MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI & FRIENDS || WINTER 2021
JAYHAWK JUDGES KU Law graduates serving on federal, state and tribal courts
KU Law Magazine is published annually for alumni and friends of the University of Kansas School of Law. Green Hall, 1535 W. 15th St. Lawrence, KS 66045-7608 Phone: 785-864-4550 Fax: 785-864-5054 law.ku.edu DEAN Stephen Mazza EDITOR & DESIGNER Margaret Hair mhair@ku.edu 785-864-9205 CONTRIBUTORS Ashley Golledge Sydney Halas Mike Krings Michele Rutledge PHOTOS Ashley Golledge Margaret Hair Kelsey Kimberlin KU Marketing Meg Kumin Earl Richardson, L’08 Andy White PRINTING Allen Press Lawrence, Kansas
The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university’s programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and are the Title IX coordinators for their respective campuses: Director of the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY (for the Lawrence, Edwards, Parsons, Yoder, and Topeka campuses); Director, Equal Opportunity Office, Mail Stop 7004, 4330 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS 66205, 913-588-8011, 711 TTY (for the Wichita, Salina, and Kansas City, Kansas medical center campuses).
6
Nationally ranked A standout 2020-2021 competition season for KU Law’s moot court teams lands the program a No. 13 national ranking. Margaret Hair
CONTENTS KU LAW MAGAZINE || WINTER 2021
DEPARTMENTS 4 IN BRIEF
12 Jayhawk judges From federal appellate courts to tribal legal systems, KU Law graduates are well-represented in the judiciary
New initiatives, symposia and a continuing commitment to community service
26 FACULTY NEWS + RESEARCH
Research highlights, media coverage, kudos
32 ALUMNI NEWS 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award winners 34 VOLUNTEER HONOR ROLL Recognition of alumni who have donated time,
energy and expertise during the past year
40 CLASS NOTES Alumni earn promotions, change jobs and
win awards
44 IN MEMORIAM Deaths in the KU Law family
22 Celebrating 25 years Directors of KU Law’s Tribal Law & Government Center reflect on the center’s legacy as it celebrates a milestone
KU LAW MAGAZINE 1
MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
ALL RISE FOR
2 KU LAW MAGAZINE
JAYHAWK JUDGES KU Law alumni preside in federal, state and tribal courts
J
udges are expected to be fair, impartial, dedicated and thorough — all qualities that we at KU Law aim to instill in our students as they prepare to enter the legal profession. By our count, more than 100 KU Law graduates are presiding over district, state, tribal, administrative and federal courts. Jayhawk lawyers hold positions on federal courts of appeals, state appellate courts and trial courts in Kansas and across the country. In this issue, you’ll find profiles of four alumni judges. Hon. Mary Beck Briscoe, L’73, recently took senior status on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Hon. Amy Fellows Cline, L’00, and Hon. Jacy Hurst, L’07, joined the Kansas Court of Appeals in the past year. Hon. Layatalati Hill, L’12, is chief trial court judge for the Oneida Judiciary. It’s a small sampling of the many KU Law graduates who have drawn on diverse practice experience to inform their roles as judges. The past academic year marked a milestone for one of KU Law’s programs: the Tribal Law & Government Center celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2020-2021. On page 22, current and former directors reflect on the center’s current programs, its reputation in the community and its legacy for preparing students to be strong advocates with the skills necessary to appreciate and strengthen the unique nature of Indigenous tribal legal systems.
This fall has been a return to normal in many ways at Green Hall. Our classrooms are back to full capacity, with students engaging in discussion and learning the practical, analytical and problem-solving skills that will set them up for success. In October, we were able to welcome alumni for Reunion Weekend and a Homecoming tailgate. Some of the changes implemented in 20202021 remain in place, including virtual symposia events, masking indoors and watching out for the health and safety of our community. As we educate future lawyers to practice in a changed world, the support of our alumni and friends is all the more appreciated. Thank you to everyone who has contributed resources, time and talents over the past year, volunteering as guest speakers in classes, experiential learning supervisors or moot court competition coaches. Your continued support means so much. We appreciate all that you do for KU Law.
Stephen W. Mazza Dean and Professor of Law
KU LAW MAGAZINE 3
IN BRIEF
COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY
GRADUATES WIN NATIONAL PRO BONO SERVICE AWARD
T
wo University of Kansas law graduates in the Class of 2021 won first place in a national competition for their work providing pro bono legal representation to transgender and nonbinary individuals. Ellen Bertels and D.C. Hiegert received the 2021 national PSJD Pro Bono Publico Award for their efforts launching the Gender Marker and Name Change Project at KU in 2019. The GMNC Project, operating within the KU Legal Aid Clinic at Green Hall, provides pro bono legal representation for transgender and nonbinary individuals seeking affirming gender marker and name changes. Under the supervision of clinical faculty, Bertels and Hiegert developed accessible resources for gender marker and name changes, conducted outreach through community education events, and provided legal advice and representation to individuals seeking gender marker and name changes. They also provided presentations and CLE trainings for attorneys across the state about gender marker and name changes in Kansas. In fall 2020, Bertels became KU Law’s first student selected for a prestigious Skadden Fellowship, which supports public interest law projects. Hiegert was selected for the Skadden Class of 2022 in November. Their projects are the first two Kansas-based Skadden projects since the fellowships were founded. 4 KU LAW MAGAZINE
Ellen Bertels (left) and D.C. Hiegert.
RECOGNIZING SERVICE Fifty-five University of Kansas School of Law students contributed 4,105 hours of unpaid legal services during 2020-2021. It was the largest number of students who completed pro bono service in an academic year since the beginning of KU Law’s pro bono program. Students prepared tax returns for low-income residents, drafted petitions for families seeking guardianship of their adult children with disabilities, and worked with nonprofit organizations, government agencies, prosecutors’ offices and public defenders’ offices. “Throughout law school, it’s so easy to take the knowledge and opportunities we have for granted. The legal system is complex and often inaccessible to those without the same opportunity we have had as law students,” said Cori Moffett, L’21. “Doing pro bono work is a way to acknowledge that privilege and share the knowledge we have with those that need it.” In summer 2020, the KU Law Legal Corps paired students with pro bono opportunities at regional nonprofits and agencies. Student volunteers contributed 382 pro bono hours, with work including conducting research for the Willow Domestic Violence Center and Douglas County CASA.
ALUMNI GIFTS SUPPORT UNDERPRESENTED STUDENTS ATTENDING LAW SCHOOL GIVING BACK
$6,800 donated to two local charities that support victims of domestic violence from a virtual edition of Women in Law’s Pub Night.
More than $4,000 raised through the Black Law Student Association’s 29th annual Thanksgiving Food Drive, an online fundraiser benefiting three local nonprofits.
Stueve Siegel Hanson, a Kansas City, Missouri-based law firm, has given a $1,000,000 gift to establish a scholarship for Black students at the University of Kansas School of Law. Patrick Stueve, a partner in the firm and KU Law alumnus, sees the scholarship as a small step toward increasing the number of Black lawyers working in the community. Stueve said research determined one of the ways the firm could have the most impact was through working to expand diverse enrollment at law schools in the Kansas City region. “Our firm’s core values include the pursuit of justice and active investment in our profession and our community,” Stueve said. “We are committed to being agents of positive change, and we are committed to real action.” Stephen Mazza, dean and professor at KU Law, expressed his appreciation for the gift. “This gift to KU Law from Stueve Siegel Hanson will strengthen our efforts to recruit excellent students who contribute diversity to the legal field,” Mazza said. “The gift recognizes the importance of increasing representation in legal education. We are grateful to the partners of Stueve Siegel Hanson for their continued support of the law school.” In March 2021, KU Law introduced the LSAT Fee Award to cover LSAT exam fees for selected KU students. Preference is given to diverse candidates and candidates who have financial need. Leverage Law Group sponsored the program.
DIVERSITY BANQUET SETS NEW RECORD The Diversity in Law Banquet set a new fundraising record in March 2021, raising $50,100 for the Diversity in Law Scholarship. That’s nearly double the event’s previous fundraising record. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas emceed the online event, which included a performance by standup comedian Liz Glazer and updates from Dean Stephen Mazza. Thank you to all the KU Law alumni, friends, students, faculty and staff who attended the Diversity in Law Fundraiser, and to all the contributors who helped enhance the diversity scholarship fund. This year’s event is planned for March 4, 2022, with the Hispanic American Law Students Association hosting. Watch for more details in the new year.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 5
IN BRIEF
STATS & HIGHLIGHTS
The entering Class of 2024 has the strongest academic credentials and highest percentage of female students in KU Law’s history.
Overall employment was 93% for the Class of 2020, making this the seventh consecutive year of graduate placement over 90%.
6 KU LAW MAGAZINE
Ashley Golledge
100% of KU Law’s first-time test takers passed the July 2021 Missouri bar exam. 98% passed in Kansas.
LEAD 3+3 PROGRAM EXPANDS TO WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY Students at Wichita State University will have an opportunity to accelerate their legal education and save a year of tuition, thanks to an expansion of the Legal Education Accelerated Degree (LEAD) program at the University of Kansas. The University of Kansas School of Law launched a new partnership with Wichita State this fall. Wichita State is the third Regents university to partner with KU Law’s LEAD program. KU’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences became the first LEAD partner in fall 2013, with Kansas State University joining in 2016. LEAD program students earn a bachelor’s degree and a KU Law degree in six years instead of seven. Students spend three years on requirements for the bachelor’s degree from their undergraduate institution and three years on requirements for a KU law degree. They graduate with a bachelor’s degree after their fourth year and already have one year of law school under their belt. “Expanding this program to a third state university offers one more way to increase access to a legal education for Kansas students,” said Stephen Mazza, dean and professor at KU Law. “Students benefit from a great undergraduate and legal education at less cost and in less time. Beyond that, the profession benefits by increasing access to legal careers.” The LEAD program is designed to prepare students for law school and a legal career. As undergraduates, LEAD students learn what to expect in law school and have the chance to build relationships with practicing attorneys. LEAD program enrollment has grown steadily since the program launched, with KU Law welcoming its largest LEAD class — 15 first-year law students — in fall 2020. The 2021 entering class includes 14 LEAD students. Learn more at law.ku.edu/lead.
CONNECTING SCHOLARS 2021 KANSAS LAW REVIEW SYMPOSIUM
2021 LAW JOURNAL SYMPOSIUM
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL CHALLENGES The 2021 Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy Symposium, “International Legal Challenges Facing the New U.S. Administration: Critical Analyses from the American Heartland,” featured legal scholars from around the world. The symposium advanced contemporary discourse and provided a timely forum after the 2020 U.S. presidential election and President Joe Biden’s inauguration. The symposium was presented as an online event on Feb. 12, 2021. Nearly 250 people from 18 countries registered to attend. Participants represented 40 universities around the world, along with institutions including the World Trade Organization, Turkish Constitutional Court, U.S. Department of State and the Embassy of Pakistan. “After a tumultuous political year, our symposium offered an opportunity to discuss challenges facing the Biden administration,” said Symposium Editor Reiley Pankratz, L’21. “The symposium addressed the global perspective about where the U.S. goes from here.” Presenters included Raj Bhala, Brenneisen Distinguished Professor of Law at KU; Laura Clark Fey, Fey LLC; David Gantz, University of Arizona College of Law; Anupam Jha, University of Delhi Faculty of Law; Mark Johnson, Dentons U.S. LLP; Petros Mavroidis, Columbia Law School; and Asif Qureshi, Korea University School of Law. The next Law Journal Symposium will be presented as a virtual event with co-host PrivacyPraxis on Feb. 11, 2022. Learn more at law.ku.edu/ law-journal.
