Mitchell Hamline Law Spring 2017 by Mitchell Hamline School of Law

MITCHELL HAMLINE

LA SPRING 2017

THIS IS

MITCHELL HAMLINE BUILDING on the STRENGTHS of TWO GREAT SCHOOLS

Welcome to Mitchell Hamline Law

A Message from the Dean

Dear Alumni, It is a distinct pleasure to inaugurate our new alumni magazine, Mitchell Hamline Law. Many of you expressed as part of the recent alumni survey an interest in receiving a publication that would keep you up-to-date on the activities of your classmates as well as the goings-on on campus. We hope Mitchell Hamline Law serves as a way to keep you both informed and connected. In producing this first issue, we have tried to achieve the right balance between celebrating the legacies of William Mitchell College of Law and Hamline University School of Law and updating you on current initiatives. I cannot put in words how excited and honored I am to be the president and dean charged with keeping two wonderful traditions vital and alive while also mapping the way toward our future together. As you will read in this magazine, one of the ways we are trying to keep both the Hamline Law and William Mitchell legacies vibrant is through the establishment of a Faculty Hall of Fame, to honor the incredible faculty of both legacy institutions. One of the things I’m struck by in talking with alums is how often they will mention the meaningful, guiding, and often inspiring roles that individual faculty members played both in their time in law school and throughout their careers. We very much want to honor those former faculty members who have laid such a wonderful foundation on which we can now build, and I would encourage you to participate in the nomination process. (For details, see page 19.) We are moving forward now along a wide range of fronts. I am very pleased that the faculty have been giving significant thought to ways that we can maintain, and even improve, our position as one of the best providers of practical legal education in the country. We have not just inherited a focus on practical and experiential learning, we are actually intensifying it. For example, we are now encouraging our students to participate in our “residency” program, under which they can spend a full semester in their third year working in a law firm, corporation, courthouse, government, or nonprofit organization. We now offer 13 different clinics for our students to get hands-on experience, and we have initiated an effort to provide “client contact from day one”—so that students can be interacting with clients (and learning about the “client-side business” of the law) within their first year. We are

also expanding the number of simulations in which students participate, developing more “practiceintensive” courses for our students, providing enhanced internship and externship opportunities, and working with students to put together meaningful personal career plans to help make their law school experience as productive as possible. We are also building on our common tradition as a voice for the rule of law and justice for all. Whether it is our expanded clinical training; enhanced relations with the community; the path-breaking work of our new Mobile Law Office; our encouragement of students from diverse perspectives to share their views with, and learn from the views of, others; our expanded community conversations on difficult topics (from a multitude of perspectives); or our continuing efforts to expand access to both legal knowledge and legal services— all are part of nourishing our traditions to even better address today’s challenges. I could go on and on about the many exciting things under way—but there are many pages that follow that do precisely that. And there are many more exciting activities under way that will be featured in magazine issues to come. I hope you enjoy looking through this magazine, and please continue to share your thoughts, ideas, and concerns with me at mark.gordon@mitchellhamline.edu. Sincerely,

Mark C. Gordon President and Dean

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW VOLUME 1, No. 1 Published by Mitchell Hamline School of Law 875 Summit Avenue St. Paul, Minn. 55105 651-227-9171 alumni@mitchellhamline.edu mitchellhamline.edu/alumni President and Dean Mark C. Gordon Executive Editor Doug Belden Art Director and Designer Karl Peters

BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Sharon Van Leer, program manager, diversity and inclusion; Deb Lange, administrative coordinator, student affairs and student life; Ed Butterfoss, professor; Kelly Von Ruden, director, online education; Peter Knapp, professor, director of clinical program; Leanne Fuith ’10 (WMCL), dean, career and professional development. FRONT ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT, 1L students Nathan Hines (Weekend), Hannah Yi (Full-time), Christian Schoepp (HYBRID J.D.), and Tasha Gandy (Part-time evening).

To learn more about these 1L students and why they chose Mitchell Hamline, see pages 12-13.

Writers Maja Beckstrom Doug Belden Dick Dahl Tim Post Photographers Tim Post Brady Willette Rebecca Zenefski

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Chair Former Justice Helen M. Meyer ’83 (WMCL)

Table of Contents Where Things Stand Now that the two schools have combined,

Vice Chair David M. Sparby ’80 (WMCL)

what programs continue as before, what has changed, and what’s new?

Professors Emeriti Continue to Engage and Inspire

Catching up on the lives and activities of four of Mitchell Hamline’s dearest assets: our faculty emeriti

A Fearless Protector of Children Anne McKeig ’92 (HUSL) finds her path as

the newest justice—and the first Native American—on the Minnesota Supreme Court

A Life in the Law Law as a second career, and the value of life experience, by Steven P. Aggergaard ’04 (WMCL)

Secretary Steven J. Kirsch ’76 (HUSL) Treasurer Nicole James Gilchrist ’03 (WMCL) Gregory L. Buck ’87 (WMCL) Christine Chalstrom ’91 (WMCL) Jeanne M. Forneris Judge Donovan W. Frank ’77 (HUSL) Karen Park Gallivan ’83 (WMCL) Lisa A. Gray ’86 (WMCL) Clifford M. Greene Judge Sara Grewing ’03 (WMCL) Judge Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks ’85 (WMCL) Mark A. Hallberg ’79 (WMCL) Dr. Linda N. Hanson Frank V. Harris ’75 (HUSL) Jean F. Holloway James J. Hoolihan ’79 (WMCL) Charles H. Johnson ’75 (HUSL) Christine Kucera Kalla ’94 (WMCL) Jennifer Lauermann ’10 (HUSL) Martin Lueck ’84 (WMCL) Richard L. Mack ’93 (HUSL) Former Chief Justice Eric J. Magnuson ’76 (WMCL) Ruth A. Mickelsen ’81 (WMCL) Dr. Fayneese Miller Daniel P. O’Keefe ’78 (WMCL) Magistrate Judge Steven E. Rau ’83 (WMCL) Judge Denise D. Reilly ’83 (WMCL) Susan C. Rhode ’85 (HUSL) Ellen G. Sampson ’84 (WMCL) Lenor A. Scheffler ’88 (WMCL) Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson ’95 (WMCL) Wendy K. Watson ’97 (HUSL)

WHERE ARE YOU?

We have more than 19,000 alums all over the country, doing a variety of interesting things

Patti Beacom ’84 (WMCL) Assistant General Counsel MillerCoors Golden, Colo.

1 1

4 33

Brian Morrison ’02 (WMCL)

Assistant General Counsel–IP Nike Beaverton, Ore.

2 1

1 2

5 5

Erik Jensen ’81 (WMCL) Professor of the Practice Stanford Law School Palo Alto, Calif.

30 4

71 2

69 9

240

1 2

60 1

235

42 15 1

19 172

107

Douglas Klint ’76 (WMCL)

159

Vice President and General Counsel Taser International Scottsdale, Ariz.

1 10

9 3

6 2

90 5 39

Chantal M. Trinka ’13 (HUSL) Staff Attorney Alaska Office of Public Advocacy, Civil & Criminal Litigation Sector Anchorage, Alaska

3 1

2 27

6 3

1 10

Brigida Rodriguez ’03 (HUSL) Attorney – Abogada Dallas 2

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Magistrate Judge Leo I. Brisbois ’87 (HUSL)

Alisa Kushnir ’10 (WMCL)

U.S. District Court District of Minnesota Duluth, Minn.

Vice President Investment Banking Division Compliance Goldman Sachs New York

Joshua Yang ’05 (WMCL) Partner K&L Gates Chicago

James Reed ’90 (HUSL) 1

Director of Government Relations Illinois Education Association Chicago

6 3

139

1 8

6,520 538

122

3 1

9 17

4 75 113

55 4

14 3

4 1 8

3 89

George N. Grammas ’88 (WMCL) Partner International Trade Practice Group Squire Patton Boggs Washington, D.C.

6 9

114

54 78

Senior Director of Gaming Policy American Gaming Association Washington, D.C.

5 11

Elizabeth Cronan ’08 (WMCL)

10 165

17 4

174

113

160

16 2

1 77

Robert Herbolsheimer ’80 (HUSL)

125

Executive Vice President of Healthcare Integration and General Counsel Meals on Wheels America Arlington, Va.

6 94

108

David A. Odahowski ’81 (HUSL) President & CEO Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation Winter Park, Fla.

1 4

MITCHELL HAMLINE ALUMNI PER STATE LEAST

MOST

Number of alumni per area (based on available addresses) MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

ALUMNI NEWS

Where things stand When William Mitchell and Hamline Law combined in December 2015, most programs from each school continued under Mitchell Hamline. Here’s a brief update on some well-known programs from the legacy schools and information on new initiatives created after the combination.

Dispute Resolution Institute:

HYBRID J.D. program: Accepted its

Marked its 25th anniversary in 2016. No. 5 in latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.

third cohort of students in fall 2016, bringing total enrolled to nearly 280. Had its one-of-a-kind variance renewed in December 2016 by the ABA for another four years.

Health Law Institute: Marked its 10th

anniversary in 2016. No. 11 in latest U.S. News rankings. Intellectual Property Institute:

Professor Sharon Sandeen took over as director, replacing Professor Ken Port, who serves as an associate director, as does Professor Carl Moy. Center for Law and Business:

Represents a combination of business and law programs at the legacy schools. Distinguished Practitioner in Residence Louis Ainsworth ’77 (WMCL) is director, replacing Leanne Fuith ’10 (WMCL), who took over as dean of career and professional development. Career and Professional Development: Helps students develop

individualized career plans. Connects students with alums in multiple ways, including new “Off the Record” career conversation series. Mitchell Hamline Law Review: First

issue published last year as Vol. 42, No. 1, using numbering system of the older of the two law reviews.

Weekend J.D. program: Redesigned

to incorporate online learning. Starting in fall 2017, students come to campus seven weekends a semester instead of 13, working the rest of the time online.

Ongoing affiliation with Hamline University Hamline University Associate Provost Jill Barclift, a faculty member at Mitchell Hamline, meets regularly with Chris Szaj, Mitchell Hamline’s vice president of community relations and operations, about matters affecting both institutions. Current and former leaders at Hamline University—including President Fayneese Miller, President Emerita Linda Hanson, and Law Dean Emerita Jean Holloway—serve on the Mitchell Hamline Board of Trustees. 3 + 3 program—Students spend three years at Hamline and three years at Mitchell Hamline, finishing at the end of six years with both an undergraduate and a J.D. degree.

Clinical program: No. 22 in latest

U.S. News rankings. 13 clinical opportunities are available. Residencies: Students work inside

law firms, corporations, government, courthouses, and nonprofits in their final semester, giving them unmatched opportunities for practical, real-world experience and a smooth transition from law school to practice. Student scholarships: 230 named

scholarships are available to students. Alumni CLEs: Monthly CLEs for

alumni continue, featuring presentations by faculty and alumni. These one-hour CLEs are complimentary for alumni and are available via webcast.

Here’s what’s new Executive J.D.: A part-time enrollment option available for the first time in fall 2017. Students come to campus twice a semester and spend the rest of the time doing their coursework online. Includes a leadership focus and allows graduates to sit for the bar exam in every state.

Dual degrees—Law students can combine their J.D. with the following master’s degrees from Hamline University: Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Fine Arts in Writing (MFA), Master in Public Administration (MPA), Master in Nonprofit Management (MNM)

Mitchell Hamline students can purchase a membership to use Hamline University’s recreational facilities, and law school employees and eligible dependents can get tuition assistance for programs at Hamline. Hamline faculty can attend CLE programs at Mitchell Hamline for a reduced rate.

