MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI & FRIENDS | SPRING 2016
innocence clinic marks 50 years seeking justice for the incarcerated
KU Law Magazine is published twice a year for alumni and friends of the University of Kansas School of Law. Green Hall, 1535 W. 15th St. Lawrence, KS 66045-7608 785.864.4550 | F: 785.864.5054 law.ku.edu DEAN Stephen Mazza EDITOR & DESIGNER Mindie Paget kulaws@ku.edu | 785.864.9205 CONTRIBUTORS Monica Hill Henning, L’16 Nicole Krambeer Mike Krings Lumen Mulligan Emily Sharp PHOTOS KU Marketing Communications Mindie Paget Earl Richardson, L’08 Mark Schotte University Archives PRINTING Allen Press, Lawrence, KS
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MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
Ensuring justice, preparing leaders On Dec. 8, 2015, Floyd Bledsoe walked out of the Jefferson County Courthouse, his lips curled in a broad smile. Moments earlier, a bailiff had unlocked Floyd’s shackles, freeing him to embrace the attorneys who had spent nearly a decade fighting to prove he didn’t commit the murder that had landed him a life sentence — the same attorneys who now walked beside him as he tasted emancipation after 16 years in prison. Those fierce advocates? KU Law Professors Elizabeth Cateforis, Alice Craig and Jean Phillips. Just last month, they received the Sean O’Brien Freedom Award from our funding partners at the Midwest Innocence Project for their tireless work on Floyd’s case. I am beyond proud to count them as my faculty colleagues. The trio supervises students in the school’s Paul E. Wilson Project for Innocence & Post-Conviction Remedies, training them to become skilled legal researchers and writers while managing their own cases for incarcerated clients. Since 2008, the Project has won more than 40 direct appeals, constitutional challenges, and actual innocence cases. A cornerstone of KU Law’s clinical program, the Project quietly turned 50 years old about a month before Floyd’s exoneration. More than 800 students have gained practical experience and a more nuanced understanding of our justice system through the Project since Professor Paul Wilson launched the pioneering effort in 1965. Thousands more have capitalized on our expanding menu of clinics, externships, simulation courses and moot court opportunities — from Legal Aid to the MedicalLegal Partnership to the Deposition Skills Workshop. That’s why National Jurist magazine recently ranked us 21st in the nation for offering the best practical training for future lawyers. Graduates tell us time and again that their most meaningful experiences in law school are rooted in clinics. It’s where they translate classroom theory to real-world practice and gain the confidence and skills necessary for success in their careers. It’s where they learn to be tenacious, as Floyd Bledsoe wrote in a thank-you note to the law school, “grabbing a hammer and chisel and pickax and removing a mountain.” Alumni donors, volunteers and mentors help make those transformations possible. With your continued support, we can help ensure justice, build healthy communities through clinical advocacy and nurture the boundless potential of each new class of KU Lawyers.
Stephen W. Mazza Dean and Professor of Law
CONTENTS KU LAW MAGAZINE | SPRING 2016
DEPARTMENTS 2 IN BRIEF
Symposia, lectures, rankings, and a student’s account of hands-on learning
24 FACULTY NEWS + RESEARCH
Research highlights, media appearances, kudos
30 ALUMNI NEWS Diversity Banquet and 50/50+ Reunion 34 VOLUNTEER HONOR ROLL Recognition of alumni who have donated time,
energy and expertise during the past year
39 CLASS NOTES Alumni earn promotions, change jobs, win
COVER
THE PROJECT AT 50
awards, and expand their families
45 IN MEMORIAM Deaths in the KU Law family
2016 DIVERSITY IN LAW BANQUET The KU Law community came together to celebrate
30
diversity in law school and the legal profession.
38
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE A postcard from the turn of the 19th century reveals law students then as now lead laborious lives.
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IN BRIEF
2016 Law Journal Symposium WITH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION season in full swing and voting laws in flux in states around the country, legal scholars gathered in Lawrence to explore election law and its effect on citizens’ right to vote. The 2016 Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy Symposium, “The Right to Vote: Examining Election Law,” took place Feb. 19 at the KU School of Law. “The ability to elect representatives is a vital component of our democracy,” said Cody Branham, third-year KU Law student and symposium editor for the Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy. “This event brought together some of the leading authorities in election law and provided an opportunity to analyze whether our voting system is working as intended. Election laws that promote equal representation have helped this nation evolve into a more just democracy and ensure that it continues to do so in the future.” The symposium examined election law over time and considered future developments. Panels explored: The History and Future of Contested Elections, The Conduct of Elections and Protection of Voting Rights and
Kansas-Specific Election Law Issues. Panelists included: n Joseph Aistrup, dean, College of Liberal Arts, Auburn University n Doug Bonney, chief counsel and legal director, ACLU of Kansas n Beth Clarkson, statistician, Wichita State University n Derrick Darby, professor of philosophy, University of Michigan n Edward Foley, Ebersold Chair in Constitutional Law, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law n Mark Johnson, partner, Dentons, lecturer, KU School of Law n Rick Levy, J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law, KU Law n Mike O’Neal, president and CEO, Kansas Chamber of Commerce Scholarship associated with the symposium will be published in a 2016 issue of the Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy.
BUILDING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
Pub Night supports women’s charities HOW DO KU LAW STUDENTS strengthen their community? Through direct advocacy, public service and philanthropic efforts like Women in Law’s Pub Night. The annual concert, auction and merrymaking event took place Feb. 5 and raised more than $9,400 for The Willow Domestic Violence Center and Jana’s
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Campaign, organizations that support survivors of domestic abuse and human trafficking and advocate for the reduction of gender violence. Women in Law officers Beth Hanus, Emily Glassner and Taylor Ray (pictured at left) recently presented a portion of the proceeds to Joan Schultz, executive director of The Willow.
EDUCATING LEADERS
KU ranked among best law schools in the nation for practical training KU LAW RANKS 21ST IN THE NATION for offering the best practical training for future lawyers, according to National Jurist magazine. The rankings, which recognize “schools that go above and beyond in preparing law students for the real world,” appear in the spring 2016 issue. “Since KU Law offered its first clinic more than 50 years ago, hands-on learning opportunities that allow students to represent real clients or practice the skills of a working lawyer have continued to grow,” said Stephen Mazza, dean and professor of law. “We are pleased that this ranking recognizes our ongoing efforts to expand opportunities for students to prepare for the practice of law and proud of the many ways our students have helped their clients and communities in the process.” A few success stories: n Students in KU Law’s Project for Innocence helped free a man after 16 years in prison for a murder his brother eventually confessed to committing. They also earned the exoneration and release of a woman unconstitutionally convicted of murder through a coerced confession. n A student in KU Law’s Medical-Legal Partnership helped a victim of human trafficking obtain a T visa, providing her with a foundation to begin a new life in the United States, free from fear of retribution. n A student in the Legislative Clinic conducted legal research, wrote memos and presented his findings to the Kansas Senate Judiciary Committee – work that contributed to the passage of legislation that increased penalties for drunk drivers whose actions injure victims. KU Law offers 12 clinics and externships in a variety of practice areas, a robust
LaVerta Logan retires after 19 years supporting students
moot court and mock trial competition program, and simulation courses that teach students the art of taking and defending depositions, examining expert witnesses and performing due diligence in business transactions. The Best Schools for Practical Training rankings measure which schools have the greatest percentage of students participating in such programs. KU Law also rose two spots in the 2017 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s Best Graduate Schools guidebook and has increased its standing for four consecutive years. In addition, U.S. News named KU Law one of five pioneering schools for hands-on learning, citing the school’s intensive skills workshops on taking depositions, qualifying expert witnesses at trial, and selecting a jury through voir dire. While legal doctrines take time to absorb, such practice-related skills are mastered most effectively “in these short bursts,” said KU Law Professor Lou Mulligan.
After 19 years of service, the incomparable LaVerta Logan, assistant director of KU Law’s Career Services Office and the 2013 KU Employee of the Year, retired in December. Logan was well known around Green Hall for her warm smile and cheerful demeanor, but it was perhaps the welcoming space she created that resonated most with students. Logan’s office was a tribute to the thousands of students who have passed through during their years in Green Hall and still kept in touch, sending wedding and birth announcements and holiday greetings each year. Logan began her KU career nearly 40 years ago as a clerk in student records. She then served for seven years as an administrative assistant in Legal Services for Students. She joined KU Law’s Career Services Office in 1996. Before her departure in late 2015, Logan passed along her tips and tricks to Meredith Wiggins, who filled her role in Career Services. Stop by the office and welcome Meredith to the team next time you’re in Green Hall.
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IN BRIEF
DIPLOMAT’S FORUM
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT A NIGERIAN SCHOLAR AND CHAIR of the United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee discussed the global implications of sustainable development during the 2016 Diplomat’s Forum at the KU School of Law. Obiora Chinedu Okafor, professor and York Research Chair in International and Transnational Legal Studies at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada, presented “International Legal Accountability and the Right to Development: An African Perspective” on March 7, 2016. “The right to development is poised to take center stage in the international human rights agenda,” Okafor said. “This raises a number of important questions. What are the socio-political and economic factors which have shaped policy and action? What kind of accountability mechanism, if any, has been instituted? What is the role of law?” Okafor has published extensively in the fields of international human rights law and immigration/refugee law. He currently serves as chairperson of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee. The Diplomat’s Forum provides a platform for an open sharing of thoughts on international law and relations from the perspective of a professional with notable diplomatic experience in the service of a foreign government.
Diplomat’s Forum Lecturer Obiora Chinedu Okafor
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Clockwise from bottom left, Erica McCabe and Kriston Guillot faced off against Skyler Davenport and Nathan Kakazu in the final round of KU Law’s In-House Moot Court Competition on April 7, 2016.
Poised for practice In-House Moot Court Competition sharpens students’ advocacy skills FINALISTS IN KU LAW’S IN-HOUSE Moot Court Competition exhibited grace under fire April 7 as they presented oral arguments before an active panel of esteemed state and federal judges. Erica McCabe and Kriston Guillot represented the petitioner, and Skyler Davenport and Nathan Kakazu argued for the respondent in a hypothetical appeal before the “U.S. Supreme Court.” Chief Judge Mary Beck Briscoe of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, Judge Julie
Robinson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, and Justice Caleb Stegall of the Kansas Supreme Court peppered the advocates with tough questions during the hearing. The judges ruled in favor of the petitioner and deemed McCabe best oral advocate. She and Guillot also won second-best brief. Max McGraw and Nathan Mannebach captured first in the brief category. Foulston Siefkin LLP provides prizes for finalists and award-winners.
