Mitchell on Law Fall 2013

Fall 2013

Living the dream with Fulton Beer co-founder Jim Diley ‘05 The secret lives of Mitchell alumni Professor Deer’s displays of determination Remembering Rosalie Wahl ‘67

The Campaign for People and Progress

Associate Dean Mehmet K. Konar-Steenberg, the Briggs and Morgan/Xcel Energy Chair in Energy and Environmental Law

Mitchell launches historic fundraising campaign Earlier this fall, William Mitchell launched the public phase of the “If Not for Mitchell” Campaign, a historic, $25 million effort to raise money for students, faculty, and educational innovation.

We are already 80 percent to our goal.

Who’s supporting the effort?

Throughout the state and across the country, Mitchell’s alumni and friends can be heard starting sentences with the phrase, “If not for Mitchell.”

They know that without Mitchell, many would not have had the opportunity to study the law. Many would not have developed skills that led to successful careers. And many would not be making the differences they are in their communities.

Now they are coming together in support of the “If Not for Mitchell Campaign.” Their support is already making a difference in the lives of our students and our law school.

Keep reading to see how.

Learn more, read alumni, student, faculty, staff, and friends’ “If not for Mitchell” stories, and join the effort at wmitchell.edu/giving.

Photo by Steve Woit

wmitchell.edu/giving

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The Campaign for People and Progress

Family and community service are two things second-year student James Blodgett holds dear. So when his father passed away while he was a sophomore at Carleton College, James wondered if he’d ever realize his dream of becoming a lawyer.

He knew his mother, a church secretary, would be there to support him emotionally, but he also knew she would not have the financial wherewithal to help him pay law school tuition.

After graduating with a degree in political science/ international relations, James spent a year tutoring students in Minneapolis public schools. He traveled to South Korea, where he worked as an English teacher. And he once again found himself drawn to the idea of becoming a lawyer.

James applied to William Mitchell, but without a scholarship, the prospect of fulfilling his dream was in jeopardy. He began to doubt it would happen. Then an envelope arrived in the mail.

“When I got the letter from William Mitchell that informed me I would receive a scholarship, I was ecstatic.”

James received the Warren E. Burger Entrance Scholarship.

The financial support will allow James to work as a lawyer to better the lives of others through dispute resolution, he says.

“Words cannot express how grateful I am for being given such an opportunity.”

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wmitchell.edu/giving

Photo by Michael Crouser

Grateful for the opportunity

James Blodgett, 2L, recipient of the Warren E. Burger Entrance Scholarship

The Campaign for People and Progress

Before second-year student Jessica Spevak headed out to Washington, D.C., for an externship, she was leaning toward a career in traditional legal work. By the time summer was over, she’d completely revised her thinking.

“Because of the externship, I basically changed all of my classes to fit my new career path,” she says. “It really told me that that kind of policy work is the kind of work I want to do.”

Spevak’s career-changing experience was at the progressive lobbying firm the Raben Group, where she did everything from researching legal issues to writing press releases to hard-core lobbying work.

Spevak landed the externship with help from Mitchell’s Externship Director Melissa Wright ’93, who was hired last year thanks to generous gifts from Professor Roger Haydock and Board of Trustees Chair Stephen Bonner ‘72 and his wife, Lisa.

Under Wright’s direction, Mitchell’s Externship Program has grown to become the most robust in the region. During her first year on the job, externship placements increased by 20 percent, with more than 300 students participating, including Spevak.

Wright connected her to D.C. area alum Patty First ’95, a principal at the Raben Group. The result was a perfect fit.

“This organization was passionate about what I’m passionate about: equal rights, marriage rights, transparency of the judicial branch, civil procedure rules,” says Spevak. “And what was really great is I got to choose the things I worked on. I learned so much about the forces behind the law that I’m studying.”

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wmitchell.edu/giving

Photo by Michael Crouser

Diving headfirst into the Washington lobbying pool

Jessica Spevak, 2L, completed an externship with a lobbying firm in Washington, D.C.

One of the best law teachers in the country

Professor John Sonsteng, who holds the Martin R. Lueck and Mallory K. Mullins Professorship in Advocacy

The Campaign for People and Progress

Professor John Sonsteng loves working with young lawyers.

He’s been teaching at Mitchell for more than 30 years— which means thousands of students received a full dose of his advocacy and trial skills expertise before they made their way into the legal world.

“It’s a privilege more than anything else,” says Sonsteng.

“I get to help these young people be better prepared at all levels, advocacy being just one of them.”

Sonsteng’s ability to connect with aspiring lawyers has earned him the Martin R. Lueck and Mallory K. Mullins Professorship in Advocacy. The professorship is funded by a generous gift from Martin Lueck ‘84, a member of Mitchell’s Board of Trustees and chair of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, and his wife Mallory, a successful lawyer and community leader. The Luecks met as students at Mitchell while working on a trial competition team coached by Sonsteng.

“To be recognized by people who are as good as Marty and Mallory, as both lawyers and people, is an extraordinary honor,” says Sonsteng.

Sonsteng is definitely deserving.

“He’s an outstanding teacher, lawyer, and person,” says Martin Lueck. “He’s a national leader in teaching advocacy and trial skills. And, more importantly for me, if it weren’t for John Sonsteng, I might have never met and married Mallory.”

Photo by Michael Crouser

wmitchell.edu/giving

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on law

Photo by Tim Reummelhoff

CONTENTS Mitchell in Focus The faces of practical wisdom

SIX THINGS ABOUT 2

875 Summit News and information from Mitchell’s campus and community

Alumni Link Updates and information from the Alumni Association

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9

Mark Hallberg ’79

27

Class Notes Chris Pham ’09: Giving back to a community in need

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In Memoriam Remembering Rosalie Wahl ’67

LEGAL LEGEND Carved in Stone: Chuck Dietz ’57

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To The Point Eric S. Janus

OFF THE BEATEN PATH Bar Exam: Living the dream with Fulton Beer co-founder Jim Diley ’05

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30

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VOLUME 31, No. 2 Published by the Office of Institutional Advancement William Mitchell College of Law 875 Summit Ave. St. Paul, MN 55105 651-290-6370 651-290-7502 fax magazine@wmitchell.edu wmitchell.edu/alumni President and Dean

Eric S. Janus Chair, Board of Trustees

Stephen B. Bonner ’72 Executive Editor

Steve Linders Writing

Greg Bates Mary Ann Hanson Brian Lambert Steve Linders Paul Moore Jim Walsh Art Direction

John Biasi Design

John Biasi Kate Siebert President and Dean Eric S. Janus and the “If Not for Mitchell” Campaign co-chairs raise a toast to all who have given to the historic fundraising effort. The group took the stage at the DeParcq Leadership Celebration, an annual event honoring alumni and friends who have made significant contributions to William Mitchell. Pictured are Janus, Larry Bell ‘79, Kathleen Flynn Peterson ‘81, and Steve Bonner ‘72.

Photography

Katie Cannon Michael Crouser Tony Nelson Tim Rummelhoff Steve Woit

FEATURES The Practice of Law 2.0: A Virtual Roundtable How technology is changing the way students learn and lawyers succeed

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Secret Lives of Mitchell Alumni Our ranks include an active motorcycle club member, a children’s book author, and an avid book collector

Fighting … and Winning Sarah Deer’s story from 1980s teenager until now is fueled by frequently startling displays of determination

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The faces of practical wisdom

David Minaai, 2L Elise Radaj, 2L

Bethany Imdieke, 2L

Jason De Pauw ‘11

Reference Lib

Practical wisdom comes in many forms. It starts with our professors, grows in our classrooms, and flourishes through our clinics, mentoring programs, and newly expanded externship program. Here’s a look at some of the people who are bringing practical wisdom to life at William Mitchell.

Mitchell Mentors

The top-ranked clinical program in the state

Since graduating from Mitchell in 2011, Jason De Pauw has mentored five first- and second-year students, including Elise Radaj. De Pauw, an attorney with Harper & Peterson in Woodbury, Minn., is one of more than 100 recent graduates providing advice and support to students this year.

Each year more than 200 students devote thousands of hours to helping clients who can’t afford legal help. Last year, students David Minaai and Bethany Imdieke worked with Reference Librarian Neal Axton to help start a new Veterans Assistance Clinic.

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MITCHELL IN FOCUS

Barrack Potter, 2L

brarian Neal Axton Kristen Schott, 2L

Professor David Prince

Erika Grant ’07

The newly expanded Externship Program Student Kristen Schott landed an externship with Erika Grant, an equal opportunity specialist with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. Last year, more than 300 students had externships, where they work with alumni in the field while earning credits toward graduation.

Practical wisdom: It’s about service and real-world experience Professor David Prince sees the value in providing real-world learning opportunities to students. He is the faculty advisor who helped students, including Barrack Potter, start the Veterans Assistance Clinic.