Professional Legal Education: Online certificate programs in Cybersecurity and Privacy Law and in Human Resources Compliance designed for professionals. A program in Law and Leadership in Health Care Administration will be available starting in spring 2018.

Mobile Law Network: Specially outfitted RV nicknamed the “Wheels of Justice” brings students to locations around Minnesota to offer free legal assistance.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

ALUMNI NEWS

Mitchell Hamline community rallies to assist those affected by new immigration orders

Following President Trump’s executive orders on immigration, Kara Lynum ’11 (WMCL), left, and Tara Murphy ’12 (WMCL) were among hundreds of attorneys who volunteered to assist international travelers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

When President Donald Trump first announced his temporary ban of travelers from seven Muslim majority countries this winter, Mitchell Hamline alums, faculty, and students were among those who jumped into action. Kara Lynum ’11 (WMCL), an immigration attorney in St. Paul, worked with the International Refugee Assistance Project to coordinate volunteer shifts for lawyers who wanted to help those caught up in the ban at the MinneapolisSt. Paul International Airport. “I always knew we have a really great legal community here in Minnesota,” said Lynum. “I was so inspired by the overwhelming support that our project got from attorneys in every practice area.” Lynum said hundreds of attorneys from across Minnesota and the Dakotas offered to help. Volunteers monitored activity near the international arrivals gate at MSP, wearing badges identifying them as attorneys in Farsi, Somali, and Arabic. Their job was to answer questions or respond to concerns of immigrants entering the country or visa holders returning from abroad. Tara Murphy ’12 (WMCL) isn’t an immigration attorney. She practices intellectual property law in Minneapolis, but she felt it was her duty to volunteer.

2L Maria Fernanda Torres De Jesus, left, works with Immigration Clinic Instructor Paula Duthoy ’90 (WMCL) on an immigration case.

“I went to law school to help people who were in power imbalances in relationships,” Murphy said. “I’ve always been a proponent of helping the underdog, someone who seems to have a system set up against them.” Other alums have found ways to help outside the airport. Salima Khakoo ’02 (HUSL) runs American Dream Law, an immigration firm in St. Paul. “I’ve been offering two to three free phone consults a day,” said Khakoo. “I’m also helping with guidance on how to find attorneys who can help with specific matters like detainee court.” Faculty get involved Ana Pottratz Acosta, a clinical instructor, has provided presentations on immigrant rights for the Hispanic community through the school’s United Family Medicine Medical-Legal Partnership. “This is one of those times in your life where if you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk,” she said. Paula Duthoy ’90 (WMCL) runs a private immigration firm and teaches in Mitchell Hamline’s immigration clinic. Duthoy has made similar immigration rights presentations in Twin Cities-area mosques. When the travel ban was announced, Duthoy also heard from students interested in getting involved.

“A lot of students are asking what they can do to help out,” she said. Students pitch in As a part of the Mitchell Hamline immigration clinic, students have gone to immigration detention court to find people in need of legal assistance. For second-year student Maria Fernanda Torres De Jesus, getting involved in the immigration clinic changed her course of study. Torres De Jesus, who’s from Puerto Rico, focused on IP law during her first year. But since Trump’s immigration bans were announced, she felt the pull toward immigration law. “We have to help our people,” she said. “And for me [that] is basically Hispanics all around the world. That’s pretty much the feeling I get when I’m in court and I can actually help someone.” Torres De Jesus doesn’t graduate until 2018, but she has already started working at an immigration firm in Bloomington, Minn. She says that’s where she plans to continue to do work on immigration issues after graduation.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

ALUMNI NEWS

Protesters’ signs at the Governor’s Residence in St. Paul following the shooting death of Philando Castile in July 2016.

Grads play key roles in two high-profile cases Several alumni have been front and center in the determination of how the estate of the musician Prince, who died in April 2016, is to be distributed and to whom. Judge Kevin W. Eide ’79 (WMCL) has been presiding over the probate proceeding in Carver County, untangling the complex legal issues surrounding the intersection of Minnesota’s probate laws with the law determining parentage. Joel Leviton ’01 (WMCL) is the attorney for Bremer Trust, which was initially appointed

special administrator of Prince’s estate, valued at between $100 million and $300 million. And Stephen M. Norton ’04 (WMCL) has been handling the listing of real estate owned by Prince that has been approved for sale. Other alumni are involved in the proceedings following from the July 2016 shooting death of Philando Castile by police in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights. Ramsey County Attorney John Choi ’95 (HUSL) named Don Lewis, former Hamline Law dean, as special

prosecutor to review evidence and help determine whether charges should be brought. Choi later decided to charge St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez in the killing of Castile, and the case is being heard by Judge William Leary ’79 (WMCL). The prosecution team includes Richard Dusterhoft ’00 (WMCL) and Jill Gerber ’96 (HUSL), both of the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, while the defense team includes Paul Engh ’81 (WMCL) and Earl Gray ’70 (WMCL).

Jodi Glaser is new vice president of development Jodi Glaser assumed leadership of Mitchell Hamline’s fundraising and alumni relations efforts in December. She brings more than 19 years of experience working for nonprofit organizations, including more than a decade working with the Twin Cities philanthropic community. Glaser came from Groves Academy, an independent school in St. Louis Park, Minn., where she served as director of institutional advancement. Prior to that she was director of development for Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis. She has a Master of Public Administration degree from Arizona State University as well as a B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan. Glaser replaces Linda Keillor Berg, who retired after serving for 10 years at Mitchell Hamline and William Mitchell.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

ALUMNI NEWS

Immigrant’s journey takes him from Somalia to Australia via Minnesota When Guled Ibrahim ’16 immigrated to the U.S. with his family more than a decade ago, he found his fellow juniors at St. Louis Park High School were deciding which colleges to attend. Ibrahim, who was born in Somalia but immigrated to Minnesota from Kenya, wasn’t quite ready for that. First he had to learn English and decipher American culture. And because it was winter when he arrived, Ibrahim even had to master the finer points of safely walking Minnesota’s icy landscape. He was a fast learner, and he quickly started building an impressive record of achievement. While taking his regular high school courses, Ibrahim was also enrolled in English language classes on evenings and weekends. After graduating from high school, he earned undergraduate degrees in journalism and political science from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. In 2013, Ibrahim started law school at William Mitchell. While working toward his J.D., Ibrahim studied abroad in the school’s London Program, earned a Dispute Resolution Certificate, completed clerkships at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, and earned an international MBA from BPP University Business School in London. In 2016, Ibrahim represented both the U.S. and Somalia at the One Young World Summit in Canada.

Guled Ibrahim ’16, who was born in Somalia and immigrated to Minnesota as a teenager, hopes an 18-month fellowship in Australia leads to a career in diplomacy.

Ibrahim took the bar exam in February and left the next day for Australia. That’s because he was chosen for a prestigious Peace Fellowship through Rotary International. Ibrahim will spend 18 months at the University of Queensland, where he’ll work toward a Master’s of International Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution. “I hope to combine my legal education and the Rotary Peace Fellowship to get involved with peace and conflictresolution efforts in Africa,” he said. “Diplomacy, peace building, and respect for the rule of law are three areas where I want to be involved in coming years.”

‘Off the Record’ series gives students insights into careers Mitchell Hamline is connecting students and alumni through a new career conversation series called Off the Record. Since the start of the school year, more than 30 alums have volunteered to speak with small groups of students about their work. The sessions give students a chance to get the inside scoop on legal careers in business, government, and private practice. “Our alumni have enjoyed sharing their experiences with students,” said Leanne Fuith ’10 (WMCL), dean of career and professional development. “It’s one of the many ways that Mitchell Hamline’s strong alumni network contributes to our great community.” Mallory Narang ’12 (WMCL) spoke with students last fall about her work as a compliance analyst with Ceridian, a Minneapolis-based company that provides human resources software and services to companies around the world.

The sessions have already proved to be an effective networking tool for students. After Minnesota’s Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom ’78 (WMCL), left, spoke in February, he invited several of the students he met at the Off the Record session to interview for law clerk positions. He ended up hiring four Mitchell Hamline students.

“Many of the students reached out to me after the session to ask for advice on job searching, resume and cover letter preparation, career development, and mentorships,” Narang said. Charlotte Tschider ’15 (HUSL) also connected with students after her Off the Record session on cybersecurity. Tschider is owner of Twin Cities-based Cybersimple Security and an adjunct professor in Mitchell Hamline’s Cybersecurity and Privacy Law Certificate program.

“Students were curious about what my typical day involves, how I decided on cybersecurity and privacy law as a practice area, and what type of job opportunities might be available,” Tschider said. “Once I had an opportunity to know the students’ interest areas, I was able to connect students with my colleagues in this industry.”

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

ALUMNI NEWS

Three honored at first Alumni Celebration STEPHEN B. BONNER ’72 (WMCL)

received the Outstanding Alumni Award for his devotion to the school, his financial support of programs for students, and his service on the board of trustees. Bonner is former president and CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America and is currently an adviser to health care firms and an investor and board member for health care innovation companies. He is also entrepreneur-inresidence at Harvard Business School. Bonner says of the commitment he and his wife, Lisa, have to the school: “Lisa and I believe deeply in the power of education to help good people achieve their full potential. We seek to attract more great students to this school and to support an environment where they, our faculty, and our administration can drive innovation for our communities.”

Judge Joanne M. Smith, left, Stephen B. Bonner, and Jen Randolph Reise receive their alumni awards Feb. 13.

JUDGE JOANNE M. SMITH ’78 (HUSL)

JEN RANDOLPH REISE ’07 (HUSL)

received the Distinguished Alumni Award for her leadership in the legal community. After clerking for a judge in Hennepin County, she served as an assistant public defender in Ramsey County until she was appointed to the bench in Ramsey County in 1986. A year later, she was elected by her peers to become assistant chief judge. In 1989, she became the first woman elected chief judge of a judicial district in Minnesota. Following her service as chief judge, she began working on ways courts could deal more effectively with chemically addicted offenders.

earned the Recent Alumni Award for her contributions to Mitchell Hamline, her community, and the legal profession in the decade since she graduated from Hamline Law. Reise practiced securities law at Briggs and Morgan before joining Regis Corporation in 2014 as counsel and assistant corporate secretary. She was elected to the Hamline Law alumni board in 2009 and was president of the board when the combination with William Mitchell was announced in early 2015.

WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT MITCHELL HAMLINE Last summer, Mitchell Hamline reached out to graduates of its predecessor schools—Hamline Law and William Mitchell— to learn how they were feeling about the combination, to assess their perceptions of various services provided to alumni, and to understand more about what they’re looking for from

Almost 70% understood why the combination occurred

75% e-newsletter

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

The services important to you are:

•

educational opportunities

(such as CLEs and auditing opportunities) 75% said the combination was communicated effectively

73% said they find value in the monthly alumni

70%

Mitchell Hamline. The response rate was an impressive 19 percent. Interestingly, there were few differences in most of the responses based on predecessor school affiliation. Here’s a snapshot of what we heard from our alumni:

73%

•

career development services

• opportunities to help current students

Photograph by REBECCA ZENEFSKI

ALUMNI NEWS

WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE? You like to hear good news about Mitchell Hamline. We know that because our most popular Facebook posts involve the great things our students and alums have accomplished.

Jan. 20, 2016:

Former trustee Wilhelmina Wright becomes Minnesota’s first African-American woman named as a federal judge.

447 likes

Feb. 29, 2016:

Professor Doug Heidenreich ’61 (WMCL) celebrates his 21st leap year birthday.

