SUMMER ISSUE
LENDING A HAND TO THE MOST VUNLNERABLE The Pro Bono Initiative at the College of Law has a storied history of helping those in need find access to justice. in this issue
J U N E 2020
16
A new era for the Career Development Office
26
Learning on the front lines of the immigration battle
30
Alumni Awards in the time of COVID-19
40
Stories of law degrees and love
Our hope is that some of you can offer part-time, short-term, or even project work to our students this summer. Due to the current economic situation, students are aware they will need to be more flexible as they seek summer experiences. Any opportunity, from assisting a large matter to an individual research assignment will provide invaluable experience, be it paid or unpaid. Again, the intent is to provide students meaningful learning experiences that will provide them with practical skills, contacts, and portfolio materials for future career efforts. As a Elizabeth Kronk Warner benefit to you, our students retain access to critical Dean of S.J. Quinney College of Law tools like Lexis and Westlaw, not to mention the school’s online law library and team of highly skilled legal librarians. We are in the process of determining the number of students who are looking for these types of opportunities. Please know that we are not asking for commitments at this time, just an indication of interest. You might think about the kinds of projects that would be ideal for first or second-year students. You might also consider if you have projects for our graduating third-year students, who, under the new diploma privilege rule, must complete 360 hours of supervised practice to be admitted to the Utah State Bar. If you have a project for a new graduate, you can post it to a new a new website for connecting graduates from the U and BYU to attorneys with projects at www.clerktocounsel.com. You can also email Arturo Thompson, Assistant Dean for the Career Development Office (CDO), at arturo@law. utah.edu, and he will make sure someone from the CDO will reply and assist you directly. You can also email Arturo if Dear S.J. Quinney College of Law alumni and friends: you are unable to consider participation at this time, but may going forward, and he will make sure the CDO keeps you informed as this We hope this message finds you safe and learning to navigate effort evolves. through the challenges facing all of us in our professional and As mentioned above, this effort is coupled with the recent emerpersonal lives. As we all continue to adapt to the changes in our gency grant of diploma privilege by the Utah Supreme Court (an world, the law school has made significant adjustments. effort that was a great collaboration, including significant research After a rapid transition to distance learning, our students have work done behind the scenes by the College of Law’s own Louisa completed their on-line final exams and our 3L class officially graduHeiny). Diploma privilege requires first time applicants for the Utah ated on May 8. bar to fulfill 360 hours of supervised practice in lieu of sitting for The economic impact of the pandemic on society is still unclear, the exam. This includes new graduates from the University of Utah but millions of people nationwide are dealing with loss of employS.J. Quinney College of Law and the J. Reuben Clark Brigham ment and economic uncertainty. We also recognize that the legal Young University Law School. This change in admission requireprofession is under immense pressure, as clients struggle to cope ments represents an amazing opportunity for law students in Utah with the extraordinary changes of the last few weeks. As employto begin developing real practice skills and will allow them to enter ers assess their futures, some are delaying hire dates, others have the profession as fully licensed attorneys’ months before applicants converted firm offers into contingent ones, and a few have already in other states. This is not only a benefit to you in your planning, rescinded offers. but also to the public as many of these students should assist in pro Our graduating students face the same uncertainty. For new bono efforts you may have in your pipeline. graduates, landing a job is essential to launching their careers, and Any experience you can offer our students is critical and weathering these extraordinary times. We know you are cognizant of exemplifies to our students and new graduates what it means to these realities and we believe our new graduates are uniquely qualified be an alumnus of the U. Your support will not only help their to immediately assist you in meeting the challenges you are facing. development as professionals, but it can also help provide immediate It isn’t just permanent positions that are threatened. Summer certainty and financial stability as they work to meet the needs of opportunities for first and second-year students are under pressure. themselves and their families. We truly appreciate the support given From reductions in length and compensation, to converting paid to the law school by you and your peers, not only during these jobs to unpaid jobs, with some even being canceled altogether. difficult days, but over the years. We welcome any feedback as we Summer internships are critical learning opportunities for developwork to support the success of our newest graduates and continue to ing career experience and professionalism, as well as forming a navigate the realities of our new world. network that will be the backbone of a student’s success. It is with the backdrop of these challenges that we are reaching out to you, our loyal alumni.
01 02 1. From Latin for “things done,” it means all circumstances surrounding and connected with a happening.
03 04 10 16
Elizabeth Kronk Warner reflects on the unusual end to the academic year due to COVID-19.
FEEDBACK Celebrating the Class of 2020 in different way.