“Clinics are a chance for students to perform community service and gain experience dealing with real clients,” says Prince. “That’s invaluable—to the community and to our students.”

Photo by Michael Crouser

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875 SUMMIT Students develop app to help with elder abuse cases William Mitchell Center for Elder Justice & Policy scholars have developed a mobile app designed to provide support and guidance to first responders when addressing cases of elder abuse and financial exploitation.

The new app is part of the MN S.A.F.E. Elders initiative, which was launched by Anoka County Attorney Tony Palumbo ’79 to help protect elders from physical abuse and financial exploitation. The initiative strives to provide police officers, first responders, and others with information and resources they can use to identify and respond to elder abuse.

The app provides tools that help people recognize signs of abuse, strategies for interviewing people who may have been abused, and information about laws protecting vulnerable adults in Minnesota.

The students got involved in MN S.A.F.E. Elders after Desiree Toldt, 2L, received an Elder Justice & Policy keystone placement with the Anoka County Attorney’s Office.

Christopher Ziolkowski, 2L, wrote the code for the app; other students took on the task of research, development, and creation.

The S.A.F.E. MN app is available to the public for free download through both the Android App Store and the Apple App Store.

UP-TO-DATE NEWS & EVENTS

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MITCHELL ON L AW

Professor Juergens

Prof. Juergens works to ‘remember and honor past resistance to inequality’ Professor Ann Juergens is a sought-after authority on housing law and has written an important article on Minnesota’s early civil rights history. That article focuses on Lena Smith ’21, Minnesota’s first African American woman lawyer who fought segregation and discrimination.

It was only natural, then, for University of Minnesota School of Architecture Professor Gregory Donofrio to ask for Juergens’ help Lena Smith ’21 when he enlisted his class and several graduate students to conduct research for the nomination of the Arthur and Edith Lee home

for a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

The house on the 4600 block of Columbus Ave. in south Minneapolis was purchased by the Lees, who were black, in 1931. The Lees’ new neighbors, most of whom were white, threatened the family, tried to force them to leave the neighborhood, and organized several weeks of nightly protests in the street that grew to include 3,000 people.

Smith, who at the time was president of the Minneapolis NAACP, represented the Lees and eventually persuaded the city’s mayor and police chief to take action to protect the family’s right to live in the home. The end of the protests

marked a turning point for the effort to end segregation in Minneapolis and was part of a national struggle against housing segregation, led by the NAACP. Its significance as a site of resistance to injustice is why Juergens, Donofrio, and the design and architecture students assert that it should be protected as a historic site.

“Recent studies based on U.S. Census data establish that Minnesota has the widest gap in the nation between whites and minorities in home ownership,” Juergens says.

“Remembering and honoring past resistance to inequality is important if we are to overcome Minnesota’s history of basing opportunity for homeownership on race.”

Photo by Tony Nelson

Mitchell receives ‘Military Friendly’ designation For the second consecutive year, William Mitchell has received the “Military Friendly” seal of approval from Victory Media, an organization that provides resources to military veterans and their families.

The designation is awarded to only 15 percent of U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate a “strong interest in recruiting military students.” Once again, Mitchell is the only law school in the state to receive the distinction.

“Competition for the 2014 Military Friendly Schools list was fierce,” Victory Media representatives wrote in their announcement of the top schools. “As a result we raised the already stringent criteria to a higher benchmark. Your school is among the elite competing for military students.”

Mitchell honored for commitment to diversity William Mitchell is one of just 10 law schools in the country to receive the Law School Admission Council’s 2013 Diversity Matters Award. The schools are honored for their commitment to attracting minority students to their programs, with outreach programs directed towards racially and ethnically diverse students who may be considering law school.

Expert Witness Training Academy earns high marks, extended funding William Mitchell’s Expert Witness Training Academy has been awarded a $490,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

The one-of-a-kind academy uses Mitchell’s brand of experiential learning to help some of the nation’s top scientific minds learn to communicate more clearly in court, in the media, and in front of legislative committees.

Mitchell welcomes 238 future leaders On Thursday, Aug. 22, 238 students started their law school careers at William Mitchell.

This year’s incoming class reflects Mitchell’s commitment to diversity in the broadest sense of the word—the new students include a police officer with 15 years of service, 10 military veterans, an auto-parts dealer, a medical doctor, and nine who have relatives who graduated from Mitchell.

The entire class fits nicely into the “Mitchell Mix” of students.

Attendees experienced a mock hearing

In approving the grant, National Science Foundation reviewers offered high praise for the program and its creators, including Professors John Sonsteng and Jim Hilbert, along with Mitchell colleague Linda Thorstad.

“This program is well crafted, well tested, and highly effective in training scientists to function as valuable resources in the courtroom as well as in the court of public opinion,” wrote one reviewer. “The hands-on approach is extremely powerful.”

This year’s week-long training academy was Aug. 4–9 and included 24 climate scientists.

Part time

Enrolled

238

20%

LSAT 25th-75th percentiles

149-157 LSAT Median

153

GPA 25th-75th percentiles

3.02-3.57 GPA Median

3.36 Median age

Age range

Of color

Women

Holding graduate degrees

Foreign States countries represented represented

24

20-63

14% A scientist addresses a mock courtroom during the training academy

51%

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875 SUMMIT

Not your father’s information management …

Do you remember the invaluable role the library’s photocopiers and printers played when you were in law school? Ah, the camaraderie of the lines at the printers, the comforting warmth of that stack of free Westlaw printouts, the horror of the spilled toner.

Well, the library is a whole new world now, and you’d hardly recognize the place! Here’s what’s different: Uniflow Follow-me Printing

This fall students are sending their print job from wherever they are (home, school, coffeeshop), and once they’re on campus they can “swipe” their Mitchell I.D. at the most convenient copier/printer and pick up their printouts.

No more free Westlaw printing

If you were like most law students, free Westlaw printing was a godsend. Westlaw is still valuable, but it doesn’t involve printing anymore. Now Westlaw makes cases available online at WestlawNext.

William Mitchell names three to Board of Trustees William Mitchell College of Law’s Board of Trustees elected three new members, bringing the total number of trustees to 30. Each was elected to serve a three-year term that began July 1.

Karen Park Gallivan ’83 is vice president, general counsel, and secretary for Graco, a provider of pumps and spray equipment for fluid handling in the construction, manufacturing, processing, and maintenance industries. Before joining the company in 2003, Gallivan was vice president of Human Resources and Communications at Syngenta Seeds. She has also served as general counsel of Novartis Nutrition Corporation and as an attorney with the former law firm of Rider, Bennett, Egan and Arundel.

Christine Kucera Kalla ’94 is senior vice president, group general counsel for Travelers, one of the country’s largest insurance companies. She is responsible for managing the legal

Gallivan

Kalla

Thorson

employment law function and all internal and external investigations, in addition to some of the company’s major corporate litigation.

Before joining Travelers, Kalla practiced at Oppenheimer Wolff and Donnelly, focusing on commercial litigation and employment law.

Becky R. Thorson ’95, a partner at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, leads patent infringement, trade secret, and other intellectual property and business litigation. She is also chair of the U.S. District Court’s Federal Practice Committee and editor-in-chief of the Federal Bar Association’s magazine.

Scanning, the new printing

What about books and articles that aren’t online? Surely students still hang out in the copy rooms? To the extent they’re hanging out, they’re scanning books and articles and emailing them to themselves.

Cloud computing for collaboration

Students come to law school these days with extensive experience using document sharing tools (DropBox, Google Docs, etc.). No more printing out your paper and giving it to a friend to edit. That all happens online these days.

The library now specializes in … cords

So many research activities are taking place on a wide variety of devices—personal computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones—that charging cords are in high demand. The library offers charging stations with a variety of cords for a variety of devices.

See what else is new at the Warren E. Burger Library. Visit wmitchell.edu/library.

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MITCHELL ON L AW

Louis Ainsworth ’77 is new director of Center for Law and Business William Mitchell College of Law is proud to announce Louis L. Ainsworth as the new director of the Center for Law and Business.

Ainsworth, who will also serve as a visiting professor of law, succeeds Jann Olsten ’74, who helped found the center.

From 1997 to 2010 Ainsworth was senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Pentair, where he was responsible

for all legal services provided to the company and its worldwide affiliates. As counsel for Faegre Baker Daniels since 2010, he focuses on corporate governance, securities regulation, mergers and acquisitions, and antitrust counseling.

He has taught businessrelated courses at Mitchell as an adjunct professor for two years and will continue to teach

business and business law courses at the school.

FACULTY NEWS Indian Law program expanding much-needed services Mitchell’s highly-regarded Indian Law program has received a U.S. Department of Justice grant of more than $280,000. The funding will allow the program to expand service to Minnesota and Wisconsin Indian tribes and hands-on learning opportunities for students.