313 likes

Aug. 6, 2016:

Feb 4, 2016:

393 likes

289 likes

Feb. 8, 2017:

June 28, 2016:

340 likes

209 likes

More than 4,200 people follow Mitchell Hamline on Facebook, and we have an engaged and growing audience across all of our social media platforms. Here’s how to follow us:

Facebook: @MitchellHamlineSchoolofLaw Twitter: @MitchellHamline Instagram: @MitchellHamline LinkedIn: Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Professor Sarah Deer appointed chief justice of the Prairie Island Indian Community Court of Appeals. .

HYBRID J.D. students Brian Kennedy and Briana Al Taqatqa win first place in ABA’s National Negotiation Competition.

The National Jurist names Mitchell Hamline among the nation’s best schools for practical training.

Anne McKeig ’92 (HUSL) becomes first Native American named to Minnesota Supreme Court.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

ALUMNI NEWS

Interested in mentoring? You have options GROUP MENTORING: Work with another recent alum and 2L peer mentor to provide guidance to a small group (2-3) of first-year law students on a successful transition to law school, career exploration, and insights into professionalism. 120 alumni participated in the program during the 2016-17 academic year. One alumni mentor said of the experience: “I really enjoyed showing the students where I worked and what life is like in a real practicing job. I loved giving advice to them on dealing with things that I went through as a 1L.”

INDIVIDUAL MENTORING: Students also benefit from being matched with individual mentors who use their law degrees in ways that align with students’ interests. Individual mentoring is available for first-year students in our part-time enrollment options as well as upper-level students, including specific programs for those interested in IP and Law and Business. One student said of the individual mentor program: “My mentor has been great about being in touch with me, answering questions, helping me with my resume, and meeting up to discuss anything from bar exam tips to interviewing tips.” OTHER WAYS TO CONNECT

Watch for information during the summer about how to sign up to become a mentor.

ALUMNI

CLE SERIES

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Mitchell Hamline Connect offers alumni the chance to sign up to provide one-time or short-term assistance including informational interviews, job shadows, or referrals to professional contacts. Sign up at mitchellhamline.edu/alumni

The Alumni CLE series provides one hour of complimentary continuing legal education for alumni every month from September through June. Join us on campus or attend via webcast. Some CLEs are later made available on an on-demand basis for a nominal fee. Visit mitchellhamline.edu/alumni and look for “Alumni CLE” in the “Upcoming CLEs” calendar to identify the CLEs in this series. If you’re interested in presenting an Alumni CLE, email alumni@mitchellhamline.edu.

WANT TO SHARE A STORY FROM THE MAGAZINE? Find the online version at mitchellhamline.edu/magazine

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK Email your thoughts about the magazine to magazine@mitchellhamline.edu

ALUMNI GIVING

3L Nick Pouladian and Barbara Klas at the Scholarship Luncheon in March.

“WE ARE HONORED TO PAY IT FORWARD.” Barbara Klas ‘91 (WMCL) Dan and Mary Louise Klas are 1960 graduates of William Mitchell. Dan died May 6 at the age of 90.

The Klas family: A legacy of giving Editor’s note: We were saddened to learn as this edition went to press of the death of Dan Klas on May 6. For more on his life, see In Memoriam, page 33. The Klas family has lived by the old adage “of those to whom much is given, much is required.” Neither Dan nor Mary Louise Klas came from wealthy backgrounds, but they credit the education they received at William Mitchell with opening the door to the opportunity to serve the law and their community. They began law school together at St. Paul College of Law in 1956, the year the school combined with MinneapolisMinnesota College of Law to become William Mitchell. They graduated from William Mitchell in 1960. They married in 1958 and raised five children together. For more than a decade, Dan worked in the St. Paul city attorney’s office. Later, he joined Mary Louise in practice, and they worked together for years. In 1986, Mary Louise was appointed to the Second Judicial District bench in Ramsey County, the first woman to ever hold that position. As a judge, she was instrumental in changing domestic violence policy. After her retirement in 2000, she

continued to advocate for women who face domestic abuse. The Klases and their daughter Barbara ’91 (WMCL), along with their nephew Bob Klas Jr. ’79 (WMCL), created the Klas Family Scholarship to give a new generation of students the opportunity to enter the legal field. “We are honored to pay it forward,” said Barbara at the Mitchell Hamline Scholarship Luncheon in March. At the luncheon, Barbara and Dan represented the family and had the chance to meet the Klas Family Scholarship’s first recipient, third-year student Nick Pouladian. Pouladian, the son of an Iranian immigrant who dreamed of becoming a doctor but had to drop out of school for lack of money, said the Klas Family Scholarship was life-changing for him. “You have made my parents’ dreams come true, you have made my dreams come true, and every victim of a crime I fight for, every accused client I defend, and every person I impact in my pursuit of social and legal justice will have the Klas family to thank.” Indeed, anyone associated with Mitchell Hamline or its predecessor institutions has the Klas family to thank for many things. In addition to this generous

Bob Klas Jr., center, then chair of the Hamline University Board of Trustees, signs the agreement in February 2015 to combine Hamline Law and William Mitchell. With him are then Hamline University President Linda Hanson and then William Mitchell Board Chair Dan O’Keefe ’78 (WMCL).

scholarship, the family has given many gifts to the school. Barbara was a valued member of the alumni board from 2005-14. Mary Louise has served as a member of the alumni board, as an adjunct professor in family law, and in a variety of alumni relations, fundraising, and advisory roles. Bob Klas Jr., in his former role as chair of the Hamline University Board of Trustees, was instrumental in negotiating the combination of William Mitchell and Hamline Law that created Mitchell Hamline. The Klas family has had a strong relationship with the law school over many years, and now that relationship will continue to grow as their scholarship helps support students in the years to come.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

STUDENT NEWS For a combined total of more than 150 years, Hamline Law and William Mitchell each attracted a diverse group of highly motivated and accomplished students to prepare for careers in law. Mitchell Hamline is doing the same.

the

We talked with four 1Ls from a variety of backgrounds and with various career goals who sought out Mitchell Hamline for the unique opportunities it provides. BY TIM POST

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRADY WILLETTE

NATHAN HINES (Weekend)

HANNAH YI (Full-time) Hannah Yi knew she wanted to be an attorney after her family faced a tense situation. Yi was studying for finals during her senior year at Seattle Pacific University when her father called from Virginia. He told Yi her mother had been falsely accused of check fraud and was being arrested. Because her parents speak mostly Korean, Yi stepped in to translate the conversation between her parents and police over the phone. A judge later dismissed the case, but the ordeal left Yi’s parents physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. It also made Yi realize she wanted to study the law. “For me, becoming an attorney means being an advocate for those without a voice,” she said. Now a full-time 1L, Yi’s goal is to one day become part of the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Corps. An internship with the JAG Corps this summer puts her one step closer to that dream. Yi chose Mitchell Hamline because of the school’s commitment to “foster well-grounded, experienced, and professional lawyers” by providing hands-on legal experience to students. Yi said her professors have gone above and beyond to help her toward her goal of becoming an attorney. “I did a lot of research prior to attending law school,” Yi said. “I felt that Mitchell Hamline would offer me the best education, mentorships, and opportunities to set the foundation of my path to becoming a lawyer.” 12

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For first-year student Nathan Hines, the weekend J.D. program is a perfect fit for an already busy life. “I chose the weekend program because it allowed me to maintain my full-time job, interact with faculty and students in a classroom setting, and prevented a three hour round-trip every day,” Hines said. Hines, who grew up in Colorado, moved to Minnesota in 2009 to pursue a certificate in Medical Laboratory Sciences from Mayo Clinic in Rochester. After completing the program, he was hired full-time in the Metals Laboratory at Mayo, where he diagnosed diseases by testing patient samples. He set up a mentorship program to support future students as they entered the training program. Hines has since transitioned to a coordinator role in the lab, working with clients around the world who send specimens to Mayo for analysis. Hoping to learn more about how the law affects his profession, Hines earned a Master of Jurisprudence in Health Law from Loyola University in Chicago in 2013. He sees a J.D. from Mitchell Hamline as the obvious next step in his health care career. “My ultimate hope is that I’m able to remain at Mayo Clinic in some capacity to practice law,” Hines said. “Whether that is in-house counsel, or a position that is J.D.-preferred, the critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills I have obtained will serve me well in any position at the Mayo Clinic.”

STUDENT NEWS

TASHA GANDY (Part-time evening)

CHRISTIAN SCHOEPP (HYBRID J.D.) Foreign service has always been a big part of Christian Schoepp’s life, and it’s something he wants to continue in the future. Schoepp was born in Montreal but grew up around the world, especially Africa, where his father’s career took the family. After high school, he attended college in Florida and then served as a staffer for the U.N. General Assembly. Schoepp earned a Ph.D. in conflict analysis and resolution, then took a position with the Canadian government in 2011 and has since worked as the senior consular officer at the Consulate General of Canada in Miami. As a representative for Global Affairs Canada, he helps Canadian citizens staying in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands sort out legal trouble. Schoepp is working on expanding his knowledge of the law as a first-year student in the HYBRID J.D.SM program. The part-time, on-campus and online program is an ideal option for Schoepp, a father and husband with a full-time career involving lots of travel and more work on the side as a doctoral professor at a local college. “This program is the only way for me to go to law school,” he said. Because of his work, Schoepp entered the program with a solid base in the law, but he has found the work rigorous. “There’s nothing in terms of life experience that will train you to write a summary judgment motion,” he said. After he graduates, Schoepp wants to continue doing his work in international legal affairs and conflict resolution, perhaps with the International Criminal Court.

Photographs by BRADY WILLETTE

As an undergrad at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Tasha Gandy started a campus chapter of Students for Education Reform, a group dedicated to finding solutions to the achievement gap facing students of color and low-income students. “I realized quickly that I enjoyed civic engagement and giving back,” Gandy said. “It made me motivated to get up every morning.” After she graduated, Gandy was hired by the group’s national organization as its first Minnesota program director. In a few years, she became the state chapter’s executive director and began to build the organization’s current staff of six employees. In 2015, Gandy was one of 23 people chosen for a Bush Foundation Fellowship, a two-year program that works to strengthen community leaders. Fellows receive funding to build on their leadership skills either through a self-designed plan or by furthering their education. Gandy used the first year of her fellowship to study best practices for organizing parents to tackle the achievement gap and her second year to attend Mitchell Hamline. She’s now a 1L in the part-time evening program, the flexibility of which has allowed her to keep working while going to law school. “I wasn’t at a point in my life and career where I could step away from work,” Gandy said. Once she earns her J.D., Gandy wants to advocate on behalf of families facing challenges within the education system, whether at the school, district, or state level. She also wants to get involved in drafting legislation that could help close the achievement gap.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

STUDENT NEWS

Law Student Division

Negotiation Competition National Champion

Briana Al Taqatqa and Brian Kennedy will head to Norway in June for an international negotiation competition.

National champion HYBRID J.D.SM program students prepare for international negotiation contest Having placed first in the nation in February in the American Bar Association Law Student Division Negotiation Competition, a team of Mitchell Hamline students will head to Oslo, Norway, in June to compete against teams from around the world. Brian Kennedy and Briana Al Taqatqa are students in the HYBRID J.D. program, which began in 2015 and enrolls students from all over the nation and the world in a part oncampus, part online format. No students in the HYBRID J.D. program had ever entered a student competition before, much less qualified for nationals and won. The international contest presents some new challenges, including a multiparty negotiation, said Al Taqatqa. “Also, although the competition is conducted in English, I am sure there will be some challenges related to language barriers and cultural communication differences that we will have to navigate,” she said. “We realize that there will be some researching on how different countries handle negotiation,” said Kennedy. “The chemistry Briana and I have developed through the competition is an intangible that can be a bit of a secret weapon. The coaches have been diligent in developing that chemistry.”