LET TER FROM THE PRESIDENT Christina Jepson, president of the Board of Trustees, writes on how the legal profession has changed in the midst of a global health pandemic.
OPENING STATEMENTS Brief news, events and other happenings.
DISCOVERY Research and faculty news.
22 30 32
COVER STORY JoLynn Spruance fosters an impressive legacy during her tenure as director of the Pro Bono Initiative.
EDUCATION FEATURE Students gain hands-on opportunities in immigration law through traveling to the border.
LET TER FROM THE DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI REL ATIONS Lori Nelson honors the 2020 recipients of the alumni awards.
34 38
CL ASS NOTES A look at the careers of several alumni.
GIVING BAC K Donors pay-it-forward through the College of Law’s diversity suite.
ALUMNI FEATURE The Career Development Office takes a new turn under Arturo Thompson.
39
SCHOL ARSHIP STORIES The U’s annual Giving Day nets $15,000 for law student scholarships.
STUDENT FEATURE Emily Nuvan leaves her mark on the College of Law through numerous activities and accomplishments.
40
CLOSING ARGUMENT Couples find love while studying the law.
Photo by Austen Diamond Photography
18
LET TER FROM THE DEAN
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
01
E d itor
Easbelle Khasanga
Melinda Rogers
De sig ner Jayne Laste
C ont ributors Kevin Carrillo Karen Fuller Shelby Jarman Heather May Jonelle White
C over i l lu st rat ion Gabriella Hunter
EDITOR’S NOTE: It wasn’t the sendoff we had planned. Instead of photos with family outside of Kingsbury Hall, there were virtual hugs and online message of congratulations for new graduates. Instead of treats at a postcommencement luncheon, there were care packages sent compete with toilet paper and hand sanitizer. The Class of 2020 has experienced a final semester unlike any other and its last hurrah is no exception. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of life for these talented, hard-working students. And while this year, the traditional College of Law ceremony was postponed until a less turbulent time for public health reasons, we have celebrated in the ways that we can — from offering graduation porch photos at a distance — to offering career counseling and other support for our newest group of alumni. Despite facing a changing world, the Class of 2020 can be confident that the College of Law community supports them in all of their future endeavors. We are proud of you. A changing format for Res Gestae Adjusting to life with COVID-19 brought many of us into new digital spaces full-time. The College of Law will continue with its digital efforts in new ways moving forward, including a shift of the print version of Res Gestae to an online format. We believe this move is a sustainable, smart choice for our audience during an uncertain time. We look forward to sending you the digital issue — with a link to a new web site devoted exclusively to Res Gestae content — in early winter. We are excited to try this new direction to share College of Law news with our alumni. We hope you enjoy this issue and as always, we welcome feedback and future story ideas at resgestae@ law.utah.edu.
02
Res Gestae is published twice a year, in late spring/early summer and late fall by the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. The publication is available online at www.law.utah.edu. Got a story idea to share? We’d love to hear from you! Email editor Melinda Rogers at melinda.rogers@utah.edu with your ideas. You can also submit general alumni news online at www.law.utah.edu/ alumni/alumni-news-submission. Submissions may be edited for length and to meet University of Utah communications and Associated Press style guidelines.
STAY HEALTHY AND STAY STRONG In my first message as president, I wrote about the importance of alumni staying connected and helping law students with scholarships. A lot has changed and some things always stay the same. I planned on writing this article about the financial challenges faced by today’s law students and how we, as alumni, can help. I will hold off on that message for now. Instead, I will just say stay healthy and stay strong. I certainly don’t need to tell you that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world, changed the practice of law, changed the needs of our clients, and changed our own personal lives. I am writing this message in my home office where I have been holed up since March 13. I work in the same little office with my husband who also practices law. Our two daughters in college are back in the house going to college online. Our daughter who is a senior in high school has also been doing school online and will graduate this week in a strange partly virtual and partly live graduation. Everyone will be in masks. Our 10-year-old daughter has staked out the family room as her “office” for online school. The six of us work in our smallish house and are getting to know each other much better. I have done client conference calls in my bedroom closet. I could not have imagined any of this in the first week of March. I am sure your life is similar in many ways and maybe also different. You are probably working at home or carefully making your way into your office washing your hands as you go. Many of us are taking care of young children at home or “supervising” distance learning— when do teachers get a raise? We work in shifts with our partners, taking turns to work and parent. Grandparents visit their grandchildren on Zoom. Law offices are talking about “re-opening” with masks, enhanced cleaning, and symptom checking. Some of us don’t have jobs anymore at all. Law students are wondering if there will be jobs for them. And we really don’t know what the future holds.