KU Law team captures national crown at Indian law moot court competition BEFORE MARCH MADNESS EVEN started, KU had already won a national championship. A KU Law team brought home first-place honors from this year’s National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Competition. Ashley Akers, of Casper, Wyoming, and Maureen Orth, of Prairie Village, won the competition and received the best brief award. Orth was named the second-best oral advocate and received the first-ever G. William Rice Advocate Award for the highest cumulative points in the competition. Corey Adams of Wichita and Nathan Kakazu of Madison, Wisconsin, placed third and received the second-place brief award. Nick Hayes of Lawrence and Jason Vigil of Las Cruces, New Mexico, also represented KU at the competition, held March 5-6 at Michigan State University. The NNALSA competition tests students’ knowledge of Indian law by evaluating their legal writing and oral advocacy skills. Students submit written briefs and participate in a simulated courtroom experience. “This year’s competition involved a hypothetical conflict between a state and tribe related to the growth and sale of marijuana on the tribe’s reservation,” said Professor Elizabeth Kronk Warner, team coach and director of KU’s Tribal Law and Government Center. Students considered whether the state could apply laws prohibiting some forms of marijuana against the tribe. Akers and Orth argued on behalf of the state in the final round, defeating the University of Oklahoma to win first place. Team members prepared for the competition by researching and writing briefs and participating in practice rounds judged by KU Law faculty, alumni and peers. “Our experience at the NNALSA competition was nothing short of amazing,” Akers said. “Nearly every professor at the
#BestofKU Other highlights from the 2015-2016 moot court season include: n
Ashley Akers (left) and Maureen Orth
law school took the time to judge one or more of our teams as we prepared for this competition. It’s an honor to bring home this recognition for our school after it has provided so much time, energy and resources to help us succeed.” “It feels amazing to win, but the best thing to come out of the competition is how much we learned from our coaches, the KU faculty and each other,” Orth said. “We had so much support.” The final rounds were judged by a panel of Indian law scholars and practitioners, including tribal judges, tribal law professors, a Michigan Supreme Court justice and a judge from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. “The competition is an excellent way for students to learn federal Indian law, which is especially valuable given the proximity of so many tribes to Kansas and the important relationship between tribes, the federal government and states,” Kronk Warner said. “Students learn and improve upon their legal research, writing and oral advocacy skills.” This is the second year in a row that KU Law advanced to the final round of the NNALSA competition. A KU Law team brought home second place from last year’s competition at the University of Arizona.
Bryce Langford and Luke Hangge advanced to the regional finals of the ABA’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Boston, marking KU’s best finish ever in the competition. n Ashley Akers and Abby Hall made it to the regional semifinals of the National Moot Court Competition, missing the final round by the tiniest of margins. n Adam Sokoloff and Kendall Kaut advanced to the semifinal round of the FBA’s Thurgood Marshall National Moot Court Competition. n Matthew Rogers and Bradley Thomas made it to the quarterfinals of the Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. n Nicki Rose and Brendan McNeal argued their way into the quarterfinal rounds of the Seigenthaler-Sutherland Cup National First Amendment Moot Court Competition. n Skyler Davenport, Jacque Patton, Bill Madden, John Truong and Yarhmaan Peerbaccus made it to the quarterfinals of the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition’ Rocky Mountain Regional rounds. Factoring these results with our NNALSA Moot Court success, we anticipate a potential top 20 national ranking for KU Law’s Moot Court Program.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 5
IN BRIEF
NI MI
NG &
RECO N S
IDE
RI NG
EX A
20th AnNual Tribal Law & Government Conference
INDIAN MASCOTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY MARCH 11, 2016 | 9 AM - 4 PM GREEN HALL | UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS REGISTER AT LAW.KU.EDU //INDIAN-MASCOTS
Keynote speaker Suzan Shown Harjo of the Morning Star Institute has worked since the 1960s to convince sports teams to drop names that promote negative stereotypes of Native Americans.
Reconsidering Indian mascots TRIBAL LAW CONFERENCE CONTRIBUTES TO NATIONAL DEBATE SURROUNDING THE USE OF NATIVE AMERICANS AS SPORTS SYMBOLS AMERICAN INDIAN LAW SCHOLARS and advocates gathered in Lawrence to discuss legal issues surrounding the use of images of American Indians as sports mascots. The 20th annual Tribal Law & Government Conference, “Examining and Reconsidering Indian Mascots in the 21st Century,” took place March 11, 2016, at the KU School of Law. “Advocates have been challenging the use of Indians as mascots for decades, and there have been some notable recent developments in the last few months — such as court decisions related to the Washington, D.C., NFL team,” said Elizabeth Kronk Warner, director of KU’s Tribal Law & Government Center. “By exploring this topic, KU Law hopes to make a valuable contribution to the nationwide debate surrounding the appropriateness of such mascots.”
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Suzan Shown Harjo, president of the Morning Star Institute, a national Native American rights organization, delivered the keynote address. A poet, writer, lecturer, curator and policy advocate, Harjo has helped Native people recover more than 1 million acres of tribal lands. She served as congressional liaison for Indian Affairs during the Carter administration and later as president of the National Council of American Indians. Since the 1960s, Harjo has worked to convince sports teams to drop names that promote negative stereotypes of Native Americans. In 2014, Harjo received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor. Harjo’s address was followed by several panel discussions and a session on ethical considerations when representing tribal nations.
Panelists included: Cornel Pewewardy, professor and director of Indigenous Nations Studies, Portland State University n Rebecca Tsosie, Regents’ Professor, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law; vice provost for inclusion and community engagement, Arizona State University n Dan Wildcat, director, Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center; dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences, Haskell Indian Nations University n Marc Edelman, associate professor, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City University of New York n Jasmine Abdel-Khalik, associate professor, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law n D. Michael McBride III, director, Crowe & Dunlevy n
FROM THE BLOG
Human trafficking victim starting new life in U.S. with help from KU Law student NO MORE INTERVIEWS WITH THE Department of Homeland Security, no more meetings with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, no more facing her traffickers in court. The criminal case was finally closed. Now she was living in a foreign country, away from family and friends, with minimal funds, unable to speak English, and wanted to stay in the U.S. to avoid retaliation from her traffickers. This was the client I was assigned during the Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) externship orientation. I have never felt so nervous than I did when I left the MLP orientation. And I have never felt so confident and excited about pursing a legal career than I did on my last day at the MLP. Orientation day for the MLP was the most overwhelming day I’ve experienced during law school. I walked out of the office with a client who had been a victim of human trafficking, a book about T and U visas (something I knew nothing about), and a list of people I had never met with whom I needed to schedule meetings. I had never had a real client, conducted an interview, worked with an interpreter, or written anything more complex than a summary judgment. I felt incredibly unprepared to take on my client’s task and was beyond scared that someone’s future had been placed in my hands. My one semester in the MLP gave me invaluable practical experience. My first task was a trivial one — make a phone call. But I had to call the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ask for copies of documents filed during the criminal trial of the traffickers. My hands were shaking as I dialed the number. By the end of the semester I was on a first-name basis with my contacts in various government offices. My MLP experience taught me more than just how to do legal
research, fill out forms, and write. It taught me how to connect with my client and maintain emotional health, showed me the importance of networking with people who aren’t lawyers, and that legal work is much more complex than class materials ever intimated. I ended my time with the MLP by turning over an almost 2-inch-tall stack of papers that was my client’s T visa application. It needed one final review and would then be sent off. I walked out of the MLP confident in my work. For the first time during school, I felt like I had accomplished something. That day I was sure I was pursuing the right career. Ten months later I received a phone call from the MLP office. My client’s T visa had been approved. The gravity of what I had worked on for an entire semester truly came into focus at that moment. I had helped make a real difference for a real person. This was my best day during law school. My MLP experience showed me that true success as a legal advocate is achieved when your client succeeds.
Monica Hill Henning
— Monica Hill Henning is a third-year KU Law student from Kingman, Kansas. She is set to graduate in May 2016. This story first appeared on the KU Law Blog in April 2016.
ONLINE | Read more about the KU Law student experience at blog.law.ku.edu
KU LAW MAGAZINE 7
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innocence clinic marks 50 years seeking justice for the incarcerated In November 1965, a dozen KU Law students traveled with Professor Paul Wilson to the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, where they provided inmates with applications for legal assistance. The response was swift and strong. Within eight months, more than 150 requests poured in.
THE KANSAS DEFENDER PROJECT WAS BORN. Those pioneering students received an extraordinary education, transcending the classroom to sharpen their legal skills with real clients. By 1971, more than half the country’s law schools offered prison assistance programs, many of them modeled on KU’s clinic.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 9
As the Project marks its 50th anniversary, a few of its more than 800 alumni reflect on their experiences toiling over cases with complex facts and long odds. Occasionally, their labor results in monumental victories like the recent exoneration of Floyd Bledsoe, who served 16 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. But the Project’s benefits to students, clients and the justice system cannot be adequately measured in headline-grabbing wins. “In post-conviction work, you’re saving the world one person at a time,” said David Gottlieb, a retired KU Law professor who directed the Project for 20 years. “We didn’t break any major ground in parole hearings, for example, but our presence was significant for the individuals we helped. And no matter what the outcome, students profit a great deal by working on actual cases, representing real individuals and collaborating with teachers who are experienced attorneys.” When Professor Wilson retired in 1981, the Project was renamed in his honor. It became the Paul E. Wilson Project for Innocence & PostConviction Remedies in 2008 and continues to shape lawyers prepared for the realities of practice. “Without a doubt, my participation in the Defender Project honed my research and writing skills and helped prepare me for a career as a trial attorney,” said Jabari Wamble, L’06, an assistant U.S. attorney in Kansas City, Kansas. “Meeting clients who were incarcerated and often facing long prison sentences also gave me a greater appreciation of the enormous responsibility that prosecutors have. “Our ultimate goal should be to always seek justice.” — Mindie Paget
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Our ultimate “goal should be to always seek justice.
”
JABARI WAMBLE, L’06 Assistant U.S. Attorney District of Kansas
BREAKING GROUND | Jerry Donnelly, L'67
Y
ou might call Jerry Donnelly a pioneer among pioneers. Not only did the 1967 KU Law graduate accompany Professor Paul Wilson and 11 other students on the Defender Project’s inaugural visit to the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, but he went on to win one of the fledgling clinic’s first major victories. Fifty years later, Donnelly still remembers his client’s name: Curtis Edison Lewis III. He had been convicted of two counts of forgery in Montgomery County District Court and sentenced to concurrent 15-year terms under the Kansas Habitual Criminal Act. It was 1964 — a year after Gideon v. Wainwright guaranteed legal representation for all felony defendants in state courts. Donnelly discovered that Lewis had been denied counsel during proceedings for the two previous convictions that led to his sentencing under the Habitual Criminal Act. After carefully preparing a habeas corpus petition and supporting brief, Donnelly drove to Lansing to show his client the document. “I was proud of it,” Donnelly recalled. “It was a work of art in my mind. I felt that we had a really good chance of securing his immediate release.”
Lewis stared at the pages for a few moments, then handed them back. “Lawyer Donnelly,” he said. “Would you read it to me?” “I still get choked up when I say that,” Donnelly said. “I had no idea he was illiterate.” Donnelly continued his pro bono representation of Lewis for more than a year after graduating law school and entering private practice in Lawrence. He argued before the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, where a federal judge ruled in favor of Lewis and sent him back to Montgomery County for resentencing. Donnelly assumed release would follow swiftly. The state judge had a different idea. Perhaps frustrated by the federal court’s intervention, he ordered Lewis to serve his sentences consecutively, which would have prolonged his time behind bars. Donnelly prepared an appeal to the 10th Circuit, filed a motion Cont’d on pg 12
Inmates walk the exercise yard in this circa 1975 photo taken at the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing. Image courtesy of University Archives, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 11
T A student in the inaugural Defender Project class, Jerry Donnelly won one of the clinic’s first major victories. Cont’d from pg 11
for reconsideration in Montgomery County and drove two-and-a-half hours south to impress upon the judge that this was no way for a new lawyer to launch his career. “I also told him I thought the 10th Circuit would find that you can’t enhance a man’s sentence for exercising his constitutional rights,” Donnelly said. “He laughed a little about my plight and resentenced Curtis legally.” He soon walked free. Donnelly later worked as a prosecutor and credits his experiences in the Defender Project with his balanced perspective. “I used my powers to keep as many people out of jail or prison as I did to put them away,” Donnelly said. “I did not feel that Curtis deserved to be incarcerated for such an extended time for what he had done. His crimes were minor and he had never shown any deviant propensities. “I felt that way about a lot of the people I interviewed. It was easy for me to be passionate about the postconviction work we were doing.” — Mindie Paget
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he Defender Project was a happy and fulfilling experience for me. The work combined contact with people in genuine need and the intellectual challenge of building arguments. We spent many days visiting prisoners at Leavenworth and Lansing and many more researching their claims and preparing petitions and briefs. I thought then — and I guess I think now — that we were doing our bit toward the enforcement of constitutional rights. Of course, we had little success, hardly any. But we didn’t have easy cases, either. I developed a respect for habeas corpus that I have carried with me ever since, notwithstanding that the writ is no longer what it was back then. The world has changed, I am afraid, and not always for the better. Of course, I remember most of the students and faculty. Paul Wilson was a wise and kind man who patiently suffered (and gently encouraged) my enthusiasm. Keith Meyer became a lifelong friend.
