LAWYER
MAGAZINE | Fall 2024
PEELING BACK THE CURTAIN ON
CLERKSHIPS
ALUMNI SHARE THE REWARDS AND CHALLENGES OF SERVING AS JUDICIAL CLERKS
Understanding the domestic abuse epidemic Inside the Center for Civil Rights and Critical Justice
TEARS OF JOY
JD graduate Sydney Manning '24 embraces her loved ones following the May Commencement Ceremony at Seattle Center's McCaw Hall. She was one of nearly 200 JD, MLS, and LLM graduates who celebrated the culmination of their legal education with a mixture of pride, relief, and excitement for what the future holds with their hard-earned degrees.
DEAN'S PERSPECTIVE
We are now firmly into another academic year, my third as your dean, and we have much to celebrate as a community.
I write to you, our alumni and friends, with a deep sense of gratitude for your commitment to justice, which has been instrumental in shaping the law school's legacy. As alumni, you represent the best of our institution and serve as inspiring role models for our students.
It is impossible for me to capture the full breadth of your accomplishments. In every sense, you are leaders in law who serve with distinction in a variety of legal areas. It is for this reason that our alumni continue to be #1 overall in the annual list of Super Lawyers across the Pacific Northwest.
We have made tremendous progress to ensure our law school, and the legal profession, become more accessible to aspiring attorneys of all backgrounds.
As dean, I have been serving as co-chair of the Hispanic National Bar Association’s Task Force on Law Faculty and Deans, through which we are working to further diversify the legal academy.
Our innovative Hybrid Hubs initiative is also increasing access. As you may know, in the spring, we launched a historic partnership with the University of Washington, Tacoma, which serves as our founding principal partner of the South Sound Hybrid Hub.
We followed this with the opening of similar hubs in Central Washington at Heritage University and in Anchorage, Alaska, with the University of Alaska Anchorage.
I am thrilled to report that our recent graduates performed significantly better on the July 2024 bar exam compared to last year by a full five percentage points relative to the statewide pass rate.
I am also excited about the recent expansion of the Center for Civil Rights and Critical Justice (see pg. 14),
which will grow our law school’s commitment to reveal and remove racism within the law.
We have launched several new programs to provide the best possible education to prepare our students to enter practice. These include a new JD certificate, a Digital Lawyering Clinic, and a patent hub where low-income inventors can receive legal assistance — all developed by our Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) Program faculty — as well as a new Sports Law Program.
Speaking of faculty, they are leading the way nationally, earning awards, speaking at influential conferences, and publishing groundbreaking scholarship. In fact, the newest edition of the Sisk Scholarly Impact Rankings places our faculty as #1 in the Pacific Northwest, and #2 among Jesuit, Catholic law schools in the entire West. Our Sisk ranking this year was the highest such ranking we have ever achieved.
This fall, we will recruit outstanding new faculty colleagues to join our already illustrious community of scholars and teachers here at Seattle University School of Law. I am pleased to announce that Francisco Valdes, a leading national scholar on constitutional law and theory, Latina/o legal studies, critical outsider jurisprudence, and queer scholarship, will become a distinguished professor.
After hosting the American Bar Association’s New Deans’ Workshop and Deans’ Workshop over the summer, where we welcomed law school deans from across the country to Sullivan Hall, we will continue to host our Luminaries in Law series and convene prominent conferences, symposia, and other gatherings addressing the most pressing legal and policy challenges facing our nation and world.
As we look to the future, we are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. We are committed to providing our students with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in a rapidly changing legal landscape. We are also dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive community where everyone feels valued and respected.
I encourage you to stay connected to the law school and to share your successes with us so we can celebrate you. Thank you for your continued commitment to Seattle U Law. We are honored to have you as part of our alumni community.
LAWYER
A MAGAZINE OF SEATTLE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW / FALL 2024
Nicole Jennings EDITOR/WRITER
Neil Griffith DESIGNER
David Sandler
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
DEAN’S EXECUTIVE CABINET
Anthony E. Varona DEAN AND PROFESSOR OF LAW
Deborah Ahrens
VICE DEAN FOR INTELLECTUAL LIFE AND PROFESSOR OF LAW
Steven W. Bender
ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR PLANNING AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND PROFESSOR OF LAW
Brooke D. Coleman
VICE DEAN FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND FREDRIC C. TAUSEND PROFESSOR OF LAW
Kristin DiBiase
ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR STUDENT LIFE, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION
Matt Etter
ASSISTANT DEAN FOR THE CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Erin Fullner
ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
Gerald Heppler
ASSISTANT DEAN OF ADMISSION
Paul Holland
ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF LAW
Sital Kalantry
ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR INTERNATIONAL AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS AND PROFESSOR OF LAW
Jeffrey Minneti
ASSISTANT DEAN FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND BAR SUCCESS AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF LAW
Feven Teklu
ASSISTANT DEAN FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS
Colin Watrin
ASSISTANT DEAN FOR ADMINISTRATION AND CHIEF OF STAFF
Warmly,
Anthony E. Varona, JD, LLM Dean and
Professor of Law
Alumni discuss the opportunities to make a difference while gaining valuable experience provided by their positions as judicial clerks.
LAW SCHOOL INAUGURATES CENTRAL WASHINGTON 'HYBRID HUB'
Aspiring lawyers in Central Washington will have a new way to earn a law degree while remaining in their communities, thanks to a partnership between Seattle University School of Law and Heritage University to establish a “Hybrid Hub.” A ceremony to inaugurate the hub and the partnership was held on Heritage’s campus in September.
The Hybrid Hub addresses the critical need for legal professionals in underserved regions known as ‘legal deserts’ where there are not enough lawyers to meet community demand. This partnership will allow local students who have aspirations to pursue legal careers, especially those with work and family commitments, to complete law school without leaving the Yakima Valley.
“The opening of this new Hybrid Hub at Heritage University marks a significant milestone in Seattle University School of Law's ongoing efforts to make legal education more accessible and to cultivate a new generation of diverse legal professionals in underserved areas. This need is urgent in Central Washington, and we are excited to work with Heritage University because
of its ongoing commitment to educating people in this region,” said Seattle U Law Dean Anthony E. Varona.
The hub at Heritage's campus in Toppenish, Washington, allows students to study in an academic setting by utilizing study spaces and other campus resources, such as internet and library access. Students will also enjoy intellectual life and in-person networking events to build community among fellow Flex JD students, Seattle U Law alumni, the local legal community, and other aspiring law students.
Bree R. Black Horse '13, an assistant U.S. attorney based in Yakima, has been named the inaugural director of the hub. She will serve as a role model and legal education champion for regional high school and college students who are interested in pursuing legal careers.
The role also encompasses teaching, where, as an adjunct professor, she will teach courses in subjects pertinent to the Central Washington region. Additionally, Black Horse will develop in-person programming and events to facilitate connections between Hybrid Hub students and area leaders in law, including Seattle U Law alumni.
As this publication went to press, the law school formally launched the Alaska Hybrid Hub. See website for more information.
DEAN APPOINTED TO ADMINISTRATIVE
CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED STATES
Dean Anthony E. Varona, a national leader in driving innovation in legal education, has been appointed by the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) to serve a two-year term as a Public Member, one of six new members. In this role, Varona will contribute to efforts that help to improve the efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of the procedures used by federal agencies to conduct regulatory programs, administer grants and benefits, protect the public interest, and perform other vital functions.
Since 1968, ACUS, an independent federal agency within the executive branch,
has issued hundreds of recommendations related to rulemaking, adjudication, and other administrative processes, many of which have resulted in reforms by federal agencies.
Varona will serve as one of 40 Public Members, who are academics at top law and other professional schools, prominent members of the practicing bar, administrative law and government scholars, and other nationally renowned private-sector experts.