Will there be more lockdowns? Many more deaths? When will this end? We are learning to live in the gray. Learning to live with uncertainty. So stay healthy and stay strong. Stay healthy both physically and mentally. Live within the new health guidelines the best you can. Take extra walks outside. Drink a cup of tea. Seek mental health care if you need it. Be extra kind to those around you. Help your older parents and other high-risk people in your lives. If you are high-risk, take extra good care of yourself. Ask for assistance. Stay strong. We will live through this. COVID-19 has dramatically changed the legal landscape in three short months. My area, employment law, has been impacted not only because of how employers and employees have to respond to the issues created by the pandemic, but also because of governmental rule changes in reaction to the pandemic. Other changes have impacted the way lawyers are practicing and the way legal services are being delivered. For the first time in history, most appellate arguments are being heard remotely. Lawyers are holding client meetings over Zoom. We are learning and adapting. The message I was originally going to write about staying connected and helping students is still a good one. We all need community. So attend some virtual law school events, join a webinar, or mentor a student. I will see you all on the other side and maybe we can have a not so virtual party. Until then, stay healthy and stay strong.
Christina Jepson
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
03
RICHARDS TO RETIRE Bill Richards, a longtime clinical professor at the College of Law, will retire this spring. Richards received a B.A. with honors from the University of Utah in 1981, and a J.D. from the College of Law in 1984, where he served on the Utah Law Review and was a member of Order of the Coif. Upon graduating from the College of Law, Richards clerked for The Honorable Stephen H. Anderson, 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Before joining the faculty at the College of Law in 1996, Richards served as vice resident and assistant counsel for KeyCorp and as a Utah assistant attorney general. He also was a shareholder with the Salt Lake City firm of Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy, where he specialized in the areas of natural resource and environmental law, commercial litigation, and bankruptcy. Richards taught courses including legal methods, legal profession, document drafting, lawyering skills, and pretrial practice. Richards was awarded the University Distinguished Teaching Award for 2015.
COLLEGE OF LAW BUILDING GARNERS A+ RANKING FROM PRELAW MAGAZINE The verdict is out — the College of Law has one of the best buildings in the country, according to newly released rankings from PreLaw magazine. The College of Law received an A+ ranking from the magazine, which considered aesthetics, space, amenities and location as factors in determining the top law buildings in the U.S. The latest accolade for the College of Law follows other honors, including a prestigious LEED platinum designation awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2016. “LEED” stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental
04
Design. The USGBC awards this designation to buildings that meet standards of being green and efficient in their design. LEED-certified spaces use less energy and water; save money for taxpayers, businesses and other building owners; reduce carbon emissions; create jobs; and establish a healthier environment for residents, workers, and the larger community. The University of Utah’s law school was the first in the western United States designed to earn such a designation and in 2016 was believed to be only the second law school in the country to achieve that status. The law school built its LEED platinum building with assistance from the Alternative Visions Fund of the Chicago Community Trust, which provided $4.5 million in support of the sustainability features. Many of the law school’s sustainability features have served as examples for other building projects on the campus of the University of Utah, the Salt Lake community, and the nation, and some are models of innovation. For example, windows in the building have ultraviolet spider web designs that are visible to birds but not humans, greatly reducing bird collisions.
COLLEGE OF LAW CLIMBS IN U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT RANKINGS The College of Law’s strengths as a top-tier public law school, national leader in environmental law and growing powerhouse in the field of health law are reflected in newly released rankings of best law schools. According to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 edition of Best Graduate Schools, the College of Law is ranked 45th overall among American Bar Association-approved law schools in the U.S. For the sixth year in a row, the law school retained its position as a top 10 program for environmental law, with a #9 spot on the list. Several other specialty programs have also secured notable placements in the top 50, including business and corporate at #30; constitutional law at #44; contracts/commercial law at #39; criminal law & procedure at #33 and health law at #32 in the nation. “Although not a perfect measurement of the strength of a law school, rankings do matter for a variety of reasons. First, rankings matter to our alumni, students and prospective students. Our increased ranking increases the prestige of their degrees and is a tool by which prospective students compare law schools. Also, rankings include metrics that certainly do indicate the quality of a law school – such as bar passage and career placement data. Finally, rankings
can be a helpful tool in evaluating the success of legal programs in relation to our peers,” said Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner. The numbers mark an improvement and an upward trend in several areas for the College of Law, which is capping a historic year with the appointment of Kronk Warner as the first Native American and female leader in the college’s 106-year existence. Kronk Warner in her first months on the job has worked to build on the college’s already strong reputation in legal education and excellence in faculty scholarship. She has instituted new measures focused on improving diversity while also supporting others in leadership to bring a heightened focus to student wellness at the college. The school has continually scored high among the top public law schools in the country over the past decade. The College of Law’s health law program broke into the national rankings for the first time last year, scoring as the 36th best program in health law. The program improved four spots this year, gaining momentum and continuing to elevate itself on the national stage after launching its Center for Law and Biomedical Sciences (LABS) in 2015. The center is continuing to gain momentum and improve on the quality of its scholarship, programs and student opportunities. “This ranking reflects the unique way that our law school addresses cutting edge issues in law and the biosciences through our impactful research and our innovative student fellowship program,” said Leslie Francis, a law professor and director of the Center for Law and Biomedical Sciences. “We are pleased to see our outstanding program recognized and know that we will continue to build on our successes.”