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Both Al Taqatqa and Kennedy bring significant career and life experience to the competition. Kennedy is CEO of a facility management company in El Paso, Texas, and Al Taqatqa, of Bloomington, Minn., is an analyst for an international education management company. The pair used teleconferencing to conduct practice sessions in preparation for the national finals, which were held Feb. 3-4 in Chicago. The final practice session was conducted from three different locations. Despite having to connect remotely, Kennedy and Al Taqatqa have developed exceptional teamwork, said Pat Zitek ’10 (HUSL), one of the team’s coaches. “Whatever the program has done to create a sense of community among the Hybrid students, they have wildly succeeded,” said Zitek. Al Taqatqa and Kennedy give a lot of credit for their success to Zitek and the other two coaches—Hamline University Professor Ken Fox and Mitchell Hamline Dean of Student Affairs and Student Life Lynn LeMoine ’11 (HUSL)—and to training from Mitchell Hamline’s nationally ranked Dispute Resolution Institute.

Photograph by BRADY WILLETTE

STUDENT NEWS

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW REVIEW Institutions Downloading Articles* DOWNLOADS

Top 10 Article Downloads* DOWNLOADS

Rural Justice in North Dakota Kathyrn R.L. Rand, Joseph A. Wetch, Gail Hagerty, and Tony J. Weiler

10 Government

Commercial

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525

Practical Islamic Estate Planning: A Short Primer Imani Jaafar ’04 (WMCL)

383

The New Minnesota Trust Code: Out with (Most of) the Old and in with (Most of) the UTC Jennifer A. Maas

338

Understanding Offenders with Serious Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System Jillian Peterson and Kevin Heinz ’12 (HUSL)

301

Property Law: The Crossroads of Capacity and Livability: A Green Light to Neighborhood Opposition as a Factual Basis for Denying Conditional Use Permits—RDNT, LLC v. City of Bloomington Diane B. Galatowitsch ’17

261

Going Against the Grain of the Status Quo: Hopeful Reformations to Sex Offender Civil Commitment in Minnesota—Karsjens v. Jesson Joanna Woolman and Jennifer K. Anderson

244

Challenges to Fingerprint Identification Evidence: Why the Courts Need a New Approach to Finality Sarah Lucy Cooper

237

Hennepin County Criminal Mental Health Court: Experiences in a Large Metropolitan Mental Health Court Kerry Meyer

21 1

Surface Waters and Farmers: Sharing Land Management with the Federal Government Charles M. Carvell and Jennifer L. Verleger

202

ABLE Act Accounts: Achieving a Better Life Experience for Individuals with Disabilities with Tax-Preferred Savings (and the Old Reliable Special and Supplemental Needs Trusts) David A. Rephan and Joelle Groshek ’16

* Through 3/1/17

178

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Continuing to

Engage and Inspire

Mitchell Hamline’s 40 professors emeriti are a treasured source of inspiration, expertise, and connection. Here’s a look at what four of them are doing these days.

EILEEN ROBERTS: Staying connected to former

students after return to private practice

tudents were Eileen Roberts’ favorite thing about her 24 years at William Mitchell, and she’s found multiple ways in her current job to stay connected with them. She works with some former students at Dorsey & Whitney, where she is of counsel, and she often meets one or two former students per week for lunch or coffee in downtown Minneapolis. She’s in a monthly book club with several former students, and she regularly fields questions about real estate law from those she’s taught. In fact, it was a chance meeting with a former student in the skyway in Minneapolis in the spring of 2013 that led to her job with Dorsey, where she works part time on a range of real estate matters. She credits her teaching career—and especially her interaction with students—with solidifying her knowledge of real estate law. Roberts was awarded the Austin J. and Caroline M. Baillon Chair in Real Estate Law in 2008. “Students bring such energy to the classroom. My favorite students were the inquisitive ones. They constantly challenged me to think about real estate law differently, to dig more deeply into legal history and analysis, and to come up with better and better ways to explain both basic and complex legal principles. I had practiced real estate and land use law for nine years before I started teaching, and I’d been a law clerk for two years before that, so I felt that I had a good working knowledge of real estate and land use law. Thanks to my students, though, my knowledge and understanding of real estate law deepened during my time at Mitchell because I had to explain not only how but why real estate law works as it does.” At Dorsey, Roberts works with clients and also does many CLEs and other presentations. She serves as a mentor to new Dorsey associates and also participates in Dorsey’s pro bono work at the Brian Coyle Legal Clinic in Minneapolis, advising recent immigrants on legal issues. Roberts helped establish the Center for Law and Business at William Mitchell, and she has served on the center’s advisory board. 16

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Photograph by REBECCA ZENEFSKI

By Doug Belden

Roberts graduated from William Mitchell in 1980. Her husband, Chuck Hoyum, was a year behind her, though the two didn’t meet until decades later. Married in 2005, they live in Edina and love staying in touch with friends and taking their rescue dogs, Sophie and Roxey, for walks around the Minneapolis lakes. They also travel as often as they can, including recent trips to Charleston, S.C., and Cancun, Mexico. When they’re home, Roberts enjoys gardening, reading, and cooking. She encourages former students who want to stay in touch to email her at Dorsey (roberts.eileen@dorsey.com). “I love working at Dorsey. It’s a wonderful job. I lucked out.” n

FACULTY EMERITI Larry Bakken Len Biernat ’75 (HUSL) Donna M. Byrne Joseph L. Daly ’69 (WMCL) A. Kimberley Dayton Jay Erstling Marcia R. Gelpe Phebe Saunders Haugen ’72 (WMCL) Harry J. Haynsworth Dean Emeritus Douglas R. Heidenreich ’61 (WMCL) Jean F. Holloway Dean Emerita Beth Honetschlager

PETER THOMPSON: Balancing volunteering,

professional activities, and grandkids

wenty five years ago, Peter Thompson’s wife, Vicki, helped start a homeless ministry at Wayzata Community Church. Now with time on his hands, he volunteers to run it. “It’s come full circle,” he says. Thompson taught for four years at William Mitchell before moving in 1977 to Hamline Law, where he spent nearly 40 years teaching and serving a stint as acting dean. He was selected as one of the “150 Lives that Make a Difference” in Hamline University’s 150-year history. He retired in 2015 and has found a balance of volunteering, continued professional work, and family. He organizes his large congregation’s involvement in Families Moving Forward, a consortium of congregations that hosts a rotating nightly shelter. He recruits 80 volunteers to cover four weeks, lines up food, and, when needed, sleeps on a couch at church. “I’ve met some really good parents and some terrific kids,” says Thompson. “Almost all the parents have jobs, but they just don’t pay enough. Then they get caught in some temporary issue and all of a sudden they’re out of a place to live.” In the professional realm, Thompson takes arbitration cases, usually two or three a month. He became an arbitrator while he taught trial skills as a “way to keep in touch” with how lawyers present cases. “I love good lawyers and I like to see a good argument.” He resolves automobile insurance claims

By Maja Beckstrom

Mary Jo Brooks Hunter Ann L. Iijima Kenneth F. Kirwin Daniel S. Kleinberger

through the American Arbitration Association’s no-fault arbitration program and recently took training to chair the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s three-arbitrator panels to settle securities disputes between stockbrokers and investors, including claims from people who lost money during the recession. Though he’s no longer in the classroom, Thompson’s scholarship continues to inform the field. He is updating the three-volume “Mediation: Law, Policy and Practice” with other faculty, including Professor James Coben, former director of the Dispute Resolution Institute. He writes annual supplements to “Evidence” in the Minnesota Practice Series, drawing on expertise built over years of teaching evidence and serving as reporter of the Minnesota Supreme Court committee that drafted the Minnesota Rules of Evidence. Thompson and his wife celebrated his 70th birthday in November on Captiva Island off Fort Myers, Fla., with their three children, their children’s spouses, and nine grandchildren. Back in Minnesota, they stay on top of a complicated schedule of grandkid activities and pitch in with driving. “I’ve seen a lot of hockey, a lot of soccer, and some dancing and swimming,” says Thompson. On those rare days he doesn’t see them, he can still stay in touch. He just learned how to FaceTime his 13-year-old granddaughter. n Photograph by BRADY WILLETTE

Christina L. Kunz William E. Martin Barbara “Bobbi” McAdoo Douglas McFarland Mary Jane Morrison Robert E. Oliphant Joseph Olson Russell F. Pannier James Pielemeier J. David Prince Eileen M. Roberts ’80 (WMCL) Marilynne Roberts Kenneth Salzberg Michael Scherschligt Deborah A. Schmedemann Alice Silkey ’86 (WMCL) Curtis L. Stine Carol Swanson Steven R. Swanson Peter N. Thompson Mary B. Trevor Christine D. Ver Ploeg Howard Vogel John Weeks

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

BOBBI McADOO: Helping son, while still staying

engaged in dispute resolution

obbi McAdoo is glad she retired before her autistic son graduated from college. Over the last two years, she has taken on what she describes as an almost full-time job helping him line up housing, Medicaid waivers, disability income, and part-time work as an AmeriCorps public school reading tutor. “A lot of my energy has been spent trying to figure out what his life is really going to look like,” she says. “My husband and I tag team all that there is to do for him.” McAdoo joined the faculty at Hamline Law in 1984. She founded the respected Dispute Resolution Institute (DRI) and spent a career teaching and evaluating mediation and other court-connected alternative dispute resolution choices. It was a field she embraced after working as an attorney for Dorsey & Whitney, where she saw firsthand the failure of litigation to solve many disagreements.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

By Maja Beckstrom

Since retiring in 2014, she has served on a steering committee helping DRI and current director Sharon Press step into a new public engagement role. An initial grant-funded project involved facilitating conversations with stakeholders around St. Paul Public Schools’ search for a new superintendent. McAdoo is working on the evaluation of that effort. “We have a world out there in conflict,” says McAdoo. “And these conflicts are not going to be solved with new laws. We need to find ways for people to talk together, really feel their perspective has been heard, and then work together for real-life solutions.” McAdoo also serves on an American Bar Association ADR Section committee reviewing empirical research that has been done on mediation to find evidence for recommended “best practices” for mediators. As her son becomes more stable, McAdoo hopes to use her expertise to

advocate for others with disabilities. For now, she serves on the board of Hampshire Country School in New Hampshire, a boarding school for boys on the autism spectrum that she credits with turning around her son’s education after he floundered at five schools in Minnesota. In part because of her son’s needs, and to stay close to her grown daughter and son-in-law, McAdoo and her husband will stay in Minnesota. They have just downsized from Arden Hills to a historic condo on Ramsey Hill in St. Paul. They have renovated it, and McAdoo is excited to work in the southwest sunroom. “My desk is in that sunroom, along with two chairs where my husband and I will have our morning coffee,” she says. “I call it my Florida room because it’s painted this lovely pale blue green-gray.” It will be a space to inspire the next chapter of her life. n