It funds two different programs in the Indian Law Clinic in which Mitchell students assist Indian tribes with the development of criminal codes and rules of criminal procedure.

“For the Menominee Nation, this will mean the creation of their first public defender service, and it will enable students to have realworld interaction with clients who may not otherwise have legal counsel,” says Professor Colette Routel, who works with students in the clinic.

The Indian Law Clinic was founded last spring and is already making a significant impact for Indian tribes in the region. Last summer, students worked on their first major trial in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, representing the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, the Sokaogon Chippewa Indian

Community, and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. The case centered on tribes’ right to hunt white-tailed deer at night off-reservation. This semester, clinic students are assisting the White Earth Band of Ojibwe in preparing to assert criminal jurisdiction over its reservation.

Prof. Colette Routel

Child Protection Clinic growing with help from state of Minnesota William Mitchell’s Child Protection Clinic has received a grant from the state of Minnesota to help expand its services and provide assistance for even more parents.

The two-year, $75,000 grant is a part of the state’s court improvement project funding.

Through the clinic, certified student attorneys work with parents to help them navigate the court system. The experience not only helps the parents, it gives students broader experience and expands their connections to new judges and mentors.

“The clinic provides an incredible learning opportunity for Mitchell students, while giving parents direct representation in the

child protection system,” says Joanna Woolman, resident adjunct professor of law and director of the Child Protection Clinic. “The partnership between the state and the Child Protection Clinic has been essential to the clinic’s ability to provide direct representation to parents in Ramsey and Hennepin counties.”

Woolman says the clinic’s goals for its third year include expanding the parent mentoring program, beginning development of best practices for parents’ attorneys, continuing to partner with the state on training, and beginning a research partnership with the University of Minnesota’s School of Social Work.

The Prairie Island Indian Community Tribal Council appointed Professor Sarah Deer to a twoyear term as an associate justice for the Prairie Island Court of Appeals. In addition to any appeals from the PIIC Tribal Court, the Court of Appeals hears election disputes. Deer joins Mitchell graduate and Trustee Lenor Scheffler ’88 on the court.

Professor Jay Erstling is the lead author and editor of “The Practitioner’s Guide to the PCT,” published by the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law. The PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) is the heart of the international patent system. It is an essential tool used by patent attorneys worldwide, but it is complex and difficult to master. Erstling’s book not only contains a clear and logical explanation of the PCT framework, but also provides practitioners with strategies and tips so that they can make most effective use of the system.

Resident Adjunct Professor and Executive Director of the Center for Negotiation & Justice Jim Hilbert recently presented “Negotiation Strategies for Social Justice” to judges, lawyers, and professors from Afghanistan for the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

Professor Nancy Ver Steegh, who holds the Justice Helen M. Meyer Distinguished Chair in Child Protection Law, is the new president of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, the premier interdisciplinary and international association of professionals dedicated to the resolution of family conflict.

Professor Raleigh Levine did an extensive interview with U.S. News & World Report about Asiana Airlines’ plans to sue an Oakland, Calif., television station that reported fake names for the four pilots on a plane that crashed in San Francisco earlier this year. wmitchell.edu/news

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FACULTY NEWS

Professors retire from teaching at Mitchell Earlier this year, three professors announced their retirements from William Mitchell.

Professors Christina Kunz, Eileen Roberts ‘80, and Eileen Scallen retired from the law school in June to pursue other opportunities.

“Each of these Scallen professors has made an important contribution to Mitchell,” says Dean Eric Janus.

“They embraced and embodied the best of practical wisdom—inside and outside the classroom. We will miss their teaching, scholarship, and commitment to student success.

“While we won’t be able to replace the unique set of skills these professors brought to the college, we have a plan in place to ensure that the courses they taught and the programs in which they were involved continue.”

Mitchell has the luxury of having a highly talented and deeply committed group of faculty who are ready and willing to step up to take on additional teaching duties, programmatic leadership roles, and make sure that students’ experiences at Mitchell continue to be rigorous and rewarding.

The Mitchell community thanks Professors Kunz, Roberts, and Scallen for their service.

Professor Kunz

Professor Roberts

Professors Christina Kunz and Eileen Roberts ‘80 spent more than a combined 50 years teaching at Mitchell, mentoring students, writing, researching, and shaping laws.

They retired from teaching earlier this year, leaving behind myriad accomplishments and their indelible marks on the law school, its students, our alumni, and the community.

With the acknowledgment that this list is not complete, here is a snapshot of their careers at Mitchell: Professor Christina L. Kunz

Professor Eileen Roberts

Originally hired to co-direct Mitchell’s fledgling Legal Writing Program in 1980

Graduated from Mitchell and practiced law for nine years

Developed and expanded the legal writing course into a national model for teaching research, reading, reasoning, and writing

Became a full-time professor in 1994

Authored several well-respected textbooks, including “The Process of Legal Research” and co-authoring the groundbreaking “Contracts: A Contemporary Approach” Advised the Uniform Law Commission drafting committee on UCC Article 2A Served in various positions over two decades in the American Bar Association’s committees on the UCC and on Cyberspace Law Taught at Mitchell for 33 years

Named the Austin J. Baillon and Caroline M. Baillon Professor of Real Estate Law in 2008 A group of former students and other friends established the Friends of Professor Roberts Scholarship in her honor Currently a senior attorney in the Real Estate and Land Use Practice Group at Dorsey & Whitney Taught at Mitchell for 24 years Named professor emerita by William Mitchell In October.

Named professor emerita by William Mitchell in October.

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MITCHELL ON L AW

Photos by Steve Woit

ALUMNI LINK Alumni Board welcomes three new members

Alumni make the difference for students Anderson

When we ask incoming students why they chose William Mitchell, they tell us it’s because of our practical approach to legal education, our stellar reputation within the area’s legal community, and our alumni.

In the last few years, alumni participation in programs designed to give our students a leg up on the competition has skyrocketed.

The Mitchell Mentors program for recent alumni and first-year students and the Hachey Ambassadors Mentor Program for 3Ls and 4Ls are thriving thanks to more than 300 Mitchell alumni who have stepped up to serve as mentors.

In October, more than 100 alumni signed on to help students learn about different

practice areas at our popular FaceTime networking events.

And every time we put the call out for alumni to help with mock interviews, job shadowing, and informational interviews, we get an enthusiastic response.

Thank you for your support of our students. Your willingness to share your experience, knowledge, and time makes a positive difference in their law school experience.

If you’d like to know more about opportunities to support our students, visit wmitchell.edu/alumni.

Mylrea

Washington

Nancy Anderson ’91, U.S. Trust / Bank of America, Private Wealth Management David Mylrea ’84, partner in charge, Hinshaw & Culbertson–finance Carol Washington ’10, insurance recovery associate, Lindquist & Vennum

A huge thank-you to our departing members, John Degnan ‘76 and Judge George T. Stephenson ’85, each of whom served nine years, and Chris Tymchuck ’08, who had served since 2010.

Let’s stay in touch ...

We can never get enough when it comes to knowing what our alumni are up to, so please keep us in the loop.

Meet your career and professional development pros Mitchell’s Office of Career and Professional Development works for you.

Led by a J.D.-credentialed team of experts and supported by two dedicated and creative professionals, the office provides advice, resources, and opportunities for alumni looking to find jobs or expand their skillsets.

If you’re in the market for a job or just interested in exploring your career and professional development options, get in touch with a member of the team.

It doesn’t take much—just visit our alumni page and fill out a simple form.

You can fill it out to let us know where you are and how we can stay in touch.

If you have a new job, new mailing address, or new email account, please fill out the form—especially if you’re a new graduate or you’ve made a major change recently.

Thanks! We’re looking forward to staying in touch.

Karen Vander Sanden Assistant Dean for Career and Professional Development

Sharon Goodyear Program Administrator

Jane Crow Career Development Specialist

Andrew M. Lehner ’07 Assistant Director

Julie Sivula Reiter Assistant Director

wmitchell.edu/alumni

wmitchell.edu/news

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Carved in stone Twenty years after his retirement, the contributions Chuck Dietz ’57 made to Minnesota’s legal community continue to make a difference—for attorneys as well as people in need

by Mary Ann Hanson

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MITCHELL ON L AW

LEGAL LEGEND

He spent 17 years working as 3M’s chief legal officer. He played a key role in bringing some of the most innovative products ever invented to market, including the legendary and incredibly practical Post-It Note. By all accounts, he inspired a culture of creativity and accountability in the company’s legal department.

But Charlton (Chuck) Dietz’s contributions to 3M are only part of the reason he has the reputation as a legal legend. To fully understand all that he has contributed to Minnesota’s legal community, you must know about his commitment to equal justice.