RESPECT FOR HABEAS Larry Yackle, L’73 — Professor of Law — Basil Yanakakis Faculty Research Scholar — Boston University School of Law — Author of 6 books and dozens of articles focusing mostly on federal habeas corpus for state prisoners
Paul E. Wilson founder & namesake
Keith G. Meyer through 1975
Ira P. Robbins through 1979
David J. Gottlieb through 1999
Jean K. Gilles Phillips current director
The human “significance of a single visit by a student who is concerned should not be underestimated. PAUL E. WILSON, 1976
�
Professor & founding director, Kansas Defender Project
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FREEDOMS LOST | Marilyn Harp, L'79 Marilyn Harp, L’79, front row fifth from left, served as student director of the Project. Classmate Martha Coffman, standing to Harp’s left in a light sweater, also participated in the Project.
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M
arilyn Harp, L’79, worked with the Defender Project for two years, including one as a student director. Much of her caseload involved representing clients at prison disciplinary hearings. The penalties for disciplinary action in prison were tough, ranging from a loss of privileges to extending parole dates and limiting access to prison programs. One of Harp’s cases involved an incarcerated client who faced disciplinary action for entering another inmate’s room. Harp’s client had been standing in a hallway, styling the hair of another woman who was in a chair in the doorway of her room — an accepted way of dealing with the rules. When a curler dropped on the floor, Harp’s client reached into the room to pick it up and received a disciplinary violation. “Wouldn’t it be instinct to grab the curler? And yet this woman faced
long-term consequences,” Harp said. “I remember coming to grips with all the things that could happen to you. You go to prison and lose a whole lot of freedom.” The clinic also taught Harp how to manage a caseload and interact effectively with clients. She learned how to be friendly but professional, guiding the conversation to the goal of the visit and using language that resonates with clients. “Lawyers have to learn a whole new vocabulary in law school,” Harp said. “Lawyers have to decide, am I going to use that vocabulary with everyone as my way of communicating my status and knowledge? Or am I going to use language that people will understand? Learning to talk with your very first clients is something I got out of the clinic.” Harp also became familiar with the circumstances of her clients’ lives, insights that still guide her work as director of Kansas Legal Services. “Anybody who is encountering the court system is going through major upheavals,” Harp said. “It’s very disruptive.” While serving time in prison is difficult, she notes that challenges continue after release, including stiff competition for jobs and a lack of family support. In her current role, Harp guides her team to do expungements when clients are eligible, an effort to make the re-entry process more smooth. “People continue to pay the consequences of their crimes for a long time,” Harp said. “I’ve jokingly said the best predictor of someone’s success after prison is how many family members pick them up after release. If they are handed a bus ticket, those people aren’t going to succeed. Those who have family who pick them up are going to succeed.” — Emily Sharp
SAFEGUARDING RIGHTS | Doug Bonney, L’85
W
hen Doug Bonney visited prisons in the early 1980s as a student in KU Law’s Defender Project, he didn’t have any Pollyannaish notions that all the inmates were innocent victims of society. “These are often bad people who have committed heinous crimes,” he said. “But the point of the Constitution is that everybody has these rights, and making sure the worst among us are protected in those rights ensures that everybody’s rights are protected.” Bonney, L’85, now safeguards the rights of all Kansans as chief counsel and legal director of the state’s American Civil Liberties Union. His office filed a lawsuit on behalf of two lesbian couples in 2014 that ultimately helped overturn the Kansas ban on same-sex marriage. “Not every career do you get to be a small part of the biggest civil rights issue of our time,” Bonney said. “I’m proud of that.” He also takes pride in the ACLU’s day-to-day advocacy on behalf of marginalized populations, including prisoners. The seeds that grew into the causes that Bonney champions today were planted at KU Law. In the Defender Project, Bonney worked on prisoners’ rights cases, innocence claims and disciplinary matters arising from state and federal detention facilities in Kansas. He also represented a man at his federal parole hearing. Bonney distinctly remembers kicking his client under the table when he started mouthing off to commissioners who seemed ready to rule in his favor. The man ultimately won release, perhaps strengthening his case by wearing a long-sleeve shirt to cover his many tattoos. “That was back when there was a high correlation between your felony record and the number of tattoos you had,” Bonney said. “Things have changed a lot in a third of a century.” What hasn’t changed are the invaluable lawyering skills students master in the Project. “I learned in the Defender Project how important it is to write well and get the facts, and I got experience putting that into practice,” Bonney said. “Now I tell all the legal interns who come through the ACLU that facts win cases and lawyers are professional writers.” — Mindie Paget
Doug Bonney, L’85
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Won the first DNA exoneration in the state of Kansas for Joe Jones, wrongly convicted of a 1985 rape in Topeka based on eyewitness identification.
Won a conviction reversal for Lena Ferguson, denied her Sixth Amendment right to assistance of counsel during her 1991 trial for arson and felony murder in the death of her ex-husband.
Won new trial for Alma Monreal, found to have had inadequate representation during trial that led to first-degree murder conviction in the 2001 death of her newborn child.
Won executive clemency for Frederick Umoja, the last of the so-called “Wichita 8,” a group of black defendants convicted of robbery in 1969 by an all-white jury. Previously won pardons for Jerry Hunt (2009) and Leonard Harrison (1993).
16 KU LAW MAGAZINE
WILLING TO LISTEN Stacey Donovan, L’97
F
or Stacey Donovan, participation in the Defender Project was a jumping-off point in her quest to ensure access to justice for all. Donovan knew she wanted to be a lawyer from age 11. She joined the debate team in high school and clerked for the Salina Public Defender’s Office in college. “I clerked for two lawyers who loved their jobs,” Donovan said. “It’s pretty thankless sometimes, but they came to work excited about what they did every day. I thought what they did was important.” After finishing her degree in English and African-American Studies at Simmons College in Boston, Donovan returned home to Kansas for law school and spent two years working with the Project, including one as a student director. The leadership position provided her the opportunity to meet with potential clients and confront the challenging circumstances of their cases — poverty, difficult childhoods and harsh environments. “I was the first person who got to meet them,” Donovan said. “I took background information and heard horrible stories.” Often, Project students were the only ones willing to listen to those stories. “Clients want to be heard,” Donovan said. “They’ve been convicted. By the time you get to them, they’re desperate. If they ever had any funds to hire a lawyer, those are all gone. Often they don’t have family any longer either. You may be the only person out there writing letters or listening to what they have to say.” One of the stories that stuck with Donovan was Kim Sharp’s. Along with three co-defendants, Sharp was convicted of first-degree felony murder and kidnapping and sentenced to life in prison. “Her case kept me up at night for years,” said Donovan, who represented Sharp in her 2006 trial. Donovan had argued to the trial court that Sharp’s confession was coerced, but the judge disagreed. “We felt for Kim and knew in our heart of hearts that the judge was wrong.” Donovan voiced her concerns to KU’s Project for Innocence and, after years of diligent work and research, the Project took Sharp’s case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. In July 2015, the court ruled unanimously that Sharp’s confession was coerced and her conviction was unconstitutional. After her release, Sharp gathered with Donovan and current Project students and faculty at Green Hall. “To meet an actual human being who you helped and completely changed their life — it was very gratifying,” Donovan said. Donovan continues her service as chief district defender at the
Stacey Donovan, L’97, chats with Kim Sharp about her case during Sharp’s visit to KU Law. Below: Sharp, left, and Abby West, L’15, embrace after their first meeting.
‘She gave me my life back’ 3rd Judicial District Public Defender’s Office in Shawnee County, Kansas. She defends indigent adults charged with felony crimes in Kansas District Court. Her professional experience has reinforced the importance of the Project to ensure access to justice. “It wasn’t until I was doing legal work that I realized how indigent people are treated differently in the system,” Donovan said. “This kind of work is so necessary.” Donovan contends it’s a great educational experience, too. “For students to have actual clients is pretty amazing,” she said. “I hope the Project lasts 150 more years, because that work is always going to be so important.”
A
learning experience for one KU Law student turned into a second chance last fall for a woman serving life in prison in connection with a high-profile Topeka murder. The 10th Circuit ruled in July that Kimberly Sharp was unconstitutionally convicted in the 2006 slaying of a Topeka homeless advocate. The court handed down the decision based on an appeal by KU’s Project for Innocence. Sharp visited KU Law last August and met Abby West, the 2015 graduate who spent hours poring over trial documents and prior decisions, eventually writing the brief that helped overturn Sharp’s murder conviction and vacate her life sentence. “She fought for me. She went to bat for me,” Sharp told current students in the Project. “I had given up, and she gave me my life back. You’ll do that for somebody, so take pride in what you want to do. You will make a difference.” ONLINE | Read more about the case and the court’s ruling at law.ku.edu/kim-sharp
— Emily Sharp
KU LAW MAGAZINE 17
archaic compared to how it had evolved in 2003,” he said. “By those standards the original testing never would have been allowed in court.” L’Heureux next examined how the evidence was presented, finding that the results were misstated. “It was prejudicially presented and unchallenged, inaccurate at best,” he said L’Heureux distilled his findings into a motion requesting new testing, which Project Director Jean Phillips filed in court. The motion was successful, and retesting was granted. The next hurdle? Confirming that there was still DNA evidence available to be Miguel L’Heureux, L’05 retested. On the day of the hearing, L’Heureux found a box of samples and crime scene photos in a courtiguel L’Heureux doesn’t have house storage room. a science background, but he “After months and months of got a crash course in biology investigation and reading, to actually thanks to KU Law’s Defender Project. see the evidence is something I haven’t As a second-year law student, forgotten all these years later,” he said. L’Heureux represented a client Though the client maintained his convicted of a 1986 rape and murder. innocence from the beginning, new The case, tried in 1989, was one of test results showed that his DNA the first to allow DNA evidence and matched the sample from the crime garnered national media attention. scene. “The evidence incriminated The defendant was found guilty and him,” L’Heureux said. “It was a sentenced to life in prison. disappointment, because we had put By the time the Project took the so much into investigating the case.” case, new legislation had created a Yet the experience still taught provision for retesting in cases where important lessons. “Even if these updated DNA techniques could results weren’t what we hoped, I provide more accurate results. Before learned that criminal defense work is retesting would be granted, however, a very important part of the process,” L’Heureux had to convince the court L’Heureux said. “Under the law our that current DNA testing methods client was due a new test. I think were more reliable than methods that’s a valuable role — holding the used in the past. other side accountable and making L’Heureux consulted with a KU sure evidence is presented properly.” biology professor to build his case. Today L’Heureux works with the “Testing in the late ’80s was very White House to oversee appointments
LESSONS FROM GUILT | Miguel L’Heureux, L’05, and his wife, Alexis, at the White House.