DOUG HEIDENREICH: Still enjoying the classroom after more

than half a century

By Maja Beckstrom

oug Heidenreich still finds joy in teaching, something he’s been doing since 1963, when he was hired as assistant dean and professor at William Mitchell. “I very much enjoy being in the classroom with students,” says Heidenreich, who graduated from William Mitchell in 1961 and served as dean from 1964-1975. “I may have discussed the same case 10 or even 20 times, but no matter how many times I’ve gone over something, the student is looking at it for the very first time, and they’ll sometimes come up with an idea that I haven’t thought of.” Mitchell Hamline’s longest serving faculty member, Heidenreich teaches contracts and professional responsibility, which he says can be boiled down to the title of Spike Lee’s movie “Do the Right Thing,” printed at the top of his syllabus. “It’s easy to say ‘always do the right thing,”’ Heidenreich says.“But figuring out what the right thing is isn’t easy. The important thing is to think about what will be your guiding principles. What will help you decide ‘I will do something in this way’ or ‘I will refuse to do that?’” Heidenreich’s limited responsibilities as an emeritus professor now leave him more time for long lunches with friends and

other pursuits. He took annual trips to Paris until walking became difficult. His last trip was five years ago for his 80th birthday. Now he explores close to home. On most Saturdays, he and Professor Colette Routel, co-director of the Indian Law Program, meet for breakfast and drive through Fort Snelling State Park to look at deer. A lover of history, Heidenreich was tapped to write William Mitchell’s history for its 100th anniversary in 2000. He also explores Plantagenet and Tudor history from an armchair in his condo near the University Club in St. Paul. It’s a period he has returned to over a lifetime in part because “English history is the history of the development of our law.” And recently, he spent some time on the wrong side of the law. For the last dozen years, Heidenreich has been involved in annual re-enactments of famous gangster trials, performed in the historic courtrooms of St. Paul’s Landmark Center. Last September, he acted the part of Clayton May, a Minneapolis doctor who was convicted of harboring a federal fugitive after he patched up injured gangster John Dillinger following a shootout in St. Paul. “It’s fun to play the bad guy,” he says. n Maja Beckstrom is a freelance writer in St. Paul.

SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS FACULTY Hall of

FAME

Alumni are invited to submit a story about a former faculty member who shaped your life or career in a meaningful way. Did a specific class or particular lesson or individual meeting with a professor have an impact on who you are or what you do today? Submit your story to alumni@mitchellhamline.edu by July 15 to nominate a former faculty member for consideration for the upcoming Faculty Hall of Fame.

Photographs by BRADY WILLETTE

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

A Fearless Protector of Children Anne McKeig ’92 (HUSL) finds her path as the newest justice—and the first Native American—on the Minnesota Supreme Court BY DICK DAHL

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRADY WILLETTE

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Anne McKeig can identify the precise moment she knew she wanted to become a lawyer.

native of tiny Federal Dam, Minn. (population 110), within the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, McKeig took daily 30-mile bus rides to Northland Community Schools in Remer. During her freshman year there, her class had an assignment to choose careers they were interested in and then report their findings. She picked dentistry, designed an eye-catching folder with the image of a mouth on its cover, and set about compiling her research. There was just one problem. “The more I researched it, the more I realized there was a lot of science involved and so I couldn’t be a dentist because I’d have to do all this science,” McKeig recalls. “And then I thought, ‘I’ll just be a lawyer’—and to this day I can’t figure out why.” Although the basis for her epiphany may forever remain elusive, its wisdom has proven to be profoundly evident. After receiving her J.D. from Hamline Law in 1992, McKeig launched a successful public-sector legal career as a prosecutor and child advocate before becoming a Hennepin County judge. Then, in September 2016, she was sworn in as the first Native American to be named to Minnesota’s highest court and the first Native American woman to be named to any state supreme court.

Anne McKeig near Federal Dam at the age of 7. (Photo courtesy Anne McKeig)

Anne McKeig with uncle Phillip Wattles on graduation day at Hamline Law. (Photo courtesy Anne McKeig)

Small-town roots McKeig’s roots next to Leech Lake are deep ones she will never forsake. She is the middle child of five—two older brothers and two younger ones—and she describes her childhood in Federal Dam in almost idyllic terms. “In the summertime,” she says, “we’d get up in the morning and we’d go fishing or swimming or ride our bikes around town and we’d come home when it was dark. We had a lot of freedom; it was a great, great childhood.” Her dad had a gas station and worked construction jobs. Her mother, a Bemidji native who graduated from the College of St. Catherine and earned a master’s degree in history from the University of Minnesota, was a Fulbright Scholar who dreamed of traveling but instead stayed in Federal Dam to raise her children. McKeig says the family income was modest and they relied on gardening, deer hunting, fishing, and government commodities. “But I didn’t make any connections about poverty at the time,” she recalls. “I didn’t even think we were poor.” She knew she was good at writing and arguing, so when she followed her mother’s lead and enrolled at St. Catherine’s, she majored in English. As an undergraduate, she applied to law school at Hamline and the University of Minnesota. She chose Hamline because they responded first with an offer of financial assistance she didn’t even know was available.

Law school and work McKeig would go on to make connections at Hamline that would have profound influences on her life, perhaps none more so than ones she made at the very start of her first year. She and six other students met at an orientation session and formed an immediate bond that would last far beyond law school. One member of that group, Minneapolis criminal-defense lawyer Robert Oleisky, remembers the group as being closeknit and McKeig often taking the role of taskmaster who told them they needed to study instead of socializing. “She was always extremely driven,” he says, “and I think that motivated us as a group.” During her third year at Hamline Law, McKeig made the rounds at campus interviews with some big private firms but didn’t like the feel of it, so she began thinking of public interest law. As fortune would have it, an opening arose in the Child Protection Division of the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, and she landed the job. “I didn’t even know it existed,” she says. “Looking back, I can recognize people I grew up with who probably experienced some profound abuse and neglect and knowing that that wasn’t OK but not knowing there was a systematic response to that. I never knew about foster care; I never knew about kids being moved from their parents.” Oleisky and McKeig occasionally were opposing counsel on child-protection cases, and he characterizes her as being “driven by a sense of fairness. If we didn’t see eye to eye it was because she had the big picture in mind; it wasn’t over any pettiness.” McKeig would remain as an assistant Hennepin County attorney in that office for the next 16 years. She worked solely on civil cases—those involving removal, reunification, termination of parental rights, and adoptions. She also became a specialist in handling Indian Child Welfare Act cases when Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman asked her to be creative and build relationships with the state’s reservations. “It was something I wanted to do because it was familiar to me,” she recalls, “but it also helped me to learn more about myself, more about my community, more about my past generations, and feeling like I could really do something to make a difference in that arena.” Path to the bench McKeig is a descendant of the White Earth band of Ojibwe, and in 1995 a member of that band, Robert Blaeser, was appointed to the Hennepin County District Court bench, the first Native American district-court judge in the state. McKeig attended his swearing-in ceremony and recalls thinking, “Hmm, maybe I can do this someday.” Blaeser soon became her mentor. “He was very clear about finding a path,” she says. “I remember going to him and he’d say, ‘You’re not ready,’ and I’d say, ‘OK, what do you think I should do?’ and he’d say, ‘I think you should work on this.’ And I’d go to him again and he’d say, ‘You’re not ready,’ and then finally he said, ‘You’re ready.’ He was a true mentor. He didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear. He told me what I needed to hear. He spent a lot of time with me.”

Justice Anne McKeig ’92 (HUSL) is wrapped in a blanket by members of the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council after she was sworn in to the Minnesota Supreme Court on Sept. 15, 2016. (Photo: Pioneer Press, John Autey)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty tapped McKeig to become a Hennepin County District Court judge in 2008. For the first year of her judgeship, she heard criminal cases, but in 2009 she moved to Family Court and served as the presiding judge in that court over the final three years of her tenure before being named to the Supreme Court. McKeig was sworn in to the high court by Gov. Mark Dayton on Sept. 15, 2016. She says it was an emotional event for her. “It was because I knew what it meant for Indian Country. When I was in law school I was part of the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association, which was pretty small. I knew this was a goal of the bar association for many years, and I knew that people like Judge Blaeser had really done all that groundwork. I knew what it meant for me personally but also that it was so much bigger for all the people who had put so much time and effort into it. And it really hit me at that moment—plus, I was nervous as hell.” Advocate for children McKeig has maintained a continuing relationship with Mitchell Hamline, teaching a course in Child Abuse and the Law as an adjunct professor. McKeig first began working on development of that course while she was still a prosecutor, in conjunction with the National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse, which was headed by another Hamline Law alum, Victor Vieth ’87. “Anne played a critical role in the genesis of that [curriculum],” Vieth says, “and now Mitchell Hamline has become a leader in teaching child-protection law.” Vieth, director of the Winona, Minn.-based Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center and a former prosecutor in Watonwan and Cottonwood counties in Minnesota, has known McKeig for years and recalls her providing valuable information about the Indian Child Welfare Act in presentations at the National District Attorneys Association. “I’ve never encountered anyone as fearless in the cause of protecting children,” he says. “She’s a light shining in the darkness for children throughout Minnesota and really around the country.” n Dick Dahl is a freelance writer and editor in St. Paul. Photograph by BRADY WILLETTE

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

AROUND MITCHELL HAMLINE “Black and Blue” panel discussion on racial profiling in policing September 2016

There’s a lot happening with our alumni, faculty, and students

Trade Secret Conference “The New Era of Trade Secret Law” April 2017

“Why Diversity in the Judiciary Matters” panel discussion September 2016

William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition February 2017

The Justice Esther M. Tomljanovich ’55 Tea for Women in Law April 2017 24

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Scholarship Luncheon March 2017

Town hall discussion on checks and balances in the Trump administration February 2017

Law Review Banquet March 2017

See more alumni photos at mitchellhamline.edu/flickr

2nd annual Alumni vs. Students Hockey Game April 2017 MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

FACULTY FACULTY NEWS NEWS

Failinger is first recipient of Devitt Professorship In late 2016, Mitchell Hamline awarded its first-ever Judge Edward J. Devitt Professorship to Marie Failinger, a professor at Mitchell Hamline and former interim dean of Hamline Law. “Judge Devitt was a towering figure in the judiciary who inspired respect among his clerks and colleagues alike,” said Mark C. Gordon, president and dean. “We looked for someone who has earned that level of respect both within the law school among faculty and students and outside the school among so many attorneys, and Marie was the clear choice.” Judge Devitt served on the U.S. District Court for Minnesota from 1954-81—including 23 years as chief judge. He also taught as an adjunct professor at William Mitchell. A scholarship in his name was established at William Mitchell by his

friends, family, and colleagues in 1992. The professorship was supported by gifts from alumni and a number of Judge Devitt’s former clerks. Failinger came to Hamline Law in 1983, became a professor in 1988, and served as associate dean from 1990-93 and 2008-10. She became interim dean in 2015, prior to the school’s combination with William Mitchell. Failinger previously served as a staff attorney and managing attorney at Legal Services Organization of Indiana and a clinical fellow at Valparaiso University School of Law. She earned her J.D. from Valparaiso and her LL.M. from Yale Law School. She is an expert in constitutional rights, law and Judge Edward J. Devitt religion, and gender and law.