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
05
ALUMNA HANNAH FOLLENDER ESTABLISHES NEW CANNABIS LAW SECTION OF THE UTAH STATE BAR Hannah Follender has quickly established an interesting career in the law since graduating in 2018. She’s currently a U.S. patent attorney at Workman Nydegger in Salt Lake City with an interest in the intersection of law and cannabis. While at the College of Law, she served as the articles editor on the Utah Law Review and also completed a unique international apprenticeship opportunity at Sherby & Co. law firm in Ramat Gan, Israel where she worked on legal issues related to corporate and securities law. Most recently, Follender helped launch the new Cannabis Law Section of the Utah State Bar. She spoke about her experiences in law school and current profession in a recent Q&A. Q: What made you interested in going to law school? A: I grew up in a family of lawyers and was determined to be anything but a lawyer. But when my interests in college gravitated towards political science and conservation biology, it seemed that practicing environmental law would be a natural fit. Q: What do you do today? How did your time at the law school shape and/or help what you are currently doing? A: I am a registered patent attorney working primarily in patent and trademark prosecution and trademark enforcement. I did not know what “IP” even stood for until I started at SJQ. I mentioned my undergraduate background at a meet-and-greet event and was quickly told that my biology background made me eligible to take the patent bar. Q: What is one memorable experience from law school that will always stay with you? A: I really enjoyed Professor Guiora’s counterterrorism simulation. It was a very unique experience because the structure is different from any other law school class. Working with a team in a high pressure situation requiring quick decision-making is a skill that isn’t practiced very often in law school. Q: Outside of work, tell us about something interesting that you like to do? A: I moved to Utah for the skiing, and that’s where I spend all of my free time in the winter. I am currently working towards becoming an avalanche course instructor. Q: You recently founded the Cannabis Law Section of the Utah State Bar. Tell us about your work in establishing this group and how this section will support cannabis law at an interesting time in history.
06
Hannah Follender
A: In November 2018, the majority of Utah voters passed Proposition 2 – the Medical Marijuana Initiative, providing for patient access to medical cannabis. This proposition became the subject of legislative compromise, and out of that compromise came H.B. 3001 – Utah Medical Cannabis Act. H.B. 3001 and the amendments incorporated by S.B. 1002 provide for the cultivation, processing and dispensing of medical cannabis to patients in Utah beginning March 1, 2020. This framework is not only brand new, but still in flux at the legislative level. The laws and issues around cannabis impact nearly every area of law, from criminal law and healthcare, to intellectual property and environmental law. Utah needs attorneys who are versed in where the law currently stands, where it is going, and how their practice areas are — and will be — impacted, and what this means for their clients. I attended and spoke at the ABA’s first cannabis CLE conference in September 2019, and it was there that I decided a Cannabis Law Section would be the best way to bring the cannabis discussion to Utah. The Cannabis Law Section hosted our first CLE at the Utah Law & Justice Center on Feb. 19 with an impressive turnout of over 50 attorneys.