“I am deeply honored to serve as an ACUS Public Member and am eager to work with my ACUS colleagues in formulating and
promoting enhancements to the positive impacts, reach, efficiency, fairness, and effectiveness of the American administrative state,” Varona said.
Bree R. Black Horse '13 speaks at a ceremony at Heritage University in September to launch the Central Washington Hybrid Hub as Heritage President Andrew C. Sund (center) and Dean Anthony E. Varona listen.
SEATTLE U LAW RANKS AMONG TOP LAW FACULTIES FOR SCHOLARLY IMPACT
The latest, newly released version of the Sisk Scholarly Impact Rankings has rated Seattle U Law as having the top Pacific Northwest law faculty and the second-ranked Jesuit, Catholic law faculty in the West, placing it in the top third of all law schools nationally. It is the highest ranking the law school has ever achieved, and the first time it has been included since 2012.
“Scholarly Impact of Law School Faculties in 2024,” by Gregory C. Sisk of the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minnesota, calculates “the mean and the median of total law journal citations over the past five years to the work of tenured faculty members,” according to an abstract.
“I am thrilled but not surprised with this result. It confirms that our faculty are making an outsized impact by producing groundbreaking and thoughtprovoking scholarship about a range of topics that add to our collective understanding of the law,” said Dean Anthony E. Varona. “Our law students benefit from having access to this tremendous knowledge base in their classrooms as well.”
GRADS SHINE ON WA SUPER LAWYERS, RISING STARS LISTS
Seattle U Law graduates are well-represented on recently published lists of Super Lawyers and Rising Stars in Washington state, with 671 making the cut. The law school also has more alumni included in these lists over the years — 1,067 attorneys in all — than any other law school.
This year, 419 Seattle U Law alumni were included in the Washington Super Lawyers list, up from 349 last year, including two among the top 10. Another 18 can be found in the Top 100, which includes graduates of prominent law schools from across the nation. Also this year, 13 graduates were named to the Top 50 Women Washington Super Lawyers.
Additionally, 253 alumni have been named to the Washington Rising Stars list, up from last year’s tally of 245. Attorneys 40 or younger or who have been in practice for no more than 10 years are eligible, and no more than 2.5% of a state’s eligible lawyers are selected.
“Our graduates are leaders in law who continue to dominate the Super Lawyers rankings across the entire Pacific Northwest region,” said Dean Anthony E. Varona. “Our students are educated by nationally renowned scholars and master teachers who are passionate about their success, so it’s no wonder that our alumni are regarded as leaders in their practice areas.”
NATIONAL PUBLICATION
PRAISES LAW SCHOOL AS ‘EMPLOYMENT LEADER’
Seattle U Law has been named a national “Employment Leader” by the National Jurist’s preLaw Magazine, a result of its successful efforts to improve the percentage of recent graduates who are employed in the months after they complete law school.
With an employment rate that has grown by nearly 10% between the periods of 2017-19 and 2021-23, Seattle U Law ranks in the top 25 among all law schools nationwide for improvement in this metric.
“This recognition is a significant validation of our strategic ‘all hands on deck’ approach that draws on the expertise and dedication of our entire faculty and staff to provide the best possible education and career preparation support to our students so that they are among the most desirable and qualified candidates for jobs,” said Dean Anthony E. Varona.
FACULTY MEMBERS EARN RECOGNITION FOR ACHIEVEMENTS
Five Seattle U Law faculty members have been recognized for significant professional achievements over the last few months: Michael Blasie; Brooke Coleman; John Kirkwood; Nazune Menka; and Sara Rankin.
This fall, Blasie, an assistant professor of law, began a position as dean of the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research (KIMEP) University School of Law in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan. During his tenure as dean, Blasie is on leave from his Seattle U Law position, giving him the option to return to the faculty in the future.
Located in the heart of Central Asia, Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country in the world by area. Inhabited for millennia, the country’s rich history includes nomadic cultures, the silk road, Genghis Khan, the Soviet Union, and the world-famous golden eagles featured on the country’s flag.
“When this type of job comes across your plate, it’s an opportunity to go to a very different country, a different culture, and a different legal system, and shape what law schools and the legal system look like in Central Asia,” Blasie said.
Coleman, vice dean for Academic Affairs and the Fredric C. Tausend Professor of Law, has been elected to the prestigious American Law Institute (ALI), an organization composed of lawyers, judges, and legal scholars that advocates for the clarification and simplification of common law.
Founded in the 1920s and headquartered in Philadelphia, the ALI counts all nine U.S. Supreme Court justices among its membership of 4,500 legal professionals. According to its website, the ALI publishes Restatements of the Law, Model Codes, and Principles of Law that influence courts, governing bodies, and legal scholarship.
Other ALI members from Seattle U Law include Professors Steven Bender, Margaret Chon, Kirkwood, Charles R.T. O’Kelly, Professor Emeritus Mark Reutlinger, and Dean Anthony E. Varona.
In recognition of his distinguished career as a dedicated and exemplary educator, Kirkwood has been named the 2024-2026 William C. Oltman Professor of Teaching Excellence at Seattle U Law. Established in honor of Oltman, an
emeritus professor who joined the faculty more than 50 years ago, just after the law school was established, the award recognizes “teaching excellence, proficiency, and one’s record as a teacher, echoing Oltman’s performance as a great teacher,” Kirkwood said.
As one of the nation’s leading antitrust scholars, Kirkwood has spent more than two decades at Seattle U Law teaching antitrust law, business entities, administrative law, and a seminar on law and economics.
Menka, an assistant professor of law, is among 205 leaders selected to join the Obama Foundation Leaders program. The program trains participants from around the world in leadership development and civic engagement to help build their skills and scale their work across public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Menka will be one of just 100 Leaders participating in the Leaders USA program.
Menka is Denaakk’e (Koyukon Athabaskan) and Lumbee, and currently serves as faculty director of the Center for Indian Law and Policy at Seattle U Law, in addition to her role as a faculty member.
The Obama Foundation Leaders USA program, now in its second year, was inspired by the leadership values and approach of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. The program supports leaders in engaging diverse perspectives, building collective power, and making tangible, sustainable progress towards a better world. The Leaders USA program has a particular focus on strengthening democratic culture.
Rankin, a professor of law, has attained the rare honor of having her scholarship quoted by a U.S. Supreme Court justice in a dissenting opinion of a recently decided landmark case on homelessness.
To support her opinion that the term “campsite,” as defined in the ordinance at issue, criminalizes people experiencing homelessness just for existing, Justice Sonia Sotomayor quoted from Rankin’s article on page 15 of her dissent: “[U]nsheltered people have no private place to survive, so they are virtually guaranteed to violate these pervasive laws.”
As director of the Homeless Rights Advocacy Project (HRAP) at Seattle U Law, Rankin has published extensive scholarship on homeless rights issues, including a 2021 article in the prestigious California Law Review titled, "Hiding Homelessness: The Transcarceration of Homelessness.”
Michael Blasie
Brooke Coleman
John Kirkwood
Nazune Menka
Sara Rankin
RECORD NUMBER OF FIRST-GEN STUDENTS ENROLL THIS FALL
A new class of 211 JD, 11 MLS, and 11 LLM students entered Seattle U Law in August to begin their transformative journeys to become legal professionals, including a record number of first-generation students. Although they represent diverse backgrounds and life experiences that brought them to this moment, the students share a strong passion for the law.
The new JD class includes 151 full-time students and 60 students in the Flex JD Program, a part-time, hybrid-online JD program for students with jobs and family commitments.
The composition is particularly diverse. This year, 36% of students are the first in their families to attend college, an all-time high at Seattle U Law. More than a third are students of color. Female students make up nearly two-thirds of the class at 65%, while 33% are male and 2% identify as non-binary. Members of the LGBTQ+ community comprise 28% of the class. They are also one of the most academically qualified in recent years, with a median LSAT score of 157 and a 3.53 median GPA.