After graduating from Mitchell, Dietz joined 3M’s Office of General Counsel in 1958, rising through the ranks to become chief legal officer in 1976, a post he held until he retired in 1993.

One of Dietz’s first achievements at 3M was to guide the legal department’s transition from being a separate, independent law firm to one that is a bona fide part of the company. He succeeded with a management style that was always hands-on, personable, and approachable, says Gerald Regnier ‘68, a retired 3M senior attorney and former executive director of the Minnesota State Bar Association.

According to Regnier, one of Dietz’s early contributions was carving in figurative stone a code of conduct for the company’s patent lawyers and general counsels. It’s still referred to as The Ten Commandments, he says. A key tenet? “When in doubt, tell the truth.”

“Chuck is a legend among 3M lawyers,” says Regnier. “He became the standard against which others are judged.”

But Dietz’s leadership extended far beyond normal working hours on the 3M campus.

He served as an adjunct professor at Mitchell, teaching antitrust law from 1962 to 1975.

He also served more than 20 years on the school’s board of trustees, including three Photo by Tony Nelson

“Chuck is a legend among 3M lawyers.

He became the standard against which others are judged.” -Gerald Regnier ‘68 as board chair. While at Mitchell, he helped raise funds to purchase the school’s current campus and co-chaired the committee that raised $7.5 million to build the Warren E. Burger Library.

In 1981, he turned his attention to equal justice. Cutbacks in federal funding for legal aid prompted Bruce Beneke, then executive director of Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS), to reach out to Dietz for ideas and help raising money.

Dietz, with Beneke, Regnier, and others, initiated the Campaign for Legal Aid, which has become one of the leading efforts in the country to spur private support for legal aid.

According to Beneke, Dietz’s calls to attorneys, law firms, foundations, and others produced impressive results. Over the past 20-plus years, the campaign has raised well over $10 million of private funding.

But 3M’s partnership with SMRLS went even further. Dietz also instituted a series of pro bono training sessions for 3M lawyers willing to volunteer their time and talents for legal aid clients. This was one of the first such pro bono partnerships in the country, and it remains a success because, says Beneke, the program became institutionalized at 3M under Dietz’s leadership.

In addition, Dietz helped SMRLS demonstrate to the Legislature that equal justice for the poor isn’t a political issue. “As a result,” says Beneke, “Minnesota has one of the most supportive legislatures in the country in terms of legal aid.

“Chuck has made a huge difference.

Because of his work, thousands of our clients have had access to legal representation.”

Dietz, whose modesty is as legendary as his straight talk, is a man of few words when

asked about his career. But he has strong feelings about equal justice.

“When the need for legal services arises, it does not observe class boundaries,” he says.

“A just society enables everyone access to the legal system. That means the legal profession and community leaders must help provide that access through support of legal aid programs.”

Retirement did little to diminish Dietz’s involvement in supporting his community and state. He’s still involved with William Mitchell, United Way, Macalester College, Wilder Foundation, Minnesota Historical Society, Ramsey County Historical Society, Boy Scouts, St. Paul Area YMCA, and, of course, SMRLS. Reflecting on his life and career, Dietz says, “You want a legacy that says people you’ve been in contact with have been better because of that contact. You want to be a person who has tried to make the place a little better.”

And he has done just that.

wmitchell.edu/alumni

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Living the dream with Fulton Beer co-founder Jim Diley ’05 Eighteen months after he took the bar exam, Fulton Beer co-founder Jim Diley ran into Mitchell professor John Sonsteng. Diley had Sonsteng as a professor in Mitchell’s Closely Held Businesses course, which replicates the first 10 years of a start-up.

“I told him, ‘John, the wildest thing is that I just sat in your class 18 months ago and you had us practice forming a business. In class, we bought property and had contracts with suppliers … and now I just did that all for real with Fulton.’ It was like, you went to school, you learned how to do it, you got out and you did it. It was unreal; no other school that I’m aware of would have put me in that same position,” says Diley, sipping a glass of Fulton Sweet Child O’ Vine at the Red Cow restaurant 12

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in the Fulton neighborhood of Minneapolis.

“I may have learned theory and had a great classical education of the commonwealth, but it wouldn’t have given me an understanding of the practical application of the law.

“I try to be a pretty realistic person at the end of the day. Mitchell has an amazing history, and they’ve produced some amazing lawyers. So in my mind, when you’re trying to create lawyers that work in the community and truly help the community, the community needs a school like Mitchell.”

Diley’s work in the community started with his family law practice, which he shelved last summer to concentrate on his dream-cometrue family business. The wildly popular Fulton Beer and brewery is at the forefront of the

by Jim Walsh

craft beer craze that has overtaken Minneapolis since the Minnesota Legislature passed the so-called “Surly bill” that loosened liquor laws and allowed for the expansion of breweries that can sell their products in on-site taprooms.

“I think one of the things that’s always been important to me is making sure you don’t leave anything on the table,” says Diley, an Edina High School grad who went on to play football at St. John’s, where his team won the Division III national championship in 2003.

“Three of the four guys I founded Fulton with went to St. John’s. My girlfriend in college, now my wife, bought us a Mr. Beer Kit when we were juniors in college. That first batch was the worst beer we’ve ever made,

OFF THE BEATEN PATH

“I told him, ‘John, the wildest thing is that I just sat in your class 18 months ago and you had us practice forming a business. In class, we bought property and had contracts with suppliers … and now I just did that all for real with Fulton.’”

but there was something about that tinkering, that hands-on feel, that really excited all of us.

Then we graduated from college, moved down to the Cities, and got real jobs so to speak, and kept tinkering.

“We were all out of school, we were all just married, we didn’t have a dime to our name, but we knew we had something that we wanted to run with. We did it all a block and a half away from here, in a garage on Chowen Avenue. So it’s very cool to be drinking the beer and having such great support from the local bars and restaurants. I mean, you want to talk local? It’s like, uberlocal.”

Be that as it may, counselor, beer lovers want to know: what makes Fulton special?

“One of the things that makes Fulton fun Photo by Katie Cannon

is that we don’t take ourselves too seriously, and in a business that revolves around beer and bars, that’s probably a good thing,” he says. “With beer, you keep it simple. What I think is important about Fulton is that it’s an approachable beer. Whether you’ve been drinking beer all your life and you love the highest-alcohol, highest-hop beer you can find, or you don’t drink a lot of beer and haven’t really developed a beer palette, there’s a Fulton beer for you.”

Upon graduation from Mitchell, Diley started his own firm that specialized in family law, as well as liquor law, with which he helped other microbreweries get their start. At the time, the local beer milieau consisted of Summit, Schell’s, Surly, and Lift Bridge. These days, a new craft beer seems to hit the scene every week, but none has the law chops that guide Diley and his crew’s brew.

“Along with starting a business, the other thing that attracted me to law was helping people,” he says. “Out of law school, I clerked for a mid-sized firm and practiced family law, and I just liked the interaction and taking someone through a difficult time in their life and at least providing them with answers.

They might not like the answers, but you can provide them, and I found that rewarding.

“It’s kind of cheesy to say, but a lot of the people who have developed the country we live in today were attorneys and were involved in politics and the law, and that’s how I got interested in it. I also saw it as a way to take

a different approach in business. I wanted to stay independent, and that’s in part why I wanted to go to William Mitchell: You come out and hit the ground running, because there’s so many attorneys living in the area who came out of Mitchell, and you have that rapport with them. Coming out of St. John’s, I kind of understood what the benefit of a network is.”

Not to mention a lot of hard work and a vision that started one night in a South Minneapolis garage.

“We were filtering out a beer, which is the least exciting part of the process because it’s finished but you still can’t drink it,” he says.

“We said, ‘We can do this. You know, it’s not going to take that much.’ We were just stupid and dumb, but it worked out.”

And how. Fulton is now in most every bar in the Twin Cities, with world domination on tap.

“It’s really humbling,” he says. “When we started brewing, it was always just for fun. We tried to do the best we could, because at the end of the day we wanted to drink the best beer for as cheaply as we could, hopefully by making it. It wasn’t until the spring of 2008 that we thought it could be something more.

Or at least we wanted to try it, to not have any regrets. We would’ve rather fallen on our faces than be sitting around a campfire when we’re 60 years old saying, ‘Hey, remember that time we thought about a brewery …’ “

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How technology is changing the way students learn and lawyers succeed

by Jim Walsh

“When attorneys go out on their own, we often say we’re hanging out a shingle,” says Mitchell alum Matt Kulseth ’11, founder of the online trademark law firm Mighty Marks. “When you go online you can hang a virtual roof.”

That’s about the size of it, when considering how technology has changed the way lawyers do business. To get a handle on exactly how much change is afoot, we got together a virtual roundtable panel of new-tech experts—Kulseth, Mitchell Professor Donna Byrne, Thomson Reuters online conference director Molly Woll ’05, and Shepherd Data Services president and founder Christine Chalstrom ’91—to wade through the new wave.