Leslie Culver
SHAPING YOUNG MINDS
CULVER TO JOIN COLLEGE OF LAW The College of Law is pleased to welcome Leslie Culver as a legal methods professor. She will start her position on July 1. Culver arrives in Utah from the California Western School of Law in Irvine, where she has taught legal writing since 2009 and directed the school’s A.I.M. for Law, a diversity pipeline program designed to encourage students from underrepresented communities to consider law school. Culver’s research interests lie at the nexus of critical race theory, feminist communication, and social science, with a central goal to empower marginalized law students and attorneys toward conscious identity performance. “Professor Culver will make a wonderful addition to our legal methods faculty. She has a wealth of experience teaching in the area and has a scholarly agenda that critically analyzes foundational concepts of legal writing and analysis,” said Jeff Schwartz, William H. Leary Professor of Law, who also served as chair of the hiring committee. “To top it off, she has won a Fulbright Award that will allow her to visit South Africa to consider her research interests from an international perspective.” Culver wlll travel to South Africa in early summer. Her Fulbright grant will bring her to the University of the Free State ("UFS") in South Africa where she will work with the Department of Public Law at UFS related to research on “Conscious Identity Performance and Legal Practice: A Comparative Analysis of the United States and South Africa.” The project will explore the South African legal education system, legal profession and broader legal culture to develop comparative perspectives on teaching legal writing to and the identity performance strategies of traditionally marginalized attorneys in the United States and South Africa.
Any law student will tell you that there’s a lot of schoolwork — legal research, assigned readings, writing briefs — that doesn’t directly relate to physically going to court. But new graduate Stacie Simpson spent five days a week in a pretend courtroom preparing for a battle with a team of young attorneys, witnesses, and bailiffs as part of the Kids’ Court program during the 2019-2020 academic year. Kids’ Court is a service-learning project for law students. Volunteers spend afternoons teaching and coaching middle schoolers in preparation for a mock trial competition in late February. Students in their first semester of law school may be eager to dive into pro bono work, but they lack the legal knowledge to help out at the pro bono sites that offer free legal advice to community members. Kids’ Court can fill the gap as law students continue to gain more experience for more service work later on, Simpson said. “Kids’ Court is the perfect service opportunity for 1Ls,” she said. “We start off with teaching the basics of the judicial system, so the 1Ls are learning right alongside the middle schoolers.” As the student coordinator of the Kids’ Court program, Simpson organized the volunteer schedule, helped decipher the assigned mock court Stacie Simpson case and acted as the main coach for the middle school team. Simpson credits the Kids’ Court program as creating some of the most meaningful moments during her time at law school. Cheering on the middle schoolers and watching the hours of preparation pay off during last years’ competition is a moment she will never forget. “I want to make sure that these kids know that they are so incredibly smart,” Simpson said. “I think that’s the best part about this program, seeing them grow in confidence.” Currently in its twelfth year, the Kids’ Court program was designed to provide civic learning opportunities to young students from underserved populations. Associate Dean Reyes Aguilar specifically chose a school that wouldn’t otherwise have funds for an after-school program like Kids’ Court. “The entire purpose behind the program is to encourage the students to seek further education,” Simpson said. “It would be great if they came to law school, but it’s more to help them realize how smart they really are, to get them interested in learning, and to give them an opportunity to do something really cool that they might not otherwise not be able to do.” RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
07
NEW GRADUATE STEFFEN THOMAS DEVELOPS SKILLS WITH PRO BONO INITIATIVE
Steffen Thomas
Not many people get to help out with pro bono legal work before they even apply to law school. But Steffen Thomas has a skill that is incredibly valuable to the College of Law Pro Bono Initiative: the ability to speak Spanish. In order to reach more community members, the Pro Bono Initiative occasionally recruits undergrad students to act as translators between clients and law students. When Thomas learned that he could get the service credit required for his Spanish degree through volunteering at a community pro bono legal site, he was all in. Soon he went from just helping out at the legal sites to being truly interested in the legal work he was translating and learning about. “It kind of made me realize how much power an attorney has in a community,” he said. “You can just go sit down in some cafeteria and really make a difference in someone’s life.” This led Thomas to apply to the College of Law, where he started his law school journey in 2017. He’s among the law graduates who are celebrating commencement this month as part of the Class of 2020.
Still passionate about pro bono work, Thomas volunteered at many of the free legal sites and even earned himself a pro bono fellowship, based on his strong work ethic and commitment to pro bono work. As a fellow, Thomas was in charge of bringing supplies to the free legal sites, getting law students to volunteer, and coordinating the local attorneys who assist the law students. “I’ve been really impressed by the Utah legal community,” he said. “There are just so many attorneys and organizations that are dedicated to low-income outreach. It’s really encouraging and it gives me hope.” Utilizing his language skills has led Thomas to being interested in immigration law as a potential career path. He spent last summer on asylum cases at the Perretta Law Office in Salt Lake City. Thomas said the most memorable moment of his summer internship was working on an asylum case for one young woman in particular. She and her brother had come to the U.S. from El Salvador and, while he had been granted asylum, she had been denied. Thomas spent over a month gathering evidence and collecting facts for her case in order to appeal the decision. He accompanied the family and their attorney to court in order to act as the interpreter. “I will never forget the moment when the judge was handing down his decision,” Thomas said. “I was explaining to the family that the decision could go either way. When the judge finally granted her asylum, I was able to tell her mom right to her face that her daughter was going to be able to stay here. It was such a powerful moment and it just felt like the culmination of years of hard work.” Spanish isn’t the only skill Thomas capitalized on in law school. An extreme sports enthusiast and avid skier, Thomas compares the adrenaline rush of his downtime activities to working in the courtroom. “It’s definitely something I bring with me to law school,” he said. “If, for example, I’m nervous to go up and cross-examine a cop or something, I just think about all those times I’ve been standing over a big cliff or some enormous jump. And I just think, if I can do that, then this is not going to be so hard.”