Ten of the LLM students hail from countries spread across the globe, including India, Nepal, Ukraine, Russia, Brazil, and Colombia. Graduating from the program allows students who have earned law degrees in other countries to sit for licensing exams in many U.S. states without having to earn a JD.
CLINIC PUBLISHES REPORT ON VIOLENCE, PATH TO ASYLUM FOR MEXICAN REFUGEES
Faculty and students in Seattle U Law's International Human Rights Clinic have produced a new report that sheds light on the perilous situation confronting residents of Guerrero, a state in Southern Mexico plagued by rampant, indiscriminate violence and human rights violations.
As more and more residents flee the danger — including brutal killings, torture, aggravated rape, kidnappings, and forced displacement — the report, titled, “Fleeing Terror in Southern Mexico,” utilizes research and first-person interviews to methodically provide a rationale for granting these refugees asylum under U.S. law.
“These are people who have lost almost everything. What they want is extremely simple – a way to survive,” said Professor Thomas Antkowiak, who leads the clinic.
“We have the laws in place that would allow them to find safety. We just need our government officials to respect their right to asylum.”
To that end, Antkowiak is working to place the report into the hands of people on the front lines, including the refugees themselves, attorneys working on their behalf, immigration authorities, and others who can use the information to either help build strong cases or better understand what is happening, so more Guerrero residents can obtain asylum.
“I really hope that this report increases awareness of what is happening among the people who can do something so that willful ignorance is no longer a valid excuse,” said clinic student Catherine Mitri ’25.
The new class of 211 JD students was full of smiles at orientation just before the start of classes in late August.
SEATTLE U LAW HOSTS 1 40 LAW DEANS FOR ABA WORKSHOPS
Seattle U Law hosted two prominent American Bar Association (ABA) workshops that drew a soldout attendance of approximately 140 law school deans from around the nation, and an array of top leaders in law, to Sullivan Hall.
The ABA’s annual New Deans’ Workshop and Deans’ Workshop provided a range of collaboration, networking, and skills-building opportunities for attendees, with panels and roundtables by some of the nation’s foremost legal experts.
“It is an honor to be able to host these important and influential workshops,” said Dean Anthony E. Varona. “Doing so promotes collegiality, collaboration, and positive working relationships among our many law schools and their respective leaders, as well as between Seattle U Law and the rest of the American legal academy.”
Seattle University President Eduardo Peñalver delivered the keynote address for the dual conference, in which he spoke of the need for free speech and open discourse on university campuses.
“To educate effective lawyers and citizens, to prepare the leaders of the future, law schools and universities need to expose
TILE PROGRAM LAUNCHES NEW PRO BONO HUB, CERTIFICATE
Seattle University School of Law’s Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) Program launched a pro bono initiative and a certificate this fall.
In partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the TILE Program has created the Washington State-TILE Patent Pro Bono Hub to provide qualified low-income inventors with experienced attorneys to help with the filing and prosecution of patent applications.
“This hub furthers the mission of the law school and the university by providing an avenue for inclusion to those who might be disadvantaged economically from participating in the knowledge economy,” said TILE Program Faculty Director and Professor Margaret Chon.
The hub is also actively recruiting patent attorneys or agents who are interested in volunteering. The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) recognizes the hub as a qualified legal service provider; volunteer attorneys can earn continuing legal education credit. Law firms also may be recognized by the USPTO for their pro bono work in connection with the hub. Visit the law school’s website for more information.
our students to the broad range of perspectives they will encounter in civic life and to teach them the best and most effective ways to engage with others across their inevitable disagreements,” he said. “The future of our democracy depends on the successful development of those skills among our students, skills that involve both speaking with and listening to those with whom they disagree.”
Varona moderated the Listening and Learning Conversation, featuring Association of American Law Schools Executive Director and CEO Kellye Testy, a former Seattle U Law dean, and Jennifer Rosato Perea, the ABA’s managing director of accreditation and legal education.
“We are very fortunate as law school deans to have these two new leaders in place,” said Varona.
The TILE Program has also developed a new JD certificate to equip the next generation of legal professionals with the skills needed to lead in rapidly evolving legal practices rooted in technology and innovation.
Graduates who successfully complete all coursework and co-curricular requirements, and demonstrate a deep understanding of technology, innovation law, and the regulatory challenges posed by their intersection, will earn the certificate in the form of official recognition on their transcripts and diplomas.
“Students with the TILE Certificate are able to send an important signal to prospective employers that they are ready, willing, and able to tackle knotty legal challenges that occur where legal practice meets technology,” Chon said.
Deans from around the nation enjoy a reception at the ABA Deans' Workshop, held in July in Sullivan Hall.
SEATTLE U LAW RECEIVES A+ FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
The fall 2024 issue of preLaw Magazine gives Seattle U Law an A+ for racial justice education, ranking the law school fourth in the nation in this area of study.
This ranking comes as Seattle U Law has launched the Center for Civil Rights and Critical Justice, which works to reveal and remove racism in the law.
The magazine notes that the commitment to racial justice "is evident throughout the school's curriculum and programs, where students are immersed in understanding how the law has perpetuated societal inequities and are trained to challenge injustice
STUDENTS, RECENT GRADS EARN NATIONAL ACCLAIM
Seattle U Law students and recent graduates have earned nationally competitive fellowships and honors for work they are doing both in and outside of the classroom.
Kent Anderson '26 and Nikolis Moffett '25 are among 157 law students who were awarded 2024 Justice John Paul Stevens Fellowships for demonstrating a strong passion for public interest law and social justice, as well as high academic achievement.
Created more than 25 years ago in honor of the late U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, the fellowship program provides grants to participating law schools to support students working in unpaid public interest summer internships at nonprofit organizations and government agencies. This is the law school’s third year participating in the program.
Anderson spent his summer at the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Washington, helping represent indigent people charged with federal crimes, while Moffett, who is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, worked with the Seventh Infantry's Office of the Staff Judge Advocate at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Recent graduate Haley Miller ’24 has been named a Law Student of the Year by
through real-world legal practice."
"Seattle U Law ensures students have meaningful opportunities to engage with real issues of racial justice impacting the community," said Professors and Center for Civil Rights and Critical Justice Directors Melissa Lee and Jessica Levin. "Through the Center for Civil Rights and Critical Justice, the Calhoun Fellowship, the Center for Indian Law and Policy, as well as through other clinical, experiential, and doctrinal offerings, students are trained to combat racial injustice across substantive areas of law."
The National Jurist, one of the country’s premier legal education media outlets.
She was one of just 10 law students nationally who were chosen. This was the second year in a row that a Seattle U Law student earned this distinction.
Miller co-founded the Disability Justice Collective (DJC), the law school’s first disability-focused student organization and the official Seattle University affiliate of the National Disabled Law Students Association (NDLSA), serving as president.
Two other recent graduates, Mary Bent '23 and Katherine (Katy) Daley '24, have earned Equal Justice Works (EJW) Fellowships to pursue social justiceoriented projects of their choosing over the next two years. They are part of a cohort of 84 law school graduates across the country who were chosen.
Bent is working with the Northwest Justice Project in Omak, in Eastern Washington, to provide civil legal aid to Native Americans who are victims of crimes, such as domestic violence, trafficking, elder abuse, and financial fraud. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime. Daley is working with The Seattle Clemency Project in Kent to help people serving life and long-term prison sentences obtain early release.