18 KU LAW MAGAZINE
M
PROJECT TALLIES Even if these “results weren’t
In the past
1,880
what we hoped, I learned that criminal defense work is a very important part of the process.
cases opened
94
direct appeals
”
21
MIGUEL L’HEUREUX, L’05 White House Liaison, U.S. Small Business Administration
to the Small Business Administration. He credits his legal education with teaching him how to investigate facts, build a case and explore uncertainties. “I think that without my law degree, my path wouldn’t have led me here,” L’Heureux said. “When I talk to people considering law school, I tell them I enjoyed my experience and a lot stems from my involvement in the Project.” He also notes that the Project plays an important role in ensuring access to justice. “Clients come to the Project because they don’t have other options,” L’Heureux said. “Sometimes the system hasn’t worked the way it should. Innocent people have been wrongly convicted. Without the Project, some wouldn’t have a voice in that process.”
— Emily Sharp
years
reversals on direct appeal
13,495
hours of progress notes
97
student interns
In the past
years
40
direct appeals, constitutional challenges and actual innocence cases
KU LAW MAGAZINE 19
Watch Bledsoe's emotional thank-you to KU Law law.ku.edu/bledsoe-video
20 KU LAW MAGAZINE
INNOCENCE FOUND
F
or 16 years, he was Bledsoe 70545. A number. An inmate among many inmates. Eating bland food. Staring at the same scenery day after day. Sleeping in locked cells that never dimmed to complete darkness. Now Floyd Bledsoe relishes the simplest pleasures. “I lie in bed and feel the pitch black engulf me to where I can’t see my hand in front of my face, and I’m amazed,” Floyd said. “Amazed at being able to go outside and just walk, feel the gentle breeze, hear the birds, look up at the sky and see the multitude of stars.” On Dec. 8, Floyd walked out of Lansing Correctional Facility for the last time. Hours later, a Jefferson County judge vacated his convictions based on new DNA evidence and his brother’s suicide note. His handcuffs removed, Floyd could finally embrace the KU Law Project for Innocence advocates who fought so hard to win his freedom. “It was one of the most emotional days of my life,” said Kaiti Smith, L’13, one of 10 KU Law alumni who worked on Floyd’s case as students over the past eight years. “Floyd
turned around and gave me a big hug, and we both just started bawling.”
Taking the fall
Floyd was convicted in 2000 of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated indecent liberties in the shooting death of his 14-year-old sister-in-law, Camille Arfmann. Her body was found under a pile of trash with four gunshot wounds in November 1999 just north of Oskaloosa, Kansas. Floyd’s brother, Tom, initially confessed to the brutal rape and murder but later recanted and testified against his brother, telling jurors that Floyd had threatened to disclose unsavory information about his past if he didn’t take the fall. “During the original investigation, all evidence linked Tom to the crime,” said Alice Craig, supervising attorney with the Project. “Tom was unaccounted for when Camille disappeared. The gun he kept in his truck was the murder weapon. He confessed to police and his minister, and he led police to the body. The investigation turned when Tom changed his story and implicated
KU LAW MAGAZINE 21
Floyd. The state’s case hinged entirely on Tom’s testimony.” Despite a verified alibi and a lack of physical evidence connecting Floyd to the crime, he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. The Project for Innocence began representing Floyd in 2007, after the Kansas Supreme Court upheld his convictions.
A new theory
By the time Kaiti Smith enrolled in the Project as a second-year law student in 2011, federal litigation had failed to obtain relief for Floyd and the Project’s focus had turned to DNA testing. Project supervisors assigned Floyd’s case to Smith hoping her undergraduate degree in forensic science would allow her to help evaluate which evidence to test and the most effective type of testing. Because the victim’s body was found in the trash dump used by Tom and his parents, isolating DNA to establish Floyd’s innocence would be challenging. “I knew a lot about DNA, so I thought I could help,” Smith said. “I continued in the Project my 3L year and worked exclusively on Floyd’s case. I sifted through boxes and boxes of evidence and paperwork.” Then early one morning, after a year and a half of poring over transcripts and replaying scenarios in her mind, it hit her: Maybe Floyd’s father helped cover up the murder. Testimony described how Arfmann had been dragged by her feet postmortem. What if genetic material on her socks or pants revealed that someone other than Floyd had helped dispose of her body? “I remember emailing Jean and asking if we could meet. I told her, ‘You’re going to think I’m crazy,’” Smith recalled. On the contrary, Project Director Jean Phillips found Smith’s theory plausible. “We submitted a motion in 2012 to allow us to do DNA testing.” When Smith graduated in 2013, the ball was rolling. Slowly. It would take two more years and two more students — Peter Conley, L’14, and Emily Barclay, L’15 — to write motions, make phone calls, and shepherd evidence from storage locations in Kansas to the California lab that conducted the tests. All the while, Floyd Bledsoe — who never wavered in his claim of innocence and never lost hope that his name would be cleared — waited in prison. “He would call at least once a week, sometimes more, to get updates,” Conley said. “You don’t want to break his heart. But he was always hopeful; his faith is really strong. I wanted to be as confident as he was that DNA testing would overturn his conviction, but I wasn’t always certain that he would be released.”
Textbook case
Floyd’s case got a boost in 2014 when the Project for Innocence formed a partnership with the Midwest
22 KU LAW MAGAZINE
Innocence Project, a member of the national Innocence Network. The collaboration provided the financial resources necessary to continue moving forward with expensive DNA testing. Preliminary results leaned in Floyd’s favor, and Emily Barclay visited the Lansing Correctional Facility with Alice Craig last spring to share the news. “Everyone was incredibly excited but really cautious,” said Barclay, now a public defender in Johnson County, Kansas. “Nobody wanted to say this is, for sure, going to seal the deal.” As it turned out, a surprising development would end up corroborating the DNA results so strongly that Jefferson County Attorney Jason Belveal agreed Floyd’s conviction should be vacated. Judge Gary Nafziger concurred. Not only did final test results (received in September 2015) show the Bledsoes’ father’s DNA on Arfmann’s socks, but it also revealed semen consistent with Tom’s DNA on the vaginal swab taken from Arfmann’s body. Tom, now certain to come under investigation, committed suicide in November in the parking lot of a Bonner Springs Walmart. In suicide notes, Tom confessed to raping and killing FLOYD BLEDSOE Arfmann and Recently exonerated by claimed that thenthe Project for Innocence Jefferson County Attorney Jim Vanderbilt urged him to pin the crime on his brother. He also drew a diagram of the murder scene and led detectives to an empty shell casing that remained at the scene. Further testimony presented at the Dec. 8 hearing on the new evidence revealed that the initial analysis of Arfmann’s rape kit was inconclusive and that Tom, who was originally believed to have passed a polygraph test, had actually failed. Even without the DNA and polygraphs, no physical evidence ever tied Floyd to Arfmann’s murder. For the past eight years, Jean Phillips has used Floyd’s case in the Project for Innocence class as a clear example of injustice. “This case has several hallmarks of a classic wrongful conviction, including prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective
never “hasTruth to be defended; it will always stand on its own merits.
”
Floyd Bledsoe was released from prison in December and later visited KU Law to thank the Project for Innocence for its role in freeing him.
assistance of trial counsel and an inadequate investigation,” Phillips said. “Studying Floyd’s case helps students understand what issues to investigate while working on their own cases in the Project and later as practicing attorneys.”
Search for the truth
Floyd Bledsoe walked into the Jefferson County Courthouse on Dec. 8 in a prison uniform and shackles. Three hours later, he left in jeans and a flannel shirt — free for the first time in over 16 years. He ate steak and drank champagne at a Lawrence restaurant,
slept in a soft hotel bed and woke the next morning to stroll through downtown. “It’s pretty weird going from a prison cell to the Marriott to Massachusetts Street,” Floyd quipped during a recent visit to meet Project for Innocence students at KU Law. Since his release, he has spoken publicly in favor of abolishing the Kansas death penalty and inspired legislation to compensate people wrongfully convicted of crimes. He intends to be a voice for prisoners’ rights and work with programs that help men recently released from
incarceration reintegrate successfully into society. Floyd urged KU Law students to remember his story throughout their legal careers. “When I look out in this room, I see future lawmakers, people who will influence the court system, future judges, future prosecutors,” he said. “Always remember that your client is a person, not a number. “And always search for the truth. Truth never has to be defended; it will always stand on its own merits.” — Mindie Paget
KU LAW MAGAZINE 23
FACULTY NEWS
Alice Craig, Elizabeth Cateforis and Jean Phillips of KU Law’s Project for Innocence
FREEDOM FIGHTERS Faculty honored for work that liberated innocent man from prison THREE KU LAW PROFESSORS WERE
recognized in April for demonstrating “compassion, dedication and tenacity” through nearly a decade of work to free an innocent man from prison. Jean Phillips, Elizabeth Cateforis and Alice Craig of KU Law’s Paul E. Wilson Project for Innocence & Post-Conviction Remedies received the Sean O’Brien Freedom Award from the Midwest Innocence Project during its annual Faces of Innocence benefit in Kansas City, Missouri. The three were singled out for their leading role in winning the exoneration of Floyd Bledsoe, who spent 16 years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit. Students and faculty in the Project worked on Floyd’s case for nearly a decade before new DNA evidence and a
24 KU LAW MAGAZINE
suicide note confession from his brother cleared his name. “The best feeling a lawyer can have is walking out of court or prison with an innocent client who is finally being freed after a decade or more of wrongful incarceration. Everybody would love to have that feeling, but few lawyers are willing to do what it takes to get there,” said Sean O’Brien, associate professor at the UMKC School of Law and the award’s namesake. “The work of Jean, Beth and Alice reminds me of something Mother Teresa said: ‘There are no great deeds, only ordinary deeds, done with great love.’ That’s what these lawyers are all about.” All three honorees graduated from KU Law in the 1990s and worked on the Project for Innocence
— then known as the Defender Project — during law school. Phillips has served as director of the Project since 1999. She hired Cateforis as a supervising attorney that same year, and Craig joined the team in 2004. “I had the good fortune to learn from David Gottlieb, and he taught me the dangers of passing judgment and failing to see that human beings are worthy of respect and compassion. I left that experience knowing that I was put here to battle against simply putting people in prison and forgetting about them,” Phillips said. “We look forward to a time when we actually work ourselves out of a job. “One client at a time — one Floyd Bledsoe at a time — we get a little bit closer to that goal.”
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
Corey Rayburn Yung The New York Times
Child pornography is not like guns or drugs. It can be infinitely copied and distributed. Every time it is viewed, it victimizes those depicted.” In arguing that the FBI allowed for victimization of children when it permitted a known child pornography website to operate in an attempt to snare users and distributors.
Elizabeth Cateforis
BBC World Service
It’s going to take Floyd a long time to get his head around the fact that it really is true, and that’s fine. He can figure out how to move ahead and not dwell on that past. He has a very strong support group.” Regarding the exoneration and release of Floyd Bledsoe, who served 16 years in prison for a murder his brother committed.
Stephen McAllister WIBW
It’s rapid-paced and the setting is so magnificent. I’m still sort of in awe of it every time I stand up in that courtroom and you feel, I guess in a sense, like you’re a little tiny piece of history.” Reflecting on his nine appearances before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Mike Kautsch
6News Lawrence
No other state has had a definition such as this one, so we don’t have the benefit of court opinions or attorney general opinions in other states.” In reference to the Kansas Legislature’s efforts to redefine public record.
