Features
Highlights
Sections in This Issue
All Articles in This Issue
Class Note
Jordan Lipp, ’02: “Protecting the Ski Industry That I Love”
Jordan Lipp, ’02, is a self-described “obsessive skier.” So when he applied to law schools, only those near ski areas made the cut.“One of my classmates still jokes with me that I’m the only person in the world who chose the University of Michigan for its skiing,” laughs Lipp.
Class Note
Jonathan Fountain, ’01: Seizing Counterfeit Goods at Vegas Trade Shows
When Jonathan Fountain, ’01, walks the floor of a Las Vegas trade show, U.S. marshals at his side, its vendors hold their collective breath. And when he walks out, counterfeit goods in hand, it’s to their applause.
Class Note
Cinnamon Stephens, ’94: Navigating the Complexities of the Art World
“People think of the art world as being classy and sophisticated,” says Cinnamon Stephens, ’94, “But it’s actually kind of a sleazy snake pit,”
Class Note
Deeva Shah, ’17: Workplace Accountability within the Federal Judiciary
Deeva Shah had only been in her U.S. district court clerkship for a short time when two female colleagues confided that they had experienced sexual harassment on the job. Shah, ’17, offered to help them figure out how to report the harassment, which proved to be more difficult than she had initially thought.
Impact Winter 2019
Remembering a Friend: A Bond Forged in the Classroom and on the Basketball Court
Jim Stengel and Bev Bartow met John Schrashun during their first year of law school. Little did they know that Schrashun, whose friendship was central to their law school experience, would not be alive to celebrate their fifth reunion.
@UMICHLAW
ALI Approves Liability Insurance Restatement
At its annual meeting last May, the American Law Institute (ALI) approved a final draft of the Restatement of the Law of Liability Insurance, ending an eight-year project that began in 2010.
Impact Winter 2019
An Alumnus’s Gift Celebrates the Life of His Father and Former Michigan Law Professor
“My Michigan training has held me in good stead, as it did for my dad. I find it meaningful to do anything I can to help provide scholarships for others to experience what we’ve had the opportunity to do.”
@UMICHLAW
Unemployment Insurance Clinic Drafts New Legislation
Rita Samaan and Sean Higgins graduated from Michigan Law in 2017 with legislative experience under their belt, thanks to their work with Michigan Law’s Unemployment Insurance Clinic.
Impact
Motivated by Gratitude, 1L Sweethearts Give Back to Michigan Law
“It was a time when hordes of young legal professionals couldn’t get jobs and had all these student loans—but coming from Michigan meant that we had our pick of jobs,” says Cara. “It was very true for me and especially for Aaron.”
@UMICHLAW Winter 2019
Kurt Johnson, ’15, to Clerk for Justice Gorsuch
Kurt Johnson, ’15, has accepted a U.S. Supreme Court clerkship with Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch. Johnson’s one-year clerkship is for the October 2019 term. He will start the job this summer.
Impact Winter 2019
Cause and Effect: A Donor and His Scholarship Recipient Reflect on Their Connection to Michigan Law
Jeffrey Rubenstein, '66, created the Jeffrey and Susan Rubenstein Scholarship Fund to support students facing the same serious financial need that he did while attending Michigan Law. We speak to him and Simone Prince-Eichner, a recipient of the scholarship, about their experiences at Michigan Law.
@UMICHLAW
Edward Fox and Oday Salim Join Faculty
Professor Edward Fox joined Michigan Law as an assistant professor of law. He previously was a fellow at the Center for Law and Economics at New York University School of Law. Oday Salim is the director of Michigan Law’s Environmental Law & Sustainability Clinic, as well as a staff attorney at the National Wildlife Federation.
Impact Winter 2019
Legacy Giving: Joseph D. Lawrence, ’62, and Norman Gaar, ’56
Giving to Michigan Law is an investment in the future of legal education, and private support ensures that the excellence that has distinguished Michigan-trained lawyers continues for generations to come.
@UMICHLAW
@UMICHLAW: Winter 2019
Clinical Professor Nick Hart retires | Assistant Professor Maureen Carroll honored | Associate Deans appointed | and more...
Impact Winter 2019
Recent Gifts: Fall 2019
Giving to Michigan Law is an investment in the future of legal education, and private support ensures that the excellence that has distinguished Michigan-trained lawyers continues for generations to come.
Briefs
Reunion 2018
Emeriti and the Classes of 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, and 1988 kicked off reunion season the weekend of September 21–23. Celebrations continued October 12–14, when the Classes of 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008, and 2013 returned to campus in honor of their milestone anniversaries.
Briefs
Celebrating December 2018 Graduates
As we look forward to our May Senior Day ceremony, we celebrate the members of the December 2018 graduating class who are beginning to make their mark on the world, including Brent Winslow, who was the Senior Day student speaker.
