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Class Note Winter 2020
Michael Bobelian, ’98: The Forging of the Modern Supreme Court
Michael Bobelian, ’98, a journalist who has reported on the Supreme Court and other legal topics since 2003, explores the controversial Supreme Court nomination of Abe Fortas in his new book, The Battle for the Marble Palace: Abe Fortas, Earl Warren, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Forging of the Modern Supreme Court.
Class Note Winter 2020
Colleen Barney, ’93: Ninja Warrior
If you’ve ever watched American Ninja Warrior (ANW), perhaps you’ve imagined yourself scaling the Warped Wall. Colleen Barney, ’93, pictured herself doing that too—and made the cut to compete in Season 11 of the popular sports entertainment reality television show.
Class Note Winter 2020
Nadine Gartner, ’06: Combatting Anti-vax Misinformation
Nadine Gartner, ’06, knew as early as middle school that she wanted to do something to make her community better. She founded Boost Oregon, a nonprofit organization that provides direct education to parents who are unsure about vaccines.
In Practice
Asim Rehman, ’01: Overseeing the Nation’s Largest Police Department
How does one go from working as corporate counsel at MetLife—providing global litigation support to more than 40 foreign MetLife companies—to overseeing the NYPD? “I was working on police accountability issues because they were important to me,” Asim Rehman, ’01, says. “Not because I was looking for a job.”
Impact Winter 2020
Law School Fund Donor Joins Alumna Mother in Cavaedium Society
Twenty years before Sophia Hudson, ’06, received her juris doctorate from Michigan Law, her mother, Lydie Arthos Hudson, ’86, walked across the commencement stage to receive her own. “My mother led a fulfilling career while raising four children and pursuing her many outside interests. She set the example for me, starting with a Michigan Law degree, and is my inspiration.”
In Practice
Meegan Brooks, ’13: An Advocate for the Retail Industry
Throughout law school, Meegan Brooks, ’13, was most interested in cases involving retail brands and other companies that she admired. Brooks joined Sedgwick LLP as a 2L summer associate and became enamored with its retail practice group, which specialized in defending consumer class actions. “I identified their work as being fun and cool and interesting,” she says.
Impact
Cause and Effect: A Donor and His Scholarship Recipient Reflect on Their Connection to Michigan Law
In 2005, Bob Currie created the Robert J. Currie Scholarship Fund. Today, it prioritizes students who are veterans. Matthew Sierawski, ’18, was the first recipient under this new designation. We speak to Bob and Matthew about the opportunities they found through Michigan Law, the campus today, and the impact of scholarships on students who need them.
In Practice Winter 2020
Craig Kramer, ’87: Mental Health Ambassador
“My overarching goal is to help transform mental health care worldwide. It’s broken everywhere, and it is a global problem,” says Craig Kramer, ’87, Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) first mental health ambassador. But raising awareness about and erasing the stigma of mental illness were not part of his plan as a Michigan Law graduate—nor was it where he started.
Impact
Recent Gifts: Winter 2020
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.
Cover Story Winter 2020
A Seat at the Table: Legal Careers in the Food Industry
From Texas Roadhouse to Massachusetts dairy, we profile alumni working across the food industry's varied legal landscape. This includes a food lawyer who, “has participated in the development of virtually every law and regulation affecting the food industry in the last four decades,” an environmental lawyer advocating for sustainable meat production, a food writer, and a fast-food franchise owner.
Briefs
News in Brief: Winter 2020
Professor Catharine A. MacKinnon receives NOW award | U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, ’05, presents Constitution Day address | Six Michigan Law alums join the Supreme Court Bar | Fiske Fellows announced | and much more...
Cover Story Winter 2020
Paul Nightingale, ’86: Dairy Innovator
In his 16 years as senior vice president and general counsel of the Massachusetts-based dairy company HP Hood LLC, Paul Nightingale, ’86, has witnessed many changes in the industry. “With a company like this, we have to look elsewhere to make up for conventional dairy’s declining market share.”
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Michigan Law through the Years: A Faculty Perspective
John Nannes, ’73, a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and the national chair of the Victors for Michigan campaign, moderated a conversation on how Michigan Law has changed. Faculty members Evan Caminker; Doug Kahn; Ted St. Antoine, ’54; and Christina Whitman, ’74 participated in the discussion.
Cover Story
Nora FitzGerald Meldrum, ’99: ‘Legendary’ Legal Service at Texas Roadhouse
“Legendary food, legendary service” is the mission statement of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain. And for in-house lawyer Nora FitzGerald Meldrum, ’99, legendary legal service is what she aspires to provide to the company and its nearly 60,000 employees.
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Tax Day, Every Day
On the last Thursday in July, members of Michigan Law’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) arrived early at Legal Services of South Central Michigan in Ypsilanti to set up for their walk-in tax event. By 9:30 a.m., a half hour before the doors opened, four people were already waiting in line.
Cover Story
Gary Jay Kushner, AB ’72: Shaping Food Law and Public Policy
When Gary Jay Kushner, AB ’72, began his legal career in the mid-1970s, he had dreams of becoming the next Perry Mason. So it was by accident that instead of becoming a famous litigator, Kushner became one of the leading experts in food law.