Kari James
KARI JAMES HONORED BY NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN LAW STUDENT ASSOCIATION Kari James, a first-year law student at the College of Law was named 1L Student of the Year by the National Native American Law Student Association (NNALSA). NNALSA was founded in 1970 to support law students who are interested in the study of Federal Indian Law, Tribal Law and traditional forms of governance, according to its website. James is passionate about advocating for indigenous students and is responsible for starting a NNALSA chapter at the U this spring. James is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation from Navajo Mountain, UT, a rural community on the Navajo Reservation.
08
CAROLYNN CLARK NAMED DIRECTOR OF MASTER OF LEGAL STUDIES DEGREE PROGRAM Carolynn Clark has been named the new director of the Master of Legal Studies degree program at the College of Law. She began her role on May 1. Clark received her law degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 2003. Carolynn Clark After law school, Clark completed a judicial clerkship with the Utah Supreme Court with now Chief Justice Matthew Durrant. Afterwards, she worked for several years as a litigator at the law firm of Ray Quinney & Nebeker in Salt Lake City, working in several areas, including, intellectual property, securities, employment, and family law. Clark completed a Master of Laws in mediation at Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution in 2009 just prior to which time she began teaching and mediating. She is a Master Mediator and Domestic Mentor on the Utah Court Roster of Mediators and has conducted thousands of hours of mediation focusing on divorce, custody and parenting disputes, property division, and other related issues. Prior to becoming director of the Master of Legal Studies program, Clark taught and directed the Conflict Resolution Graduate Certificate Program offered through the University of Utah’s Department of Communication. Before taking over as director of the Conflict Resolution Program, Clark instructed and administrated the basic mediation curriculum at the BYU Law School and also taught for two years as a legal writing instructor. Clark is a member of the Utah Judicial Committee for Alternative Dispute Resolution, and is also listed on the professional roster at Utah Dispute Resolution in Salt Lake City where she regularly volunteers her time for low-income clients. The Master of Legal Studies (MLS) degree program launched at the College of Law in the fall of 2018. The three-semester executive master’s degree program is designed for professionals who may benefit from legal training but do not wish to practice as an
attorney. The MLS program’s curriculum is structured for working professionals and is designed to improve students’ fundamental understanding of the legal system. The MLS degree program appeals to a broad audience. For example, the degree may be ideal for business executives who want to increase their knowledge of employment law; people who work in government agencies may find it helpful in providing a better understanding of environmental law, land use regulation or negotiation practices. The new offerings are a way for professionals from a wide array of fields to advance their careers and improve future job opportunities. Interaction with the legal system is a critical part of many professions, from human resources to land use planning, business management and financial advising. The U’s program offers intensive courses every other Friday and Saturday to accommodate busy working professional. Students have access to the same top-notch legal expertise as students following a traditional law school path, but with a somewhat more focused approach designed to meet the needs of working professionals. While the degree does not allow graduates to obtain a law license or practice law, it equips them with skills critical in almost every industry and important to advancing their careers, including how to interface with legal and regulatory systems and how and when to optimize use of professional legal counsel. Clark takes the helm from Jacqueline Morrison, who launched the MLS program and now serves as director of externships with the experiential learning program at the College of Law.