A panel of judicial ethics experts from across the country discussed “Judicial Conduct & Misconduct: A Review of Judicial Behavior from Sexting to Discrimination” at the Kansas Law Review Symposium on Nov. 15, 2021. “The impartiality of judges is a cornerstone of our justice system,” said Symposium Editor Rachel Zierden. “However, judicial misconduct has appeared more frequently in the news. We wanted to address this topic with several judicial ethics experts who could discuss the current situation and rules regarding judicial conduct.” The program featured a keynote by Kansas Supreme Court Justice Caleb Stegall, L’99. Other presenters included Michael Ariens, St. Mary’s University; Ross Davies, George Mason University; Susan Saab Fortney, Texas A&M University; Christopher Joseph, Joseph, Hollander & Craft, LLC; and Stephen Sheppard, St. Mary’s University. Michael Hoeflich, John H. & John M. Kane Distinguished Professor of Law at KU, moderated. Scholarship associated with the symposium will be published in the Kansas Law Review.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 7
IN BRIEF
OUTSTANDING ADVOCACY KU LAW STUDENTS WIN AWARDS IN NATIONAL MOOT COURT, TRANSACTIONAL COMPETITIONS MOOT COURT PROGRAM RANKED 13TH IN THE NATION
Second-year law student Brien Stonebreaker presents an argument to a panel of student Moot Court Council judges during the 2021 In-House Moot Court Competition. Margaret Hair
8 KU LAW MAGAZINE
NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN LAW STUDENTS ASSOCIATION MOOT COURT A KU Law team won the top prize at the 2021 National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Competition, marking the third time since 2016 that KU has won the NNALSA national title. Emily Depew and Zachary Kelsay won the virtual competition on Feb. 27, beating 39 teams from law schools across the country. Austyn Caisse won the second-place award for Best Spoken Advocate, and Depew won third place for Best Spoken Advocate.
UCLA TRANSACTIONAL LAW COMPETITION Kalie Belt, Olivia Black and Jon Dennis won Best Draft at the UCLA Transactional Law Competition in February. The team also received second-place awards for Best Negotiation and Best Overall. The competition offers law students an opportunity to practice drafting and negotiating a simulated complex business transaction. The team was coached by Polsinelli attorney and adjunct instructor Bill Quick, with support from the Polsinelli Transactional Law Center.
Top: Zachary Kelsay (left) and Emily Depew. Bottom: (from left) Olivia Black, Kalie Belt and Jon Dennis.
#13 IN THE NATION MORE SUCCESS FROM THE 2020-2021 SEASON Caleb Kampsen and Ben Ramberg advanced to the semifinals of the FBA Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition, winning Best Brief. Kampsen won Best Oralist and Ramberg took third place in that category.
Jenny Bartos and Zach Beach advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. Bartos won the award for Best Oralist in two preliminary rounds.
Blake Saffels and Blaine Smith placed third overall in the Herbert Wechsler National Criminal Law Moot Court Competition. Saffels and Smith also won the award for Best Brief.
Rachael Simon, Emma Easom and Kirstyn Dvorak advanced to the quarterfinal round of the regional National Trial Competition.
KU Law’s Moot Court Program notched its highest national ranking yet in 2020-21, finishing 13th in rankings from the University of Houston Law Center. KU Law has been in the top 30 for the past six years. “Our teams faced so much adversity this year, yet they dug in — researched, wrote and practiced their oral advocacy skills for hours and hours — and they ended up giving our program its most successful year ever,” said Pamela Keller, Moot Court Program director.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 9
IN BRIEF
ONWARD, JAYHAWK LAWYERS CELEBRATING THE KU LAW CLASS OF 2021 As our graduates know, completing law school is a significant achievement under normal circumstances. Under the unusual and challenging conditions students have experienced in the past two years, graduation is a monumental accomplishment. Rain and stormy weather couldn’t dampen the excitement the Class of 2021 felt to celebrate the end of their law school careers on Sunday, May 16. While that day’s scheduled Commencement ceremonies were moved to the next week, law graduates took the chance to gather one last time and walk down Campanile Hill. Congratulations to the Class of 2021, and Rock Chalk! View the 2021 KU Law virtual hooding ceremony: law.ku.edu/graduation.
Above: Graduates throw their tams in the air outside of Green Hall. Right: Mary Kate Workman walks through the Campanile. Far right, from top: Sowensky Lumene and Mohammad Hameed; a group of graduates poses on the Hill; graduates celebrate outside Green Hall..
10 KU LAW MAGAZINE
2020-21 STUDENT AWARDS & PRIZES ORDER OF THE COIF Ellen Bertels David Biegel Karen Fritts D.C. Hiegert Erin Lynch Howard Mahan Riley Nickel Emily Otte Jacob Schmidt Mary Kate Workman WALTER HIERSTEINER OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD Ellen Bertels JUSTICE LLOYD KAGEY LEADERSHIP AWARD Jared Jevons Zachary Kelsay SAMUEL MELLINGER SCHOLARSHIP, LEADERSHIP & SERVICE AWARD D.C. Hiegert C.C. STEWART AWARD IN LAW Jacob Schmidt ROBERT F. BENNETT STUDENT AWARD Marisol Garcia WILLIAM L. BURDICK PRIZE Caitlin Steimle MARY ANNE CHAMBERS SERVICE AWARD Mary McMullen JACK E. DALTON LEGAL WRITING AWARD Ben Ramberg, Caleb Kampsen Blake Saffels, Blaine Smith
GEORGE GARY DUNCAN SCHOLASTIC IMPROVEMENT PRIZE Carly Humes ROBERT E. EDMONDS PRIZE IN CORPORATION & SECURITIES LAW Shaye Maetzold FACULTY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT Sydney Buckley
PAYNE & JONES AWARDS Fall 2020: Kristen Andrews Douglas Bartel Jared Harpt Lauren Page Toni Ruo Spring 2021: Douglas Bartel Emily Depew Toni Ruo Joshua Sipp
FAMILY FUND AWARD Zachary Kelsay
POLSINELLI MOOT COURT AWARDS Best Oral Advocate: Rachel Zierden
HERSHBERGER, PATTERSON, JONES & ROTH ENERGY LAW AWARD Madison Moore Samuel Walter
Finalists: Alec Feather, Konnor Manley, Grace Stewart-Johnson, Rachel Zierden
W. ROSS HUTTON LEGAL AID AWARD Hunter Lindquist Ellen Bertels LAW CLASS OF 1949 AWARD FOR LEADERSHIP Cori Moffett Cortez Downey Jacob Barefield JANEAN MEIGS MEMORIAL AWARD Aidan Graybill JAMES P. MIZE TRIAL ADVOCACY AWARD Emma Easom CHIEF JUSTICE LAWTON R. NUSS AWARD Kevin Salazar
Best Brief: Konnor Manley and Rachel Zierden Second-Place Brief: Alec Feather and Grace Stewart-Johnson THE DRU MORT SAMPSON CENTER FOR DIVERSITY & INCLUSION AWARD OF DISTINCTION Bria Nelson SHAPIRO AWARD FOR BEST PAPER ON LAW & PUBLIC POLICY Audrey Nelson
Kelsey Kimberlin
UMB BANK EXCELLENCE IN ESTATE PLANNING AWARD McGovern (Meg) Garton Erin Lynch
KU LAW MAGAZINE 11
JAYH
Earl Richardson
12 KU LAW MAGAZINE
HAWK JUDGES KU LAW GRADUATES SERVING ON FEDERAL, STATE & TRIBAL COURTS
J
udges occupy a special place in the legal system, providing an impartial, fair and just application of the law. Many Jayhawk lawyers fill that role in our system of checks and balances. More than 100 KU Law alumni are serving as judges in federal, state, tribal, municipal and administrative courts. They hear cases in family court, write opinions at the appellate level, and resolve disputes for federal agencies. In the following pages, you’ll meet four KU Law alumni serving as judges in trial and appellate courts across the Midwest. They represent a small sampling of the Jayhawk lawyers who have dedicated a portion of their careers to a fair and impartial legal process. They all got their start here at KU Law, where students have a chance to interact with federal and state judges as interns in the Judicial Field Placement Program — which allows students to expand their knowledge of the court system by performing research, drafting documents and observing courtroom proceedings. Alumni judges also volunteer their time as experiential learning supervisors, career mentors and classroom guest speakers, sharing their perspectives on the judicial branch with students as they embark on their legal careers. As Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Senior Judge Mary Beck Briscoe, L’73, puts it, every case a judge works on is important. “Handling them promptly, writing in a way that is understandable, that answers the issues that are raised and that states facts and law very clearly — all of these things are in our everyday diet, and they’re important,” Briscoe said. “Every day, that is your mission and that is your work.”
STORIES BY MARGARET HAIR
KU LAW MAGAZINE 13
STATE SERVICE
JACY HURST AND AMY FELLOWS CLINE JOIN THE KANSAS COURT OF APPEALS
14 KU LAW MAGAZINE
Earl Richardson
T
wo University of Kansas School of Law graduates joined the Kansas Court of Appeals in 2021. Hon. Amy Fellows Cline, L’00, had her swearing-in ceremony in February. Hon. Jacy Hurst, L’07, joined the court in August. Typically sitting in panels of three, the court’s judges hear appeals in civil and criminal cases. Each member of the 14-judge Court of Appeals brings a different perspective on the law and a different set of experiences, Cline said. That range of viewpoints is helpful in coming to the best decisions the judges can make, she said. Cline and Hurst are among seven KU Law alumni serving on the court. Hon. Karen Arnold-Burger, L’81, has been chief judge of the Court of Appeals since 2017. Fellow alumni include Hon. Henry W. Green Jr., L’75; Hon. G. Gordon Atcheson, L’81; Hon. Kathryn A. Gardner, L’83; and Hon. Michael B. Buser, L’75, who will retire from the court in January. “Our goal is to serve the state and Kansans by providing exceptional legal analysis and stewardship of this unique intermediary system, and to ensure accurate legal interpretation and application,” Hurst said. “We aren’t looking for certain outcomes. We’re really committed to the integrity of the system, and the judges on this court put forth a lot of effort and work for the state.” Hurst and Cline shared the paths that led them to their new positions and their perspectives on the court’s service to the state.
Hon. Jacy Hurst, L’07
F
or Jacy Hurst, becoming a judge was a childhood dream. She remembers taking a field trip with her sixth-grade class, where students took on roles designed to teach them about economics, civics and financial transactions. Hurst’s role: judge. “I was the judge of our city that day, and ruled with an iron fist, as I recall,” Hurst said. It was an idea that would stay in the back of her mind through college, law school and the first part of her legal career. And it was a path she
would come back to after years of litigation practice. Gov. Laura Kelly appointed Hurst to the Kansas Court of Appeals in February 2021. She was sworn in as a judge in August, after being confirmed by the Kansas Senate in March.