Haley Miller ’24
Mary Bent ’23
Katherine Daley ’24
Kent Anderson ’26
Nikolis Moffett ’25
DOMESTIC ABUSE:
A MISUNDERSTOOD EPIDEMIC
Only by gaining a better understanding can the judicial system develop effective remedies
A recent film about domestic abuse , titled, “This Ends with Us,” is swirling in controversy. Based on a book criticized for romanticizing domestic violence, there is concern that the movie and the actress playing the lead character minimize the subject matter. The controversy highlights how domestic abuse remains misunderstood. The United States Supreme Court, during this past term, revealed its own ignorance, with dire consequences.
In the U.S., 35% of all women will experience abuse from their partners.
BY DEIRDRE BOWEN
Indeed, domestic violence makes up 20% of all violent crime. The phrase “domestic violence” is often mistakenly used interchangeably with “domestic abuse.” As knowledge increases on how domestic abuse is perpetrated, we now know that violence is but one tool used to abuse intimate partners. Abuse is about subjugation. Washington state expanded its legal definition of domestic abuse to now include coercive control. This refers to “a pattern of behavior that is used to cause another to suffer physical, emotional, or psychological
harm, and in purpose or effect unreasonably interferes with a person's free will and personal liberty.” The iterations of abuse using coercive control are expansive and devastating because they are harder to detect compared with physical violence.
The 2022 Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which eliminated the constitutional protection to access abortion, created another abuse tactic — reproductive coercion, or the inability to make decisions about one’s body and reproductive health.
It can include sexual assault and denial of access to contraception or abortion, with catastrophic impact for domestic violence victims.
Just being pregnant increases the risk of domestic abuse, which is more likely to harm the health of pregnant women than preeclampsia or gestational diabetes. Moreover, homicide is the leading cause of death among pregnant women and women within one year of giving birth — more than any other obstetric complication. More than half of these victims are killed by an intimate partner.
Even if a victim manages to live through pregnancy and escape their abuser, the child binds them together. The abuser will often leverage custody and support to exert coercive control or inflict violence on their former partner.
This summer, the court issued two abortion rulings with significant impact on domestic abuse victims. Initially, the decisions appeared to offer hope on abortion access, however, the court left ambiguity where clarity is desperately needed, especially for domestic abuse victims.
In Moyle v. United States, the court dismissed the case rather than decide it on the merits, stating it had “improvidently granted certiorari,” i.e. agreed to hear the case too soon. It remains an open question whether Idaho’s highly restrictive abortion law conflicts with a federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Under the Biden administration, EMTALA requires hospitals receiving Medicare funding that treat patients with an emergency condition to provide access to an abortion in limited circumstances when doctors deem it is necessary as a health-stabilizing or lifesaving treatment.
Other states have enacted laws similar to Idaho’s ban that conflict with EMTALA. The Fifth Circuit will soon decide how Texas’ abortion ban fares against EMTALA. One can easily imagine a domestic abuse victim presenting in the ER only to be
denied health-stabilizing treatment, i.e. an abortion, because of state law. In a tragic irony, six states with abortion bans also rank in the top 10 for domestic violence rates.
In Food and Drug Administration (FDA) v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the court dismissed the case because the party challenging the FDA’s regulation that expanded access to mifepristone, a drug used in 60% of all abortions, did not have standing, i.e. the right to bring the suit. Like Moyle, however, this dismissal doesn’t resolve the issue. Three state attorneys general continue to challenge the FDA. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the opinion’s author, essentially provided a roadmap instructing how to succeed on the merits, suggesting it is only a matter of time before medical abortions are severely curtailed.
The FDA allows for a virtual doctor’s consult and mail delivery of mifepristone. Such low-barrier access is crucial for domestic abuse victims who experience reproductive coercion and may be surveilled, isolated, and denied resources. A medical abortion is often the last defense available for victims seeking to escape a life of abuse or, frankly, escape with their life.
In a further blow, the court, in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, eliminated the Chevron doctrine, which gave deference to agency expertise in statutory interpretation and construction. The FDA is sure to encounter further challenges to its medical abortion regulations.
With these cases, the court has allowed judges’ opinions to supplant the FDA’s scientific knowledge. It has also allowed abusers to weaponize state laws banning abortion.
So now, we wait. Ambiguity comes at a cost.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson noted, “[F]or as long as we refuse to declare what the law requires, pregnant patients … will be paying the price.”
For domestic abuse victims, that price is unspeakable.
Deirdre Bowen, a professor of law and the Moccasin Lake Foundation Endowed Chair in Family Law, is a nationally recognized expert in domestic abuse and family law. She founded and serves as director of Seattle U Law’s Family Law Center.
ADVANCING JUSTICE AND EQUITY
Center for Civil Rights and Critical Justice builds on law school’s commitment to social justice
BY DAVID SANDLER
Since its founding, social justice has been central to Seattle University School of Law’s mission. With the creation of the Center for Civil Rights and Critical Justice this past summer, the law school continues this legacy.
Comprised of nationally renowned faculty scholars and thought leaders, “this Center will continue to be a crucial force to synergize diverse and innovative approaches to teaching, advocacy, and scholarship to address racial injustice and other forms of discrimination,” said Dean Anthony E. Varona.
The Center continues the work of the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, which until this summer was housed in the law school and led by Professor Robert S. Chang, who moved, along with the Korematsu Center name, to the University of California, Irvine School of Law.
“We greatly appreciate and respect all that Professor Chang accomplished during his tenure here, particularly his leadership of the Korematsu Center,” Varona said.
Leading the Center as co-directors are Visiting Assistant Professors Melissa Lee and Jessica Levin '08, who previously
served as co-assistant directors of the Korematsu Center.
“These two accomplished leaders will continue the school’s legacy of education, advocacy, and research that transforms the way our legal system recognizes and remedies race- and class-based subordination,” said Professor Paul Holland, associate dean for Experiential Learning.
Amid a constellation of nonprofits, government agencies and civil rights attorneys that often have overlapping goals, the Center occupies a unique position.
“It’s important to have multiple diverse voices weighing in and advocating for change, progress, and fairer systems,” said Lila Silverstein, a staff attorney with the Washington Appellate Project, who has called on Lee and Levin to draft amicus briefs on past cases she’s handled. “No one advocate can say everything, and the Center’s advocacy helps to give courts a broader understanding and fuller picture of how the law is operating on the ground.”
The Center’s work consists of developing interventions to encourage and convince courts and policymakers to act in ways that remedy racial injustice and other forms of subordination. This involves convincing
stakeholders to account for systemic inequality that has typically evaded remedy in individual cases.
The advocacy of Lee and Levin focuses on juvenile sentencing reform, fighting to reduce or eliminate life and long sentences for those accused of crimes, and development of state constitutional law in a variety of civil and criminal contexts.
A cornerstone of the Center’s work is the Civil Rights Clinic, where Lee and Levin engage Seattle U Law students in both litigation and policy advocacy, preparing them to become the next generation of social justice practitioners. “Clinic students have worked on amicus briefs that contributed to the Washington Supreme Court’s decisions that overturned the death penalty statute and that changed the legal standards that govern how racial bias is addressed in criminal trials," Levin said.
Raymond M. Williams, now 44, is a clinic client incarcerated at the Washington Corrections Center. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole under Washington’s Three Strikes Law, even though his first strike offense occurred when he was just 16.
With the help of clinic students, Lee and
Visiting Assistant Professors Jessica Levin (left) and Melissa Lee have been named co-directors of the Center for Civil Rights and Critical Justice.
Levin took Williams’ case because of the constitutional issues raised when sentences of life without parole are imposed based in part on crimes committed by young people. They are working to negotiate a new sentence that will allow for his release after nearly 30 years of incarceration.
“They have saved my life,” Williams said. “I’m about to get out of prison because of the work they have invested in me. [On many occasions], they have been able to identify when the justice system has gone astray and engaged in essential work to check these injustices.”