Briefs
News in Brief: Winter 2019
Amazon legal team visits campus | Solicitor General's office panel discussion | Women law journal editors speak to students | and more...
In Practice
Tim Kochis, ’73: A Pioneer in Personal Financial Planning
Any success in life is a combination of three things: talent, hard work, and luck, says Tim Kochis, ’73. While Kochis admits he’s had a few lucky breaks in his 45-year career as a personal finance and investment manager, he also attributes his success in large measure to his Michigan Law degree, which has proven to be a “valuable calling card.”
In Practice Winter 2019
Michelle Silverthorn, ’08, on the Challenges and Opportunities of Diversifying the Workplace
How do you foster a diverse and welcoming environment for all people within the legal profession, particularly those at law firms? It’s a pressing question for the legal industry, and one that Michelle Silverthorn, ’08, is working to address.
In Practice Winter 2019
Marc Howze, ’95: Steering Deere & Company
Nothing Runs Like a Deere. The tagline that originated in the 1970s—first with John Deere-made snowmobiles—has since become iconic. It’s also a phrase that could aptly describe the career of Marc Howze, ’95, Deere & Company’s senior vice president and chief administrative officer.
@UMICHLAW
Lisa and Christopher Jeffries, ’74, Commit $33 Million to Michigan Law for Student Support
Lisa and Chris Jeffries, ’74, have committed $33 million to the Law School, with the entirety of the gift dedicated to student support, including scholarships and other forms of financial aid, summer funding programs, and debt management.
Cover Story Winter 2019
Immigration Law: Protecting Process and Changing Lives
Immigration news is everywhere. It’s a complicated issue. While the pages of this magazine could be filled with stories about the immigration work being done by Michigan Law graduates, we’ve chosen to highlight the efforts of a few individuals closer to home who are working to protect process.
@UMICHLAW Winter 2019
Beny Appointed to U-M’s African Studies Center
Professor Laura Beny was appointed associate director of U-M’s African Studies Center (ASC) for the 2018–2019 academic year. The ASC, founded in 2008, provides strategic guidance and coordination for Africa-related education, research, and training activities on campus, and promotes opportunities for collaboration with African partners.
Cover Story Winter 2019
Michigan Law Team Advocates For Due Process In Iraqi Nationals Class-Action Lawsuit
Despite living, working, and raising a family in Michigan for decades, Usama “Sam” Hamama was one of more than 300 Iraqi nationals identified in 2017 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for removal. Returning to Iraq, they would likely face persecution, torture, or even death.
@UMICHLAW Winter 2019
Professor Chris Whitman, ’74, Reflects on 42-Year Teaching Career
The 1Ls in Professor Christina Whitman’s Torts class didn’t know what to make of the professors lining up at the back of the room. Toward the end of class, however, it became apparent why they were there: to applaud—or “clap out”—Whitman, who taught her last class on December 5. Whitman, ’74, is the first female faculty member to have joined the Law School.
Cover Story Winter 2019
Students Aid Asylum Seekers In Dilley
A week before the fall 2018 semester started, Melissa Peña was pulling 13-hour shifts at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, where the largest immigrant detention center in the United States is located. “The stories were horrific, and by Thursday they were really getting to me. I had to step outside and take a moment for myself.”
@UMICHLAW
Santacroce Honored by AALS for Service to Clinical Legal Education
David Santacroce, an associate dean for experiential education and a clinical professor of law, was selected as a recipient of the 2019 William Pincus Award for Outstanding Service and Commitment to Clinical Legal Education.
Features Winter 2019
Ann Arbor to Accra: The Ongoing Legacy of Michigan Law’s Connection to Ghana
“Some of my former lecturers ... had done graduate work in Ann Arbor and recommended Michigan Law to me as the best place to go for my LLM. I listened and have not regretted doing so.”
@UMICHLAW
Three Grads Named Equal Justice Works Fellows
“Our main focus is helping these men and women—who risked their lives to serve their country—get back on their feet by providing them with income and housing stability,” Abbey Lent, ’18, says.
Features Winter 2019
Law Training in the Fast Lane
A lawyer’s job is to present a client’s case with a compelling argument, so U-M’s undergraduate debate team has been a fertile ground for future Michigan Law students. “The only downside to my debate background is that when I became a professor, I had to learn to slow down my speech,” laughs Robert Hirshon, ’73, “because my students couldn’t follow me.”
@UMICHLAW
Students Complete Michigan Law’s First Summer Internships in Namibia
Every few weeks, a five-year-old Namibian boy named Jamal sends a WhatsApp message to Colleen Devine, Mindy Gorin, Emily Hu, and Kate Powers—2Ls who lived with his family for 10 weeks last summer.