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Real-life Lawyering in Ethiopia
Millan Bederu and Robert Shoemaker, student-attorneys in the ITC, visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, on behalf of a U.S.-based client of Ethiopian origin who is interested in organizing a fund to invest in Ethiopian small- to medium-sized enterprises. “We could research statutes and regulations on our end, but figuring out how the fund was going to work on the ground was something we didn’t have a direct line of sight on.”
Cover Story
Nicolette Hahn Niman, ’93: Food Activist
On Nicolette Hahn Niman’s Northern California ranch, just outside San Francisco, beef cattle and heritage turkeys roam freely on wide-open spaces. Fresh air, clean water, and grassy pastures are in abundant supply. And buildings that continually confine large herds of animals are nowhere to be found.
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UMMA to Present Witness Lab Courtroom Installation and Performance Series
A courtroom installation and performance series that frames witnessing as a social and artistic act will open at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) in February.
Cover Story
Emily Paster, ’99: From Legal Appeals to Appealing Recipes
Take a peek at Emily Paster’s West of the Loop blog, and you’ll find recipes for braised beef brisket, potato latkes, and kreplach. Hungry yet? Paster has more recipes to share, including beginner peach jam, apple and honey cupcakes for Rosh Hashanah, and parmesan green bean fries made in an air fryer.
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Michigan Law Celebrates First Class of MACL Graduates
Nine students who completed Michigan Law’s inaugural Master of Advanced Corporation Law (MACL) program celebrated their graduation last August. “This first graduating class is a testament to the dedicated work of so many faculty and staff within the institution. It is also a testament to our extraordinary students.”
Cover Story
Kevin Scott, ’83: Franchise Owner
It was a busy Friday night, and Kevin Scott, ’83, was learning how to work the fryers. It was his first day in the kitchen of a Culver’s fast-food restaurant, and Scott—unaccustomed to the cacophony of buzzers going off—was doing his best to keep up with the orders.
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Ramer, ’17, Receives Prestigious Bristow Fellowship
Only four or five Bristow Fellowships are awarded annually by the U.S. Department of Justice. A prestigious honor, its holders are allowed to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. John Ramer, ’17, is now among their ranks.
Features Winter 2020
Freeing the Wrongfully Convicted: Michigan Innocence Clinic Celebrates 10th Anniversary
Twenty-two individuals who were wrongly convicted of crimes and served nearly 290 combined years behind bars have been freed thanks to the work of the Michigan Innocence Clinic (MIC). And for Dave Moran, ’91, and Imran Syed, ’11, each new exoneration is as sweet as the first.
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Finkbeiner, ’13, Named Public Interest Director
“As a student, I met regularly with a previous public interest director, and her guidance shaped my career inside and outside of law school. That experience played no small role in my decision to apply for this position. I aspire to have that same kind of impact on the students and community here today.”
Impact
Campaign Wrap-up
None of what we do at the Law School would be possible without the support of our alumni and friends. Private funding plays a crucial role in helping to attract the best and brightest students, recruit and retain a world-class faculty, and deliver the outstanding legal education for which Michigan Law is known.
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Valerie Jarrett, ’81: Looking Back and Moving Forward
“The fact that generation after generation of my family had overcome enormous obstacles to succeed, and my parents had made sacrifices so I could have the opportunity to be on that campus, was never far from my mind,” writes former White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett, ’81, in her memoir, Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward.
Impact
New Student Fellowship to Bolster Internationalism at Michigan Law
“It’s been on my mind to do something that would allow me to leave a small footprint at one of my alma maters,” says Thomas Schürrle, LLM ’87. Schürrle and Alfred Wiederkehr, MCL ’68, co-founded the European Alumni Fellowship Fund to demonstrate to prospective students the strength of the Law School’s European alumni community.
@UMICHLAW Winter 2020
Law School Welcomes New Faculty
Six faculty members with expertise ranging from corporate law and criminal justice to constitutional law and civil liberties have joined Michigan Law. Five fellows have also joined the Law School
Impact
A Legacy of Lasting Friendships
By splitting a $100,000 gift between them, two close friends and former Michigan Law classmates established a scholarship to celebrate the most defining aspect of their time at the Law School: friendship.
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@UMICHLAW: Winter 2020
Chinese scholars visit Michigan Law | Michigan Law hosts Transnational Conference | Clinical Professor of Law Paul Reingold retires | and more...
Impact
New Scholarship Supports Student Exploration
Bruce Vinokour, ’72, holds his law school experience in such high esteem that his wife, Stephanie, recalls it being one of the first topics he brought up when they met 27 years ago. “It was clear to me then, as it is today, that Michigan embraces students like Bruce, who love to learn, and allows them to explore and find their own path,” she says. “Because of that, it was only natural for us to give back.”
In Practice
James Blakemore, ’13, and Josh Garcia, ’13: Blockchain Made Them a Team
Blockchain has come into focus in the last several years. James Blakemore, ’13, and Josh Garcia, ’13, have expertise in the technology, which, as Blakemore explains, “allows people to verify transactions and come to consensus regarding the current distribution of an asset, like bitcoin, without relying on third parties like banks.”
Impact
A Lifetime of Giving Back to Michigan Law
Kent Whittaker has given to Michigan Law every year since graduating in 1960—that’s 59 years of making a difference in the Quad. His most recent gift—a $200,000 bequest to establish the Kent E. and Judith C. Whittaker Fund for Student Support—topped off decades of supporting the Law School Fund.