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Q

As you go about your day-to-day work, what strikes you most about how technology has changed what you and others do?

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Kulseth: I have a printer but I’ve never used it.

As a trademark attorney, everything from how I advertise my practice, converse with clients, compile my search reports, and file trademarks, is done digitally. One thing I really appreciate in particular about the development in technology is the use of cloud-based client management software. It gives me the ability to access and maintain my client files from anywhere—even my phone.

Woll: Everything is so fast-moving. I produce online CLEs. So instead of having to get up out of your desk, schlep down to your local bar association, and take an in-person CLE, you can just dial it up on your computer.

Byrne: I teach differently. I deliver some of my classes online. I’ve created YouTube videos of PowerPoint presentations with a talking head in the corner (mine) that take the place of some of our class sessions. Students can view the PowerPoint alone or view the video version.

I meet with people differently. While I still post drop-in office hours, most of my interaction with students outside of class is by email.

Chalstrom: Shepherd’s day-to-day work involves identifying, preserving, collecting, reviewing, and presenting evidence. Technology has changed evidence data in two ways: volume and complexity. The hot topic now is “Big Data.” Ten years ago the average case

Photo by Tony Nelson

collection was about 1,000 documents. Now it is routine to see cases from at least 100,000 to 500,000 documents. This means we have to understand how to mine huge databases for relevant documents. Powerful technologies have been refined for use in litigation, analytics, and CAR (Computer Assisted Review), which require sophisticated understanding of how they work and how to use them.

Secondly, over the last 10 years, the nature of documentary evidence has changed and attorneys have to understand the nuances of data collection as more data types emerge.

When Shepherd Data began 11 years ago, we did mostly imaging of hard paper and

printouts of documents. That kind of evidence really didn’t have much depth of metadata or any preservation issues. About seven years ago, lawyers started to hear about metadata for documents and the importance of preserving this metadata, but now there are many data types that are ephemeral and require more expertise to preserve and to collect. For example, corporations rarely preserve IM messages and certain applications such as email automatically delete data if it reaches a certain age or volume. In sum, technology has caused an explosion of often dynamic, complex data that was hard to imagine 10 years ago.

Meet our

‘Virtual Roundtable’

panelists

One is a recent Mitchell graduate who has used the internet since he was in elementary school.

Another started a firm that helps lawyers make the most of technology. There’s also a Mitchell professor who uses the internet to teach sections of her courses.

And there’s an expert in using the internet to train lawyers.

They are our “virtual roundtable” of experts.

Matt Kulseth ’11, founder of Mighty Marks, an online law firm specializing in trademarks Professor Donna Byrne,

who teaches Mitchell courses with significant online components Molly Woll ‘05, Thomson

Reuters’ online conference director Christine Chalstrom ’91,

president and founder of Shepherd Data Services

Matt Kulseth ’11

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Professor Donna Byrne

QWhat remains the same in terms of research?

Kulseth: Hard work, and lots of it. So much

of what we do as attorneys is detail and process oriented. While computer-based tools may make the research process more efficient, research is still a craft that requires dedication and thoughtful attention.

Byrne: You still have to actually read the documents.

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Chalstrom: You generally have to know what you are looking for, i.e., how to frame the question in the appropriate legal jargon.

But today, while that is still true, starting research on the web rather than in case books can give lawyers useful overviews of a legal issue and help them understand what questions to frame when they get down to the

actual legal research. It used to be much more tedious to acquire the general framework for an area of law—legal decisions aren’t written for students and reading numerous long, meandering decisions to gain that knowledge is not a task that younger lawyers may have the required patience for.

Molly Woll ’05

QHow has the internet changed the way you practice (or teach) the law?

Kulseth: I practice trademark law because

it is the one of the few areas of law that can be practiced nationally and internationally.

As such, trademark attorneys have a distinct advantage, and can grow their businesses to be as big as they want them to be online.

An online practice is not limited in scope or geographic area. The net of clients is much broader and more diverse for a practice without a physical location. At the same time, targeted advertising toward these diverse Photos by Tony Nelson

clients is more effective and allows niche-type practices to more easily attract clients who need their services.

Byrne: William Mitchell is an independent law school, so there is no general library across campus. We can obtain volumes from other libraries, but I can’t physically walk across campus to browse the economics section of the library like I would have in the old days.

But it doesn’t matter—I have so much more through the internet. In addition, it’s possible

to make real connections online. For about three years I edited a food law blog, which resulted in a widespread network of food law contacts and some fascinating guest speakers for my food law seminar.

Chalstrom: We really like the educational outreach our site can give to our clients. Websites are a great resource for white papers, opinions, and case studies.

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Q

Is there any part of the human element that gets lost with the online version of practicing and teaching law?

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Kulseth: Some clients are very much

interested in forming a personal relationship with their attorney. If they are Skype users, that can help bridge the distance. That said, some clients are rather shy, and maybe less inclined to seek out an attorney if it means having to sit down face to face. In that case, email correspondence fits their needs and personality perfectly. I think the most valuable thing about being online along with providing phone/Skype consultations is that it can be a client-directed interaction: They

get to decide how much of the “human element” they would like to embrace.

Woll: The networking aspect is hugely lost in the online world and that can be a major part in getting clients and keeping up with your old colleagues and classmates. If you’re not out there keeping up with your connections or making new connections, getting your face seen, or speaking at events, then you have to find new, creative ways of connecting with people. Twitter is a great one— and Facebook, obviously. But you have to

Photo by Tony Nelson

Q

Where do you see law and technology advancing towards in the next decade?

Kulseth: I see the opportunity in the future for legal cooperatives, whether online or community-based. I look at CoCo (a co-working and collaborative space for individuals and small business) here in Minnesota, and I see a lot of synergy in that physical space, as well as a growing trend toward leveraging individual abilities as a collective to grow something smarter and stronger.

We need a legal space like that online.

Woll: I don’t think anyone can predict this, and anyone who says they can must have God’s right ear. I think the most exciting thing is that there is some middle school kid out there right now who is about to invent something that is going to blow our collective minds, and we’ll all say, “Can you believe she came up with this?”

Byrne: Technology allows us to reach audiences that are more spread out.

From a teaching perspective, I can provide so much more to students now. With peer assessment and online exam capabilities, students don’t have to wait until the end of the semester to assess their learning. This works with

Christine Chalstrom ’91

be careful not to become superficial. I think you have to force yourself to still get out there and physically interact, purposely slow things down and make eye contact.

Byrne: Before I added the videos to my online class offerings, some students said they did not have enough contact with me.

Now they say it’s just like having another hour of class. So I think the human element is still there for the students.

Chalstrom: Technology can certainly isolate people if it is used exclusively for com-

munication. But face-to-face meetings are not required or possible for even the most important discussions. Fortunately, there are much more “human” technologies available for interactive communication: Skype and GoToMeetings are affordable technologies that allow for people to see and talk directly with each other without leaving their desks.

This allows people to collaborate with a much broader group of people than was otherwise possible. So yes, while it’s strange that the client two blocks away will only

large classes as well as small ones. That’s exciting. Using online course delivery systems, we can reach students who may not be able to move to St. Paul. While I don’t expect to see the end of in-person legal education, I do expect to reach more students at a distance and to reach all of my students more actively.

Chalstrom: The law changes very slowly, that is a good and a bad thing.

Of course, we at Shepherd are looking forward to a time when more attorneys don’t feel daunted by legal technology and instead embrace it. We believe getting to that point is our responsibility.

That is, we have to continue to educate our clients and help them understand complex technologies that are essential to their success.

That said, in the future, lawyers will continue to practice law and provide their clients with legal analysis and advice. But the legal industry will have more diverse roles than lawyer, paralegal, and administrative assistants; it will be a bigger team and include legal technology experts. I recently read “Tomorrow’s Lawyers” by Richard Susskind. He believes, and I agree, there will be a wide variety of new jobs infused with aspects of technology and law. At Shepherd we seek to develop those individuals who Susskind frames as “legal technologists.” These individuals are lawyers who are also educated in computers and legal technology software.

do business or any discussion via email, we have relationships all over the country with people who embrace the new ways we can be connected.

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II

aving always considered herself a writer, Anne Brown ‘95 decided to try to be an author when she turned 35. (She held on to her day job as an attorney at Sjoberg & Tebelius.)

“I focused in on young adult literature because that’s what I enjoyed reading,” she says. “After a couple of false starts with what I call my ‘practice novels,’ I was lucky enough to sell my ‘Lies Beneath’ trilogy—a dark, paranormal romance about predatory mermaids on Lake Superior—to Random House.”

The second novel of the trilogy came out this past March, with the third due in January 2014.

