Concerning The Accomplishments Of Professor Burton Fletcher, J.D.

A LIFE LESS ORDINARY.

Professor Rufus Burton Fletcher, Jr., J.D., MBA (Ret.) a decorated instructor at El Camino College and other colleges and universities, a celebrated Los Angeles attorney with his own, distinguished practice Fletcher & Associates, and a dedicated philanthropist active member of his community. Simply put, Burton Fletcher is the kind of person that is hard to come by these days.

Professor Fletcher’s productivity was matched only by the nature of his character, as evidenced by his charitable endeavors running concurrent to his climbing the peaks of long-term success. His trajectory is an example of the atypical American success story in many ways.

He was born into a blue-collar, working-class family in McAlpin, Suwannee County, located in Northern Florida. His parents tended to an agriculture business that grew into a notable million-dollar enterprise, ensuring Professor Fletcher’s ability to rise through the societal ranks, ultimately attending Florida Gateway College and entering the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War years. Despite all the noteworthy achievements he would attain later in his life, Fletcher stated there was no higher honor than serving his country.

After being honorably discharged three years later, Professor Fletcher received his Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing with honors, then an MBA in Business Administration from the University of West Florida in 1975 and 1976. He was awarded his Juris Doctorate, with honors, from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, California, in 1980.

This marked a significant milestone in Professor Burton Fletcher’s life, as he passed the Bar exam in the State of Georgia on his first try, becoming the first person in his law school class to become a licensed attorney. He also proceeded to pass the California Bar Exam the following year, in 1981.

He moved to Torrance, California, to become a tenured professor at El Camino College in 1980. His instructional topicality was Business & Industrial Management, Marketing & Distribution, and Law. Professor Fletcher did not stop at the goalpost. He subsequently founded his law practice, specializing in litigation, titled Fletcher & Associates in 1982, employing fifteen associates, including attorneys and staff. The law practice was noted for its effectiveness and aid to thousands of clientele in the Los Angeles area, the expert symbiosis of Fletcher’s hot-blooded ambition and humble, personable values.

The years following Professor Burton Fletcher’s achievements would only capitalize exponentially on the multiple platforms he had built for himself. Ten years after founding his practice, he served as an ambassador for the Torrance Chamber of Commerce in Torrance’s Sister City – Kashiwa, Japan. He also ran for a seat on the Torrance City Council that year, then two years later, in 1994. He dedicated his time to serving on the boards of reputable organizations such as Pop Warner Football of Torrance (of which he was a founding member), the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, South Bay Children’s Center, West Los Angeles College Paralegal Advisory Board, the Los Angeles Southwest College Paralegal Advisory Board, and other nonprofit and charitable endeavors. Later in life, Professor Fletcher was a dedicated memorialist, having owned and managed the enterprise ValdostaMemorials.com, and during that time, he was the founder of the Georgia Monument Builders Association.

Professor Rufus Burton Fletcher, J.D. deservedly, received numerous honors for his countless lifetime achievements. These honors include Outstanding Young Men of America, Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges (1974-75, 1980), and the Corpus Juris Secundum Award. In recognition of efforts in his later years, Professor Fletcher has been honored by affiliations with his own El Camino College, the Torrance Chamber of Commerce, the California State Assembly, the governor of California, and both California-based US senators across the board.

To sum it up, Professor Fletcher made every moment count. The term dead time is antithetical to his very existence. He will be remembered as much for his prolific nature as he will be for what he did once meeting such lofty heights.