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
09
Heather Tanana
John Ruple
10
STEGNER CENTER RESEARCH QUESTIONS WHETHER NATIONAL MONUMENT MANAGEMENT PLANS FOLLOW FEDERAL LAW Research unveiled in February from the College of Law’s Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment questions whether the federal government followed the law in finalizing management plans for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. Two years ago, President Donald Trump cut the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by roughly 50%, igniting a court battle over the future of these lands. The plans released on Feb. 6 reduce protection for important cultural, scientific, and natural resources on what remains of these two monuments. John Ruple, a research professor, and Heather Tanana, a research professor`, authored “Beyond the Antiquities Act: Can the BLM Reconcile Energy Dominance and National Monument Protection?” in the newly released winter 2020 issue of the American Bar Association’s Natural Resources & Environment publication. “The Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service are legally obligated to manage national monuments to protect the values that lead to monument designations. The plans released today decrease monument protections and put resources at risk. That’s hard to square with federal law. Lawsuits will surely follow, and that will hurt everyone: Tribes, local residents, visitors, and most of all the incredible resources that this landscape contains,” said Ruple.
BAUGHMAN CO-AUTHORS STUDY ON PROSECUTORS’ RACE AND CLASS BIASES America’s prison populations are disproportionately filled with people of color, but prosecutors’ biases toward defendants’ race and class may not be the primary cause for those disparities, according to new research from the University of Arizona and co-authored by College of Law Professor Shima Baradaran Baughman. The finding, which comes from a unique study involving hundreds of prosecutors across the U.S., counters decades’ worth of previous research. Those studies relied on pre-existing data, such as charges and punishments that played out in courtrooms. In a 1993 study, for example, researchers found that prosecutors in Los Angeles were 1.59 times more likely to fully prosecute an African American defendant for crack-related charges than a white defendant. That likelihood was 2.54 times greater for Hispanic defendants compared to white defendants. The new study, led by Christopher Robertson, a professor of law and associate dean for research and innovation at the James E. Rogers College of Law, involved a controlled experiment with prosecutors, asking them to examine the same hypothetical case but changing the race and class of the defendant. The study, administered online, provided prosecutors with police reports describing a hypothetical crime, which the researchers designed with assistance from experienced prosecutors. All details of the case were the same except for the suspect’s race – either black or white – and occupation – fast-food worker or accountant – to indicate the suspect’s socioeconomic status. Roughly half of the prosecutors received one version of the case; the other half received the other. The study allowed researchers to “really isolate the prosecutor’s decision-making in a way that mere observational research wouldn’t allow,” said Robertson. Besides Baradaran Baughman, the other co-author on the study is Megan Wright of Penn State. The paper was published in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. The outcomes the study looked for included whether prosecutors charged a felony, whether they chose to fine the defendant or seek a prison sentence, and the proposed cost of the fine or length of the sentence. “When we put all those together, we see the same severity of charges, fines and sentences across all the conditions, whether the defendant was black, whether the defendant was white, whether the defendant had a high-class career or a low-class career,” Robertson said. “Differences in the actual outcomes – in the actual behavior of the prosecutors – is what we would have expected if they were biased. But since we see no difference in the outcomes, we concluded that they were not substantially biased.” Given previous research that indicated rampant bias drives criminal justice disparities, Robertson’s results may surprise many – just like they did the researchers. “We were surprised at the bottom line,” he said. Robertson offered one possible explanation for the unexpected result.
Shima Baradaran Baughman
“We conducted this study in 2017 and 2018 and prosecutors have been under a spotlight for some time,” he said. “They’ve been training and are aware of and are working hard to not be biased in their own decision-making.” The results do not rule out race and class bias as factors in prosecutorial decision-making but suggest that policymakers committed to addressing systemic racism and classism in the legal system may be more successful seeking reforms in other areas. “The disparities in outcomes are indisputable,” Robertson said. “As we go through the criminal justice system and think about what the right reforms are, the sheer bias of the prosecutor doesn’t seem to be the biggest one.” Robertson said policymakers may be better off focusing on disparities that occur before someone is even arrested, in areas such as economic development and education. “Crime is associated with poverty, and race in America is associated with poverty, so I think some very front-end questions of social policy are really important,” he said. “At the same time, I think, on the back end, to shift the focus, there’s a growing consensus among people on the left and the right that our 40-year-long war on crime has been ineffectual in some ways and that we could make the criminal justice system much less severe and much less expensive and thereby reduce some of these same disparities.” Robertson also stresses that his study’s results aren’t the final word on prosecutor bias – a problem that still needs addressing, he said. Even after these findings, he remains a proponent of blinding prosecutors to defendants’ race, a detail that is often not relevant to prosecutors after an arrest is made. Prosecutor blinding is the focus of Robertson’s next research project.