Sandeen awarded first Robins Kaplan Distinguished Professorship in IP Law

DRI wins grant to continue community mediation projects The American Arbitration Association and the International Center for Dispute Resolution have given Mitchell Hamline’s Dispute Resolution Institute a $45,000 grant to support its efforts to use mediation to better engage communities in the Twin Cities. DRI mediation experts recently worked with the Minnesota State Office for Collaboration and Dispute Resolution to help the St. Paul school district search for a new superintendent. DRI is currently working with the Falcon Heights Inclusion and Policing Task Force to find ways to improve relations between police and the community after last year’s shooting of Philando Castile by a police officer. The institute is also planning a symposium on mediation and community engagement for the fall.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Earlier this year, Mitchell Hamline awarded its first-ever Robins Kaplan LLP Distinguished Professorship in Intellectual Property Law to Sharon Sandeen, professor and director of Mitchell Hamline’s Intellectual Property Institute. Sandeen is an internationally recognized expert on trade secret law and co-author of the first casebook on trade secret law in the United States. She began her full-time teaching career in 2002 at Hamline Law. Before becoming a professor, Sandeen practiced law for more than 15 years in Sacramento, Calif., focusing on intellectual property litigation and counseling. She earned a B.A. in political science and LL.M. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. In 2016, she was elected to membership in the American Law Institute, considered the country’s leading independent organization producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and improve the law. Robins Kaplan, along with two of its partners, funded the Distinguished Professorship in Intellectual Property Law as part of a $1.125 million gift in honor of

the firm’s 75th anniversary. That gift, the largest from a law firm and its partners in the school’s history, also expanded scholarships for women and established another endowed faculty position. The Distinguished Professorship in Intellectual Property Law is the first in the field of intellectual property at the law school and one of only a few dedicated to IP law in the nation. It is one of 13 endowed faculty positions at Mitchell Hamline.

FACULTY NEWS

Professors in the

edia

Mitchell Hamline faculty are sought after for comment on all kinds of issues in the news. Here’s a sampling from some recent interviews:

“I find it inconceivable that Prince’s lawyers never suggested that he draw up a will. They had to have had that conversation. I can’t think of any scenario where they wouldn’t.” SHARON SANDEEN on the complicated estate questions in the wake of Prince’s death, 7/26/16, MinnPost

“At some level, prosecutors are not complete idiots. Prosecutors are not going to run around prosecuting all of the 30 million people that share Netflix passwords.” TED SAMPSELL-JONES on the fear people could be open to prosecution for sharing passwords for online streaming services, 7/12/16, CNBC

“Courts increasingly accept that unwanted life is also a harm. Families were showing up at plaintiffs’ attorneys offices in the past and getting turned away. Now, plaintiffs’ attorneys are taking these cases.” THADDEUS MASON POPE on legal action resulting from efforts to save patients against their wishes, 4/10/17, The New York Times

“It’s the classic game of chicken, who’s going to fold first... The employer can unilaterally implement the contract changes so long as they’re consistent with what’s been offered in negotiations.” DAVID LARSON on the nurses’ strike at Allina Health, 10/4/16, KARE 11

“It’s one thing to punish people for disorderly conduct. It’s another to say in the future they are not allowed to participate in a meeting that is generally open to the public.” RALEIGH HANNAH LEVINE on protesters being removed from a public meeting, 9/8/16, Star Tribune

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

FACULTY NEWS

Grant to fund assessment of legal needs in St. Paul

Book co-authored by Professor Grose to be released this summer In their forthcoming textbook “Lawyers, Clients & Narrative: A Framework for Law Students and Practitioners,” Mitchell Hamline Professor Carolyn Grose and co-author Margaret E. Johnson, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, explore and analyze how narrative and storytelling can be used to train the next generation of lawyers. Scheduled for publication in July by Carolina Academic Press, the book draws on multimedia examples such as the popular investigative journalism podcast “Serial,” and other real-life legal situations, to demonstrate how skills in storytelling and other narrative approaches can benefit attorneys.

Thanks to a grant from the American Bar Endowment, Mitchell Hamline’s Medical Legal Partnership will be conducting a broad assessment of the legal needs of United Family Medicine’s patients as well as residents in St. Paul’s West Seventh Street neighborhood. Through the use of surveys and public listening sessions this spring, the partnership will identify pressing legal needs among patients and residents. This summer and fall, the partnership’s clinical instructor, Ana Pottratz Acosta, and Mitchell Hamline students will host education sessions and offer clinical outreach to help residents better understand how to effectively tackle legal problems and offer them assistance in doing so. “The grant will allow us to engage in a dialogue with United Family Medicine patients and the surrounding community,” said Laura Hermer, Mitchell Hamline professor and principal investigator on the grant. “The American Bar Foundation’s generous support will allow us to get input from the community so we can better address their legal needs in these unsettled times.” Patients at United Family Medicine’s community in St. Paul’s West Seventh Street neighborhood are predominantly low-income, and many are members of racial or ethnic minority communities.

Ana Pottratz Acosta, right, is working to assess the legal needs of residents in St. Paul’s West Seventh Street neighborhood.

Professor Janus receives grant for sex offender litigation and policy resource project Professor Eric Janus, former president and dean of William Mitchell, has been awarded a two-year, $65,000 grant from the Vital Projects Fund to establish a resource center at Mitchell Hamline designed to collect and disseminate information about litigation on issues of sexual violence policy. The center’s goal is to facilitate communication, sharing, and the development of strategies among lawyers, advocates, and academics who seek a more sensible and effective public policy on sexual violence prevention. Janus’ scholarly focus has been on the interaction of law with behavioral and other health sciences. Building on his experience as court-appointed counsel in extended constitutional litigation 28

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

challenging Minnesota’s Sexually Dangerous Person Law, he has focused on the boundaries of the state’s ability to use civil commitment to protect public safety and the design of effective prevention policies. Janus is author of “Failure to Protect: America’s Sexual Predator Laws and the Rise of the Preventive State” and co-authored “Sexual Predators: Society, Risk, and the Law.” He was a featured expert in the recent documentary “Untouchable,” which deals with sex abuse and related legislation. Janus also recently received the Outstanding Service to the Profession award from Minnesota Lawyer magazine.

CAMPUS NEWS

After successful launch, ‘Wheels of Justice’ to increase community involvement Since its launch in September 2016, the big red RV nicknamed the “Wheels of Justice” has taken students on about a dozen trips around Minnesota to provide free legal assistance. As part of Mitchell Hamline’s Mobile Law Network, the Wheels of Justice has transported students to help with health care directives in Roseville, marital dissolution forms in Mankato and St. Cloud, wills for seniors and eviction expungements in St. Paul, and more. That work will continue, said Christine Szaj, vice president of community relations and operations at Mitchell Hamline, and related initiatives are planned to deepen community engagement. The Mobile Law Network will continue to collaborate with the Minnesota Justice Foundation, which has been instrumental in coordinating visits to legal service organizations such as Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, and Central Minnesota Legal Services. The school is planning a new Wheels of Justice program to extend services currently offered through the on-campus Self-Help Clinic out into the community. Newly formed relationships with several

nonprofit organizations, including Ujamaa Place in St. Paul and Summit Academy in Minneapolis, will open additional opportunities for law students and supervising attorneys to assist individuals who otherwise would not have access to legal services to help remove barriers to employment or housing. Recently, in coordination with Mitchell Hamline’s Immigration Law Clinic and Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, students and faculty used the Mobile Law Network to provide legal services to immigrant communities in central Minnesota impacted by new immigration policies. Future

plans include partnering with a domestic violence organization on new projects designed to provide services and train law students. Szaj and Karin Ciano, acting executive director of the Collaborative Community Law Initiative (CCLI)— a nonprofit that helps recent Mitchell Hamline grads set up community-based, low bono law practices—are in the early planning stages of developing community engagement opportunities with new CCLI attorneys and their mentors.

NEW HISTORY CENTER WILL TELL THE STORY OF MITCHELL HAMLINE Mitchell Hamline is in the process of establishing a History Center to preserve and showcase the rich past of its predecessor schools and to reflect the institution’s current and future missions. With financial assistance from the Minnesota Historical Society, the school will soon begin digging into the substantial archives of both Hamline Law and William Mitchell in an effort to identify photographs, written records, and other objects of historical importance. The roots of William Mitchell go back to the founding of the St. Paul College of Law in 1900. Hamline Law traces its roots to 1972, but Hamline University also started a law school in 1857 that closed with the onset of the Civil War.

Professor Marie Failinger says the center will preserve the memories of students, faculty, staff, and alums, but Failinger wants it to do more. “Our big dream is for the History Center to be a living institution,” Failinger said. “A place where we can think about contemporary community problems through the lens of what has gone before, both at our law schools and in the legal history of Minnesota generally.” Failinger and Professor Mike Steenson serve as co-chairs of the History Center committee, which includes alums Gwen Lerner ’78 (HUSL) and Marcy Wallace ’74 (WMCL).

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

CLASS NOTES

1955

1981

1982

of Appeals. of Appeals.

JUSTICE ESTHER M. TOMLJANOVICH (SPCL), former justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, was presented the Outstanding Service to the Profession award by Minnesota Lawyer.

1976 DENNIS M. DEVEREAUX (WMCL) was named veterans preference officer for the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Formerly, he was inhouse counsel for the department.

1978

LORETTA M. FREDERICK (WMCL), senior legal policy adviser at the Battered Women’s Justice Project, was presented the Outstanding Service to the Profession award by Minnesota Lawyer.

of Appeals. DAVID F. HERR (WMCL), an attorney in Maslon’s litigation group, was presented the Francis McGovern Writing Award by the Academy of Court-Appointed Masters for outstanding research and writing that promote the use of special masters.

1979

PAUL A. MAGERS (HUSL) announced his retirement after 38 years in television news, including the past 13 years as evening news anchor with CBS2 in Los Angeles and 20 years with KARE 11 in Minneapolis.

1980 RICHARD L. HENDRICKSON (WMCL), principal, Richard L. Hendricskon PA, was named a 2016 Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer.

of Appeals. EDWARD Q. CASSIDY (HUSL), shareholder, Fredrikson & Byron, was named a 2016 Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer.

KENNETH J. ABDO (WMCL) joined Fox Rothschild as partner in the entertainment law section.

of Appeals. ppeals.

JUDGE JAMES B. FLOREY (WMCL) was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton to represent the Eighth Congressional District on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. He was previously district court judge in the Sixth Judicial District and served as its chief judge from 2006-12. CHAD E. HENDERSON (WMCL) joined Henningson & Snoxell as a member of the estate planning department. RUTH A. MICKELSEN (WMCL), Mitchell Hamline trustee, was appointed chair of the board of directors of Health Partners, a nonprofit health care system that provides health care services and health plan financing and administration.

JUDGE KENT R. HOLMBERG (WMCL) was appointed by Gov. Gary Herbert to a seat in Utah’s Third Judicial District. He worked in the Utah Attorney General’s Office as an assistant attorney general. Previously, he was a trial attorney in Salt Lake City and practiced law in Minnesota for nearly two decades.

CHIEF JUDGE PATRICIA J. MILUN (WMCL) was reappointed by Gov. Mark Dayton as chief judge of the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals.

ALAN L. KILDOW (WMCL) joined Briggs and Morgan as shareholder in the business litigation section.

1984

1983

of Appeals.

1988

JOHN R. CRAWFORD (WMCL) joined Lommen Abdo as an attorney in the litigation and transportation law practices.

KURT R. MATTSON (WMCL) received his Master of Library and Information Science degree from Wayne State University in Michigan. Mattson is the president of Union Legal Research, a legal research and writing company.

of Appeals.

VIRGINIA A. BELL (WMCL) was named a 2016 Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer for her work as inaugural executive director of the nonprofit Collaborative Community Law Initiative.

1985

PHILIP L. SIEFF (HUSL), partner, Robins Kaplan, was named a 2016 Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer.

BILL EGAN (WMCL) joined JUX Law Firm as a senior attorney in the employment law practice.

SPCL: St. Paul College of Law MMCL: Minneapolis-Minnesota College of Law WMCL: William Mitchell College of Law HUSL: Hamline University School of Law

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

CLASS NOTES

1989

1994

of Appeals.