“So far, the books have been translated into Italian and French and narrated for audio book,” Brown says. “It’s been a fun adventure sharing my stories with the world!”

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II

itchell’s director of the Center for Law and Business started collecting books right after he graduated from college—and never stopped.

“I started acquiring books one by one and then by the bushelful,” Louis Ainsworth ‘77 says. “It’s an obsession, as is typical of collectors. We get our favorite things and pursue them ruthlessly.”

Ainsworth’s favorite things contain page after page on medieval history and the development of law in the Middle Ages. And ancient military history. And economic history.

His collection grew so big, a few years ago he bought the house next door and turned it into a library.

“We had books in every room in the house, including the bathroom,” he says. “We wanted to see what we could do to provide a single space.”

And now? “I have so many books I barely know what I want to look at first, let alone read them all.”

II

hen Gordon Shumaker ‘71 retired as a judge in 2011, his adventures were just beginning. He was able to really kick back and head out on the highway with the group he helped form, the Ronin Motorcycle Club. According to Shumaker, the club has one purpose: “To ride together and take long trips.”

Those trips often involve riding 500 miles a day toward places like New Mexico, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

“It’s the journey rather than the destination,” Shumaker says. “We just like to wander around between here and there.

And we don’t have a particular theme. Just people who like to ride and are compatible in their riding styles.

“We’re like the hobos who used to ride the rails. It really is a freeing experience; just get on your bike, and you can experience so much more than you can in a car.”

Photos by Michael Crouser

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She’s one half of Mitchell’s revitalized commitment to Indian Law and Native American women’s issues, and Sarah Deer’s story from 1980s teenager until now is fueled by frequently startling displays of determination

by Brian Lambert

If you’re familiar with rock-ribbed Kansas, it’s my arguments. Within my family there was an an amusing image: Teenaged Sarah Deer, from ethic about speaking out against injustice, so it a line of progressive outliers, charging about seemed natural to me. My grandfather was one Wichita in the 1980s, writing firebrand editoriof the first progressives in the Kansas House.” als in her high school paper and whipping up Her husband, Neal Axton, is Mitchell’s support, as best she could find it, for abortion Research and Instructional librarian. These days rights and women’s issues. Since the odds she it’s a job heavily invested in the internet, which was going to make anything resembling a dent is why Axton jokes that he’s an “anti-librarian,” in the established norms down around Wichita eschewing books for keystrokes. The two met were never high, a certain indomitability of as law students at the University of Kansas in Sarah (center) with her grandfather, Kelso Deer spirit, if not obsession, came in handy.

Lawrence, the blue redoubt in otherwise fire (left), and father, Montie Deer, in 1998.

It still does. One half of William Mitchell’s engine red Kansas. The specific class? Feminist revitalized commitment to Indian Law and Native American women’s Legal Theory. issues, Deer’s story from 1980s teenager until now is fueled by frequently “I was a theater major originally,” she says. “I veered away from law for startling displays of determination, including fighting an aggressive form a while, until my dad reminded me that actors have the highest rate of of breast cancer. unemployment in the nation. Eventually, I decided law was the best fit for Deer is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma. She my talents and instincts.” remembers that her father devoted “a pretty good portion” of his private Deer and Axton married in 2000 and moved to D.C. before shifting practice (primarily medical malpractice) to pro bono work for Native cli- cross country when Sarah caught on with the Tribal Law and Policy Instients. Around Wichita he established himself as a go-to source for legal tute in Los Angeles. Not thrilled with the L.A. lifestyle, the Institute’s Minadvice in the deeply arcane intersection of tribal and civil law, which is nesota office gave her a place to move when Axton accepted his job with pretty close to where his daughter is today—including the affinity and Mitchell in 2005. Axton credits Family Law Professor Nancy Ver Steegh for talent for teaching.

Deer’s formal hiring to full-time faculty in 2009. It paired her with Professor Educating students was Mom’s lifelong career and one Dad pursued Colette Routel and lent immediate credibility to Mitchell’s plan to revitaluntil entering law school at age 28. When Deer rattles off the activity ize the school’s Indian Law curriculum, created by the late and legendary schedule around her childhood home—teaching, volunteering, coach- Professor Bernie Becker in the early 1970s. Becker’s landmark case, Bryan ing—you are not left with the picture of tube-surfing under-achievers. v. Itasca County, in which he prevailed by unanimous decision of the U.S. Although, “Marlo Thomas was one of my inspirations as a girl,” she Supreme Court, was instrumental in opening the doors for tribal gaming. says. The TV star was one of the pioneering celebrity activists for women’s In less than five years Deer and Routel have refortified William Mitchissues, and young Sarah Deer felt a kinship. ell’s national standing as a force in Indian Law, women’s issues in par “I was certainly outside the mainstream,” she says with a chuckle. “I ticular. The quick list of Deer’s current pedigree includes serving as assowas this crazy liberal kid in high school. It wasn’t that I liked to provoke ciate justice for the Prairie Island Court of Appeals, chairing the Federal controversy, but I enjoyed getting up in front of the class and presenting Advisory Committee on the National Coordination Committee on the Photo by Tony Nelson

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“Within my family there was an ethic about speaking out against injustice…”

Professor Sarah Deer in Washington, D.C., with Ruth Jewell, a member of the Penobscot Nation and president of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, a member of the Chickasaw nation and supporter of the Violence Against Women Act

American Indian/Alaska Native Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner-Sexual Assault Response Team, and serving as secretary of the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association. She also co-authored Amnesty International’s “Maze of Injustice” report and the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Sexual Assault in Public Law 280 States” report.

Deer was called to D.C. in early 2012 to testify before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on the dismaying level of violence against Native women. Earlier she had been appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder to a national task force focused on children exposed to violence. She is also Amnesty International USA’s Native American and Alaska Native Advisory Council Member.

With Deer working on Tribal issues and Routel working on federal issues, Mitchell has renewed gravity in the realm of Indian Law. Or, as Axton says, “One faculty member could be seen as window dressing. But with two, the school has created something genuinely purposeful and effective. Sarah and Colette reinforce each other quite well.”

Mitchell Trustee Lenor Scheffler ‘88, a member of the Lower Sioux tribe and former chief judge for the Upper Sioux Tribal Court, had Deer on her radar even before she joined the faculty. “I had read and heard so much about her. I was thrilled when she came on board,” she says.

With nearly a dozen tribes in every Midwestern state “the likelihood that any lawyer will run into Tribal issues related to land use, taxation, you name it, is very high. We need more capable attorneys like Sarah and Colette on these issues. Both are unusually talented.”

Eric Janus, Mitchell’s president and dean, compares Deer’s talent and demeanor to the late Rosalie Wahl ‘67, Minnesota’s first female Supreme 26

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Court justice and, coincidentally, a Kansas native. “Sarah’s very direct and very grounded.

“She brings a perspective on Tribal Law that not many other scholars bring. They often focus on federal Indian law which is very important, complex, and interesting. But Sarah’s focus has always been on Tribal Law and self-governance and sovereignty. It’s an interest that has relevance to individual members of tribes, women in particular. It was a focus that was evident when we first became aware of her. She had taught at UCLA and had done some online teaching, which was also of interest to us. But her focus on violence against women was something she had cultivated before coming here.”

Less than a year after settling in Minnesota, Deer was diagnosed with the same vicious strain of breast cancer that affected her mother at age 34.

“I had six months of chemo and seven surgeries,” she says. “I was bedridden for nearly a year, really too weak to do anything but a lot of thinking. It sucked a lot of my energy. I hated not being productive. But I wasn’t sure I’d see my 40th birthday.”

The proximity to mortality seems to have inspired her to push herself even harder. While recuperating she put out feelers for adjunct work and caught the attention of Ver Steegh and others.

“My choice of the work has really been informed by local women I’ve met over the years. My father suggested the gender focus, and I became fascinated with how Native women are so often portrayed as weak and traumatized. That has not been my experience, and historically that is completely inaccurate. Prior to the arrival of patriarchal European influences it was not unusual for women to be held in high regard in Native cultures. The kind of abusive patriarchy we see today is a disruption of long-standing cultural norms. Ideally, I’d like to see women revitalize their traditional roles.”

Very little of Deer’s time is spent among the nation’s few affluent casino-owning tribes. The grimmer realities are where she hears a call, particularly the insidious connection between chemical addiction and sex trafficking “… and the suicides that so often follow. What’s causing the addiction that leads to everything else is what I’m interested in.”

Even though her husband would like to see her slow her pace a couple notches, it isn’t her style.

“The best I can do,” says Axton, “is suggest which one out of three speaking offers she should decline. She’s constantly on the go.”

6 THINGS about MARK HALLBERG ’79

Mark is a partner at Hallberg & McClain, where he focuses on medical malpractice, personal injury, automobile and vehicular negligence, and product liability litigation. He is widely recognized for his undying commitment to William Mitchell, passion for golf, and fondness for the bowtie.

