Concerning the Accomplishments of
Professor Burton Fletcher, J.D.
A life less ordinary.
Professor Rufus Burton Fletcher, Jr., J.D. (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 and 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. In many ways, his trajectory is an example of the atypical, American success story.
He was born into a blue-collar, working-class family in McAlpin, Suwannee County, located in Northern Florida. Both his parents tended to an agriculture business that grew into a notable 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 being able to serve 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 the years of 1975 and 1976 respectively. 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 Management, Marketing, and Law. Never one to stop at the goalpost, Professor Fletcher subsequently founded his law practice, specializing in litigation, titled Fletcher & Associates in 1982, employing as many as fifteen high-profile candidates including attorneys and staff. The 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 considerable platform 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 same 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 many 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.
Deservedly, Professor Rufus Burton Fletcher, J.D. was the recipient of 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 the likes of 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, needless to say, 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.