In addition to the Civil Rights Clinic, the Center will include new and continuing programs and initiatives. Led by Lee and Levin, the Calhoun Family Fellowship Program engages students in an intensive study of racism and oppression, and connects them with leaders in the community who are working to transform the criminal legal system.
The Center also will expand its work to encompass critical legal theory, providing the institutional home for the new Critical Justice Initiative. Led by nationally acclaimed faculty members Steven Bender and Angela Harris, both of whom are thought leaders and have published widely in this area, the initiative aims to educate, protect, nurture, and amplify the critical knowledge and histories of historically marginalized and oppressed groups and communities.
“I’m looking forward to developing the Critical Justice Initiative as a way to protect and connect critical theory to ongoing struggles, and to help students and young scholars gain new perspectives on daunting challenges through critical insights,” Harris said.
The Initiative hopes to offer a variety of projects and initiatives – including workshops, curricular development, an Organizing for Law and Justice virtual speaker series led by the Initiative's director of Law and Organizing, Jennifer Hill, and more – to expose and reach the root sources of persistent social problems. The Initiative also will be a principal supporting institution of the Journal of Law and Political Economy, which Harris founded and where she serves as co-editor-in-chief.
“The Journal could not be more pleased about its affiliation with Seattle University School of Law,” Harris said. “The cuttingedge, interdisciplinary field of Law and Political Economy seeks to understand the role of economic, social, and political power in market societies, and to promote human flourishing and resilience on a rapidly destabilizing planet. I think our mandate to publish the highest-quality scholarly research in this field aligns perfectly with Seattle U’s social justice mission, as well as with its cross-campus strengths in business, ethics, technological innovation, environment, and law.”
The Center also welcomes Professor Pilar Margarita Hernández Escontrías as its research director.
“It is an honor to step into a role that will allow me to be in community with leaders whose life work has been to radically imagine more possibilities for justice and freedom,” she said.
The Center also will continue to house two of the law school’s long-established and vital systemic advocacy programs.
The Defender Initiative, led by Professor from Practice Robert C. Boruchowitz, works to effect systemic improvement in the provision of public defense services in Washington state and nationally.
The Homeless Rights Advocacy Project, led by Professor Sara Rankin, engages students in effective legal and policy research, analysis, and advocacy work to advance the rights of homeless adults and youth.
“Seattle U Law is as committed as ever to the mission of this Center and to supporting its work that can result in real change in the world,” Lee said.
Raymond M. Williams
Angela Harris
Sara Rankin
Pilar Margarita Hernández Escontrías Robert Boruchowitz
Steven Bender
Civil Rights Clinic faculty and students are helping Raymond M. Williams, who has spent nearly 30 years in prison for a crime he committed as a juvenile, petition the court to reduce his life without parole sentence. Here, he celebrates earning an associate degree from prison.
OUT & ABOUT
Highlights from recent events
A. The Asian and Pacific Islander Law Students Graduation and Awards Ceremony in April celebrated 22 graduating students belonging to five affinity law student associations. Tiana Pereira ’24, president of the Pacific Islander Law Student Association, delivered an address as class speaker.
B. Viveca Burnette '24 embraces her mother, Patricia Cumberbatch, at the Black Law Student Association Graduation and Alumni Awards in May, which honored its nine graduating members in 2024. Burnette was also part of the first graduating class of the Flex JD Program.
C. The Latinx Law Student Association (LLSA) came together with food, speeches, and even a Mariachi band to send off its graduating members in May.
D. The Disability Justice Collective’s end-ofyear event in April recognized everyone who works to make law school more inclusive for people with disabilities. Co-President Haley Miller ’24, who co-founded the organization, is pictured here with U.S. District Court Judge Jamal Whitehead ’07, who, in his keynote speech, shared his own law school experience as a person with a disability.
E. The King County Bar Association’s 2024 Awards Dinner in June recognized many alumni and faculty for their renowned legal careers, extensive volunteer work, and efforts to increase access to justice. Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu, a Seattle U Law Distinguished Jurist in Residence, was named the 2024 Outstanding Judge.
F. Nineteen students from Central Washington toured Sullivan Hall and attended a summer criminal law class as part of the Law School Admission Council Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars Program, held at Heritage University in Toppenish, Washington, over the summer. The program seeks to make law school more accessible to students from low-income backgrounds and underrepresented communities, including Latinx and Indigenous students in the Yakima Valley.
G. Over the summer, more than 60 Western Washington high school students from underserved backgrounds visited Sullivan Hall to learn about law school and legal careers as part of the three-day ilead Law and Leadership Conference (previously known as LawYours), led by national pipeline program Just the Beginning.
H. Seattle U Law's top-ranked Legal Writing Program faculty members — including (from left) Professors Erin Carr, Mimi Samuel, Kathryn Boling, who recently started her position as program director, Janet Dickson, Laurel Oates (Emerita), and Stephanie Wilson — attended the Legal Writing Institute (LWI)’s 2024 Biennial Conference at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law over the summer, which marked the institute’s 40th anniversary. As one of its founders, Oates gave a presentation to a packed audience that drew a standing ovation, celebrating her contributions to the legal writing discipline.
I. At the Seattle U Law Review Dinner in April, which celebrated the publication’s graduating staff, Associate Dean for Student Development Erin Fullner (right), hugged Morgan Graves ’25 after presenting her with the Tony Yerry Endowed Scholarship. Graves is a research and technical editor during the 2024-25 academic year.
J. Seattle U Law kicked off the 2024-25 Dean's Luminaries in Law Lecture and Conversation Series in September with international human rights advocate Margarette May Macaulay, a former president, vice president, and commissioner for the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights and former judge for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In conversation with Dean Anthony E. Varona and Professor Thomas Antkowiak, director of the International Human Rights Clinic, Macaulay shared highlights from her remarkable life, including her immigration to Jamaica, where she fought to repeal archaic laws holding back women's rights.
K. More than 30 incoming law students attended the Students of Color Orientation the week before fall semester began. The students connected with fun ice breakers and received helpful advice from panels composed of faculty, staff, alumni, and current students.
L. The Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) Program held its Annual Celebration of Alumni in September with special guest Gaia Bernstein, a law professor at Seton Hall University School of Law in New Jersey and the author of "Unwired: Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies," who spoke about the harmful effects of social media overconsumption for teens.
M. Professor Deborah Ahrens (left), an expert in criminal law, appeared on FOX 13's Good Day Seattle television program in May to analyze the verdict in the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump.
PEELING BACK THE CURTAIN ON CLERKSHIPS
ENTRUSTED WITH IMMENSE RESPONSIBILITY EARLY IN THEIR CAREERS, ALUMNI WHO SERVED AS JUDICIAL CLERKS SHARE THE REWARDS AND CHALLENGES OF THESE COVETED POSITIONS
BY NICOLE JENNINGS
Asa young girl in Saudi Arabia, Yara AlHowar ’21 felt a pull to become a lawyer.
“I noticed certain social issues affecting women during my upbringing," AlHowar said. "I saw law as a meaningful way to contribute to positive change."
Once she completed her studies at Seattle University School of Law, AlHowar had a particular path in mind that she felt would provide her with the opportunity to have an outsized impact.
“I was drawn to clerking because it’s a really powerful way to help make change and be able to contribute to the justice
system in a way you can’t necessarily do as an advocate,” she said.
Judicial clerks serve vital roles as judges’ assistants, helping them effectively and efficiently administer their courts. Clerks’ specific duties often include researching case law, writing memoranda, helping to draft opinions, and more.
“There is no way we could get through our case load without help from clerks,” said Judge Tana Lin with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. “The volume of motions would bring the wheels of justice to a crawl.”
While some clerkships are permanent, career-long positions, most are usually one to two years in duration.
“It’s a really good way to start your career. You get to see up-close the work of the decision-makers,” said Erin Fullner, associate dean for Student Development, who advises students as they seek out and apply for clerkships.