JUDGE TIMOTHY M. CHURCHWELL (HUSL) was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton to a seat in Minnesota’s Seventh Judicial District. He was a shareholder at Peters & Churchwell and an assistant public defender for the Seventh Judicial District. He is chambered in Douglas County.

AARON A. DEAN (WMCL) was elected shareholder at Moss & Barnett, where he is a member of the litigation team, specializing in construction law.

1992 MICHELLE T. PAQUIN (WMCL) was elected to the Northwest Minnesota Foundation Board of Directors. She is tribal legal adviser for the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians and an adjunct faculty member at Red Lake Nation Tribal College.

1993 of Appeals.

JUDGE DAVID F. HERMERDING (WMCL) was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton to a seat in Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District. He was previously chief deputy Crow Wing County attorney and is chambered in Aitkin County.

1995

1996

2000

2001

2003

of Appeals.

THOMAS W. KYLE (HUSL) was named a Diplomate in the National College of Advocacy by the American Association for Justice (AAJ). Kyle is a personal injury attorney with Hupy and Abraham in Milwaukee.

TODD J. ANLAUF (HUSL) joined Moss & Barnett as an attorney in the new multifamily and commercial real estate finance practice area.

JUDGE MICHAEL E. BURNS (HUSL) was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton to the bench in Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District. He was an assistant Hennepin County attorney and is chambered at Minneapolis in Hennepin County.

LISA D. HILL (WMCL) joined the Hutchinson, Minn., office of Melchert Hubert Sjodin as an associate attorney and is practicing in the areas of family law, estate planning, probate, and real estate.

1997

JUDGE DeANNE M. HILGERS (WMCL) was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton to the bench in Minnesota’s Second Judicial District. She was a shareholder at Lindquist & Vennum and is chambered at St. Paul in Ramsey County.

JOHN J. CHOI (HUSL), Ramsey of Appeals. County attorney, was named a 2016 Attorney of the Year DAVID M. by Minnesota Lawyer. AAFEDT (WMCL), a shareholder with Winthrop & Weinstine, was elected chairman of the board of KATHLEEN S. directors and RUHLAND (WMCL), president for the managing partner Federation of at DLA Piper, was Regulatory Counsel. recognized in BTI Consulting Group’s 16th annual “BTI Client Service AllStars” report as a lawyer who provides superior service to clients. TIMOTHY L. GUSTIN (WMCL) was re-elected to the board of directors of Moss & Barnett.

1998

of Appeals.

MATTHEW A. KOROGI (HUSL) joined Moss & Barnett as an attorney in the new multifamily and commercial real estate finance practice area.

2004 EMILY F. JEWETT (HUSL), an attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Roanoke Valley in Roanoke, Va., was featured in a front page story in the Roanoke Times about the 50th anniversary of the office.

of Appeals.

BRIAN N. LARSON (WMCL) will join the faculty at Texas A&M University School of Law in August 2017 as associate professor. He is currrently assistant professor at Georgia Institute of Technology.

of Appeals.

BRENDA L. TOFTE (HUSL) joined Mitchell Hamline School of Law as assistant director of academic excellence.

2002

of Appeals.

KATHRYN E. RUSSELL (HUSL) joined Mitchell Hamline School of Law as academic director for professional legal education.

NICHOLAS J. O’CONNELL (WMCL) was elected partner at Meagher & Geer, where he represents corporate entities and their insurers in commercial litigation.

2005 IMRAN S. ALI (HUSL), assistant Washington County attorney, was named a 2016 Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

CLASS NOTES

LISA M. ASHLEY (WMCL) joined Lindquist & Vennum as partner, with a focus on commercial real estate, banking, and business transactions.

2010

JUDGE CAROL M. HANKS (WMCL) was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton to the bench in Minnesota’s Third Judicial District. She was a shareholder at Patton, Hoversten & Berg and is chambered at Waseca in Waseca County.

2009

of Appeals.

JUDGE HEATHER M. WYNN (WMCL) was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton to the bench in Minnesota’s Tenth Judicial District. She was an assistant Kanabec County attorney and is chambered at Pine City in Pine County.

ALLISON A. BURKE (WMCL) was named annual fund officer at Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

of Appeals. of Appeals. DENA M. SONBOL (HUSL) joined Mitchell Hamline School of Law as dean of academic excellence.

of Appeals.

JUDGE MARK E. BETTERS (HUSL) was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton to the bench in Minnesota’s Fifth Judicial District. He was a shareholder and president at Betters Wienandt Attorneys at Law and is chambered at Mankato in Blue Earth County.

of Appeals.

KATHERINE E. MERKEL (WMCL) was elected a shareholder at Henschel Moberg Goff, where she practices family law.

2006 LINDSAY W. DAVIS (HUSL) received the Award of Excellence for a Public Attorney from the Hennepin County Bar Association for her significant contributions through pro bono service.

SUSAN A. KING (WMCL) was elected shareholder at Moss & Barnett, where she is a member of the wealth preservation and estate planning team with a focus on estate planning, probate, trust, guardianship/ conservatorship, and elder law.

ADINE S. MOMOH (WMCL) was elected partner at Stinson Leonard Street. Momoh is a trial attorney representing clients in banking litigation; probate, estates, and trust litigation; and creditors’ rights and bankruptcy.

MARK A. JOHNSON (WMCL) is the dean of business and technology at San Jacinto College, an urban multi-campus community college in Houston.

of Appeals.

2007 MELISSA W. WOLCHANSKY (WMCL) was named an equity partner at Halunen Law in the firm’s complex litigation and class action law practice, where she focuses on consumer deception in the consumer products industry.

2008 BENJAMIN M. GILLMAN (HUSL) and Nkechi James Gillman ’09 (HUSL), formerly Nkechi Eccles-James, started a fitness and nutrition coaching business, “The Gillmatic Method.”

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

PATRICK J. GARAYHEELAN (HUSL) was appointed to the board of directors of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. Garay-Heelan is a senior vice president at Bremer Wealth Management. NKECHI JAMES GILLMAN (HUSL), formerly Nkechi Eccles-James, and Benjamin M. Gillman ’08 (HUSL) started a fitness and nutrition coaching business, “The Gillmatic Method.”

of Appeals.

ANGELA V. LALLEMONT (HUSL) was chosen a Rising Star Under 40 in the 7 Rivers Region by the 7 Rivers Alliance and the River Valley Media Group. She practices in Winona, Minn.

TAYLOR D. SZTAINER (WMCL) was elected shareholder at Moss & Barnett, where she is a member of the firm’s litigation, accountant law, employment law, and creditors’ remedies and bankruptcy teams.

KELLY M. McCORMICK (HUSL) JODY L. TALLBEAR joined the Wisconsin (HUSL), an attorney Department adviser at the of Workforce U.S. Department Development, of Energy in Worker’s Washington, D.C., Compensation was a guest on Division, as an “Native America administrative law Calling,” a nationallyjudge in the Bureau syndicated radio of Legal Services. program, discussing her Title VII suit against the U.S. Department of Energy titled TallBear v. Moniz.

SPCL: St. Paul College of Law MMCL: Minneapolis-Minnesota College of Law WMCL: William Mitchell College of Law HUSL: Hamline University School of Law

LAUREN E. NUFFORT (WMCL) joined Lommen Abdo as associate with a national property subrogation practice.

2011 of Appeals.

REP. JAMIE BECKER-FINN (WMCL) was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, District 42B. She was an assistant Hennepin County attorney who served as a domestic violence prosecutor.

of Appeals.

LYNN LeMOINE (HUSL) was named dean of student affairs and student life at Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

IN MEMORIAM

WILLIAM B. MAGUIRE (HUSL) was named staff counsel with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in San Francisco, working in the CPUC Legal Division’s advocacy section. MATTHEW L. THOMPSON (HUSL) was elected a shareholder in Vogel Law Firm, where he is a business and real estate attorney in Vogel’s Fargo, N.D., office.

2013 of Appeals.

JAMES P. ORTMANN (WMCL) joined the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, as an associate counsel.

NATASHA C. PHELPS (WMCL) joined Mitchell Hamline School of Law as a staff attorney in the Public Health Law Center.

CHANTAL M. TRINKA (HUSL) joined Alaska’s Office of Public Advocacy, Civil & Criminal Litigation sector, where she serves as attorney and public advocate for parents in child protection proceedings, as well as a criminal defense attorney.

Dan Klas, a lifetime of giving back

KELLY J. WILDER (HUSL) was named engagement director and general counsel for 106 Group, a St. Paulbased planning and cultural resources management company.

2015 MEGAN L. BROOKS (WMCL) opened the first office of ML Brooks Law in Burnsville, Minn. Her firm specializes in family law, criminal defense, small business set-up, civil contract matters, and tenant/landlord issues.

Dan Klas ’60 (WMCL) was committed to his family, the practice of law, and giving back to the school he said helped him achieve so much. He died May 6, 2017, at the age of 90. Klas grew up in Wabasha, Minn., and earned an undergraduate degree at Hamline University. He met his wife, Mary Louise, at St. Paul College of Law, shortly before it became William Mitchell. The two graduated in 1960. He worked in the St. Paul city attorney’s office, then later joined Mary Louise in practice. The couple were married for 58 years and raised five children together. Klas was proud and supportive of his wife’s career. She was appointed in 1986 to the Second Judicial District bench in Minnesota’s Ramsey County, the first woman to ever hold that position. Klas and his family supported Mitchell Hamline and its predecessor institutions with many gifts, including the recently created Klas Family Scholarship. In addition to his wife, Klas is survived by daughters Mary Ellen, Kathy, Barbara, and Trish; son John; and 13 grandchildren.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

IN MEMORIAM

Judge Kenneth Fitzpatrick, presided over landmark tobacco trial

Judge Kenneth J. Fitzpatrick ’62 (WMCL), who died Oct. 3, 2016, at the age of 80, will be remembered for a remarkable career that culminated in presiding over one of Minnesota’s highest profile cases—the state’s lawsuit against the tobacco industry, which settled in 1998 for $6.6 billion. Born in St. Paul, Fitzpatrick graduated from St. Paul Seminary before attending William Mitchell. He worked in the Minnesota attorney general’s office, then the St. Paul city attorney’s office, before being appointed as a municipal judge in 1973 and a district court judge in 1986. He retired in 1998. Scott Davies, a friend and neighbor, told the Star Tribune he’ll remember Fitzpatrick for his “rock-solid integrity.” “He had a really good sense of high ethics and judgment,” Davies said. Family members say Fitzpatrick enjoyed spending time at his cabin, carpentry, cheering on the Minnesota Wild, and being with his family. Fitzpatrick is survived by his wife, Mary Ann, daughter Ann, sons Mark and Dan, and 13 grandchildren.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

1943

NEWTON A. JOHNSON (SPCL), 98, died March 17, 2017. Survived by wife of 72 years, Jane; son Bruce (Sue); daughter Marilee (Joe) Wandke; son Todd (Amy); grandchildren Dana, Brett, John, Laura, Eric, and Leah; and great-grandson Jack.

1952

ROBERT W. GISLASON (SPCL), 91, died January 22, 2017. Survived by daughter Barbara J. Gislason ’80 (WMCL); daughter Nancy G. Cox and her daughters, Chelsea and Kaci Cox; and daughter Joan E. (Jodi) Gislason and her son Alexander D.J. Gislason.