‘Here for everyone’ Originally from Lawrence, Hurst earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas, where she studied business administration and political science. When it was time
llll llll llll llll llll llll llll llll llll
“I want to work with my colleagues on the court to lend my unique perspective, analysis and experience to resolve, or at least further, matters affecting Kansans. … We’re here for everyone.”
to choose a law school, KU Law was the natural and best choice, Hurst said. After graduation, Hurst set about building a broad, deep legal background. Prior to her appointment on the Court of Appeals, Hurst was a partner with the national law firm Kutak Rock, LLP, specializing in health care regulatory and employment law. She previously was general counsel and chief compliance officer for Swope Health Services from 2014-2017, and an associate attorney focusing on business litigation with Stinson LLP from 2007-2014. When Gov. Kelly nominated Hurst to the Court of Appeals, the prospect of going through Kansas’ “robust, extensive merit-based selection system” was daunting, Hurst said. “I feel honored to have accepted the nomination and achieved the confirmation,” Hurst said. As an intermediate court, the Court of Appeals is charged with analyzing existing evidence in cases to make sure it meets the standard set forth by the Kansas Supreme Court. Hurst said she enjoys engaging in analysis and dialogue about cases with her colleagues. “There’s really nothing better than deeply reviewing a question and engaging in that thoughtful debate,” Hurst said. With no prescribed outcome for each case, it’s possible that neither side will be pleased with the court’s ruling. Rather than aiming for a certain result, the court’s role is to ensure accurate legal interpretation and application, Hurst said. “I want to work with my colleagues on the court to lend my unique perspective, analysis and experience to resolve, or at least further, matters affecting Kansans, so as to assure there’s equal access to and application of the rules of law. We’re here for everyone,” she said.
connection and commitment to the state, she said. “I feel rejuvenated by the energy of Kansas,” Hurst said. “Our history includes a lot of trailblazing and innovation, but we’re still really grounded in logic and reason. Kansans are definitely not a monolith, and we can’t be neatly pushed into uniformity, and I love that.” During the first part of her career, Hurst’s judicial goals in some ways felt further away than they did when she was young, she said. “You start on a path, and you make progressions on that path, and diverging from that path carries risk and uncertainty and fear that you didn’t have as a child,” she said. When Hurst considered pursuing a judgeship, she remembered the advice she had given her children, “telling them they could do anything they wanted to do, and then thinking to myself, ‘Why don’t you apply that standard to yourself?’” she said. Hurst also credits her mentors for encouraging her to pursue the goal she imagined as a child. “I had the opportunity to know some amazing judges who I saw as terrific mentors and who led me back to this childhood path,” Hurst said. Hurst encourages law students to find a mentor who can help them understand the potential routes toward their goals. The path doesn’t have to be traditional, she said. “Letting fear keep you from that is an option, but it doesn’t have to be the option,” Hurst said. “You don’t have to let other people’s opinions or your own perceptions of limitations to that goal stop you from achieving it.”
Pursuing goals
A lifelong Kansas resident, Hurst feels a true
KU LAW MAGAZINE 15
Earl Richardson
Hon. Amy Fellows Cline, L’00
W
hen Amy Fellows Cline was a litigator, she liked to focus on the beginning and the end of each case. During a first meeting with a client, Cline enjoyed watching the client’s anxiety go down as they trusted her to handle their situation. At the end of the case, there was no better feeling than standing with a client and knowing she had helped resolve their problem. “When you’ve gone on that journey with the client and you’ve gotten to know them and their family and their problem — when you are able to help them at their most
16 KU LAW MAGAZINE
vulnerable and get that good result at the end, there is just nothing better,” Cline said. Before joining the Kansas Court of Appeals in February 2021, Cline practiced in a range of areas, including civil work, criminal work and mediation. In each setting, she helped clients navigate problems or helped parties come to a resolution. Serving as an appellate judge felt like “the next step in solving parties’ legal problems,” Cline said. The focus of the work is different from when she was a trial lawyer, but the outcome is just as meaningful. “The impact that you can have on
somebody’s life through an opinion is what’s the most meaningful to me — to see how you can make a difference in somebody’s life,” Cline said.
Researching and writing Cline earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Wichita State University. The Valley Center native wanted to practice law in Kansas, making KU a natural fit for law school. A debater in high school and college, Cline knew trial work was where she wanted to be at the start of her law career. After graduating from
llll llll llll llll llll llll llll llll llll
“I try to be very plainspoken in my opinions so that they are understandable to everyone, not just to lawyers.”
KU Law, she worked with Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch, LLC. She then joined Triplett, Woolf & Garretson, LLC in Wichita, where she practiced from 2004 until her appointment to the Court of Appeals. Cline practiced all over the state, building experience in criminal, civil and administrative matters. That diversification has been useful in hearing a variety of cases for the appellate court, she said. As a judge, Cline enjoys the researching and writing aspect. The time constraint that comes with getting up to speed on a new set of cases each month can be challenging, but carefully examining the law and re-reading transcripts of hearings is important to the Court of Appeals’ function as part of a system of checks and balances, Cline said. “It’s nice to have the luxury of being able to examine the written record because that’s very important in our opinions,” she said. Cline strives to write her opinions in plain language, so they are accessible to all. “It’s important for people to understand the law, and it’s easier for people to comply with it if they understand what the law requires,” Cline said. “I try to be very plainspoken in my opinions so that they are understandable to everyone, not just to lawyers.”
‘100% in public service’
several nonprofits. She served as president of the Kansas Bar Foundation in 2018 and was president of Kansas Legal Services in 2014 and 2015. In 2020, Cline received the Kansas Bar Foundation’s Robert K. Weary Award for exemplary commitment to the organization’s goals. She also served on KU Law’s Board of Governors. Working on access to justice issues with Kansas Legal Services and other organizations has been close to Cline’s heart. Coming from a bluecollar background, Cline said she understands not everyone can afford a lawyer when they have a legal need. “I think it’s an important perspective to have on the court, to understand that people from all walks of life have legal problems,” she said. “And to understand that the resources available to people can be different, which can really impact the decisions people make and the choices they’re presented in their lives.” Building on her record of community service, Cline has enjoyed applying the collaboration required for nonprofit board volunteering to the collaborative decision-making process she finds on judges’ panels. In her role on the Court of Appeals, Cline is “100% in public service,” she said. “I’m all-in on service to the state at this point, and that’s been very rewarding.”
KU LAW ALUMNI JUDGES: STATS
116 Jayhawk lawyers serving as judges for federal, tribal, state, district, municipal and administrative courts
12 alumni presiding as chief
judges for courts including the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Kansas Court of Appeals, the United States Bankruptcy Courts for the districts of Kansas and Colorado, and several district courts in Kansas
46 district court judges and
magistrate judges serving in the 31 judicial districts of Kansas
9 appellate court judges in
Kansas, on the Kansas Court of Appeals and Kansas Supreme Court
17 KU Law alumni judges
appointed to the federal bench, serving as active or senior judges on United States District Courts for the districts of Kansas, Colorado, western Missouri and middle Florida, and federal courts of appeals for the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Circuits
15 administrative law judges
working for federal and state agencies including the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Justice
During her time in private practice, Cline gave back by volunteering with
KU LAW MAGAZINE 17
One case at a time HON. MARY BECK BRISCOE, L’73, REFLECTS ON JUDICIAL CAREER
D
uring her nearly fivedecade legal career, Hon. Mary Beck Briscoe, L’73, has handled thousands of cases and held multiple groundbreaking appointments. And despite taking senior status this year, Judge Briscoe hasn’t slowed down. In her roles as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, judge on the Kansas Court of Appeals and assistant United States attorney for the district of Kansas, Briscoe has approached each case as the most important work of the moment. “I bury myself in that case and work through it until I understand it and am able to write an opinion on it. Each case, as I do it, is the important case,” Briscoe said. Briscoe took senior status with the Tenth Circuit in March 2021. She was first appointed to the court in 1995, serving as its chief judge from 2010-2015. The court hears appeals from the federal district courts in six states: Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming, as well as appeals from rulings of administrative boards and commissions. Even in senior status, when many judges shift to semi-retirement, Briscoe continues to immerse herself in cases one at a time.
A series of firsts A Kansas native, Briscoe grew up on a farm near Council Grove. Educational opportunities were sparse
18 KU LAW MAGAZINE
— she attended a rural high school graduating in a class of only eight students. Needless to say, she was excited by the prospect of attending the University of Kansas, where she graduated with a double major in German and political science with a focus on international relations. At KU Law, she was one of seven women in the 1970 entering class of more than 200, an experience that was not always welcoming. Many of her fellow male students resented that women were taking seats they felt their friends should have instead of going to Vietnam. After graduation, Briscoe broke multiple barriers in her career. Following brief employment as an attorney advisor with the Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington, D.C., she joined the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, becoming the office’s first female attorney. She worked first on criminal cases, then moved into civil litigation with the added responsibility of serving as the supervising attorney for the Topeka office. After 11 years with the U.S. Attorney’s office, colleagues encouraged Briscoe to apply for an open spot on the Kansas Court of Appeals. In 1985, Gov. John W. Carlin appointed Briscoe to the Kansas Court of Appeals, where she was the first woman to join that court. The sevenmember court traveled the state to hear cases in the communities where they arose. The court carried a heavy caseload, issuing opinions in 98% of the state’s appellate cases. Briscoe found her fellow judges on the court
to be ready mentors and welcoming colleagues. “They treated me beautifully. I learned so much from them,” she said. The Kansas Supreme Court appointed Briscoe as chief judge of the Kansas Court of Appeals in 1990 — the first woman to hold that position. She served in that role until she was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in 1995 by President Bill Clinton. She was not the first woman on that court — and it was a welcome relief. “Anyone you know who’s been in the position to be the first to do anything — and I’ve been in that position twice, with the U.S. Attorney’s office and the Kansas Court of Appeals — there is a burden,” Briscoe said. “Only if you excel, can you pave the way for other women to follow.” Briscoe heard “no” plenty of times along the way. There was the time in a job just out of college when she wanted to enroll in a corporate
llll llll llll llll llll llll llll llll llll
“Anyone you know who’s been in the position to be the first to do anything … there is a burden. Only if you excel, can you pave the way for other women to follow.”
management training but was turned down because she was a woman. Or the time during an on-campus interview in law school when a recruiter for a private practice firm told her his colleagues wouldn’t be comfortable working with a woman. Or when, on one of her first assignments for the U.S. Attorney’s office, the warden of Leavenworth Penitentiary called her boss to ask “what are you doing sending this girl up here” to represent the prison in litigation. Briscoe worked through those obstacles, which became opportunities. She went to law school instead of staying in a dead-end corporate job. She found government roles — first with the Interstate Commerce Commission, then with the U.S. Attorney’s Office — when private firms were not hiring women. And she took special pleasure in winning cases in federal district court, especially when defending the warden.
Immersed in the work Every case is important, with cases involving elections and voter rights as some of the most publicized cases Judge Briscoe has heard. “Handling them promptly, writing in a way that is understandable and that answers the issues that are raised and that states facts and law very clearly — all of these things are in our everyday diet, and they’re important,” Briscoe said. One of the cases that stands out with Briscoe is the Kansas redistricting case. This case fell to the courts to resolve when the Kansas Legislature could not. In 2012, Briscoe, then chief judge, assigned herself and two Kansas district court colleagues — Judge John Lungstrum, L’70, and Judge Kathryn Vratil, L’75 — to resolve the case of Essex, et al. v. Kobach, et al. Within a timeframe of about two weeks, they heard arguments and issued a lengthy opinion which redrew voting district lines based on the 2010 census. Completing that monumental task in the allotted time was a challenge, and it resulted in a “very public, very known” outcome, Briscoe said. “The real positive was the impact of our court doing
this, and doing this quickly and doing this fairly. … It was such a wonderful thing to read good things about the court and the court system. I think we did well and did the courts proud in that work,” Briscoe said. During her time as chief judge on both Kansas Court of Appeals and the Tenth Circuit, Briscoe enjoyed being able to appoint colleagues to positions or suggesting that they apply. “That’s a very satisfying, happy side of the work, because in everything we do in litigation and in appellate work, there’s a winner and a loser. So, when someone is very deserving and really an obvious person for a position, it’s very gratifying to say, ‘You’re the one, you should do this,’” Briscoe said.
‘Still pushing it’ As a senior judge, Briscoe continues to hear cases. She’s “still pushing it” for an upcoming term of arguments, with a similar amount of casework as she took on as an active judge. The pace remains demanding, with long hours dedicated to reading and understanding the cases assigned. “Getting the information in your head and getting the information as straight as you possibly can in preparation for an oral argument, that’s the hardest part of the job,” Briscoe said. Briscoe encourages students and young lawyers preparing for any type of legal career to “do as much writing as you possibly can.” For those aspiring to a judicial career, Briscoe advises putting down roots and getting to work in the state they hope to serve. Reflecting on her 26-year tenure with the Tenth Circuit, Briscoe said working as part of a panel of three judges requires writing, rewriting and coordinating. She joked that when district court judges would visit and sit with the circuit court, “They all, to a person, have said, ‘I don’t know how you stand to do this’.” “They see this idea of working in a group of three as being intolerable,” Briscoe said. “But I’ve done it for so many years — it can be difficult, but at the end of the day, it’s been fun. I’ve been fortunate.”