Most law students begin clerkships just after graduation. Federal clerkships, however, are considered prestigious enough and benefit so much from extra experience that lawyers will often leave permanent
As clerks for Judge Tana Lin with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (center), Emma Wright '20 (left) and Ray Ivey '19 provided crucial support when it came to drafting opinions and researching case law.
positions to accept them. Lin, a federal judge, requires at least two years of work experience so her clerks “understand the real-life implications of what is happening in a case and the impact of the court’s decision.”
“The law firm will always be there, but the clerkship may not be,” said Mackenzie Taylor ’23, who clerks for the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey in Newark.
After clerking for the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II, right out of law school, AlHowar took a position as a litigation associate with a firm. Despite this stability, she left last year to clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as a visiting law clerk.
“There’s nothing that compares to clerking,” she said. “You can be an associate for five years and then clerk and still learn new things on a daily basis. Every day I grow a little bit.”
AN HONOR WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS
The immense power and responsibility given to recent graduates explains the prestige and coveted nature of clerkships, explained Judge Meng Li Che ’01 of the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II. It is often clerks who provide judges with facts and information on relevant precedents and draft initial opinions for judges to edit, sign, and issue, a much more influential role in the judicial system compared with the first jobs of most law school graduates.
“The volume of cases we have is significant, so we really have an opportunity to help shape the case law in Washington and truly impact people’s lives,” she said.
Taylor was surprised by the influence on the law she wields through her recommendations.
“These cases are affecting real people’s lives,” said Taylor, whose supervising judge hears family law and criminal cases. “In law school, everything is hypothetical.”
“The most challenging part is appreciating the amount of responsibility you have and how much a judge relies on you, your recommendations, and your research,” AlHowar added. “Operating with that knowledge can be really heavy, especially when people’s lives and businesses are on the line.”
She pointed to a case where National Public Radio (NPR) requested documents from the federal government pertaining to three friendly fire military deaths in Afghanistan.
“I was responsible for reviewing the record, researching the law — beyond what is cited in the parties’ briefs — and making a recommendation to the panel,” she said. “The panel held that the U.S. Central Command had an obligation to search additional locations reasonably likely to contain responsive documents. I feel proud of the result because we applied the law in a way to hopefully give the families of the deceased the closure they so rightfully deserve.”
Emma Wright ’20, who clerks for Lin, feels the stakes can be higher in clerking than in private practice.
Yara AlHowar ’21
“There’s a lot of pressure to get it right,” she said. “If I get a recommendation wrong, someone could go to jail. The consequences can be very serious.”
Ray Ivey ’19, who also clerked for Lin, had to manage a backlogged docket (due to years of an understaffed bench), which required working quickly and efficiently to catch up, but also deciding which cases would be heard first.
“When you’re practicing, when you file a case, that case is everything to you, but when you’re on the court side, every single case is important, and you have to look at it from the perspective of the entire docket. It was freeing but also a tremendous responsibility,” said Ivey, now an associate at Seattle’s Morgan Lewis and Bockius. “We never forgot that there were real people, real issues, real stakes tied to every single case.”
THE ROLE OF RESEARCH AND WRITING
The potential to significantly impact people’s lives is not the only source of pressure for clerks. Che noted that a judge’s chambers can be a fast-paced environment, and her expectations are high.
“A person has to be able to jump into our high caseload and not drown. The learning curve is steep,” she said. “I’m looking for individuals who are resilient, have done hard things in their life, and have been able to thrive. I’m looking for someone who is thirsty for knowledge, inquisitive, and self-motivated. You also have to be humble and not get discouraged when you get feedback on your legal writing.”
“The deadlines are pretty tight, so you’re turning out a memo once a week. In law school, we would spend a month on one,” Taylor said, noting that her memos often range from 12 to 40 pages.
That focus on writing has been an adjustment for Wright, who worked for nearly four years in complex litigation before becoming a clerk.
“In private practice, I spent every day doing a million different things, and now the day is a lot more single-minded,” she said. “It’s
Mackenzie Taylor ’23
Judge Meng Li Che ’01
“I learned so much in my four years of clerking — from honing my writing and legal analysis to evaluating oral argument. It was truly an invaluable experience.”
— Cameron Zangenehzadeh ’17
really different to go from two to four hours a day of research and writing to that being the only thing I do.”
Cameron Zangenehzadeh ’17 has completed three clerkships in all, spending two years at the Washington State Court of Appeals and one year each at the Washington Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. The Court of Appeals proved especially busy, where he drafted a new opinion every other week and often alternated between working on criminal and civil cases.
“Getting up to speed on new areas of the law that you’re unfamiliar with is a fun challenge,” he said. “As you progress, you develop the mental dexterity to quickly switch between different subject matter areas without sacrificing quality. I learned so much in my four years of clerking — from honing my writing and legal analysis to evaluating oral argument. It was truly an invaluable experience.”
Kaelyn Tomkins ’22, who clerked for the Alaska Trial Court in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, just north of Anchorage, had to learn how to research the legal precedents of any topic at a moment’s notice.
publications, for helping to prepare them for the intense amount of writing and research required of clerks.
Professor Kathryn Boling ’07, who directs the Legal Writing Program, noted that Seattle U Law requires three semesters of legal writing, more than many law schools.
“In the first year of legal writing, most of the work is objective legal analysis, where the students have to take a legal question and a set of facts, map out what both sides’ arguments will be, and figure out which side is more correct,” said Boling, who herself clerked at the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II. “You’re doing the work of the attorneys on both sides and making a prediction of what the judge will do, which, in a way, is more than what clerks do. I think that’s why our program is so effective.”
SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE
“I would sit in on trials and take notes, give the judge my input if a legal issue came up, and would do legal research on the spot,” she described.
Clerkships are building blocks for the future, another reason why they are so desirable. None of Che’s clerks have ever had trouble finding a post-clerkship job.
Professor Kathryn Boling ’07
The alumni who were interviewed credit the law school’s rigorous Legal Writing Program, as well as their time working for one of the school’s four student-run law
“We send out candidates who have a broad range of experience, and the volume of work they will touch is probably higher than what they’d touch in private practice, with a wide range of experience in many types of cases,” Che said. “Legal writing is one of the most helpful skills you can develop over time, and everyone needs it. That experience alone is worth its weight in gold.”
Tomkins utilizes the skills she developed during her clerkship daily in her position as a deputy prosecuting attorney in Pierce County.
“I use legal research a lot, especially when I have a trial or need to answer a question quickly before the court,” she said. “Having
Cameron Zangenehzadeh ’17
that year of doing tons of different orders, improving my stylistic approach, knowing how to build case law, from scratch, at a relatively quick speed, helped immensely.”
As a litigation associate in Stoel Rives’ Portland office, Zangenehzadeh’s practice now has a much narrower focus, but he regularly draws upon the valuable writing skills he acquired while clerking.
“The greatest skill I learned was how to be concise while thoroughly analyzing all of the issues,” he said. “As a new lawyer, there’s a tendency to want to ‘show your work,’ and I approached every writing assignment like I was drafting a treatise. I quickly found that was unsustainable. As I developed, I learned how to be brief but comprehensive. And that’s priceless in private practice because partners and clients are usually very busy, and their time is at a premium.”
Even clerkships completed 25 years ago, when books were the predominant means of research instead of online databases, are still valuable. Matthew Segal ’99, who clerked for Washington Supreme Court Justice Charles Johnson from 1999 to 2000, listed “certain procedural issues, the appeals process, thinking about the rules, about how to frame a good appeal argument, what’s going to be persuasive or helpful to the court” as lessons he learned that he uses now as a partner at Pacifica Law Group, and especially as a King County Superior Court judge from 2021 to 2024.
