, he discovered that the relay switches, used in a variety of defense and government products, were failing government-required testing but that Teledyne was falsely reporting that the relays worked properly. As a Vietnam veteran who had been seriously wounded by an American munitions that failed to detonate properly, Stache felt a strong sense of obligation to ensure that defense products were of the highest quality. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to convince management to address this problem, Stache went to the FBI. An agent subsequently told him about the recently resuscitated False Claims Act, designed to protect against fraud perpetrated against the federal government.
The False Claims Act included an important provision, which protects whistleblowers against corporate retaliation by allowing them to obtain their own legal representation. Stache was represented by Phillips & Cohen, a Los Angeles-based law firm that specializes in whistleblower suits.
After Stache sued Teledyne Relays on behalf of the United States Government, Teledyne pled guilty to 35 counts of making false statements and paid a $17.5 million fine. In 1994, Teledyne settled Stache’s civil suit for $85 million. As the whistleblower, Stache received 10.75% of this settlement, which allows his trust to fund the Emil Joseph Stache Scholarship Program today.
“It took great integrity and courage for Emil to step forward and accuse his former employer of fraudulent dealings with the government. With this generous donation from the Stache trust, Emil’s legacy can truly live on as we train law students for careers in the public interest.”
Professor and Associate Dean Ann Carlson
(who was instrumental team member on the Stache lawsuit when in private practice)
The Selection Process
Stache Scholars will be selected from among the group of students admitted for the Program Class of 2008. Each Scholar selected will receive a grant in the amount of full tuition. The grant is awarded for one year, but renewed annually based on satisfactory academic performance and full participation in Program activities. A Scholar may receive loans to cover living expenses on demonstration of need.
Since the Program is committed to nurturing the development of students with outstanding academic ability who are committed to using their skills in public service, the academic achievement and aptitude of applicants are considered carefully by the selection committee. Primary attention is paid to a candidate’s demonstrated commitment to public service.
Preliminary screening of applications is conducted by the Program Admissions Committee. Based on this screening, selected applications are reviewed by the Administrator of the Stache Trust. Taking into account the recommendation of the Trust Administrator, the Program Admissions Committee ultimately names the Stache Scholars.