KU LAW MAGAZINE 19
Connected to community HON. LAYATALATI HILL, L’12, GIVES BACK AS JUDGE FOR ONEIDA JUDICIARY
L
ayatalati Hill always knew he wanted to do work that helped people. A citizen of the Oneida Nation, Hill grew up on the Oneida Indian Reservation in northeastern Wisconsin. After his education brought him to Lawrence to attend Haskell Indian Nations University, he enrolled at KU Law, earning a J.D. and Tribal Lawyer Certificate in 2012. Hill returned to Oneida after graduation, starting out as a staff attorney with the Legislative Reference Office for the Oneida Nation. When the Oneida Judiciary established a trial court system in 2014, Hill saw an opportunity to give back to his community in a new way. He ran for one of the newly created trial court judge positions, winning a six-year term that ended in 2020, when he was elected chief judge. Now, as chief trial court judge for the Oneida Judiciary, Hill oversees a civil court that includes two trial court judges, a trial court clerk and a wellness court coordinator. Hill’s six-year term as chief judge runs through 2026. “I just wanted to come back and help out the community however I can. If it’s serving as a judge or being an attorney or helping in any other way, really — it works out right now that I’m serving the community as a judge,” Hill said.
Building a new court system The trial court of the Oneida Judiciary handles a wide range of civil cases, including evictions, foreclosures, and disputes about contracts, wage garnishments, small claims and workers’ compensation. Cases that deal with a person’s house or their income can get emotional, a responsibility Hill takes seriously. “They are very big decisions,” Hill said. “We try to give our community members a place to come and aggrieve their disputes, so we can let them tell their side of the story and be heard and issue a fair decision.” Before the trial court system was added to the Oneida tribal constitution in 2014, an appeals committee of the Oneida Tribal Judicial System took on civil matters. The new system offers a greater separation of powers, Hill said. Coming on in 2014 as one of the first judges for the new constitutional court “was a big learning curve,” Hill said. There were internal processes and procedures to develop,
20 KU LAW MAGAZINE
working within the justice system’s new rules of civil procedure. Along with adjusting to a new court system, Hill also switched from making arguments to hearing them. “You have to change your mindset from having an advocacy role versus having a neutral position,” Hill said. As a chief judge elected in July 2020, Hill had a new set of adjustments to make to keep the courthouse open to the public during the coronavirus pandemic. Hill worked with the chief appellate court judge and two family court judges to coordinate the court’s response. “We all met together and had to come up with the policy for COVID. And luckily, we were able to hammer that out quickly, so we were able to stay in operation,” Hill said.
Feeling heard Oneida trial court judges write their own decisions. It’s one of the parts of the role that Hill finds the most rewarding and important.
llll llll llll llll llll llll llll llll llll
“In my decisions, I make sure to explain it in a way that they understand. So, they may not have won their case, but hey, they felt heard … they understand why I made the decision I did.”
Many of the parties who come to the court are not represented. Hill makes a point to write decisions “explaining things in a way that anybody can understand.” Most cases have a winner and a loser, and there’s usually one side that’s not happy. “I always try to make sure when parties come before me, I give them an opportunity to say what they want to say, so they feel heard,” Hill said. “In my decisions, I make sure I explain it in a way that they understand. So, they may not have won their case, but hey, they felt heard, and they get it, they understand why I made the decision that I did.” Walking the line of being involved in the community and maintaining a professional boundary can be a challenge, and the divide can
be isolating, Hill said. He works to combat any negative perception of the court by helping parties understand the law and the court’s decisions.
Providing education Hill credits the legal writing courses at KU Law for helping to build a base that he uses for decision writing. An externship he did during law school with the Legislative Operating Committee of the Oneida Nation exposed Hill to researching and drafting tribal law. Hill encourages law students to take any opportunity to get real-world experience while they’re in school. Since the start of his first term as a trial court judge, Hill has served on the board of directors for the National
American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA). He recently started a three-year term as secretary-treasurer for the board. “I’ve always been pro-education, and I think that’s one of the biggest parts of NAICJA, is providing education for tribal judges and tribal courts,” Hill said. The organization also “helps to educate other nonNatives who might not know anything about tribal courts or have never met a tribal judge or been to a tribal court,” he said. As a board member, Hill works to provide that education and training. “Being a part of that, being able to help other tribal communities in any way, is definitely something I like to do,” Hill said.
More alumni news Hon. Mary M. Murguia, L’85, named chief judge for U.S. Ninth Circuit Judge Mary H. Murguia, L’85, is the new chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She is the first Latina to serve as chief judge of a federal appellate court and the second woman to serve as chief judge of the Ninth Circuit. Judge Murguia assumed her new duties on Dec. 1. As chief judge, Murguia will continue to hear cases, and will chair two judicial policy-making bodies. The Ninth Circuit is the largest of the 13 courts of appeals, covering Alaska, Arizona, California,
Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Murguia received her undergraduate and law degrees from KU. She was confirmed as a circuit court judge in 2010. Murguia became the first Latina to serve on the federal bench for the District of Arizona when President Bill Clinton appointed her to that position in 2000. She previously served in the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys at the Department of Justice, and worked as an assistant U.S. attorney for the
district of Arizona and as an assistant district attorney for Wyandotte County, Kansas. Murguia received the School of Law’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2014. She has served on the KU Law Board of Governors and was a founding member of the school’s Women’s Advisory Council.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 21
The Tribal Law & Government Center at the University of Kansas School of Law has been preparing students to represent Indigenous peoples and pursue careers in tribal law for over 25 years. In that time, the program has established a strong reputation in the field. “The program produces some of the foremost leaders in Indian country,” said Elizabeth Kronk Warner, who served as the center’s director from 2012-2019. The Tribal Law & Government Center celebrated 25 years of offering Indian law courses and programs during the 2020-2021 academic year. The center introduced its first course in fall 1995, shortly after Robert Porter helped establish the center and became its founding director. Since then, more than 40 students have earned the Tribal Lawyer Certificate, with many more enrolling in classes or participating in the center’s programs. These days, about 15-20 students are actively working on Indian law issues at any given time, interning with the Tribal Judicial Support Clinic, competing in the National Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) moot court competition, or participating in NALSA student organization activities, said Shawn Watts, current director of the Tribal Law & Government Center.
Through the Tribal Judicial Support Clinic, students work on research projects for tribal courts. Students also engage with tribal issues in federal court through field placement opportunities. In those settings, Watts
22 KU LAW MAGAZINE
emphasizes to students “that they’ve got to understand that they are working in a context with people who have a particularly distrustful relationship with the system that they’re encountering,” he said. Watts encourages students to “be mindful of not only the advocacy position they’re taking, but that they’re advocating their position in a way that affords dignity and respect,” including when students are advocating on the opposite side of a tribe. That approach sets students up to be good practitioners when they enter the field, Watts said. In the past two years, much of that practice has happened remotely, as internship and clinic work moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students have worked directly with the Prairie Band Potawatomie Nation and the Navajo Nation. Others have conducted research related to McGirt v. Oklahoma, a 2020 United States Supreme Court decision that “changed how we thought of reservation boundaries,” Watts said. Students during the spring 2020 semester had the opportunity to create training materials for diplomats on Indigenous issues and conflict resolution as part of a partnership between KU Law and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. The work continued remotely as classes moved online for the last half of the spring 2020 semester.
That recent work is an extension of the Tribal Law & Government Center’s approach at its inception. At the outset, the center focused on the legal and governance issues facing Native American people at the tribal level — as opposed to law school programs that emphasized federal laws pertaining to tribes. Founding director Robert Porter came to that approach after four years working as attorney general for his own tribe, the Seneca Nation. At the time, there were few in-house attorneys working for tribal governments, with most work being handled by outside firms, Porter said. “I thought then, as now, that there were efficiencies associated with having well-trained, in-house attorneys working directly with tribal officials without concern for billable hours and the related costs,” Porter said. “I’m glad to see that over 25 years later, many tribal nations have been able to embrace that approach to legal service delivery, hopefully for the good.” The center aims to prepare students to be strong advocates with the skills necessary to appreciate and strengthen the unique nature of Indigenous tribal legal systems. A multi-faceted program that includes academic courses, clinic work, moot court competitions and student activities aids that preparation, said past director Kronk Warner. “The center prepares students in multiple ways — from advocacy development and strong writing and research skill development through the moot court program to the opportunity to work directly with tribes through the clinical program,” Kronk Warner said. “The program gives students numerous skills and tools to be able to work creatively with tribes to find solutions to the unique challenges facing Indian country.”
In the past decade, KU Law teams have captured three national championship titles in the National Native American Law Students Association (NNALSA) Moot Court Competition. The program flourished during Kronk Warner’s directorship, with continued success under Watts. KU Law students have placed in the top three spots in six of the past seven years. “We had so many amazing students compete, and it
was an honor to coach and support them,” Kronk Warner said of her time coaching KU’s NNALSA teams. “I have so many great memories from that time of students succeeding and growing. It didn’t hurt that we also brought home two national championships during that time.” A network of faculty and alumni coaches support the program’s continued success. The track record includes a national title at the 2021 virtual competition. “We were able to maintain that success really as a testament to how hard the students worked, and how much they care, but also how much the rest of the KU faculty is invested in how NALSA does,” Watts said. The experience students get digging into legal issues through the moot court program sets them up for success as they enter practice, Watts said. Combined with a skills focus in the classroom, students “arrive ready to be productive members of the team” who know how to apply the particular complications that come with Indian law to any broad area of law, Watts said. Alumni of the Tribal Law & Government Center’s programs have gone on to hold positions as judges for tribal courts, prosecutors with tribal nations’ departments of justice and in-house council for tribes. “I think KU Law has a great reputation in preparing students for working on behalf of tribal nations,” Porter said. “I couldn’t be more proud to have been a part of that success.”
An active group of tribal lawyers and scholars have trained at Green Hall in the past 25 years. Sarah Deer, L’99, is a University Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas. A citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Deer is a leading expert on gender-based violence in Native American communities. Her work has earned her several distinguished awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship in 2014, induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2019, and membership in the 2020 class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows. Zachariah Pahmahmie, L’01, serves as vice chair of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribal Council. Mekko Tyner, L’04, is dean of academic affairs at the College of the Muscogee Nation. Elizabeth Cook, L’06, is a senior staff attorney for the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 23
Yonne Tiger, L’06, is co-founder of Campbell Tiger, PLLC. Tiger is also an adjunct instructor for the College of the Muscogee Nation, teaching Gaming Law. She was previously assistant attorney general for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Department of Justice. Eugenia Charles-Newton, L’08, is a prosecutor for the Navajo Nation Department of Justice, as well as a council delegate and chairwoman of the Law & Order Committee for the Navajo Nation. Tracie Revis, L’10, is chief of staff for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Hon. Layatalati Hill, L’12, is chief trial court judge for the Oneida Judiciary, working with the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. Hill also serves as secretary-treasurer for the board of directors of the National American Indian Court Judges Association.
The Tribal Lawyer Certificate ensures students aspiring to a career representing Indian nations have the skills necessary to appreciate and strengthen the unique nature of Indigenous tribal legal systems. The Tribal Judicial Support Clinic gives second- and third-year law students the opportunity to assist tribal court systems through a variety of projects. A JD/MA in Indigenous Studies joint degree program allows students to obtain both degrees on an accelerated basis, preparing them to become leaders and policymakers in Indigenous communities worldwide. The Tribal Law & Government Conference highlights how work addressing the emerging and historical problems of Indigenous law and governance are critical to strengthening tribal sovereignty. KU’s Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) coordinates annual service projects and social events. The NNALSA Moot Court Competition tests students’ knowledge of Indian law by evaluating their legal writing and oral advocacy skills.