He recently pulled himself away from his practice (and the tee box) to talk about what Mitchell means to him, how he’s hitting it these days, and his collection of more than 200 bowties.

1. You and your wife Mary Jo have been longtime supporters of William Mitchell.

Why is the school so important to both of you? I believe in the mission of the school.

It may sound corny, but I think Mitchell does provide practical wisdom about how to practice law. We have a clinical program and a lot of adjunct professors. Students can work while they’re going to school like I did. I believe in that part of the mission. I also believe in offering legal education to second-career people. All of this—the practical wisdom, the access to a top-notch legal education—is important and at the core of Mitchell’s mission.

2. You’re an avid golfer. How often are you able to get out on the links? I probably average two or three times a week during the summer. I play a little bit in the winter, too. Not as much as I’d like, perhaps, but enough.

3. Do you have a favorite course? I probably have a top five list. I would say the White Bear Yacht Club (Hallberg’s home course) is in the top five. So are Augusta National, Cypress Point, the Old Course at St. Andrews, and the Royal Dornoch in Scotland. I’ve played a lot of good courses.

4. What’s your handicap? I think I’m 11 right now. I range from probably a nine to 12.

5. You’re renowned for always wearing a bowtie. Is there a story behind that? It’s funny because I first wore a bowtie when I was 5 years old. My mom has this picture of me as a little kid with a bowtie around my neck, but I didn’t always wear them. I didn’t wear them in high school. I didn’t wear them in college, really.

But the first time I argued before the Minnesota Supreme Court, Justice John Simonett was known for always wearing a bowtie. I thought, ‘Gee, bowties are good looking. It might be good to be different from most lawyers and wear a bowtie.’ So I did, and I actually won the case. I just decided that was one thing I’d like to do, so I’ve mostly worn bowties ever since.

6. Do you have a favorite bowtie? No. Probably any one that my kids have given me. I get at least one from them every Christmas.

Photo by Tony Nelson

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CLASS NOTES 1968

Thomas Kane joined

1988

Cozen O’Connor as a partner in its new Minneapolis office.

1975

Jonathan Motl was

named Montana’s political practices commissioner by Gov. Steve Bullock. The commissioner is in charge of enforcing state laws dealing with campaign finances and practices, ethics, and legislative lobbying.

1983 Paul Floyd was elected secretary of the Hennepin County Bar Association, beginning a five-year leadership track that will have him serve as president for 2016–17.

1985

Rod Otterness was named city manager for Union Gap, Wash.

He was previously city manager for International Falls, Minn.

Anne M. Honsa was

appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court to the Lawyer’s Professional Responsibility Board for a three-year term.

1989

1992 Randall Tietjen, a partner at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, has published a book, “In the Clutches of the Law: Clarence Darrow’s Letters.” He edited the volume after spending 20 years tracking down hundreds of Darrow’s letters.

1991

Nancy E. Anderson

Richard H. Kyle, Jr., a shareholder at

Fredrikson & Byron, was elected PresidentElect of the Minnesota State Bar Association. He is on track to become the MSBA president during the 2014–15 bar year.

received the (Real) Power 50 award from Minnesota Business Magazine. The award recognizes leaders as the linchpins in their companies and connectors in their industry.

1990 Jana M. Austad was

Thomas Wallrich

joined Cozen O’Connor as a partner in its new Minneapolis office.

Daniel Young was elected to a two-year term on the board of directors of Lommen, Abdo, Cole, King & Stageberg.

appointed as judge in Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District by Gov. Mark Dayton. She was the managing attorney in the Brainerd Regional Office of the Minnesota Public Defender.

Peter Crema joined Cozen O’Connor as a partner in its new Minneapolis office.

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Heidi Pederson was named director of Investments and Trust at Anchor Bank. She leads Anchor’s investments team and is responsible for setting strategic direction, building strong ties with customers and strategic partners, and enhancing service models for investments and trust services.

1993

Cathryn Schmidt

joined the firm of Collins, Buckley, Sauntry & Haugh in St. Paul. She has focused on family and matrimonial law for the past 15 years.

Patrick Rohland

Matt Schumacher

was on a finalist team for Public Justice’s 2013 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. The award honors the attorney(s) who made the greatest contribution to the public interest by trying or settling a precedent-setting case in the past year.

1995 Amy Kuronen joined

the board of directors of The Duluth Library Foundation. She is the managing director of the U.S. Bank Private Client Group in Duluth and focuses on wealth management and financial planning.

Steven Silton joined Cozen O’Connor as a partner in its new Minneapolis office.

1996

Markus C. YirA was

formed Berg Myers Law Offices with Nelson Berg.

recertified by the Minnesota State Bar Association as a Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist.

1997

Aaron Dean joined

Best & Flanagan as a partner in the firm’s construction and litigation practice groups.

was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton as District Court Judge in Minnesota’s Fifth Judicial District. The judgeship is chambered in Redwood Falls, Minn.

2002

Kip M. Knippel joined executive search firm Hirenomics as a partner and executive vice president, focusing on legal matters, compliance, risk management, and the C-suite.

Erica (Thompson) Roettger and her

husband, Philip, welcomed their fifth child, Ryan Philip Roettger, on July 10, 2013. The family lives in Landisville, Pa.

2003

Thomas Myers

1994

2000

Peter M. Reyes, Jr.

joined Barnes & Thornburg’s Minneapolis office as a partner in the Intellectual Property Department.

Ed Matthews joined the Molever Law Firm.

He is an attorney-CPA who previously established his own estate planning law firm.

2004

Matthew Lasley

was elected partner at Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly. He is a member of the firm’s real estate finance practice group.

Giving back

to a community in need Kayla Yang-Best

joined the Bush Foundation to lead its education initiatives, including the $40 million effort to transform teacher preparation and development.

2008

Christine L. Eid

started Eid Law, which focuses on business law and estate planning.

2005

Kelly Olmstead was

elected vice president of the Ramsey County Bar Association and will serve as president in 2015–16. She is a criminal prosecutor for the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office.

Sara Reisdorf was selected by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal as a 2013 “40 Under 40” honoree.

She works on a range of business issues at Fredrikson & Byron.

2006

Paul Kisselburg

was elected partner at Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly. He is a member of the firm’s real estate finance practice group.

David E. Martin

joined Henson & Efron, providing advice on federal, state, and international tax issues to businesses.

2007

Robin Tutt was

named partner at Lindquist & Vennum.

She is a member of the firm’s trusts and estates practice, assisting clients with the preparation of wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives.

2012

Timothy Woessner joined Weber &

Leth as an associate, practicing in the areas of administrative law, family law, and civil litigation, including personal injury.

Elisa Murillo was on a finalist team for Public Justice’s 2013 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. The award honors the attorney(s) who made the greatest contribution to the public interest by trying or settling a precedent-setting case in the past year.

2009

Christopher Bowman joined the

firm of Yaeger, Jungbauer & Barczak as an associate, practicing railroad law and focusing on dispositive motion and appellate practice.

Noelle Strenge

Adine S. Momoh of

Leonard, Street and Deinard was named a 2013 Fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. She is one of 167 attorneys nationwide to be selected for the national leadership development program that’s designed to increase diversity in the legal profession.

2010 Molly N. Tyroler

joined Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala as an associate attorney. She focuses on workers’ compensation and represents insurers, third party administrators, and self-insured employers in both Minnesota and Wisconsin.

2011

Kyle Eidsness joined

the Minneapolis office of Foley & Mansfield, focusing on civil and commercial litigation.

Jaclynn Hennen

joined Anastasi Jellum as an associate attorney. She works primarily with banking institutions on litigation and collection matters.

married Brian Marshall on Oct. 5, 2013, in Rochester, Minn.

Trisha Volpe was hired jointly by KARETV and Minnesota Public Radio as an enterprise reporter.

2013

The last thing Chris Pham ’09 is thinking about when he does pro bono work is winning awards—but that doesn’t stop him from racking them up anyway.

Pham’s outstanding inner city work with children and families earned him both the Leonard E. Lindquist Award from Lindquist & Vennum, where he is an associate, and the Hennepin County Bar Association’s Diversity Award.

Pham provides representation through the Children’s Law Center of Minnesota and is a volunteer attorney at a legal clinic at YouthLink in Minneapolis, providing legal advice to homeless youth. He also volunteers with the Tubman Safety

Grace Kim joined the

intellectual property practice at Faegre Baker Daniels as an associate, focusing on patent prosecution in the health care, medical devices and technology, and manufacturing and industrials industries.

Anthony Bussa married Molly Sax on

Sept. 7, 2013 in Elbow Lake, Minn.

Project, representing clients seeking Orders for Protection stemming from domestic abuse.