“As an advocate, lawyers need to remember to try to help the decision-maker by giving them useful and reliable information, trying to understand what the court wants and providing it to them,” he said. “It will make their job and your job easier.”
“I think what I'm most proud of is helping the judge ensure that the ends of justice were being served,” Ivey said. “That looked different in different situations, but at a high level it meant approaching each and every case with an open mind and assessing each case on its own merits. This was true whether the case involved big companies being represented by prestigious law firms, or an individual proceeding pro se.”
Matthew Segal ’99
Kaelyn Tomkins ’22
A PASSION FOR PUBLIC INTEREST
Dana Gold ’95 has devoted her career to safeguarding the public by protecting whistleblowers
BY DAVID SANDLER
In an era when private interests often conflict with the greater good, Dana Gold '95 fights on behalf of those who are often caught in the middle — courageous individuals who risk grave consequences to report serious government and corporate/ contractor malfeasance.
“The role of whistleblowers is extremely important in reminding us that some practices are not okay, and that it is the duty of everyone to speak up when we see something wrong,” Gold said.
For most of her career, Gold has worked for the Government Accountability Project (GAP), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that represents whistleblowers in litigation, advocates for whistleblower protections, and performs other related work. Based in Maine, Gold is currently the senior director of advocacy and policy, serving as chief strategist to determine priorities and oversee issue campaigns.
She first joined GAP in 1991 as a student fellow and fell in love with its mission and the work, but soon realized she would need a law degree to make the most impact.
“Knowing the law was really important in how to protect whistleblowers, so I had to learn how to navigate and understand their rights and risks,” she said.
Gold chose to enroll in Seattle University School of Law (then the University of Puget Sound School of Law) the following year when GAP opened a field office in Seattle. She entered with a
clear vision — instilled by her family, who taught her the importance of doing what is right — to practice public interest law after graduation.
As a law student, she ushered in initiatives that continue to benefit students today, most notably founding the Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF), which just celebrated its 31st year, perfectly embodying Seattle University’s commitment to social justice.
“I felt that public interest law was important and that students should be exposed to it,” she said.
She also organized the first PILF auction, which has grown into a signature law school event that raises tens of thousands of dollars each year to fund summer public interest fellowships for law students.
“Dana was a powerhouse as a student in establishing PILF,” said Association of American Law Schools Executive Director and CEO Kellye Testy, a former dean and faculty member who taught Gold. “I loved working with her to help further Seattle U Law’s mission and have been delighted to see her career progress in such meaningful ways. She is a great model of an engaged and effective lawyer-leader.”
GAP hired Gold again straight out of law school, where she went to work litigating complex whistleblower cases, representing individuals who witness unsafe and illegal practices related to food
safety, climate science censorship, banking fraud, electronic surveillance, immigration detention, nuclear safety, and other issues.
She returned to Seattle U Law in 2002 to co-found with Testy the Center on Corporations, Law, and Society, which Gold directed until she moved to Maine in 2008. Focusing on the intersection of social justice and corporate law profoundly informed how Gold approaches her work as a whistleblower advocate since she returned to GAP again in 2011.
“With the way our institutions are structured, without adequate oversight, I find it terrifying that we must depend on employees of conscience who are brave enough to risk their careers and livelihoods to speak up when they see unsafe practices, but we should be thankful for them,” Gold said.
Gold also directs GAP’s Democracy Protection Initiative, which supports witnesses to efforts to undermine elections. This has taken on greater urgency since the aftermath of the 2020 election, and with another important election looming this fall.
“To safeguard against potential election interference, we are working to ensure that election officials as well as federal employees who are vital guardrails of democracy are aware of their rights to report wrongdoing and have expert legal representation and support,” she said.
PROTECTING CREATIVITY
Grace Han Stanton ’98 has become a leading intellectual property attorney
BY DAVID SANDLER
Grace Han Stanton ’98 has built a thriving practice in the intricate and complex legal field of intellectual property (IP). But what fuels her passion for IP and has made her so successful radiates from a simple notion.
“What I most like about my practice is that I get to be a problem-solver for and a trusted advisor to some amazing people and companies,” Stanton said.
As a partner in Perkins Coie’s Seattle office, Stanton works with clients in a wide variety of industries, including technology, digital media and entertainment, and cannabis, but she is primarily focused on consumer-facing apparel and footwear companies as chair of the firm’s eponymous industry group.
From Fortune 500 heavyweights to budding start-ups, Stanton’s clients share a common need for effective legal counsel to protect and leverage their intellectual property to maximize value.
Although she has become one of the nation’s leading practitioners — having earned a bevy of plaudits over the years, including recognition as a top IP and trademark lawyer by respected publications like U.S. News & World Report, among others — Stanton followed an indirect path to reach this point. Born in California to an immigrant family from South Korea, she grew up in Eastern Washington, where her
father had found work as a chemical engineer.
“I come from a very hardworking and disciplined family, and seeing that from an early age is what really formed my grit and tenacity to keep at it, to work hard at your craft, whatever that might be,” she said.
That work ethic carried Stanton first to the University of Washington, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in literature but decided to pursue a different career.
“I enjoyed reading and problem solving and working with people. I thought about an area where these three realms converged,” she said.
The field of law checked these requisite boxes. While a student at Seattle University School of Law, Stanton was drawn to litigation and joined a small law firm after graduation to practice in this area. Only when a partner needed assistance with a trademark case did she discover a strong interest in IP law during what turned out to be a propitious moment.
“Despite not having taken any of the core IP courses in law school, I really enjoyed it. This was right before the 2000 dot-com bubble burst, when IP was at the forefront of companies’ minds,” she said.
This spurred her decision to join the firm then known as Foster Pepper, which
counted IP among its specialties, and eventually Perkins Coie. She credits Seattle U Law’s supportive alumni network for helping to facilitate her path.
In addition to advising on domestic and international trademark and brand strategy, licensing, copyright protection, and many other issues, Stanton is confronting challenges created by the advent and rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI).
“We’re thinking about how generative AI impacts the rights of content owners and creators, as well as the originality, authorship, and ability to claim IP rights,” she said.
Now that Stanton has established herself in IP law, she is working to prepare the next generation of attorneys by serving on the Korean American Bar Association's advisory board and supporting Seattle U Law’s Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) Program, which is helping students build careers in IP and related fields.
“I’m so appreciative of the people I have met along the way who have helped me get to where I’m at. That’s why I feel it’s important to serve as a mentor to others to help pay it forward,” she said.
CLASS NOTES
▲ FREEDA WARREN '95
became the first chief advancement officer of the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, a role that includes marketing and communications, fundraising, government affairs, and more. Warren most recently worked as senior vice president of Advancement at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
1981
Mark Lyon was appointed chair of the Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission. He retired from the Washington State Office of the Attorney General at the end of 2021.
1982
Allen Miller joined Kutak Rock’s Spokane office as of counsel. Previously, Miller has served in a variety of roles, including as assistant attorney general, deputy prosecuting attorney, shareholder, and Seattle U Law adjunct professor. He has more than
four decades of experience in land use, real estate, environmental, and natural resource law, representing clients in matters related to zoning, hazardous waste, air and water rights, and more. He has successfully handled cases at all levels of the judicial system, from hearing examiner to the United States Supreme Court.
1987
Rene Tomisser received the Laurie Loveland Award from the National Association of Attorneys General at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes extraordinary contributions by an assistant attorney general to combat the harm to public health caused by tobacco. In addition to leading Washington's efforts to enforce the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), Tomisser was elected by his peers to serve as national lead counsel for the states' litigation efforts to enforce full payments by Big Tobacco as required by the MSA. Tomisser retired from the Washington State Office of the Attorney General last year after 35 years.
1988
Thomas Alpaugh was appointed to serve as the Bainbridge Island Municipal Court judge. He previously served as the island's public defender in addition to running his private practice.