Leslie Shannon Swimmer, L’13, recently completed a four-year term as an associate judge for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. Rebecca Howlett, L’14, is a tribal relations consultant with Howell & Howlett Consulting. Aidan Graybill, L’21, is a member of the 2021 class of Justice Catalyst fellows. In a joint fellowship with the Public Rights Project, Graybill is addressing predatory student lending affecting Navajo Nation citizens while working with the Navajo Nation Department of Justice. —Margaret Hair
• August 1995: Robert Porter hired as the founding director of the Tribal Law & Government Center. Porter now runs his own federal government relations and lobbying firm representing Indian nations. • Fall 1995: The Tribal Law & Government Center offers its first class. • Spring 1996: KU Law wins its first NNALSA Moot Court championship. • 2002-2012: Stacy Leeds serves as center director. Leeds is now Foundation Professor of Law and Leadership at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University. She was previously dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law and was the first Indigenous woman to lead a law school. • 2012-2019: Elizabeth Kronk Warner serves as center director. Kronk Warner is now dean and professor of law at the University of Utah. • 2019-present: Shawn Watts serves as center director, after joining the KU Law faculty in 2018. A citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Watts is also a district court judge for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.
24 KU LAW MAGAZINE
Recent graduate works for justice Aidan Graybill, L’21, completing fellowship with Navajo Nation Department of Justice
A
idan Graybill, L’21, decided to become a lawyer to pursue her dream of advocating for Indian tribes. Three years later, Graybill is turning her dream into reality. In May, Graybill graduated with a J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law and a M.A. in Indigenous studies from KU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Her legal ambitions brought her to KU Law, where she studied tribal law and federal Indian law. Graybill is a member of the Wyandot Nation of Kansas, which is based in Kansas City, Kansas. This summer, she started a joint fellowship with Justice Catalyst and the Public Rights Project. Graybill is addressing predatory student lending affecting Navajo Nation citizens while working with the Navajo Nation Department of Justice. “I’m extremely grateful to have had this opportunity to work directly with the Navajo Nation Department of Justice in developing a project to address an issue that was already on the department’s radar and aligned with my personal and professional interests,” Graybill said. “Since choosing to pursue a career in the field of tribal law and governance, my focus has been to ensure the work I contribute to is responding to direct needs of tribal governments, citizens and businesses. This fellowship has allowed me to start my career going down a path I’ve been pursuing since applying for law school,” she said. At graduation, Graybill received the Janean Meigs Memorial Award in Law. The award is given to a student
who has demonstrated a caring spirit in service to the students of the law school or to the community at large. During the 2020-2021 academic year, Graybill served on the National Native American Law Students Association Board as the Area 3
National Native American Law Students Association moot court contest twice. “Through the Tribal Judicial Support Clinic, I was able to observe the work a general counsel for a tribe does, which was some of the best
“My focus has been to ensure the work llllllll llll I contribute to is responding to the llllllll llll direct needs of tribal governments, l l l l llll llll citizens and businesses.” llll representative and co-chair of the organization’s advocacy committee. “Serving on the NNALSA board was a hugely transformative experience,” Graybill said. “I was able to make connections with other Native law students across the U.S. and network with other Native lawyers on a national level, which I feel will definitely help me transition out of law school and into my professional career.” Graybill also had the opportunity to participate in a March 2021 event hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. She was interviewed alongside Kansas House Rep. Christina Haswood for the event “Youth in Action: Native Women Making Change.” While in law school, Graybill was actively involved with the Tribal Law & Government Center. Graybill earned the Tribal Lawyer Certificate, participated in the Tribal Judicial Support Clinic, served as president of KU’s Native American Law Students Association and competed in the
real-world experience I could have received,” Graybill said. “It really solidified for me that the area of law I was pursuing was right for me.” Through the school’s Criminal Prosecution Field Placement Program, Graybill interned for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation’s tribal prosecutor in Mayetta, Kansas. “It was just such an incredible community to be a part of even just briefly. The support I got through clinical programs really carried me through law school because it reminded me of why I came here,” she said. Graybill — who is from Scottsdale, Arizona — earned an undergraduate degree in anthropology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2017. She also earned minors in political science and biology. She is the third person in her family to earn a degree at the University of Kansas. Her grandfather, Harry Owen Ogg, graduated from KU in 1957. Her mother, Jolie Ogg Graybill, graduated in 1987. —Ashley Golledge
KU LAW MAGAZINE 25
Ashley Golledge
FACULTY NEWS
FACULTY AWARDS
TWO PROFESSORS RECOGNIZED FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE Kyle Velte received the Ned N. Fleming Trust
Award during the KU Teaching Summit in August. The distinguished university award recognizes outstanding teaching. Velte joined KU Law as an associate professor in 2018. She teaches Evidence, Torts, Employment Discrimination, and Sexual Orientation & the Law. Earlier in 2021, she received a Course-Level Assessment Innovation Award from KU CTE and the Immel Award for Teaching Excellence from KU Law.
Betsy Brand Six was one of three recipients
of the 2021 Bob & Kathie Taylor Excellence in Teaching Award, which recognizes clinical faculty and academic staff. Six joined the KU Law faculty in January 2004 as a professor in the Lawyering Skills Program and became the director of academic resources in 2010. Six received the Robert A. Schroeder Teaching Fellowship in 2015 and the Immel Award for Teaching Excellence in 2020.
Visiting Faculty Jordan Carter, L’15, joined the Lawyering Skills faculty this fall as a visiting assistant professor. Carter also serves as director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, co-chairing the Faculty and Staff Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and leading DEI efforts for the school. Irma Russell, L’80, will serve as a distinguished visiting professor during the spring 2022 semester. Russell will teach Public Lands and Natural Resources Law, and Environmental Law. She is Edward A. Smith/Missouri Chair in Law, the Constitution, and Society at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. 26 KU LAW MAGAZINE
FACULTY MEDIA COVERAGE Melanie Daily KCUR 89.3
Najarian Peters Bloomberg Law
“A service may be outsourced to a vendor, but the risk and responsibility are not.” On a law firm’s responsibility to vet third-party vendors for data privacy risks. Bloomberg interviewed Peters for an article about an attack on a file-sharing company used by large law firms.
“There is no standardization or structure supporting our work. Most attorneys are kind of learning it as they go.” Regarding a report from the National Juvenile Defender Center that found Kansas is one of a few states without a statewide agency to coordinate juvenile public defenders.
Andrew Torrance Flatland, KCPT
Alex Platt Institutional Investor
“I don’t think it’s that complicated a point to say wait a second, transparency is not good in and of itself. You have to know who is using this information and to what ends in order to evaluate this disclosure program.” On proposed reform to the SEC’s 13F disclosure rule. Platt’s paper on the topic is forthcoming in the Stanford Law Review.
“For most companies, intellectual property is making up an increasing share of their market value. This is especially true for companies in creative industries, where intellectual property has long been a dominant component of company worth.” On the possibility of Mickey Mouse entering the public domain and the legal questions that could arise.
Michael Hoeflich, the John H. & John M. Kane Professor of Law at KU, was one of four recipients of the 39th annual Higuchi-KU Endowment Research Achievement Awards, the state higher education system’s most prestigious recognition for scholarly excellence. Hoeflich received the Balfour Jeffrey Award in Humanities & Social Sciences, recognizing his significant research contributions to legal history and ethics.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 27
law.ku.edu/faculty-research 28 KU LAW MAGAZINE
nicat mmu KU M arket ing C o
FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP
ions
FACULTY NEWS
HUMAN RIGHTS AND TRADE ARE LINKED, PROFESSOR WRITES
Professor Richard Levy co-published a study examining the independence of administrative law judges. Adobe Stock
STUDY URGES CONGRESS TO ACT TO ENSURE INDEPENDENCE OF JUDGES
R
ichard Levy, J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law at the KU School of Law, and Robert Glicksman of George Washington University published a study in the Minnesota Law Review examining the independence of administrative law judges, or ALJs. The authors outline attacks on the independence of ALJs in federal agencies that threaten to politicize the appointment and removal of officers intended to be impartial decision-makers. They recommend a legislative solution to ensure independence that would benefit both major political parties. The basic separation of powers between the executive, judicial and legislative branches in American government is well understood. However, there is overlap when implementing law and determining how the law applies in given situations, the authors wrote. These situations arise frequently in federal agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and Social Security Administration. The agencies appoint adjudicators, including ALJs, who make rulings, but conflicts of interest can arise when agencies or employers prefer one policy but the law requires another. “The question is, how do you properly balance the idea that the president is at the head of the executive branch and has responsibility to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed with the idea that due process and fundamental fairness in agency adjudications requires an impartial decision-maker?” Levy said. The authors present an examination of an executive order under former President Donald Trump removing ALJs from the established appointment system in which the most highly qualified judges as determined by civil service testing were presented as candidates for judicial openings. They determine the move was legally valid, yet opens the door to cronyism and the appointment of unqualified loyalists to such positions.
An international trade law expert at KU argues in a pair of articles that human rights and trade are now inextricably linked, as evidenced by U.S. and international reactions to actions in China, and asserts that approach is an appropriate use of trade. After the United States, then Canada and the Netherlands, declared the Chinese Communist Party’s actions against Uyghur Muslims as genocide, the nations followed with various trade sanctions. Countries have adopted trade measures in response to China’s violation of its one-country, two-systems agreement with Hong Kong. Raj Bhala, Brenneisen Distinguished Professor of Law at the KU School of Law, details both situations in two companion case studies, and argues the linking of trade to human rights is correct and examines future possibilities for such measures. The articles were published in India’s Journal of the National Human Rights Commission and the Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy. “Most people think human rights are to be separated from trade. In fact, that’s not true,” Bhala said. “There are no express, comprehensive provisions for human rights in the World Trade Organization or General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, but we’re seeing the link come up in U.S. trade policy and some regional free trade agreements. We’re entering an era of invigorated enhancements of human rights through trade policy.” — Mike Krings
— Mike Krings
KU LAW MAGAZINE 29
FACULTY NEWS
FACULTY KUDOS
Najarian Peters was selected as a lead co-principal investigator in the inaugural year of a $1,478,000 grant.
Raj Bhala will serve on the Council of Foreign Relations Advisory Committee on Reforming the Rules on International Subsidies.
Uma Outka was nominated to the Scotia Group, an international network of leaders in politics, academia, law and business to work on climate action.