But that’s just the beginning. He’s also involved in the Volunteer Lawyers Network’s Letters to Creditors Program and the Hennepin County Housing Court Legal Clinic Project. And earlier this year he took on a full representation child custody matter in Hennepin County.

“Having grown up in North Minneapolis, I’m very cognizant of the need for legal services for traditionally under-represented individuals,” Pham says. “I also find pro bono work to be the most rewarding and gratifying.

The clients are so appreciative of the

Marlene Goldenberg joined

Goldenberg Law as an associate attorney. Goldenberg Law specializes in mass tort, product liability, and personal injury.

assistance they receive because they don’t often have access to legal advice and/or representation.”

The awards, he says, caught him by surprise. ”At this early stage in my career it was a truly humbling experience, and I am honored to be recognized for my contributions to the legal community.”

wmitchell.edu/alumni

29

William Mitchell Remembers

Rosalie Wahl ’67 The William Mitchell community is mourning the loss of the jurist who paved the way for women in Minnesota’s legal community. Rosalie Wahl ’67 passed away July 22. She is remembered as an inspirational leader who broke through barriers on her way to becoming the first woman on Minnesota’s Supreme Court.

“Rosalie Wahl’s legacies are many. She showed us all how to lead and how to make a difference in our communities and in the legal system,” said Eric S. Janus, William Mitchell’s dean. “For me, she was a person whose devotion to justice and inclusion, borne of her own life-circumstances, spoke powerfully to open the legal profession to women and to work toward justice for people who had been excluded. She was a leader at William Mitchell College of Law in developing our practical approach to legal education, and she helped legal education nationally acknowledge the importance of skills-education in producing effective and ethical legal practitioners.”

Justice Wahl was born Sara Rosalie Erwin on Aug. 27, 1924, in Gordon, Kansas. Her mother died when Rosalie was just a toddler, and she moved in with her grandparents. After graduating from the University of Kansas and getting married in 1946, she and her husband and children moved to Minnesota in 1949, eventually settling in Lake Elmo. In 1962, at the age of 38 and “tired of sitting outside

doors waiting for the men inside to make the decisions,” Wahl enrolled at William Mitchell College of Law. She had four children at the time; her fifth was born during law school, where she was one of only two women in her class.

After graduating in 1967, she worked for the state as an assistant public defender and in 1973 accepted a professorship at William Mitchell, where she co-directed the clinical legal education program.

Gov. Rudy Perpich appointed Justice Wahl to the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1977, making her the first woman to sit on the state’s highest court. A couple of years into her tenure, she was mentioned as a possible candidate to become the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. While on the Minnesota Supreme Court, Justice Wahl served as its liaison to the Court’s Study Commission on the Mentally Disabled and chaired its task forces on gender fairness and racial bias. She remained on the court until she retired in 1994 at the mandatory age of 70.

“She showed us all how to lead and how to make a difference in our communities and in the legal system.”

Eric S. Janus, President and Dean, William Mitchell

30

MITCHELL ON L AW

Justice Wahl was known nationally for supporting women lawyers and encouraging the appointment of women as judges, winning many awards honoring her commitment.

But it wasn’t just women who Justice Wahl championed. She had a reputation as the voice for those living on the edges of society— the poor, the accused, the powerless, the persecuted. Her judicial opinions were marked by a blend of scholarship and compassion, speaking up for those who could not.

She is also nationally recognized as a pioneer in clinical legal education, and William Mitchell named its expanded legal practice center in her honor in 2003. Many of the standards used in legal education today are the result of her leadership and recommendations. Her work emphasized practical skills education and the idea that lawyers should be taught to be more sensitive, tolerant, and compassionate—in other words, use their hearts in addition to their brains.

IN MEMORIAM 1954

Delmer C. Hallberg,

1963

1985

Marjorie Ama Black Roane , 73,

99, April 23, 2013.

1955 Harold Farnes, 87, May 15, 2013. Survived by his wife, Patty; children, Peggy Marrin, Nancy Farnes, Dr. Stephen Farnes, Debbie LeDoux, Craig (Teddy Ann) Morse, Linda (Todd) Larson; 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

1958

Leroy Edwards,

84, May 28, 2013.

Survived by his son, Gary (Roxanne Zahradka); daughters, Susan (Randall) Schill, Gail (Michael) Kinney; grandchildren, Gena Schill (Paul Kroshus) and Ryan Schill (Angela Winders); Sara Neville; and three great-grandchildren.

John Jansen, 79, July 19, 2013. Survived by his wife, Katy Cartoney Jansen; son, Dan Kelley; and four grandchildren.

Eugene Bradt, 76, August 29, 2013.

Survived by his wife, Dona Macaulay-Bradt; children, Kellie Bradt, Kevin (Marsha) Bradt and Eric (Kathleen) Bradt; seven grandchildren; three great grandchildren; and five stepchildren.

1974

Richard P. Knauer ,

68, April 7, 2013.

Judge Robert Varco,

68, May 27, 2013.

Survived by his wife, Susan Pappas-Varco; daughter, Elizabeth Varco, “EB”; mother, Louise Varco; and seven siblings.

April 22, 2013. Survived by her son, Samuel Houston Roane, Jr.; granddaughter, Iris; brother, Amos Black III; and sister, Mary Osborne.

1993

Erika Mozangue , 45, August 18, 2013.

Survived by her husband, Marcus Drayton; stepdaughter, Christine Drayton; parents, Don and Viola Mills; and siblings, LaVecchia Mozangue and Tramayne Mills.

2006 Vicki McIntyre , 66, August 18, 2013. Survived by her children, Erin and Sean, and granddaughter Lindsey.

1977

Former trustee and adjunct Greg Heacox ,

62, May 15, 2013.

Survived by his wife, Debbie; children, Zach, Sam, and Hannah; sister, Diane; and mother, Gloria.

Stephen “Pat” Line , 69, November 15, 2012. Survived by his wife, Carolyn ’78; sisters, Sally Hester (Chip) and Pam Polzin; and brother, Johnny Polzin.

Gregg Orwoll , 87, August 20, 2013.

Survived by his wife, Laverne; children, Kimball (Kathleen) Orwoll, Kent (Linda) Orwoll, Vikki (Scott) Dalquist, Tristen (Steve) Lindemann, and Eric (Susan) Orwoll ; and five grandchildren.

wmitchell.edu/alumni

31

to the

POINT Eric S. Janus PRESIDENT AND DEAN

Our law school was founded on the principle of access 113 years ago by a group of lawyers who believed men and women of modest means should be able to study the law. Like others around the country they started a part-time night law school. Many in the legal profession’s establishment decried the innovation. A part-time law school, they said, couldn’t provide an adequate legal education.

It didn’t take very long to prove them wrong.

The first graduating class included students who went on to become leaders in the profession, politics, and business­­. The same can be said for every graduating class since.

An idea that seemed radical at the time worked, and the profession—as well as the community—is better as a result.

Today, we are once again looking at ways to improve access. We’ve always been the law school for people from all walks of life, but lately some of the people who want to study the law—dream of studying the law—are discovering that their goal is out of reach.

Some cannot afford it; others live in areas without law schools and can’t leave their jobs and families to study the law for three or four years. Think about all the people who could make even greater contributions to the profession and their communities—if they had access to a legal education grounded in practical wisdom.

My goal, like that of our founders, is to find a way to make law school more accessible.

How we do this is a question that is yet to be answered, but I can tell you that everything is on the table, especially using technology to regain, for a new generation, the advantages of a night law school education. Some of the ideas we’re considering—including developing a hybrid program that combines online courses with on-site training— might sound radical, but remember: Sometimes new ideas can have a profound and lasting impact on the profession and the community.

All of our alumni for whom we have email addresses recently received a survey seeking feedback on an idea we’re considering. We will use your knowledge, experience, and ideas to guide us as we work to ensure William Mitchell is well positioned to deliver on its mission for another 113 years.

As always, thank you for your support of our law school.

Sincerely,

Eric S. Janus President and Dean

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MITCHELL ON L AW

Photo by Tim Rummelhoff

Thursday, November 14 is a big day for everyone at Mitchell—including you!

It marks the 25th anniversary of National Philanthropy Day—the official start of the Giving Season in America.

It’s also the kickoff of Give to the Mitch, our effort to help you get the most out of your gift to William Mitchell.

From Nov. 14 through “Giving Tuesday” (Dec. 3), every gift to the 2014 Annual Fund—up to $500—qualifies for a one-toone match. In addition, 100% of your gift will be tax deductible and 100% will go directly to support William Mitchell’s students, faculty, and innovation.

If you’re going to give to Mitchell this year, get the most out of your Annual Fund gift. Join our alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends by making your gift online between Thursday, Nov. 14 and Tuesday, Dec. 3.

wmitchell.edu/give

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