Lumen Mulligan
Lawrence Journal-World
The independence of the judiciary is not maintained for the benefit of the judges. It is for us — free citizens of a democratic republic governed under rule of law — for whom the courts stand open as fair and impartial tribunals.” KU LAW MAGAZINE 25
FACULTY NEWS
RESEARCH
Professor explores how cities can switch to low-carbon grid SUSTAINABLE ENERGY IS OFTEN pointed to as one of the keys to mitigating climate change. Cities across the nation have pledged to help improve their energy sources but are often stymied by reliance on an electric power industry fighting climate change policy on the local, state and federal level. A KU Law professor has authored an article detailing innovative approaches of cities and communities to cut carbon emissions and how the efforts will affect energy governance in years to come. Uma Outka, associate professor of law at KU, authored “Cities and the Low-Carbon Grid,” published in the journal Environmental Law. The study examines the evolution of cities and the modern electric grid, legal context for cities’ electric power, cites examples of cities making innovative transitions and argues that, increasingly, cities can influence the transition to a low-carbon energy sector. Boulder, Colorado is an environ-
26 KU LAW MAGAZINE
mentally conscious town. More than a decade ago, the city was among the first in America to develop a local agenda for climate change mitigation and even offered support of the Kyoto Protocol for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, even though the United States did not sign the international treaty. Yet in 2013 city leaders realized they were dependent on investor-owned utility company Xcel, which provided more than 75 percent of the city’s power through fossil fuels, primarily coal. To change that, the city is pursuing a public ownership model that would give it local control and flexibility to obtain power from renewable sources. “They have been dependent on the resource decisions Xcel would make,” Outka said of Boulder.
“Reading about that situation made me want to dig deeper into what cities could do on energy use and climate change. It’s a varied landscape and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but I think this transitional moment for the electricity sector presents new possibilities that motivated cities can explore.” Boulder voters approved ballot measures in 2011 and 2013 to form a public utility. The city has since been in the process of acquiring generation and distribution infrastructure, while ending its partnership with Xcel. “Cities have been leading forces for demanding change in the area of low-carbon energy, even though electricity is still one of the hardest issues for cities to influence,” Outka said. “That is appropriate in an era when the majority of our population lives within cities and the success of those leading in the low-carbon transition offers examples for other cities that want to do more to drive change locally.” — Mike Krings
RESEARCH
‘Risk-related activism’ could prevent next financial crisis SINCE THE FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 2008, DEBATE has raged over how to prevent the next one. A KU Law professor has published a study arguing that institutional investors, like mutual funds and pension funds, need to be part of the solution.” Professor Virginia Harper Ho published “Risk-Related Activism: The Business Case for Monitoring Nonfinancial Risk” in the Journal of Corporation Law. The article calls for leading investors to engage in risk-related activism — the use of shareholder power to promote firm management, mitigation and disclosure of risk. Harper Ho argues that there are potential economic payoffs to investors, firms and capital markets when leading investors pay closer attention to nonfinancial or “environmental, social and governance” (ESG) risks, like those associated with executive compensation practices, global supply chains and climate change. Financial risks are typically hedged, but many of these nonfinancial risks may not even be on companies’ radar screens.
In “the post-financial crash landscape, investors have more power to influence corporate practice not just because of their voting power but because Congress has given them more of a voice,” she said. “The real question now is how investors should use that power.” Harper Ho contends in her article that more investors should push for better risk management and oversight from the firms in which they invest. She counters potential objections by presenting evidence that institutional investors can improve and protect portfolio value if they pay more attention to nonfinancial risk. — Mike Krings
RESEARCH
Combatting racial disparities with ‘postracial’ remedies FOR MANY PEOPLE, BARACK OBAMA’S ELECTION TO the nation’s highest office proved that race is no longer a barrier to the American Dream – that we are living in a “postracial” society. The Supreme Court’s equal protection jurisprudence seems to support this position. However, evidence suggests that lingering racial bias persists in police relations, education, incarceration, employment and other aspects of everyday life. A KU Law professor has co-authored an article calling for “postracial remedies” as a means to fight these disparities in a politically feasible, constitutional way. The Supreme Court has limited the availability of remedies for racial inequality by blocking race-specific measures such as affirmative action, rejecting constitutional claims based on “disparate impact” and ruling that the Constitution does not prohibit private acts of discrimination. Given these legal precedents, coupled with the fact that racial harmony has not become reality, Richard Levy and Derrick Darby propose “pragmatic solutions for the
economic, social, and structural problems that disproportionately burden African-Americans without treating people differently because of their race.” “We are hopeful that creating a rising tide to lift all boats can go a long way toward mitigating racial disparities in America,” they write. The authors argue that it is more effective to target the socioeconomic issues underlying racial disparities, on the theory that solving these broader problems will also reduce racial inequality. For example, enhancing investments in public education or offering free college tuition could help counter educational disparities for many people. — Mike Krings
KU LAW MAGAZINE 27
FACULTY NEWS
OPINION
Independent judiciary protects our liberties TO SOME OF US, WHETHER WE ARE IN GOVERNMENT or as citizens, the Kansas Supreme Court’s recent actions striking down the 2015 school-finance scheme could be seen as a wrongful power grab. Nothing could be further from the truth. The independence of the judiciary is not maintained for the benefit of the judges. It is for us — free citizens of a democratic republic governed under rule of law — for whom the courts stand open as fair and impartial tribunals. Of all the evils listed in the Declaration of Independence, none was worse than the colonial judges’ complete dependence upon the king. As Thomas Jefferson penned, “(King George III) has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.” Having experienced life under a system where judges bowed to political pressure, instead of standing up for the rights of the people under law, the founders were determined not to repeat that mistake. Our founders were right on this score. Consider two recent examples where we, the people, needed an independent judiciary to strike down legislative acts to protect our rights: n When the D.C. legislature banned all handguns,
an overwhelmingly popular law, the independent courts were there to exercise their duty to strike this law as a violation of the people’s right to bear arms. n When Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ administration
attempted to condemn property without first ensuring that all the creditors were paid, our independent Kansas judiciary was there to find the this conduct unconstitutional. As these cases, and many more that I could list for you, demonstrate, we need an independent judiciary in our state now as much as we ever have. Even if some believe the independence of the courts is a barrier to the enactment of wise laws at this current moment, can these same people be sure that the next state or federal administration will not act
ONLINE | Find more news at law.ku.edu/faculty
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beyond the bounds of the Constitution? None of us knows who the next governor or president will be. Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously quipped, “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” What he meant was, democracy is a human endeavor. It is, therefore, #KUworks not perfect, but it is better Professor Lou Mulligan than any of the alternatives. clarified the separation of Much the same can be powers doctrine in January said of independent courts for members of the Kansas with the power to strike Senate Judiciary Committee, statutes as unconstitutional. who invited his testimony. I make no claim that the “Ultimately, separation of Kansas or federal courts powers — saying that some have never erred, at least powers are for the governor, from my perspective, in some powers are for the applying constitutional law. Statehouse, some powers I know full well that all are for the judiciary — that Kansans have passionate division of labor is designed views on school funding to protect the rights of all and many other issues. the people, so that no one But perfection cannot group can run roughshod be the right measure for over anybody else. There any human institution — is no emperor.” including our independent Kansas courts. The question must be, over the course of our history and looking toward an uncertain future: Are our liberties better protected with an independent judiciary? The answer to this question can only be “yes.” — Lumen Mulligan is the Earl B. Shurtz Research Professor of Law and director of KU’s Shook, Hardy & Bacon Center for Excellence in Advocacy. This op-ed originally appeared in the Lawrence Journal-World on Feb. 17, 2016. His complete Senate Judiciary Committee testimony will be published in the Journal of the Kansas Bar Association’s May issue.
APPOINTMENTS
Alumna set to return as Langston Hughes Visiting Professor PROFESSOR SARAH DEER will return to KU Law this fall to serve as the 2016 Langston Hughes Visiting Professor. Deer is a graduate of both KU (1995) and KU Law (1999), and is currently a professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. She is recognized nationally for her expertise on sexual violence in Indian country. In the fall, Deer will co-teach the Sex Crimes course with KU Law Professor Corey Rayburn Yung, and the Tribal Judicial Support Clinic with Professor Elizabeth Kronk Warner. She will also teach a class on Feminist Jurisprudence. “I’m very excited and grateful for this opportunity,” Deer said. A citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Deer has documented in her scholarship a history of inadequate protection for victims of physical and sexual abuse in Indian Country. She has simultaneously worked with grassroots and national organizations to reform federal policies that hinder the ability of tribes to prosecute offenders. Her efforts were instrumental in the passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 and the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. In 2014, she was named a MacArthur Fellow by the MacArthur Foundation. Deer recently published a book, “The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America,” and participated in a conference hosted by the White House Council on Women and Girls. The Langston Hughes Visiting Professorship was established at KU in 1977 in honor of the African-American poet, playwright and fiction writer who lived in Lawrence from 1903 to 1916. The professorship attracts prominent or emerging ethnic minority scholars to KU. This is the first Langston Hughes appointment for the law school.
Honors FACULTY KUDOS KU Law professor elected to board of Clinical Legal Education Association A KU LAW PROFESSOR HAS BEEN ELECTED TO the board of a national organization that advocates for clinical legal education as fundamental to the education of lawyers. Melanie DeRousse, clinical associate professor and director of the Legal Aid Clinic, attended her first Clinical Legal Education Association board meeting in January in New York City. “It is an exciting time to be involved in clinical legal education at a national level as law schools adjust to the ABA’s new standards for experiential education and as the opportunities expand for students to engage in meaningful practice while still in school,” DeRousse said. Raj Bhala presented in April at the 2016 Inter-Pacific Bar Association meeting in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. Bhala spoke on trade negotiations, trade dispute resolutions, Islamic finance, TPP and the ASEAN economic community. Elizabeth Kronk Warner spoke April 25 at the fourth Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples Lecture at the University of Oregon. Her discussion explored tribal sovereignty, traditional knowledge and climate-induced change among indigenous peoples in the United States. The Faculty Lounge blog posted two articles written by Mike Hoeflich in conjunction with its efforts to relaunch the American Journal of Legal History. Chris Drahozal presented the inaugural Glenn P. Hendrix Lecture on international arbitration March 24 at Emory University School of Law.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 29
ALUMNI NEWS
Clockwise from top: Mark Dupree, left, greets 2L Kriston Guillot; Hispanic American Law Students Association members Sole Suchomel, left, Christina Rodriguez-Padilla and Sylvia Hernandez pose for a party pic; Alyse Zadalis, L’15, an associate at Shook, Hardy & Bacon catches up with Professors Sandy McKenzie, left, and Ellen Sward.
30 KU LAW MAGAZINE
2016 Diversity in Law Banquet THE KU LAW COMMUNITY gathered March 6, 2016 for the 21st annual Diversity in Law Banquet, a celebration of diversity in the legal profession and a major fundraiser for the Diversity Scholarship Fund. The Hispanic American Law Students Association hosted the event, and Judge Christine Arguello of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado addressed guests. Thank you to all who joined us for this memorable evening, and to photographer Earl Richardson, L’08, for capturing all these beautiful moments.
Clockwise from top left: A crowd of more than 150 people gathered to celebrate at the 2016 Diversity in Law Banquet; Stan Williams, L’81, enjoys visiting with friends; Matt Keane, L’13, an associate at Shook, Hardy & Bacon chats with Professor Sandy McKenzie; Judge Christine Arguello of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado delivers the keynote address.
KU LAW MAGAZINE 31
ALUMNI NEWS
1
4
2
5
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50 years & counting Members of the KU Law Class of 1966 and all previous classes celebrated the 50/50+ Reunion April 22-23 in Lawrence. Their smiles and animated conversations tell the weekend’s story. 32 KU LAW MAGAZINE
1
J. Eugene Balloun, L’54
2
Michelle Worrall, L’88, and her father, Larry Worrall, right catch up with Kevin Kelly, L’89.