30 KU LAW MAGAZINE
Professor Stephen Ware, center, speaks about arbitration law during an early 2020 symposium event. Contributed photo
TODAY’S LABOR BATTLES HARKEN BACK TO CENTURY-OLD CONFLICTS
P
resident Joe Biden has pledged to support union organizing, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed the union-supported Protecting the Right to Organize Act. Yet, high-profile efforts to unionize Amazon warehouse workers have not succeeded, and the PRO Act may not pass the U.S. Senate. A KU Law professor notes how such news harkens back to labor conflicts of nearly a century ago. Stephen Ware, the Frank Edwards Tyler Distinguished Professor of Law at KU, has recently written two articles on labor unions and labor arbitration. He explained that current unionization drives and proposed legislation are responding to a changing economy and workspace, but they are doing so in the context of laws mostly developed shortly after big labor battles of the early 20th century. “Labor rights in the U.S. largely date back to landmark laws of the 1930s. But then labor activism faded in the second half of the 20th century as progressive reformers turned to other areas, such as the civil rights, consumer, women’s and environmental movements. Labor unions shrank from representing about 30% of private sector workers in the 1950s to under 7% today,” Ware said. “Now, however, with recent years’ renewed focus on inequalities of wealth, progressive energy — sometimes with support from populist conservatives — has returned to labor activism.” This new interest in labor law prompted Ware to reexamine its history “with the hope that learning from the past can helpfully inform today’s discussions,” he said. In an article published in the Arbitration Law Review, Ware examines how 1930s labor law enabled unions to replace at-will employment with arbitration of employee grievances. Ware also wrote a companion article, “Labor Grievance Arbitration’s Differences,” which details how labor arbitration differs from other arbitration in the United States. He presented the article to the Cumberland Law Review’s symposium on Alternative Dispute Resolution. — Mike Krings
KU LAW FACULTY AMONG NATION’S MOST PRODUCTIVE LEGAL SCHOLARS
T
he University of Kansas School of Law ranks 16th in the nation among public law schools and 40th overall for scholarly impact, according to a new study. The study measures scholarly impact based on law journal citations to the work of tenured faculty members over the past five years. Only law schools placing in the top third for scholarly impact are included in the published rankings. The rankings are widely considered to be a leading measure of faculty productivity within legal academia. KU Law climbed eight spots in the 2021 rankings, tying for 40th overall. The study, conducted by a team of academics, is updated every three years. This is the third consecutive report where KU Law has moved up, ranking 48th in 2018 and 64th in 2015. In hitting this mark, KU Law beat out several peer law schools, including Iowa, Indiana-Bloomington, Wisconsin, Florida, Brigham Young, Missouri and Georgia. KU’s scholarly impact ranking exceeded the rankings of several law schools affiliated with fellow members of the Association of American Universities (AAU). “As a unit within an AAU institution, scholarship is an expected and valued component of a faculty
Scholarly impact ranking source: Sisk, et al., “Scholarly Impact of Law School Faculties in 2021: Updating the Leiter Score Ranking for the Top Third” (2021).
member’s responsibility,” said Stephen Mazza, dean and professor of law. “Active scholars also bring national attention to the institution and enrich the classroom experience for students by incorporating cutting-edge issues into class discussion.” The study reports mean and median citation scores for 70 ranked law schools. The two reported scores for KU Law were close, indicating citations were spread out among tenured faculty. “KU Law’s success in this ranking
is not driven by one or two faculty — it is truly a team effort,” Mazza said. “While law journal citations to tenured faculty work are one way to show faculty impact, we are proud of the leadership and service our tenured, tenure-track and clinical faculty provide in their areas of expertise,” he said. — Margaret Hair
KU LAW MAGAZINE 31
ALUMNI NEWS
The Distinguished Alumni Award celebrates KU Law graduates for their professional achievements, contributions to the legal field, and service to their communities and the university. This year’s honorees include a distinguished professor, a bankruptcy judge and a devoted public servant. Recipients of the 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award will be recognized at a future celebratory event.
Rosemary O’Leary, L’81 O’Leary, the Edwin O. Stene Distinguished Professor in KU’s School of Public Affairs & Administration, has a strong record of exemplary service and a lifetime of award-winning research and teaching. After working as an attorney, O’Leary earned a doctorate in public administration from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. O’Leary has spent the past three decades researching the intersection of public administration and law. She has written 12 books and over 135 scholarly articles. She has received 11 national research awards, two international research awards, three best book awards and 10 teaching awards, and Fulbright Scholar awards to Malaysia and the Philippines.
DISTING 32 KU LAW MAGAZINE
Judge Robert Nugent III, L’80
Reginald Robinson, L’87
Nugent served as a U.S. bankruptcy judge for the district of Kansas for 20 years and as chief judge for 14 years. He was on the U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Tenth Circuit for 18 years and was chief judge for two years. Nugent received both his undergraduate degree and law degree from KU. Before joining the court, Nugent was a partner at two firms in Hutchinson and shareholder at Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock & Kennedy, Chartered in Wichita. A former president of the Wichita Bar Association, he received its Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to the organization in 2020. Nugent is a member and former president of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges.
The late Reginald “Reggie” Robinson was a devoted public servant and a pillar in the KU community and the state of Kansas for more than four decades, most recently serving as CEO of the Kansas Health Foundation. He died in September 2020 at age 63. Robinson received both his undergraduate and law degrees from KU. He served as vice chancellor for public affairs at KU; director of KU’s School of Public Affairs & Administration; president and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents; a faculty member at both KU Law and Washburn Law; chief of staff to Chancellor Robert Hemenway; a White House fellow; and special assistant to Attorney General Janet Reno, in addition to numerous volunteer roles.
GUISHED THREE RECEIVE 2021 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD
KU LAW MAGAZINE 33
ALUMNI NEWS
Jabari Wamble, L’06, speaks during an alumni panel at 2L/3L Orientation in August 2021. Panelists included Visiting Assistant Professor Jordan Carter, L’15; Ben Ashworth, L’15; Alison McCourt, L’15; and Samantha Sweley, L’15. Meg Kumin, KU Marketing Communications
34 KU LAW MAGAZINE
Above: Max McGraw, L’17 (center), speaks to first-year students about networking skills during a workshop co-presented with his Shook, Hardy & Bacon colleagues Stephen Nichols, L’18 (left) and Jordan Kane, L’18 (right). Left: Ben Ashworth, L’15, speaks to a group of students during Law Student Mental Health Week in October 2021.
2020-2021
VOLUNTEER HONOR ROLL The Volunteer Honor Roll recognizes the many KU Law graduates who donate time, energy and expertise to the law school. They mentor and stage mock interviews with students, guest lecture in law classes and at student organization events, judge moot court rounds, host alumni receptions, serve on boards and otherwise volunteer for the benefit of the law school and future generations of KU lawyers.
WE VALUE YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS!
Names that follow represent volunteer efforts from April 2020 to April 2021. If you are aware of omissions or errors, please contact Margaret Hair at mhair@ku.edu.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 35
ALUMNI NEWS
THANK YOU CAREER MENTORS Jennifer Ananda, L’10 Rhavean King Anderson, L’18 Michael Andrusak, L’13 Karen Baddeley, L’17 Marisa Bayless, L’17 Brutrinia Cain, L’09 Matthew Cooper, L’15 Danielle Crowder, L’10 Ebonie Davis, L’13 Bryan Didier, L’04 Kellee Dunn-Walters, L’86 Crystal Ellison, L’15 Hon. Amy Fellows Cline, L’00 Brad Finkeldei, L’99 Michael Fischer, L’07 Elsa Fraire, L’13 Karen Gleason, L’95 Annie Goulart, L’18 Steven Grieb, L’07 Tonda Hill, L’12 Martha Hodgesmith, L’78 Tyler Holmes, L’14 Lauren Hughes, L’16 Irene Jan, L’07 Stacey Janssen, L’88 Chris Kaufman, L’10 Shannon Keating, L’13 Claire Kebodeaux, L’18 Andrew Kershen, L’17 Hon. Paul Klepper, L’09
36 KU LAW MAGAZINE
Samuel LaRoque, L’18 Crystal Cook Leftridge, L’13 Joshua Maxfield, L’99 Maxwell McGraw, L’17 Nolan McWilliams, L’08 Ayesha Mehdi, L’10 Kate Marples Simpson, L’14 Benjamin Miller-Coleman, L’10 Diane Minear, L’04 Maureen Orth Moeder, L’16 Hilliard Moore, L’11 Hillary Nicholas, L’15 Stephen Nichols, L’18 Hon. Robert Nugent, L’80 Aqmar Rahman, L’15 Robin Randolph, L’16 Barbie Reinard, L’12 Bethany Roberts, L’03 Jason Romero, L’09 Nicole Smith, L’15 Amanda Stanley, L’14 Angela Stillwagon, L’19 Lindsay Strong, L’18 Jennifer Tucker, L’10 Bill Walberg, L’15 Marlon Williams, L’94 Issaku Yamaashi, L’00 Sara Zafar, L’08 John-Mark Zini, L’12
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING SUPERVISORS Megan Carroll, L’18 Matthew Cohen, L’18 Hon. Daniel Crabtree, L’81 Alexandra English, L’08 Hon. Paul Gurney, L’82 Hon. David Hauber, L’83 Lori Heasty, L’95 Hon. Teresa James, L’84 Hon. Janice Miller Karlin, L’80 Hon. Timothy Lahey, L’84 Hon. Steve Leben, L’82 Hon. Julie Robinson, L’81 Kaylie Schmutz, L’18 Hon. Kathryn Vratil, L’75 Kathleen Watson, L’16 Hon. Robert Wonnell, L’02 Hon. William Woolley, L’86
STUDENT RECRUITMENT Zak Beasley, L’15 Megan Carroll, L’18 Jordan Carter, L’15 Matthew Cohen, L’18 Jake McMillian, L’15 Kaylie Schmutz, L’18 Monica Sosa, L’19 Bill Walberg, L’15
GUEST LECTURERS, SPEAKERS & PANELISTS Ava Azad, L’14 Vedrana Balta, L’09 Jeb Bayer, L’80 C.J. Boyd, L’17 Maggie Brakeville, L’20 Gerry Brenneman, L’85 Preston Bukaty, L’14 Dan Cranshaw, L’03 Trip Frizell, L’80 Kate Gleeson, L’12 Jennifer Hackman, L’15 Katie Harpstrite, L’07 Scott Herpich, L’95 Robert Hingula, L’04 Tyler Holmes, L’14
Hon. Teresa James, L’84 Bob Johnson, L’08 Kraig Kohring, L’92 Bill Mahood, L’93 Clarissa Howley Mills, L’13 Pat O’Bryan, L’05 Hon. Julie Robinson, L’81 Ellen Rudolph, L’18 Lisa Schultes, L’85 Danielle Onions Sediqzad, L’16 Devin Sikes, L’08 Branden Smith, L’06 Eric Witmer, L’17 Brian Wolf, L’08 Cody Wood, L’17
From top: Jeffrey Peier, L’83, speaks during a panel on careers in aviation law; Chris Green, L’17, and Brad Finkeldei, L’99, participate in a panel on the business of law during 2L/3L Orientation; Hon. Toby Crouse, L’00, gives a presentation about judicial clerkships. Margaret Hair
KU LAW MAGAZINE 37
ALUMNI NEWS DIVERSITY ADVISORY COUNCIL
ON-CAMPUS INTERVIEWS Quentin Aker, L’20 Susan Alig, L’11 Christopher Allman, L’89 William Bahr, L’97 James Houston Bales, L’17 Kasey Barton, L’09 Diane Bellquist, L’02 Jonathan Benevides, L’09 Kyle Binns, L’07 Kailea Bogner, L’17 Kristiane Bryant, L’05 Brian Burge, L’03 Karlee Canaday, L’19 Meryl Carver-Allmond, L’06 Heather Cessna, L’03 Timothy Davis, L’10 Bryan Didier, L’04 Lauren Douville, L’12 Andrew Ellis, L’11 Michael Fischer, L’07 Jeff Garrett, L’08 Andrew Geren, L’13 Karen Gleason, L’95 Colin Gotham, L’00 Brandon Henry, L’03 Stacey Janssen, L’88 Milos Jekic, L’11 Seth Jones, L’09 Christopher Joseph, L’00 Chris Kaufman, L’10 Claire Kebodeaux, L’18
38 KU LAW MAGAZINE
Andrew Kovar, L’07 Brad LaForge, L’01 Kristy Lambert, L’91 John Larson, L’89 Kurt Level, L’92 Stephanie Lovett-Bowman, L’10 Terelle Mock, L’04 Casey Murray, L’05 Jeffrey Nichols, L’99 Andy Nolan, L’98 Lannie Ornburn, L’96 Ryan Peck, L’03 Demetrius Peterson, L’09 Shon Robben, L’94 Rico Robinson, L’19 Suzanne Hale Robinson, L’15 Eli Rosenberg, L’12 Christine Rosengreen, L’06 David Schapker, L’10 Danielle Onions Sediqzad, L’16 David Seely, L’82 Ron Shaver, L’05 Pierce Shimp, L’18 Kenneth Titus, L’14 David Treviño, L’07 Sean Walsh, L’11 Jabari Wamble, L’06 Becky Winterscheidt, L’83 Samantha Woods, L’13 Daniel Yoza, L’08 Katie Zogleman, L’03
Mayra Aguirre, L’07 Cynthia Bryant, L’95 Laura Clark Fey, L’92 Amy Fowler, L’00 Rico Kolster, L’00 Pat Konopka, L’94 Jehan Kamil Moore, L’05 Demetrius Peterson, L’09 Melissa Plunkett, L’11 Dru Sampson, L’96 Kelley Sears, L’74 Henry Thomas, L’13 Jabari Wamble, L’06 Issaku Yamaashi, L’00 Alyse Zadalis, L’15 Holly Zane, L’86 Gabe Zorogastua, L’07
6TH SEMESTER IN D.C. Brett Brenner, L’94 Shannon Keating, L’13 Becky Weber, L’85
NEW MEMBERS KU LAW BOARD OF GOVERNORS Brooke Bennett Aziere, L’03 Jonathan Freed, L’02 Michelle Mahaffey, L’96 Brian Markley, L’95 Julie Pine, L’07 Devin Sikes, L’08 Hon. Andrew Stein, L’13 Kathleen Taylor, L’86 Leita Walker, L’06 Stephen Young, L’84
THANK YOU LEGAL CAREER FAIRS, PROGRAMS & PANELS Quentin Aker, L’20 Susan Alig, L’11 Rhavean King Anderson, L’18 Paige Blevins, L’15 Erik Blume, L’19 Aaron Breitenbach, L’01 Christi Bright, L’95 Emily Brown, L’17 Ethan Brown, L’17 Brutrinia Cain, L’09 Karlee Canaday, L’19 Meryl Carver-Allmond, L’06 Tyler Childress, L’17 Bryan Didier, L’04 Ashley Dillon, L’13 Stephen Duerst, L’16 Crystal Ellison, L’15 Michael Fischer, L’07 Elsa Fraire, L’13 Jeff Garrett, L’08 Andrew Geren, L’13 Karen Gleason, L’95 Christopher Green, L’17 Marilyn Harp, L’79 Katie Harpstrite, L’07 Daniel Hilliard, L’18 Martha Hodgesmith, L’78 Hon. Stephanie Huff, L’06 Lauren Hughes, L’16 Hon. Teresa James, L’84 Derek Kandt, L’17
Chris Kaufman, L’10 Claire Kebodeaux, L’18 Kristy Lambert, L’91 Samuel LaRoque, L’18 Kelli Lieurance, L’05 Kate Marples Simpson, L’14 Hon. Debra McLaughlin, L’93 Jake McMillian, L’15 Jean Ménager, L’14 Benjamin Miller-Coleman, L’10 Skyler O’Hara, L’03 Mary Olson, L’15 Demetrius Peterson, L’09 Hon. Julie Robinson, L’81 Jonathan Ruhlen, L’12 Joshua Seiden, L’10 Jere Sellers, L’93 Sangeeta Shastry, L’18 Pierce Shimp, L’18 Amanda Stanley, L’14 Angela Stillwagon, L’19 Lindsay Strong, L’18 Robert Teutsch, L’19 Suzanne Valdez, L’96 Patrick Waters, L’04 Helen Harriet White, L’09 Britton Wilson, L’08 Sara Zafar, L’08 Ali Zayas, L’09 Dan Zwijewski, L’03
COMPETITION JUDGES AND COACHES Hon. Gordon Atcheson, L’81 Chris Carey, L’19 Kyle Crane, L’17 Ashley Dillon, L’13 Lauren Douville, L’12 Jason Harmon, L’15 Becky Howlett, L’14 Hon. Steve Leben, L’82 Terry Leibold, L’96 Hannah Lustman-Rodriguez, L’20 Ciara Malone, L’17 Nicole Marcott, L’17 Max McGraw, L’17 Brandon McNeal, L’16 Dalton Mott, L’17 Nancy Musick, L’19 Hon. Joe Pierron, L’71 Ryan Schletzbaum, L’10 Diana Stanley, L’20 Jon Strongman, L’02 Benjamin Stueve, L’18 Christopher Wolcott, L’17
GET INVOLVED Want to give back to KU Law with your time and talent? There are many opportunities to mentor, serve, speak and supervise. To learn more and sign up to volunteer, visit:
law.ku.edu/volunteer
KU LAW MAGAZINE 39
ALUMNI NEWS
CLASS NOTES
Items were received or collected prior to July 15, 2021. Submit your news online at law.ku.edu/keep-touch. KU Law Magazine relies on alumni for the accuracy of information reported.
1954 J. Gene Balloun was honored as
1981 Hon. Julie Robinson was elected
1988 Grant Burgoyne was re-elected to
Volunteer Philanthropist of the Year by Kansas City’s Nonprofit Connect during its annual philanthropy awards luncheon. Balloun is a retired partner of Shook, Hardy & Bacon.
as a member of the American Law Institute (ALI). Robinson is a judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.
the Idaho Senate. He has served in the Senate since 2014 and served in the Idaho House of Representatives from 2008 to 2014.
1969 Hon. Paul Monty retired after 14
counsel and board secretary at Truman Medical Centers/University Health. Marc Elkins retired as chief compliance officer, chief privacy officer and associate general counsel after 18 years at Cerner Corporation. Casey Halsey retired from JE Dunn Construction Group as EVP and chief legal officer after 38 years.
years in the 12th Judicial District. He was a private practice lawyer for 38 years.
1973 Hon. Mary Beck Briscoe took senior status on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Briscoe received her commission in 1995 and served as chief circuit judge from 2010 to 2015. She will continue hearing cases.
1976 Capt. Dennis Mandsager is serving as a commissioner on the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.
1978 Michael Boman retired from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, where he directed the Low Income Tax Clinic. Wint Winter Jr. is now a member of the Kansas Board of Regents.
1980 Tim Whelan retired from TAMKO Building Products. Whelan started with the company in 1992 as assistant general counsel and became executive vice president in 2002. Hon. Michael Powers retired as chief judge of the 8th Judicial District of Kansas. Earlier in 2021, he received an award for judicial excellence from the Kansas District Judges Association.
40 KU LAW MAGAZINE
1982 Bill Colby retired as general
1983 Hon. Jeffrey Elder was named chief judge of the 2nd Judicial District of Kansas. Myron Frans is senior vice president of finance and operations at the University of Minnesota. He previously served as commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget.
1984 Dan Dutcher retired after 34 years with the NCAA. He had been Division III vice president since January 1996. Celeste Kling was recognized as a 2021 Notable Woman in Law by BizWest of Northern Colorado. Kling is a partner at Wallace & Kling in Fort Collins.
1986 Holly Zane is associate director of Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area for Kansas and Missouri. Zane was previously with the State of Kansas.
1989 Sharon Stolte is team lead of Sandberg Phoenix’s Bankruptcy & Creditor’s Rights Team.
1990 J.T. Klaus is managing partner of Triplett Woolf Garretson, LLC. Klaus is chair of the Board of Trustees for Newman University, city attorney for the cities of Andover, Hesston and Mulvane, and general counsel for The Kansas Power Pool. Madeleine McDonough was re-elected chair of Shook, Hardy & Bacon. McDonough will begin her second, five-year term as chair in January 2022. Eric Milstead retired in July as legislative services director for the Idaho Legislature. He took on the role in 2014 after serving as a non-partisan staffer for 17 years. Lisa Robertson is the new city attorney for St. Joseph, Missouri. Robertson previously served as city attorney for Topeka and was city attorney for St. Joseph from 1994-2015.
1992 Braxton Copley is now director of utilities for the city of Topeka. Capt. Anne Bloomfield Fischer retired from the U.S. Navy in October as a captain with over 28 years of service. She was stationed in San Diego, Seattle, Naples, Italy, and Washington, D.C.
Jeffrey Wietharn joined Morris Laing in the firm’s Topeka office.
1993 Kimberly Hays received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Oklahoma Bar Association Family Law Section. Hays practices family law in Tulsa. Michelle Sourie Robinson was appointed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to the Black Leadership Advisory Council, which develops and recommends policies to address racial inequity in Michigan. Robinson is president and CEO of the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council.
1994 Kellie Warren was elected to the Kansas Senate. Warren previously was in the Kansas House of Representatives.
1996 Kurt Erskine was named acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia in February. Andrew Halaby joined Greenberg Traurig, LLP as a shareholder in the firm’s Phoenix office. Halaby is a trial lawyer and business advisor. Lisa Hansen joined Lathrop GPM as a partner in the firm’s Kansas City office. Hansen is a member of the business transactions practice group.
1997 Hon. Jenifer Ashford was elected president of the Kansas District Magistrate Judges Association. Ashford serves in Johnson County in the 10th Judicial District. Chad Tenpenny joined U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall’s staff, serving as general counsel. Previously, he served over 20 years with retired Sen. Pat Roberts.
1999 Filomena “Mena” Crawford retired after 29 years of federal government service. She served in the U.S. Army as a military intelligence officer and later was a career CIA intelligence officer.
Brad Finkeldei served as mayor of Lawrence during 2021. He is a partner at Stevens & Brand LLP. Brian Goodman is chief customer officer of SYSPRO USA. Col. Mark Hoover is a colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Hoover serves as staff judge advocate for the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base in California.
2000 Hon. John Bryant was appointed as a district court judge in the 1st Judicial District in Kansas, covering Atchison and Leavenworth counties. Hon. Amy Fellows Cline was appointed to the Kansas Court of Appeals. Cline was previously with Triplett Woolf Garretson in Wichita. Hon. Toby Crouse was appointed as a federal judge for the district of Kansas by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020. Crouse previously served as solicitor general for Kansas. Jason Lacey was elected managing partner of Foulston Siefkin LLP. Lacey has served on the firm’s executive committee since 2013. He also serves on the adjunct faculty at KU Law.
2001 Steven Novak joined RGT Wealth Advisors as a managing director. Novak has spent 20 years advising on estate, gift, and income tax planning matters.
2002 Misty Brown is chief counsel for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
2003 Dan Cranshaw was appointed to the Missouri Development Finance Board. He is a shareholder at Polsinelli. Natalie Miller joined the employee benefits practice group as an of counsel attorney in Spencer Fane LLP’s Overland Park office.
2004 Owen Newman, a litigation attorney, was promoted to partner with Duane Morris LLP in Chicago.
Peter Riggs is a partner at Spencer Fane LLP in the firm’s Kansas City office. Christopher Studebaker joined Tokyo International Law Office as a partner overseeing the dispute resolution and arbitration practice. Annette White was appointed chief legal officer and senior vice president for Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania. White oversees the health network’s legal, compliance and risk management teams.
2005 Leah Dawson is executive vice president and general counsel at YRC Worldwide Inc. Dawson had served as assistant general counsel for the company since 2012.
2006 Katie Anderson was recognized by Billboard Magazine as one of the top Women in Music Executives for 2020. Anderson is part of the music leadership team at Creative Artists Agency. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband Matthew Dykstra, L’05. Jesse Betts joined Akin Gump as a partner in the firm’s Dallas office. Betts’ focus is on corporate and securities transactions, particularly in energy-related work. Selena S. Besirevic is a senior attorney at Rutherford Law Center in the Denver area, practicing family law. She is a member of the Board of Colorado Collaborative Divorce Professionals. Elizabeth Evers Guerra is a partner at Sanders Warren Russell & Scheer in Overland Park. She has helped organize The For Elysa Foundation, bringing awareness to viral myocarditis. Leita Walker was named one of Minnesota Lawyer magazine’s Attorneys of the Year for 2020. Walker is a partner in the Minneapolis office of Ballard Spahr, and a litigator in its media and entertainment law group.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 41
ALUMNI NEWS
Britta Warren was named the managing partner of Black Helterline, LLP in Portland, Oregon. Warren joined the firm in 2012 and became a partner in 2018. She is the third generation in her family to graduate from KU Law.