1953 JAMES R. BETTENBURG (SPCL), 90, died February 8, 2017. Survived by wife Mary Doyle Bettenburg and children Ann, Jody (Marty), Thomas (Sue), Mary (Scott), Phil, John (Margie), Patrick, Daniel (Ellen), and Michael (Kerry).

JAMES L. LOVRIEN (MMCL), 82, died September 24, 2016. Survived by wife Arlene; daughter Julie Bliss; sons Brad and Craig; six grandchildren; and three greatgrandchildren.

1956

OMUND R. ‘DICK’ DAHLE (MMCL), 91, died January 17, 2017. Survived by siblings Rev. Norman (Eleanor), Rolf (Joyce), Clara, and Byron (Theo) Dahle; sons Rev. Richard (Gloria) and John (Cynthia); daughters Diane (Rev. Richard) Dahle-Koch and Jeanne (Dr. Brad) Kallenberg; 14 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews.

DONALD J. OMODT (MMCL), 89, died March 17, 2017. Survived by sister Nancy Krawczak; sister-in-law Carole Kenny (Bill); children Sue (Paul), Chris (Jane), Steven, Tom, Paul (Betsy), Amy (Molly), and Mark (Jane); grandchildren David (Anna), Karin, Rachel, Matt (Sarah), Monica, Nick, Jake, Laura, Erin, Natalie, Kevin, Josh, Charlie, and Luke.

1958

1962

DOUGLAS N. ODEGAARD (WMCL), 87, died December 20, 2016. Survived by wife Shirley; daughters Nancy Odegaard (Greg Yares), Martha Odegaard (Terry Orletsky), Amy Odegaard (Ed Novak), and Barbara Dawkins (Robert); and grandchildren Karl and Peter Yares, Erin and Andrew Orletsky, Kyle and Nolan Kankonde, and Rebecca and Harry Dawkins.

DENNIS E. MAHER (WMCL), 91, died November 15, 2016. Survived by daughters Kathleen, Sheila, and Maureen Maher; and grandchildren Shawn (Amy) Miller, Shannon (Brian) VanWey, Patrick (Michelle) Maher, Michael (Chani) Maher, Briana Illies, Andrew Maher, and Evan Illies.

1960 GERALD C. RUMMEL (WMCL), 82, died March 20, 2017. Survived by Marian Rummel; brothers Jim (Sandy) and Tim (Mary Kay); sister-in-law Moira; sons Paul and David; daughters Karen Skagerberg (Joel) and Jane Lydon (Steve); six grandchildren; and three greatgrandchildren.

1965 WILLIAM F. MESSERLI (WMCL), 83, died December 26, 2016. Survived by brothers Paul, Ray, Ralph, Larry, and Kenny; sons Kurt and Eric; daughter Kay; step-daughters Gia and Neysa; 10 grandchildren; and one greatgrandchild.

1968 WILLIAM S. GLEW (WMCL), 84, died April 1, 2017. Survived by wife Marian (Nelson); daughters Elizabeth Glew (Carla Monestere) and Sarah (Matt) Leach; sister Kathryn (Tom) Keller; and four grandchildren.

IN MEMORIAM

1982

1987

DAVID L. HARMEYER (WMCL), 64, died November 12, 2016. Survived by mother Marvel Harmeyer; daughters Lauren Harmeyer and Kate Harmeyer; and brother Ken (Joyce) Harmeyer.

THEODORE D. “TED” DOOLEY (WMCL), 71, died February 2, 2017. Survivors include wife Kristi Holmquist; sisters Denise (Paul) Stone and Patricia Vossen; sister-in-law Karen (Mark) Reed; and six nephews and a niece.

1983 STEPHEN A. CARR (HUSL), 62, died January 26, 2017. Survived by son Brian and Brian’s mother Valerie Carr; brother Pat (Chris); sister Peggy; and many nieces and nephews.

THOMAS L. GRUNDHOEFER (WMCL), 60, died February 19, 2017. Survived by wife Jane and five adult children.

1986 DANIEL E. FOBBE (WMCL), 56, died April 7, 2017. Survived by wife Diane Mach ‘97 (WMCL); children Danielle Fobbe (Kevin Mitchell), Jacob Fobbe, Paris Fobbe, and Francesca Fobbe; and four grandchildren.

MICHAEL J. SHERIDAN (WMCL), 58, died January 6, 2017. Survived by wife Barbara; siblings Mary (John) Zak, Kate Kilcoyne, Joe (Jennifer) Sheridan, Steve (Peggy) Sheridan, Matt Sheridan, Claudia (Pat) Samland, Marty (Cindy) Sheridan, Bridget (Mark) DeLeo, and Sara (Mike) Richwine; and Barbara’s siblings Esther (Claude) Piantadosi, Bob (Ginny) Johnson, Mary (Brian) Cunningham, and Terri Flack.

1989

MEGAN L. STANG (WMCL), 53, died April 20, 2017. Survived by husband Brian; sons Jack and Tommy; parents Ray and Sidney Faricy; siblings Tara Faricy, Ray (Robynn) Faricy III, Brigid (Gary) Maki, Patrick Faricy; and nieces and nephews.

1999

LISA K. PLUTO (WMCL), 48, died March 8, 2017. Survived by husband Christopher Pluto; daughters Morgan and Sydney; son Graham; parents Lyndon and Joyce Sukola; sister Lynda (Kevin) Larson; niece and nephew Madeleine and Corey; and brotherin-law Jon Pluto.

1989 ANDREW DALE SORENSEN (WMCL), 55, died April 27, 2017. Survived by father Dale; wife Faye; children Stephanie and Nick; siblings Nan (Tom) and Greg (Priscilla); Karen Degnan Sorensen; and Violet, the lovely golden doodle.

TIMOTHY C. SELANDER (WMCL), 36, died February 3, 2017. Survived by wife Kristin; daughters Ingrid and Eloise; parents Mike and Peggy Selander; father-in-law Maury Germscheid; sisters Jess (Travis) Rehfeld and Britt (Chad) Locken; brotherin-law Johnny Germscheid; nieces Ali Rehfeld and Jorie Locken; and nephews Jake Rehfeld and Calvin Locken.

2011

TREVOR M. BOLLAND (WMCL), 38, died February 24, 2017. Survived by children Evan, Matthew, and Emma; parents Fred Bolland and Marilyn Josephson; and sisters Angela Roscheisen, Rachel Kleis, and Laura Bolland.

SPCL: St. Paul College of Law MMCL: Minneapolis-Minnesota College of Law WMCL: William Mitchell College of Law HUSL: Hamline University School of Law

Submit Class Notes Online @ mitchellhamline.edu/alumni

2006

Kathleen Ridder, former trustee and benefactor

Kathleen Ridder played an important role in promoting the leadership of women in all aspects of public life in Minnesota, from athletics to the law. Ridder died April 3, 2017, at the age of 94. Ridder served on the board of trustees at William Mitchell and also established the Kathleen Ridder Scholarship. Ridder moved to Minnesota from New York in 1943 with her husband, Robert, whose family founded the Knight-Ridder media company. Ridder was well-known for her support of women’s athletics. She led the push to build one of the first women’s hockey arenas in the country. The University of Minnesota’s Ridder Arena bears her family’s name. Ridder was a friend and supporter of Rosalie Wahl ’67 (WMCL), the first woman to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court. Ridder helped fund the publication of “Her Honor,” a biography of Wahl. Ridder is survived by daughter Kathleen; sons Rob, Peter, and Christopher; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Law as a second career, and the value of life experience By Steven P. Aggergaard

tticus Finch, the heroic lawyer in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” has inspired plenty of young people to pursue lives in the law. I was not among them. Don’t get me wrong, both Atticus and “Mockingbird” influenced my career aspirations. But they made me want to be a writer and journalist, not a lawyer. What is a confession like this doing in an alumni magazine like this, in a space that’s been reserved for insights and inspirations about lives in the law? Because for me, and for so many Mitchell Hamline alumni, our school has been a place where lives outside the law not only are tolerated, they are treasured, in ways that benefit our profession, clients, and communities. My life in the law began in 2000 when I was 33 and was seeking to complement my career, not necessarily change it. I also was more than a little curious. William Mitchell College of Law was seven blocks from home, and the block-long campus intrigued me much like Boo Radley’s house intrigued Scout, the narrator in “Mockingbird.” The Mitchell students whom I encountered on Summit Avenue triggered my journalist’s instincts too. They sure carried a lot of books and on many days seemed curiously preoccupied. I grew interested in who these people were, what they were doing, where, and why. My problem was when. I worked 4 p.m. to midnight as a St. Paul Pioneer Press news editor and had debt from journalism school, so if I attended law school it was going to be during the day and part time. Few cities have schools that will accommodate such students, but St. Paul had two. I was fortunate to be accepted into part-time day programs at both William Mitchell and Hamline Law. I chose the former largely because I could walk to school and because classes began at 9 a.m. instead of 8. Despite the extra hour of sleep, I was pushed to the limit. Self-doubt often eclipsed self-confidence as I struggled to balance school, work, and life. I became one who was weighted down by books and curiously preoccupied by the possibility of being called on in Civil Procedure. That first year my younger classmates invigorated me, and I drew inspiration from colleagues who, like me, maintained careers outside of school, some of which (such as working overnight in a psych ward) were more demanding and

SHARE YOUR STORY We’d like to use this space to share reflections from alumni about their personal experiences with the profession of law. If you have a story you’d like to submit for “A Life in the Law,” please send about 650 words to magazine@mitchellhamline.edu. 36

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Life in the Law

interesting than mine. And while I learned about personal jurisdiction, “IRAC,” and the statute of frauds, I also learned I could be and wanted to be a practicing attorney. I was drawn to Law Review, judicial clerkships, and litigation, all comfort zones for a journalist. I also was comfortable operating under a code of ethics. Lawyers and journalists largely self-govern their professions and follow Atticus Finch’s model of trying to do what’s right even when doing so is unpopular. Now, after a dozen years as a litigator, I realize the most important skills I brought to law school and then litigation have nothing to do with journalism. They come from life experiences such as negotiating return of a damage deposit, selling a house, buying two, having interests outside the law, maintaining non-lawyer friends, gaining new ones, and losing parents. As a Mitchell Hamline grad, I am not alone. As graduates of a school that values lives away from the law, we are well-armed to help clients solve problems as efficiently as possible. What we do away from the law, with whom, and even what we read ultimately have the most impact. I do not read my Civil Procedure textbook anymore. I recycled it several years ago. But I still have my copy of “Mockingbird” from when I was 14, and as a lawyer-journalist I continue to be inspired by the novel and Scout’s narrative in Chapter 7 in particular. “Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I’d have the facts,” she said. So true, Atticus. So true.

Steven P. Aggergaard ’04 (WMCL) has litigated at Bassford Remele and the former Rider Bennett, was a law clerk for Judge Paul A. Magnuson ’63 (WMCL) and Justice Sam Hanson ’65 (WMCL), and teaches journalism at Augsburg College, all in Minneapolis. He and his wife live in St. Paul’s Summit-University neighborhood. Photograph by BRADY WILLETTE

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SCHOLARSHIPS AT WORK In one semester alone, Ava Marie Cavaco ’17 participated in a national moot court competition, traveled with a professor to Japan to study comparative law, and held an externship in federal court—all while taking classes and serving in student government. These accomplishments were possible in part because of scholarship support that allowed Ava to take advantage of opportunities with less concern about meeting expenses. Scholarship support through the Annual Fund gives students flexibility and affords them access to incredible experiences.

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Casey Schofield-Mork, left, Cha Xiong, and Whitney Mark at the May 2016 Commencement ceremony at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul. 01563 2017-05