1993
Kathleen Unger Holt, who most recently served as the associate director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, has been named Connecticut’s health care advocate by Gov. Ned Lamont. Holt had been with the Center for Medicare Advocacy since 2014, overseeing the group’s advocacy and outreach efforts, and helping to craft state and federal Medicare-related legislation.
1995
Dana Gold started a new position as senior director of Advocacy and Strategy at the Government Accountability
Project while continuing as senior counsel and director of the Democracy Protection Initiative. She will lead the group in a new structure aimed at supercharging its powerful and proven methodology of protecting whistleblowers to ensure their disclosures make a difference. Read her alumni profile on pg. 24.
2002
Wendy Lee joined Buchalter as a Seattlebased shareholder and chair of its newly launched financial technology (fintech) and artificial intelligence practice group. Lee was previously the chief legal officer at international fintech company Sagent.
2003
Jennifer Cooper joined the faculty at the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center. Cooper is an expert in legal writing, legal analysis, and oral advocacy, who most recently spent six years as an associate professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
2004
Harvey Means was awarded the 2023 Prosecutor of the Year Award for the Eighth Judicial District of New Mexico in his first year of practicing law in the state. He is the district attorney representative for the family violence court and adult drug court in Taos, New Mexico. In addition, he practices in both the magistrate and district courts for Taos County, managing a caseload of misdemeanor and felony cases for the district attorney's office.
2005
Joe Corr founded Corr Downs in Seattle with classmate Jacob Downs '06. This year, the firm obtained a successful jury verdict of $24 million in a wrongful termination case involving a client who is the former chief for the Port of Seattle Police Department, which earned extensive media coverage.
Melissa Meirink has been appointed to the Colorado Court of Appeals by Gov. Jared Polis. Since 2014, she has been a staff attorney for the Colorado Supreme Court, reviewing criminal and civil appeals to assist the court.
2006
Jacob Downs founded Corr Downs in Seattle with classmate Joe Corr '05. This year, the firm obtained a successful jury verdict in a wrongful termination case involving the former chief for the Port of Seattle Police Department. The jury returned a favorable verdict of more than $24 million, earning extensive media coverage.
2007
Heather Williams became assistant vice president of Planned Giving at the University of Washington.
2011
Anna Burnbaum was elected to the Board of Directors for the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, California. She is a senior associate at the law firm of Klein DeNatale Goldner, where she practices in the Labor and Employment Department and the Business and Commercial Litigation Department.
ERICA WOLF '05,
a Distinguished Fellow in Law for Seattle U Law’s Center for Indian Law and Policy, received the Carnegie Medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission along with three friends on her bicycling team for fighting off a cougar that attacked their teammate during a trail ride near Fall City, Washington. The four women battled the cougar for 15 minutes to save their friend's life, using their bicycles, sticks, and their own strength. The award honors those who perform acts of heroism in civilian life.
▲
CLASS NOTES
▲
JESSICA DE PERIO WITTMAN '06
was promoted to professor with tenure at the University of Connecticut School of Law. She most recently directed the law library and taught Special Education Law, Technology and Law Practice, and Advanced Legal Research. She also recently received the inaugural Technology and Ethics Award from the Association of American Law Schools' Technology, Law, and Legal Education section.
2012
FELIPE MENDEZ '08
became chief legal counsel of Seattle FIFA World Cup 26, the local organizing committee for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a soccer tournament held every four years featuring top teams from 32 countries. Seattle is one of 16 cities across the three host nations of the United States, Canada, and Mexico where matches will take place. Mendez had been general counsel of the Seattle Sounders FC, the city's professional soccer team, for the past three years.
John Tymczyszyn was elected to the Kirkland City Council for a four-year term. He continues to practice criminal law at his Bellevue firm, John T Law, PLLC.
Neil Weiss was sworn in as Edmonds Municipal Court's presiding judge after serving as a judge pro tem in Edmonds for the past three years.
2015
Rachel Jones accepted a position as a director in JLL Capital Markets'
Seattle office, working on the company's Industrial Investment and Advisory Team. She was most recently on the Commercial Investment Sales Team at Newmark.
Amy (AJ) Larson recently left her job as a supervising attorney at the Seattle City Attorney’s Office to become a U.S. diplomat. She is moving with her husband and two children to Southeast Asia to begin her first tour before the end of 2024.
2017
Jenny Goak was recognized by the International Trademark Association (INTA) as a Rising Star. The program identifies and supports future leaders and contributors to the intellectual property (IP) profession. Honorees are chosen by exemplifying substantive IP
or dynamic skills through their achievements within or outside the association. Goak is a senior associate at Kilpatrick Townsend practicing trademark, copyright, and right of publicity law, an adjunct professor at Seattle U Law, and serves as the president of the Korean American Bar Association of Washington. She also serves as a trustee of the Copyright Society and is a member of INTA's Rights of Publicity Committee.
2019
Freya Wormus was promoted to partner at DuBois Levias Law Group (DLLG), where she started as a law clerk while still in law school. She assists clients with complex property issues and the separation of closely held businesses. Prior to becoming an attorney, she advanced from finance manager to finance director of a Seattle nonprofit.
Destinee Evers, an associate at K&L Gates, was honored with the 2024 New Lawyer Award at the King County Bar Association's Annual Awards Reception. She served as the statewide co-chair for the Legal Foundation of Washington's Campaign for Equal Justice and volunteers with VillageReach, which brings health care to Sub-Saharan Africa. "I was the first woman in my family to go to college," Evers said upon receiving her award. "I always had the dream of being a lawyer, no matter how distant or impossible that seemed. I am so grateful for all the people in my life who helped me achieve something that sometimes felt impossible."
2022
Carsen Nies has joined the Portland, Oregon, law office of Stoll Berne as an associate attorney. Her practice will focus on environmental torts, securities fraud, and class actions.
JENNIFER SLATTERY '08
was appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee as a Whatcom County Superior Court judge. She has served as a pro tem commissioner for the court since last year and previously founded Kulshan Law Group in Bellingham. In a press release, Inslee said she is “dedicated to her community, respected, experienced, and well-prepared to serve Whatcom County in this role.”
Haley Westman joined Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC in Seattle as an associate. Westman was previously a summer associate with the firm, a law clerk with the Washington State Office of the Attorney General, and a legal practice and immigration paralegal assistant at Perkins Coie LLP.
2024
Stephanie Chavez has joined Lane Powell as an associate on the Commercial Litigation Team. Previously, Chavez gained valuable experience at Microsoft’s Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs (CELA) Department through collaboration with attorneys across various departments, liaising with outside counsel, and formulating techniques for quality data collection.
Emily Husa has joined Lasher as an attorney in the company’s Litigation Practice after two years of summer internships through the LEAD-WA program. As a law student, she was a judicial extern for Judge Janet Chung, Court of
Appeals of Washington Division I, and a research assistant to Seattle U Law Professors Robert Boruchowitz and Gillian Dutton. Husa also was the Seattle U Law American Bar Association Law Student Division representative during the 2023-24 academic year.
Faye Washburn has joined Lasher in the Family Law Practice Group, where she will continue to work on complex financial dissolutions, post-dissolution matters, prenuptial agreements, and parenting plan litigation. A recent graduate, she spent a year as an intern with Lasher.
Jared Karstetter ’87
Jared Charles "Jerry" Karstetter, aged 69, of Edmonds, Washington, passed away peacefully on Aug. 19, 2024, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Born Jan. 26, 1955, in Lewes, Delaware, Karstetter graduated from Lynnwood High School before earning degrees from the University of Washington and Seattle University School of Law.
Karstetter's legacy is marked by his profound commitment to his family, his loyalty, and his passion for the law, which guided his professional life. His presence will be deeply missed by all who knew him.
In Memoriam
2020
2023
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