2007 Brett Ackerman was promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins LLP in Washington, D.C. Mayra Aguirre was appointed president of the Hall Family Foundation. Aguirre served as the foundation’s vice president and secretary for four years, and previously worked with the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, Greater Kansas City Hispanic Development Fund and the Mid-America Regional Council. Oscar Espinoza joined Smith Mohlman Injury Law, LLC as a senior litigation associate. Hon. Jacy J. Hurst was appointed to the Kansas Court of Appeals. Hurst was previously a partner at Kutak Rock LLP in Kansas City. Shannon Cohorst Johnson won a Law Firm Leader Award from the Missouri Lawyers Awards 2021. Johnson is a shareholder at Seigfreid Bingham. Lindsey Poling was promoted to principal in the Overland Park office of Jackson Lewis, where she focuses her practice on employment litigation. John Smolen was named partner at the law firm of Ballard Spahr in its Baltimore office. Smolen co-leads the firm’s publicprivate partnership and infrastructure practice group.
2008 John Foote joined Kelley Drye & Warren LLP as a partner in the firm’s international trade practice group in its Washington, D.C. office.
42 KU LAW MAGAZINE
Tyler Hibler is a partner in Husch Blackwell’s Kansas City office, practicing labor and employment law. Kevin Selzer was elected as a partner with Holland & Hart LLP in the firm’s Denver office. Selzer counsels clients on employee benefit matters. Devin Sikes was reappointed to the U.S. roster for U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Chapter 10 disputes. Sikes works as international trade counsel at Akin Gump. He previously served in the U.S. government for nearly a decade in various roles in the judicial and executive branches.
2009 Beau Jackson joined the 2021 class of Leadership Kansas. Jackson is a partner at Husch Blackwell LLP. Brian Nye became a partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP. Nye defends corporations in product liability and complex mass tort litigation matters. Benjamin Sharp joined Fredrikson & Byron as an associate in the firm’s mergers and acquisitions group. Jesse Tanksley is now a partner at Mann, Wyatt & Tanksley Injury Attorneys in Hutchinson. He joined the firm in 2015.
2010 Hon. Joan Lowdon was appointed as a 1st Judicial District judge in Kansas. Lowdon was previously deputy county attorney for Leavenworth County. Ayesha Mehdi was named to Real Vegas magazine’s Women Who Wow of Las Vegas 2021, which recognizes influential women business leaders. Mehdi is a partner with Spencer Fane LLP in Las Vegas. Anna Schall joined Polsinelli as an attorney in the firm’s tech transactions and data privacy practice, where she handles technology related transactions for clients across a variety of industries.
2012 Andrew Bergman became a partner at Husch Blackwell in the firm’s Kansas City office. Christian Corrigan joined the Office of Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen as assistant solicitor general. CJ Grover is communications director for the Kansas Republican Party. Grover was previously a public information officer for Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt. R. Evan Jarrold was promoted to partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP. His practice is focused on employment law. Jill Moenius joined Fox Rothschild as counsel in the firm’s Denver office. Moenius focuses her practice on labor and employment disputes in state and federal court. Erik Rome joined Sage Law, LLP in Overland Park as a partner. He specializes in estate planning, estate and trust administration, and business and tax planning. Jonathan Ruhlen was selected to serve as a research attorney for Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert. Previously, he was a research attorney for Justice Lee Johnson from 2016 to 2019. Jeff Spahr started a position as assistant general counsel and senior vice president with Citi, based in O’Fallon, Missouri.
2013 Trent Byquist is a partner at Foulston Siefkin LLP in the firm’s Wichita office. Byquist is a Young Lawyers Delegate for the Kansas Bar Association. Michael Cappo was elected partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Kansas City. Cappo focuses on general liability litigation for the automotive industry.
Ebonie Davis was elected president of the Jackson County Bar Association (JCBA), a bar association comprising primarily African-American attorneys in Kansas City. Davis is an associate at Armstrong Teasdale LLP. Ashley Dillon is a partner in the Kansas City office of Stinson LLP. Dillon represents companies in employment and complex business disputes. Eric Sader was elected vice chair of teaching and pedagogy for the Academy of Legal Studies of Business. Sader is a lecturer at the Kelley Business Law & Ethics Department at Indiana University. Sader received the university’s Dr. James E. Mumford Excellence in Extraordinary Teaching Award and the Community Partner Award from IU’s School of Social Work. Jennifer Schroeder was elected partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon. Schroeder focuses on intellectual property litigation for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Henry Thomas was selected as one of Kansas City Business Journal’s 2020 NextGen Leaders. Thomas is assistant general counsel at American Century Investments.
2014 Mücahit Aydin is the deputy secretary general of the Constitutional Court of Turkey. Aydin, SJD with distinction, was a featured speaker on a webinar sponsored by the International Institute for Justice Excellence.
Rachel Lamm was selected for active-duty service as a U.S. Air Force judge advocate.
2015 Amanda Angell serves as assistant general counsel at The University of Vermont Health Network. Ashlyn Lindskog is a partner at the Wichita office of Martin Pringle. Her practice focuses on employment, real estate, business and litigation law. Jake McMillian joined Dickinson Wright PLLC’s Chicago office as the firmwide director of diversity and inclusion. McMillian was the assistant director of recruitment and outreach at UIC John Marshall Law School.
2016 Stephen Duerst is a partner at Federico // Duerst Consulting Group, based in Topeka. Kimberlyn Gilchrist joined Triplett Woolf Garretson, LLC as an attorney in the firm’s transactional, real estate and business law practice areas. Gilchrist was also hired as city attorney for the City of Hillsboro. Grecia Perez is a deputy district attorney for Solano County California. Perez previously worked in a tenants’ rights law firm in San Francisco.
2017 Skyler Davenport joined
Robert Reynolds is an associate attorney at Simpson Logback Lynch Norris, P.A. in Overland Park. His practice is focused on litigation. Vivek Sehrawat published his first book, Drones and the Law: International Responses to Rapid Drone Proliferation. Sehrawat, an SJD graduate, is an associate professor at BML Munjal University in India. Cody Wood was promoted to managing associate at Dentons US LLP. He is a member of the firm’s federal regulatory and compliance practice. Shelley Woodard is county counselor for Miami County, Kansas. She was previously an attorney for the Kansas Department of Revenue. Hannah Zimmerman joined ZoomInfo’s privacy team as privacy counsel. Zimmerman is responsible for overseeing the company’s compliance with global privacy laws.
2018 Haley Claxton is an associate attorney with EdCounsel, LLC. Alex Driskell joined the Saline County Attorney’s Office in Salina. Laurel Michel Driskell joined Kennedy Berkley Yarnevich & Williamson, Chartered in Salina. Jordan Haas is an associate with Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.
Armstrong Teasdale LLP in Kansas City as an associate in the firm’s litigation practice group.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 43
ALUMNI NEWS
Nicholas “Niq” Howard joined Vondran Legal in an of counsel capacity.
1958 Robert Scovel Independence, Kansas June 28, 2020
2019 Elliott Brewer is working in Washington, D.C. as an international trade specialist with the International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. Michael Hayes joined Shook, Hardy & Bacon as an associate, focusing on general liability litigation. Nancy Musick joined the employment and litigation practice group of Foulston Siefkin as an associate. Tabinda Naseer joined Legal Aid of Western Missouri as a staff attorney. D. Ross Smith is an assistant attorney general for the state of Colorado. Kyle Snyder opened The Law Offices of Kyle D. Snyder LLC. Brandi Spates was chosen for the Centurions Leadership Program in Kansas City.
2020 Quentin Aker is an attorney with Martin Pringle in Wichita. Malika Baker joined Baker Sterchi in Kansas City as an associate attorney. Blair Bohm joined Hinkle Law Firm LLC in Wichita as an associate attorney. Maggie Brakeville is a law clerk at Brien D. Stockman, P.A. in Logan, Kansas. Terra Brockman joined Joseph, Hollander & Craft LLC in Wichita. Maddie Level joined Lathrop GPM in its environmental and tort practice group. Emily Matta joined Foulston Siefkin LLP as an associate. Samantha Patterson joined Lewis Rice in Kansas City as an associate. Alisha Peters joined Stinson LLP as a corporate finance associate. Harrison Rosenthal co-wrote a book chapter that was published in the Handbook of Research on Cyberbullying and Online Harassment in the Workplace. Nick Slovikoski joined Armstrong Teasdale in Kansas City, Missouri as an associate.
44 KU LAW MAGAZINE
1959 1950 C. Stanley Nelson Salina, Kansas May 31, 2021
1953 Dean Frisbie Fairfield, California June 6, 2020
1954 Robert Walker Los Angeles, California October 11, 2020
1955 Robert Hettinger Novi, Michigan November 3, 2020
1957 Frederick Cross Overland Park, Kansas October 26, 2020 John Kite Overland Park, Kansas February 25, 2021 Frank Taylor Jr. Fort Myers, Florida April 30, 2021 Larry Worrall Prairie Village, Kansas April 27, 2021
Donald Cordes Wichita, Kansas May 29, 2021 Edwin A. Stene Ogden, Utah February 22, 2021
1961 Larry Welch Olathe, Kansas April 7, 2021
1962 Howard Sturdevant Tinton Falls, New Jersey December 31, 2020
1963 Russell Gangi Westport, Connecticut January 18, 2021
1964 Edward Collister Jr. Lawrence, Kansas December 1, 2020 John Reiff Wichita, Kansas July 2, 2021
1965 Jim Lawing Wichita, Kansas November 8, 2020 David Miller Overland Park, Kansas April 9, 2021
Andy White / KU Marketing Communications
IN MEMORIAM 1987
1966
John Doggett Corse, Jr. Baltimore, Maryland June 24, 2021
Hans Robert Hansen Midland, Texas February 27, 2021
1967 Thomas Dawson Leavenworth, Kansas October 28, 2020 Hon. Paul D. Empson Chadron, Nebraska October 18, 2020 Lebert “Lee” Dean Shultz Olathe, Kansas February 6, 2021
1968 C.J. Poirier Overland Park, Kansas January 23, 2021
1970 John Stewart McWilliams Prairie Village, Kansas September 17, 2019
1973 John Roraback Lindsborg, Kansas December 3, 2020
1978 Thomas Vaughn Chicago, Illinois November 26, 2020
1982 Charles Speer Westwood Hills, Kansas April 11, 2021
1983 Audrey Magaña Junction City, Kansas March 16, 2021
1984 Joseph Horgan Oakland, California March 19, 2021 Gary Pomeroy Lawrence, Kansas November 4, 2020
Raleigh VanTrease Austin, Texas January 17, 2021
1993 Jeffrey Shaw Atlanta, Georgia May 7, 2021
1994 Douglas Adams Jr. Wichita, Kansas October 6, 2020
1997 Timothy Curran Milwaukee, Wisconsin April 27, 2021
1999 David Barton Jones Overland Park, Kansas April 16, 2020
2013 Samuel Davidson Wichita, Kansas April 10, 2021
Faculty Bruce Hopkins, SJD’16, Professor of Practice Joined KU Law in 2008 Kansas City, Missouri October 31, 2021
Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage
PAID
Lawrence, KS Permit No. 116
Green Hall 1535 W. 15th Street Lawrence, KS 66045-7608
law.ku.edu
CONNECT WITH KU LAW
Events & Resources for Alumni
Virtual event
FEBRUARY 11
MARCH 4
STAY IN TOUCH
Law Journal Symposium
Diversity in Law Banquet
Alumni Directory
“Post-Pandemic Privacy: Health, Data and Dignity” Co-hosted by Law Journal and PrivacyPraxis
Hosted by the Hispanic American Law Students Association (HALSA) and KU Law
Join the Jayhawk Lawyer Directory Sign up at law.ku.edu/alumni-directory
Learn more and register online: law.ku.edu/alumni Printed on paper that contains at least 10% post-consumer recycled content
PLEASE RECYCLE