3
Don Johnston, L’66
4
Justice Fred Six, L’56
EARL RICHARDSON
7
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Mike Stout, L’61, and his wife, LeAnn
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Charles Wetzler, L’63, and his guest, Kathryn Roeder
7
8 The Class of 1966 and special guests, clockwise from front right, Jerry Palmer, KU Law Dean Stephen Mazza, Larry Sheppard, 9
Don Johnston, former KU Law Dean and Judge James Logan, Richard Zinn, Mark Berkley, Melvin Saferstein and Peter Curran. John Seeber, L’53 Don Culp, L’65, and Larry Sheppard
KU LAW MAGAZINE 33
ALUMNI NEWS
2015-2016
VOLUNTEER HONOR ROLL The Volunteer Honor Roll recognizes the many KU Law graduates who donate time, energy and expertise mentoring and staging mock interviews with students, guest lecturing in law classes and at student organization events, judging moot court rounds, hosting alumni receptions, serving on boards and otherwise volunteering 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 2015 to April 2016. If you are aware of omissions or errors, please contact Mindie Paget at mpaget@ku.edu.
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MOCK INTERVIEWS Xavier Andrews, L’14 David Barclay, L’14 Michael Cappo, L’13 Lindsey Collins, L’14 Timothy Davis, L’10 Bryan Didier, L’04 Ashley Dillon, L’13 Emily Disney, L’13 Lori Dougherty-Bischel, L’06 Robert Flynn, L’06 Jeremy Graber, L’09 Steve Grieb, L’07 Melissa Johnson, L’94 Chris Kaufman, L’10 Kyle Kitson, L’13 Christopher McHugh, L’00 Jean Menager, L’14 Hillary Nicholas, L’15 Erica Ramsey, L’10 Clay Randle, L’14 Jason Romero, L’09 Jere Sellers, L’93 Henry Thomas, L’14 Emily Vijayakirthi, L’04 Jacob Wamego, L’14 Alyse Zadalis, L’15
1L MENTORS Jennifer Ananda, L’10 Xavier Andrews, L’14 Caroline Bader, L’09 David Barclay, L’14 Jay Berryman, L’14 Lisa Bolliger, L’12 James Carter, L’12 Paul Cassat, L’14 Ebonie Davis, L’13 Emily Disney, L’13 Lori Dougherty-Bischel, L’06 Alison Erickson, L’09 Alan Fogleman, L’11 Sean Foley, L’12 Lindsey Heinz, L’09 Martha Hodgesmith, L’78 Lawrence Jenab, L’02 Nick Jenkins, L’14 James Johnson, L’03 Chris Kaufman, L’10 Anna Kimbrell, L’14
Kyle Kitson, L’13 Michael Kopit, L’12 Kyle Kitson, L’13 Michael Kopit, L’12 Laurel Kupka, L’11 Leilani Leighton, L’12 Joan Lowdon, L’10 Kate Marples, L’14 Jack McInnes, L’04 Jean Menager, L’14 Edward Penner, L’12 Melissa Plunkett, L’11 Dana Pugh, L’12 Clay Randle, L’14 Barbara Reinard, L’12 Jason Romero, L’09 Charles Stinson, L’13 Rene Ugarte, L’13 Kevin Wempe, L’14 Aubrey Wilson, L’14 Edward Wilson, L’00 Ashlee Yager, L’14 Daniel Yoza, L’08
GUEST LECTURERS, SPEAKERS & PANELISTS Chesney Allen, L’11 Xavier Andrews, L’14 Curtis Barnhill, L’90 Diane Bellquist, L’02 Laci Boyle, L’09 Emilie Burdette, L’05 William Colby, L’82 Tamara Combs, L’15 Toby Crouse, L’00 Catherine Decena, L’08 Cassandra Dickerson, L’14 Ashley Dillon, L’13 Mark Dodd, L’06 Kellee Dunn-Walters, L’86 Crystal Ellison, L’15 Tyler Epp, L’03 Cpt. Anne Fischer, L’92 Michael Fischer, L’07 Rick Griffin, L’04 Casey Halsey, L’82 Bryanna Hanschu, L’15 Katie Harpstrite, L’07 Grant Harse, L’10 Becky Howlett, L’14
Clockwise from opposite page: Judge Tim Lahey, L’ 84, of the Sedgwick County District Court speaks with students at Legal Career Options Day; Joan Lowdon, L’10, speaks with former Career Services Director LaVerta Logan before meeting her mentee at the 1L Mentor Reception; Shon Qualseth, L’97, teaches students in KU Law’s Deposition Skills Workshop.
Hon. Teresa James, L’84 Nick Jenkins, L’14 Kimberly Jones, L’94 Lisa Hund Lattan, L’92 Linda Legg, L’75 David Magariel, L’04 Sara McCallum, L’14 Anne McDonald L’82 Logan McRae, L’11 Melanie Morgan, L’93 Jeffrey Pyle, L’13 Dave Rebein, L’80 Pat Stueve, L’87 Rob Sturgeon, L’77
Jabari Wamble, L’06 Jacob Wamego, L’14 Burton Warrington, L’09 Marlon Williams, L’94 Samantha Woods, L’13 Issaku Yamaashi, L’00 MOOT COURT JUDGES & COACHES Hon. G. Gordon Atcheson, L’81 Carrie Bader, L’09 Hon. Teri Barr, L’01 Jonathan Becker, L’89 Chip Blaser, L’93
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Paige Blevins, L’15 Grant Brazill, L’15 Patrick Broxterman, L’05 Amii Castle, L’97 Toby Crouse, L’00 Tim Davis, L’10 Nathan Dayani, L’11 Ashley Dillon, L’13 Mark Dodd, L’06 Dan Dunbar, L’93 Hon. Robert Fairchild, L’73 Mike Fischer, L’07 Maria Kaminska Garcia, L’09 Bryanna Hanschu, L’15 Jason Harmon, L’15 Robert Hoffman, L’93 Becky Howlett, L’14 Steve Hunting, L’04 Hon. Steve Leben, L’82 Terence Leibold, L’96 Kenneth Lynn, L’81 Catesby Major, L’04 Paul Mose, L’15 Kate Marples, L’14 Shane McCall, L’10 Alison McCourt, L’15 Douglas Mizer, L’11 S.J. Moore, L’06 Hon. Cynthia Norton, L’84 Hon. Robert Nugent, L’80 Ryan Peck, L’03 Edward Penner, L’12 Adrien Piercy, L’14 Shon Qualseth, L’97 Robert Ramsdell, L’99 Chris Redmond, L’71 Clark Richardson, L’14 Gretchen Rix, L’15 Logan Rutherford, L’12 Bill Sampson, L’71 Kelley Sears, L’74 Lisa Schultes, L’85 Joshua Seiden, L’11 Debra Snider, L’99 Samantha Sweley, L’15 Sarah Sypher, L’04 Holly Teeter, L’06 Darin Van Thournout, L’13 Burton Warrington, L’09 Hon. Robert Wonnell, L’02
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Stanley Woodworth, L’78 Alyse Zadalis, L’15
CAREER MENTORS Shane Bangerter, L’91 Mark Dodd, L’06 Tyler Epp, L’03 Mike Fischer, L’07 Robert Flynn, L’06 Hon. Stephanie Mitchell, L’06 Andy Nolan, L’98 Hon. Joe Pierron, L’71 Braden Perry, L’02 David Rebein, L’80 David Roby, L’06 Bill Sampson, L’71 David Seely, L’82 Steve Six, L’93 Rachel Smith, L’99 Pat Stueve, L’87 Butch Tate, L’82 Derek Teeter, L’06
LEGAL CAREER FAIRS Curtis Barnhill, L’90 Stacey Blakeman, L’09 Paige Blevins, L’15 James Borelli, L’84 Ryan Boyer, L’13 Christi Bright, L’95 Kathleen Britton, L’07 Ryan Brunton, L’02 Michael Cappo, L’13 James Carter, L’12 David Clauser, L’92 Danielle Davey, L’09 Timothy Davis, L’10 Bryan Didier, L’04 Emily Disney, L’13 Kip Elliott, L’95 Andrew Ellis, L’11 Michael Fischer, L’07 Meghan Flanders, L’10 Robert Flynn, L’06 Alex Gard, L’08 Rebekah Gaston, L’05 Matthew Gough, L’05 Jeremy Graber, L’09 Steve Grieb, L’07 Joel Griffiths, L’12
Jennifer Hackman, L’15 Erika Hane, L’13 Bryanna Hanschu, L’15 Jessica Heinen, L’14 Garth Herrmann, L’06 Thomas Johnson, L’88 Matt Keane, L’13 Paul Klepper, L’14 Linda Koester-Vogelsang, L’90 Chad Kyle, L’11 Hon. Tim Lahey, L’84 Anna Landis, L’10 Gayle Larkin, L’90 William Larzalere, L’83 Terence Leibold, L’96 William LeMaster, L’03 Ashlyn Lindskog, L’15 Daniel Luppino, L’11 Katherine Marples, L’14 Kelly McPherron, L’02 Kendra Oakes, L’10 Kyle O’Brien, L’14 Julie Parisi, L’13 Braden Perry, L’02 Hon. G. Joseph Pierron, L’71 Clay Randle, L’14 Andrew Ricke, L’10 Shon Robben, L’94 Mohitindervi Sandhu, L’14 Matthew Schoonover, L’10 Christopher Scott, L’08 Luke Sinclair, L’08 Michael Slack, L’09 Joshua Smith, L’10 Todd Thompson, L’82 Kenneth Titus, L’14 Jabari Wamble, L’06 Michael Werner, L’00 Edward Wilson, L’00 Ashlee Yager, L’14 Daniel Yoza, L’08
SUPERVISORS FOR CLINICAL STUDENTS Sarah Lynn Baltzell, L’08 Katie Bray Barnett, L’11 John Bullock, L’91 Amii Castle, L’97 Mitch Chaney, L’81 Leland Cox, L’81
Hon. Dan Crabtree, L’81 Hon. Robert Fairchild, L’73 Kate Gleeson, L’12 Hon. Paul Gurney, L’82 Anne Gusewelle, L’96 Elizabeth Hafoka, L’07 Hon. Dave Hauber, L’83 Lindsey Heinz, L’09 Stephen Hunting, L’04 Hon. Teresa James, L’84 Scott Kaiser, L’03 Hon. Janice Miller Karlin, L’80 Hon. Peggy Carr Kittel, L’83 Hon. Timothy Lahey, L’84 Anna Landis, L’10 Hon. John Lungstrum, L’70 Chuck Marvine, L’96 Lori McGroder, L’89 Hon. Carlos Murguia, L’82 Mike O’Neal, L’76 Shon Qualseth, L’97 David Rebein, L’80 Peter Riggs, L’04 Hon. Julie Robinson, L’81 Rachel Rolf, L’07 Bill Sampson, L’71 Steve Scheve, L’81 Chris Scott, L’08 Jon Strongman, L’02 Hon. Kathryn Vratil, L’75 Hon. Richard Walker, L’73 Jabari Wamble, L’06 Hon. Robert Wonnell, L’02 Hon. William Woolley, L’86 Dan Zmijewski, L’03
ON-CAMPUS INTERVIEWS Katie Andrusak, L’13 Kyle Binns, L’07 Doug Bonney, L’85 Laci Boyle, L’09 Shannon Braun, L’04 Kathleen Britton, L’07 Ryan Brunton, L’02 Katie Gates Calderon, L’07 Walt Cofer, L’81 Dan Cranshaw, L’03 Erika DeMarco, L’06 Ashley Dillon, L’13
Left: David Rebein, L’ 80, of Rebein Bangerter Rebein in Dodge City, Kansas, teaches students in KU Law’s Expert Witness Skills Workshop. Right: Rebekah Gaston, L’05, talks to students about career opportunities at Kansas Appleseed during the Government Career Fair.
