It’s All in the Family for Jordon Kruse

Alvin Kruse (BA ’65, JD ’68) left Oklahoma and set out for Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, sight unseen. He enrolled as an undergraduate because of the scholarship that would afford him a college education. Alvin continued his studies at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where his son, Jordon, would also earn his JD in 1997.

Now, the Kruse Family Scholarship Fund continues to provide meaningful opportunities for current law students.

“I was the recipient of the original Kruse family scholarship because my parents told me I could go anywhere for college and law school, and they would pay for it,” Jordon says. “I never had to be concerned with funding my education, and I was very appreciative of that.”

The impetus behind establishing the Kruse Family Scholarship Fund was the opportunity to help students the same way Alvin was helped via scholarships.

“My father and I feel very strongly that people who need help should have opportunities to attend law school, and we’re in a position to help,” Jordon says.

Today, Alvin still practices law at 82, and Jordon is the Co-Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of the Special Situations Group at Oaktree Capital Management.

“Together we decided to fund this scholarship and give others the same opportunity,” Jordon says. Father and son both believe that you don’t get anywhere without support along the way.  “This is a good way to help people who are talented. I had a lot of help from my parents, and my dad had a lot of help. We all need help.”

Jordon says his experience as a law student shaped his career path because he values legal education generally, and he says he received a very practical legal education at Northwestern. “I’ve applied that daily, whether I was practicing law or doing what I do now, which is investing.”

Reflecting now, Jordon says Northwestern Pritzker Law provided a great balance of a very traditional legal education with first year core curriculum (i.e., torts, criminal law, the Socratic method, and case-based learning) combined with practical adjunct professor–taught classes such as real estate investment, corporate finance, and a variety of other classes taught by practicing lawyers or judges.

“I think the cliché that they teach you to ‘think like a lawyer’ is beneficial irrespective of whatever you for a career.  I feel very fortunate to have had that three years to teach me how to think and problem solve and be skeptical,” he says.

Jordon was well prepared to practice law, especially given his desire to practice in Chicago. “The reason I attended law school at Northwestern is I knew I wanted to be a lawyer in Chicago, and it’s the top law school in Chicago. If you did well at Northwestern Pritzker Law you could get a job anywhere in the city of Chicago, and I had offers from every major law firm in Chicago,” he says. Following graduation, he accepted an offer at Kirkland & Ellis, and he credits his Northwestern Pritzker Law education with his success. At a top law firm, he says, “you sank or swam. And I swam and I was able to take on a lot of things… Without the Northwestern Pritzker Law experience, I would not have been as prepared to handle what was, at that time in my career, an enormous amount of responsibility.”

Jordon’s work at Kirkland and Ellis eventually led him to an opportunity to shift gears and move out to California and join Oaktree Capital Management.  

“I’ve had a great run here at Oaktree, and I credit a lot of that to my legal education.”

Jordon and Alvin’s goal is for more students to have these same opportunities for success, opportunities that the Kruse Family Scholarship funding provides. Over time, Jordon and his family have been able to interact with students who have received the Kruse Family Scholarship, including over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been a great experience to meet the individuals who benefit directly from the scholarship and hear about their experiences as current law students.

Watch below to learn more about Jordon’s story: