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Pepperdine Regent Guides a Legacy Through Troubled Times

Pepperdine Board of Regents member Terry M. Giles has been named custodian of The King Center in Atlanta, Georgia, an institution established in 1968 by Coretta Scott King as a living memorial to her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  

The King Center, a shining tribute to nonviolent action for justice, equality, and peace has struggled in recent times organizationally, prompting a Georgia Superior Court judge to appoint Giles as trustee/CEO and to re-position the center for success in the decades ahead. In addition, the court has appointed Giles custodian for the estate of Martin Luther King.

Giles is focusing on a range of legal and organizational issues dealing with governance, policies, and contracts. Chief among his objectives is to help establish a new management team to assist both the interests of the King estate and The King Center.

More than one million visitors from all over the world visit The King Center annually and The King Center's Library and Archives. The King Center is also the Nobel Peace Prize recipient's birth home and final resting place.

Located in Atlanta's Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, The King Center utilizes diverse communications media including books, audio and video resources, and web pages to reach out far beyond its physical boundaries to educate people all over the world about Dr. King's life, work, and philosophy and methods of nonviolent conflict-reconciliation and social change.

Family members have struggled with management of the estate and the center, and after several potential candidates for custodian were considered by Superior Court Judge Ural D. Glanville, he chose Giles for the task.

A 1974 graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law, Giles is founding principal along with his wife, Kalli O'Malley, in the Law Offices of Giles & O'Malley, a California-based firm. In addition to Giles' experience as a trial lawyer, he has served in a trustee capacity for a number of families dealing with difficult business issues. Giles has a team of experienced business and forensic accounting experts who assist him in these complex matters. Most recently, he completed an assignment regarding asset identification and protection surrounding one of the key individuals in the Enron prosecution.

Giles has lectured before California Continuing Education of the Bar seminars, Trial Lawyers' Associations, American Bar Association's National Convention, various law schools around the country, numerous service clubs, and concerned citizens groups. Additionally, he has served as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University School of Law.

Learn more about the Pepperdine Board of Regents here.