Nathan Elliott, L’10 Andrew Ellis, L’11 Michael Fischer, L’07 Robert Flynn, L’06 Julia Gilmore Gaughan, L’08 Matthew Gough, L’05 Christopher Grenz, L’10 Rick Griffin, L’04 Tyler Heffron, L’05 Jessica Heinen, L’14 Garth Herrmann, L’06 Robert Hoffman, L’93 Chris Kaufman, L’10 Paul Klepper, L’09 Andrew Kovar, L’07 Laurel Kupka, L’11 Brad LaForge, L’01 Kendra Lewison, L’95 Kelli Lieurance, L’05 Carrie McAtee, L’03 Sarah Millin, L’03 Terelle Mock, L’03 Casey Murray, L’05 Andrew Nolan, L’98 S. Patrick O’Bryan, L’05 Ann Parkins, L’12 Dallas Rakestraw, L’06
Clay Randle, L’14 Eli Rosenberg, L’12 William Sampson, L’71 Mark Samsel, L’10 Joseph Schremmer, L’13 Christopher Scott, L’08 David Seely, L’79 Darin Stowell, L’04 Roger Templin, L’92 Kenneth Titus, L’14 Jennifer Tucker, L’10 Sean Walsh, L’11 Jabari Wamble, L’06 Tom Weilert, L’75 Samantha Woods, L’13 Katherine Zogleman, L’03
MISCELLANEOUS David Green, L’14 Linda Legg, L’75 Daniel Runge, L’09 James Pottorff, L’84 Alyssa Williamson, L’12
NEW MEMBERS OF BOARD OF GOVERNORS
DIVERSITY ADVISORY COUNCIL
Dennis Depew, L’83 John E. Hayes Jr., L’91 Carrie McAtee, L’03 Linda Legg, L’75 Kelli Colyer Lieurance, L’05 Thomas P. Maltese, L’08 Doug Richmond, L’89 John L. Snyder, L’94 Jabari B. Wamble, L’06
Mayra Aguirre, L’07 Laura Clark Fey, L’92 Amy Fowler, L’00 Tonda Hill, L’12 Rico Kolster, L’00 Pat Konopka, L’94 Don Low, L’75 Jehan Kamil Moore, L’05 Demetrius Peterson, L’09 Kelley Sears, L’74 Jabari Wamble, L’06 Issaku Yamaashi, L’00 Holly Zane, L’86 Gabe Zorogastua, L’07
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE Martin Bauer, L’75 Lydia Beebe, L’77 David Elkouri, L’78 Kit Smith, L’72 Tom Wagstaff, L’72
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#TBT
The more things change We got a kick out of this 1909 Old Green Hall postcard, dispatched by a KU Law student. In case you can’t make out the penmanship, the desperate note reads: “You must forgive me for not writing sooner. I have all my work in this building. Take a good hard look at it and then feel sorry for me.” Then as now, law school is grueling work.
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ClassNotes
Items were received or collected prior to April 1, 2016. Submit your news online at law.ku.edu/keep-touch. KU Law Magazine relies on alumni for the accuracy of information reported.
1954 Larry Keenan received the Professionalism Award from the Kansas Bar Association. The award recognizes an individual who has practiced law for 10 or more years and who – by his or her conduct, honesty, integrity and courtesy – best exemplifies, represents and encourages other lawyers to follow the highest standards of the legal profession as identified by the KBA Hallmarks of the Profession. Keenan is a founding partner of the Keenan Law Firm in Great Bend, Kansas.
countries around the globe. The event, “From Wall Street to Shanghai: Shaping the Environmental and Economic Policies of the Future,” took place Sept. 24 on the Chestertown, Maryland campus. Craig R. Oliver was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2016 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He was recognized for expertise in medical malpractice and personal injury law. Oliver practices with The Law Offices of Palmer Oliver PC in Springfield, Missouri.
1960 Jim Graves received the Missouri Coalition for Community Behavioral Healthcare Community Board Impact Award in September for his “dedicated philanthropy in the mental health field.” A past board chairman for the Family Guide Center, Graves is retired after 53 years of civil law practice, 12 years on the Family Guidance Center board of directors and more than 20 years on the board of Heartland Health (now Mosaic Healthcare System).
1980 James D. (Jim) Eggleston Jr. was appointed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to serve on the Texas Animal Health Commission. A partner at Eggleston King LLP, Eggleston is board certified in both commercial real estate law and farm and ranch real estate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Marvin Motley was elected to the KU Endowment Board of Trustees at the group’s annual meeting in October. Motley is director of sourcing, supply chain management for Sprint Corporation. He has served as the chair of the KU Alumni Association National Board of Directors and on numerous committees of the Alumni Association board. Hon. Michael Powers, chief judge of the 8th Judicial District, was elected president of the Kansas District Judges’ Association. Powers has been a district court judge since 1991 and chief judge since 1994. Tim Whelan, executive vice president of TAMKO Building Products Inc., was selected for the Joplin Regional Business Journal’s 2015 class of Regional Men of Distinction. The honor recognizes men in Joplin, Missouri and surrounding communities who “have dedicated their lives
1977 Lydia Beebe led a public study group on Oct. 20 at the Dole Institute of Politics as part of “First in Their Class,” a six-week series that featured women leaders in public service and business. Beebe is senior of counsel in the San Francisco office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. 1978 Sheila Bair, president of Washington College, was joined by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson for a symposium on environmental and economic issues facing
to making a difference in the worlds of business, civic activism and nonprofit philanthropy.” 1982 James Muehlberger, a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP in Kansas City, Missouri, was named among the 2016 Client Service All-Stars by BTI Consulting Group. Muehlberger was recognized for his work in litigation and is among 316 attorneys named across the country this year. David Nickel was named consumer counsel for the Citizens’ Utility Ratepayer Board, a state agency that advocates for Kansas utility customers. Nickel previously practiced oil and gas law with Depew, Gillen, Rathbun & McInteer LC in Wichita, Kansas. Todd N. Thompson, was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers at the organization’s annual meeting in Chicago. Fellowship is extended by invitation only to experienced trial lawyers who show high standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Thompson is an attorney at Thompson Ramsdell Qualseth & Warner PA in Lawrence, Kansas. 1985 Justice Carol A. Beier was elected as a new member of the American Law Institute by confidential nominations submitted by ALI members. ALI is an independent organization that produces scholarly work to clarify, modernize and improve the law. Beier serves on the Kansas Supreme Court. 1988 Darren Hensley was appointed by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper to a second consecutive three-year term on the Colorado Securities Board. Hensley
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is a shareholder in the Denver office of Polsinelli PC. Thomas Martin was unanimously elected as managing member of the Kansas City, Missouri office of Lewis Rice LLC. Martin has been a member of the firm’s litigation department for almost three decades, focusing on banking and commercial litigation. W. Scott Toth was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers at the organization’s annual meeting in Chicago. Fellowship is extended by invitation only to experienced trial lawyers who show high standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Toth, a partner in the Olathe firm of Garretson & Toth LLC, has practiced in Johnson County for 27 years. 1989 Jill S. Galbreath has joined DST Systems Inc. in Kansas City, Missouri as in-house counsel-senior legal specialist in global procurement. Deborah Klee Riley, general counsel and managing partner in the Chicago office of Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer PA, was named chair of the firm’s new Women Affinity Group. Riley has been with the firm for three years. In February, she spoke about succession planning for law firms and attorneys at DRI’s Women in Law annual meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. 1990 Shelli Crow-Johnson joined the Topeka law firm of Coffman, DeFries & Nothern PA as an attorney. Also a CPA, her areas of practice include estate planning, tax planning, estate and gift tax returns, and fiduciary and individual income tax returns. Jane Deterding was named to the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission by Attorney General Derek Schmidt. The Commission enforces the state’s ethics and campaign finance laws. Deterding serves as general counsel and executive vice president at Citizens Bank of Kansas, located in Wichita. Lisa Robertson was named city attorney for Topeka in September 2015. Robertson previously served as the city attorney for St. Joseph, Missouri. Susan Krehbiel William, a stockholder in the Topeka law firm of
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Kristy Lambert, L’91, sings the national anthem before the Feb. 21 NBA game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Oklahoma City.
Coffman, DeFries & Nothern PA, has been named the 2016 Topeka Tax Law “Lawyer of the Year” by The Best Lawyers in America. In addition, William was selected by her peers for inclusion in the 2016 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of trusts and estates law, as well as tax law. 1991 Paul D. Boppart was elected a shareholder in the Kansas City, Missouri office of Polsinelli PC. He focuses his practice on commercial real estate law and real estate finance. Eric Kuwana was profiled in a National Law Journal article on “Winning Litigators.” The article focuses on his successful representation of iStar Inc., a case in which he and his trial team obtained a multi-hundred-million-dollar judgment, including attorneys’ fees, against plaintiff Lennar. Kristy Lambert (pictured above) sang the national anthem for the Feb. 21 NBA game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Oklahoma City. She has previously
performed the national anthem at Kansas City Royals and Sporting Kansas City games. Lambert is a unit supervisor for the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, which enforces the state’s anti-discrimination law in employment, housing and public accommodations. Tammee McVey joined the Overland Park office of SouthLaw PC in August 2015 as an associate attorney in the litigation department. 1992 Denise Drake joined the Kansas City, Missouri office of Polsinelli PC as a shareholder in the national labor and employment practice. Drake previously worked as a managing partner at Littler Mendelson PC. Hon. Kevin O’Connor was appointed by Gov. Sam Brownback to a judgeship on the Sedgwick County District Court in April 2015. O’Connor previously served as a prosecutor in the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office. Ken Smiley returned to the Kansas City area and accepted a position with Digital-Strata, an e-discovery, forensics and legal applications services firm. For nearly two
decades, Smiley has led e-discovery initiatives at some of the world’s largest banks, financial institutions, government agencies and aerospace organizations. 1993 Sally A. Howard joined Human Longevity Inc. in San Diego as head of regulatory affairs and policy. With more than two decades of health policy and regulatory expertise, Howard will lead efforts related to federal and state regulatory oversight. She previously served at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as senior advisor and acting chief of staff to the FDA commissioner. Evan Ice, a partner in the Lawrence office of Stevens & Brand LLP, received the Courageous Attorney Award from the Kansas Bar Association. The award recognizes a lawyer who has displayed exceptional courage in the face of adversity. 1994 Holly A. Dyer, a partner in the Wichita office of Foulston Siefkin LLP, was elected as a new member of the American Law Institute. Kimberly Jones was elected managing partner of Seyferth Blumenthal & Harris LLC in Kansas City, Missouri. She is one of only a handful of women filling this role in the metro area. Joe Reardon became president and CEO of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Erin Syring was promoted to executive vice president of operations at IMA Inc., a financial services company specializing in risk management, insurance and employee benefit solutions. Syring will oversee resources in Denver, Dallas, Kansas City and Wichita. 1995 Karen K. Cain has joined Littler’s Kansas City, Missouri, office as a shareholder. A lead defense litigator, Cain’s experience includes individual and class claims, including defense of lawsuits
filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She has also defended claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, constructive discharge and more. Cain previously served as counsel in the Kansas City office of Bryan Cave. Sal Intagliata was named a shareholder at Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered, in Wichita, Kansas. Intagliata started his career with the firm in 2006 and rejoined in 2010 after serving as an assistant district attorney in the gangs and violent crimes division of the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. 1996 Kurt R. Erskine was appointed first assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia in August 2015. He also serves as chief of public corruption prosecutions for the office, located in Atlanta. 1999 Sarah Deer published a book, “The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America,” to much acclaim. A citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, Deer is a law professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, a 2014 MacArthur fellow, and an advocate for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence in Native American communities. In November, she participated in a panel at “Advancing Equity for Women & Girls of Color: A Research Agenda for the Next Decade,” a conference hosted by the White House Council on Women and Girls. Deer was inducted into the Mvskoke Hall of Fame in October 2015. 2000 Devon Reese is an attorney and partner at Reese Kintz and Guinasso in Incline Village, Nevada. He and his husband, Felipe Cisneros, live in Reno with their three children.
Terrence Campbell, L’97
Obama nominates KU Law alumnus to federal bench FOR THE SECOND TIME IN TWO years, President Obama has nominated a KU Law graduate to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. Terrence J. Campbell, L’97, practices civil and criminal law at Barber Emerson LC in Lawrence, Kansas. U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran called Campbell “a respected lawyer with high qualifications that make him a strong nominee.” Campbell began his legal career as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge John Lungstrum from 1997 to 1999. His resume also includes service as a traffic judge pro tem for the District Court of Douglas County from 2005 to 2008 and as an adjunct professor teaching Contracts at KU Law in 2001. Pending Senate confirmation, Campbell will join Judge Daniel Crabtree, L’81, also an Obama nominee, and several other KU Law alumni on the federal court.
2002 Diana Toman was appointed senior vice president, general counsel and
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Current Humanities Voices and Sustainability” at Northern Arizona University. Williams is professor and chair of environmental science at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas, and an adjunct professor at KU Law.
U.S. Rep. Kevin W. Yoder, L’02, and wife Brooke Robinson Yoder, L’05, welcomed a daughter, Eloise Jane, on Nov. 2, 2015. She joins an older sister, Caroline Lucille.
corporate secretary at Compass Minerals in Overland Park, Kansas. Toman will direct the organization’s legal affairs, including corporate governance, merger and acquisition activity, SEC reporting, commercial matters, litigation oversight, environmental matters, corporate compliance, intellectual property and labor/employment law, among other areas. 2002 U.S. Rep. Kevin W. Yoder and his wife, Brooke Robinson Yoder, L’05 (pictured above), welcomed a daughter, Eloise Jane, on Nov. 2, 2015. She joins an older sister, Caroline Lucille. 2003 Eric Aufdengarten was hired as deputy trial counsel in the Office of Chief Trial Counsel at the State Bar of California. He and his husband, Joseph Nadeau, also a KU graduate, were married May 20, 2015. Their wedding was part of a recent episode of the reality show “Top Chef.” 2004 Nicholas Bunnell was named a partner at Foley & Mansfield’s new office in Leawood, Kansas. Bunnell focuses his practice on construction law and litigation, product liability, toxic torts/mass torts, and employment.
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Julie Smith was named legal counsel for Nebraska’s Department of Correctional Services in June 2015. 2005 John Patterson joined the Kansas City, Missouri firm of Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice LLC as of counsel. Patterson represents corporations and individuals in a variety of areas, including product liability, employment, financial services, fidelity and surety, transportation, premises liability, insurance, pharmaceutical and medical device, construction and commercial litigation. Trevor Riddle was named a shareholder at Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered, in Wichita, Kansas. Riddle focuses his practice on criminal defense, municipal defense, federal criminal law, trial practice, and appellate practice. He previously served as an assistant county attorney in Butler County, Kansas. Deborah Williams was selected as a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Scholar. She will attend a four-week summer institute titled “Extending the Land Ethic:
2006 Carly Farrell Boothe launched Boothe Law & Mediation LLC in Olathe, Kansas. The firm specializes in helping families work together in planning the next stage in their elderly or special needs family member’s life. Leo Prieto, director of community outreach at Truman Medical Centers in Kansas City, Missouri received the Ohtli Award, the highest recognition given by the Mexican Government to an individual outside of Mexico for his work in the Mexican and Hispanic community. Prieto has served as an adviser to the Mexican Consulate for more than three years. Selena Sujoldzic has been elected to the UN Refugee Agency’s Refugee Congress in Washington, D.C., serving as a delegate for the state of Kansas. The Congress is an advocacy and advisory organization comprised of refugees from across the U.S. who champion domestic and international refugee issues. Sujoldzic was also elected to the board of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, based in Baltimore. Sujoldzic practices civil litigation, family and probate law at Arn, Mullins, Unruh, Kuhn & Wilson LLP in Wichita, Kansas. 2007 Christopher S. Abrams was promoted to shareholder in the Kansas City, Missouri office of Polsinelli PC. He focuses his practice on tax law, entity formation and business transactions. Amanda S. Vogelsberg was named a partner at Henson Hutton Mudrick & Gragson LLP in Topeka, Kansas. Her practice areas include family law, labor and employment law, employment discrimination law, and civil litigation. 2008 Stephanie Sankar was named a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP in Kansas City, Missouri. She is a member of
the firm’s global product liability group, focusing her practice on the defense of consumer product manufacturers in complex tort and product liability litigation. Sara Stieben was named a partner in the Fort Collins, Colorado, office of Montgomery Amatuzio Dusbabek Chase LLP. She concentrates in the areas of general civil litigation, prosecution and defense of bodily injury claims, premises liability, products liability and collections matters. 2009 Jonathan E. Benevides was elected a member at Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice LLC in Kansas City, Missouri. Benevides was recognized as a 2014 and 2015 Kansas and Missouri Super Lawyers Rising Star. He focuses his practice on products liability, transportation, premises liability and commercial litigation. Jeremy Graber was elected a partner in the Topeka office of Foulston Siefkin LLP. Graber represents businesses in tax and corporate matters, including employee benefits, non-qualified plans, tax exemption, and entity formation and reorganization.
Joshua Hill was elected a partner in the Overland Park office of Foulston Siefkin LLP. Hill advises clients on a variety of business, transactional and real estate matters. J. Matthew Leavitt became a named partner at Hulnick, Stang, Gering & Leavitt PA in Wichita, Kansas. Bradley Serafine was elected a partner in the Wichita office of Foulston Siefkin LLP. Serafine is a member of the firm’s commercial litigation practice group. He represents clients in state and federal courts in a wide variety of civil litigation matters. Jesse Tanksley joined the Hutchinson law firm of Mann Wyatt & Rice in January 2015. He focuses his practice on negligence and product liability cases. Tanksley previously practiced at Stinson Leonard Street LLP in Wichita. 2010 Justin T. Clarke became a partner at Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith LLP in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Clarke is a
member of the litigation section, focusing his practice on commercial and complex litigation, trust litigation, and insurance disputes. 2012 Samantha Clark was named majority counsel of the Senate Armed Services Committee. A committee staffer since 2013, Clark is the lead staffer for modernizing the military retirement system. Matthew Kincaid opened his own law firm, Kincaid Business & Entrepreneurial Law LLC, in February 2016 in Leawood, Kansas. The firm will serve as outside general counsel to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Jessica Lewicki joined the Portland, Oregon law firm of Williams Kastner as an associate in the business litigation group, focusing on products and premises liability defense. Lewicki was previously at Hart Wagner LLP in Portland.
Feeling left out? If you’ve been missing invitations to KU Law events that you once looked forward to attending each year, you may have unsubscribed from law school emails. These days, we send most of our invitations and other communications by email. The KU Alumni Association maintains the central database of alumni records that all campus schools, departments, units and organizations use to contact their alumni. Unsubscribing from all KU Alumni Association community emails will also remove you from these email lists, and you may no longer receive emails from the law school. To manage your email subscription preferences, contact records@kualumni.org. KU LAW MAGAZINE 43
ALUMNI NEWS
Rob Williams and Shannon Hughes Williams, L’14, (front and center) were married Oct. 31, 2015 in Phoenix. Everyone pictured is from the KU Law classes of 2013 or 2014. “We are thankful for our KU Law friends that turned into our KU Law family,” the couple said. “We are grateful so many traveled to Phoenix to help us celebrate our big day.”
2012 Chris Nelson is an associate with Fisher Patterson Sayler & Smith LLP in Overland Park, Kansas. He focuses his practice on employment, civil rights, and governmental liability. Nelson was previously an associate at Seyferth Blumenthal & Harris LLC. 2013 Trent Byquist joined Foulston Siefkin LLP as an associate in the firm’s Wichita office. He practices in the areas of business and corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, franchise and distribution, and agribusiness. Byquist previously served as a law clerk for Chief Justice Lawton Nuss of the Kansas Supreme Court.
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Austin K. Parker, SJD, joined the law firm of Fisher, Patterson, Sayler & Smith LLP as an associate attorney in the firm’s Topeka office. His practice focuses on civil litigation defense. 2014 David R. Green joined Foulston Siefkin LLP in Kansas City, Missouri as an associate on the construction and natural resources litigation team. His practice includes design and construction contract drafting and consulting, claim negotiation, and dispute resolution through arbitration and litigation. Rob Williams and Shannon Hughes Williams, L’14, (pictured above) were married Oct. 31, 2015 in Phoenix. 2015 Ashlyn Lindskog joined the Wichita firm Martin Pringle as an associate.
Previously a clerk for the firm, Lindskog focuses her practice on employment law, business law and civil and commercial litigation matters. She is a member of the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel, Wichita Women Attorneys Association, Kansas and Wichita bar associations, and Young Professionals of Wichita. Cooper Mach joined the Popham Law Firm as an associate. He will focus his practice on personal injury and employment law. He joins his father, Scott Mach, L’81, who is a partner at the firm, practicing civil litigation.
IN MEMORIAM 1947 Glee S. Smith Jr. Larned, Kansas November 16, 2015
1967 Ronald Broun Atlanta, Georgia October 20, 2015
1948 Robert S. Hill Richmond, Kansas December 26, 2015
1972 Richard A. Lester Chicago, Illinois January 17, 2016
1951 Keith R. Willoughby Colby, Kansas October 26, 2015
1973 C. Philip Dawson Derby, Kansas December 22, 2015
1954 Warren D. Andreas Winfield, Kansas November 23, 2015
1974 Robert L. Madsen Quincy, Illinois October 22, 2015
1955 Bob Londerholm Santa Fe, New Mexico December 18, 2015
1977 Frank W. Layman Oklahoma City, Oklahoma June 21, 2015
1956 John Stang, L’56 LaCrosse, Kansas March 14, 2016
1982 John P. Connor Overland Park, Kansas November 19, 2015
1959 Charles W. Hedges Lawrence, Kansas February 7, 2016
1984 Jerry Beneventi Kansas City, Missouri November 11, 2015
1961 Hon. Theodore B. Ice Newton, Kansas November 23, 2015
1989 Stephen L. Sapp Dallas, Texas December 11, 2015
1964 Mack V. Colt Prairie Village, Kansas January 22, 2016
1991 Russell M. Johnson Olathe, Kansas December 30, 2015
1965 Stephen V. Sickel Olathe, Kansas February 12, 2016
1995 Stephen Parker Kansas City, Kansas March 28, 2016
Dan E. Turner Topeka, Kansas November 14, 2015
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SAVE THE DATE October 21
KU Law Reunion + Homecoming Weekend All-Reunion Cocktails + Class Dinners Classes of 1976, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2006
October 22
Homecoming Tailgate + Postgame Reception All alumni invited
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PHOTO BY EARL RICHARDSON