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
11
HWANG RECEIVES EARLY CAREER TEACHING AWARD Professor Cathy Hwang has been awarded an Early Career Teaching Award, which recognizes significant contributions to teaching at the U through new and innovative teaching methods. The award, the highest teaching award for pre-tenured faculty at the U, is given to only four University of Utah professors each year. The University Teaching Committee evaluates nominees based on a teaching portfolio, a curriculum vitae, letters of support, and student evaluations. Jeff Schwartz, the William H. Leary Professor of Law at the College of Law, nominated Hwang for excellent teaching and efforts to engage students at every opportunity. Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner, Associate Dean RonNell Andersen Jones, and three former students — Connor Bills ’19, Jason Perry ’18, and Andrew Steiner ’18 — supported the nomination. “By every metric, Professor Hwang is an exceptional teacher. Her exceptional teaching, however, does not stop at the classroom door. She defines teaching broadly and engages students at every opportunity,” said Kronk Warner. From volunteering to guest lecture in undergraduate classes to advising first-year students on curricular matters to recruiting new students with the admissions office, Hwang is an enthusiastic ambassador for the College of Law, she noted. Perry described Hwang’s teaching as an engaging mix of pedagogies. “Her lectures include a balance of Socratic explanations of cases and the law with a plethora of memorable fact-patterns and hypothetical situations that encouraged us as students to apply legal principles and gain mastery of said principles. Not only were the hypotheticals effective teaching tools but helped create a collegial environment,” said Perry. Steiner recounted being a student in Hwang’s first class taught at the law school and was impressed by how seasoned she appeared, despite her new arrival in Utah. “If she hadn’t been candid about it being her first semester teaching, none of her students would have guessed that she wasn’t an experienced hand,” he said. Bills, another former student, said Hwang often provided opportunities to role play deal structuring and negotiating in her courses, giving law students a leg up on gaining practical experience prior to arriving at a law firm. “For most freshly minted attorneys, the greatest hurdle is connecting their theoretical understanding of the law and effectively applying the law in practice.
12
Cathy’s approach provides law students with the necessary tools to feel confident even on the very first day of the job,” said Bills. Hwang has made a difference in the lives of countless students. Perry, who is currently completing a prestigious judicial clerkship at the Utah Supreme Court, noted that Hwang often went above and beyond, fielding phone calls from students after hours, reviewing resumes, calling employers and judges, and even reviewing thank you emails he sent after interviews. Hwang brought several new courses to the College of Law, including a summer bootcamp Deals course and a new Mergers and Acquisitions class. She also established a new course earlier this spring with Schwartz designed to give students an opportunity to engage with prominent scholars and leaders closely connected to contemporary business law issues. The Law, Economics and Business Workshop at the College of Law brought together scholars, students, and faculty for seminar-style discussion of innovative and complex topics in the field. Distinguished scholars from law schools and business schools throughout the country presented new papers at the U. Hwang has served on the Dean’s Diversity Council, she is a
Cathy Hwang
faculty advisor to the student’s Business Law Society, she co-advises the Minority Law Caucus, and co-coached the College of Law’s award-winning Transactional LawMeet team. As evidence of her exceptional teaching, enrollment in business law, the area in which she teaches, has increased by 26% since she started teaching at the College of Law. A recent graduate also made a gift to the law school to name Hwang’s office, in recognition of the support he received from her as a student. Outside of service to students, Hwang has quickly established herself as an excellent scholar since arriving at ULaw in 2016. Two of her articles, Deal Momentum, published in the UCLA Law Review, and Unbundled Bargains: Multi-agreement Dealmaking in Complex Mergers and Acquisitions, published in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, were voted by law professors onto the Top 10 Corporate and Securities Law Articles of the Year list. Previously, she was selected to participate in the Stanford/Yale/Harvard Junior
Faculty Forum, an invitation that was extended through a highly competitive blind review process. Hwang received her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and her undergraduate degree in economics and international relations from Pomona College. Prior to joining the faculty at Utah, she was the academic fellow at Stanford Rock Center for Corporate Governance, a joint initiative of Stanford Law School and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. She recently accepted a position at the University of Virginia School of Law “She cares deeply about her students, as evidenced by the exceptional support and outreach she provides. She also works exceptionally hard to ensure that she teaches in a way that is accessible to all students. Our community is a much better place with Professor Hwang in it, and I cannot think of anyone more deserving of recognition,” said Kronk Warner.
COURT REJECTS PETITION FOR CRIME VICTIMS IN EPSTEIN CASE
Paul Cassell
In April, in a divided 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit rejected a petition for crime victims in the Jeffrey Epstein case, filed by Florida attorney Bradley J. Edwards and College of Law Professor Paul Cassell. The Circuit held that the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA) does not apply until federal criminal charges are formally filed, and therefore Epstein’s victims were not entitled to challenge a plea arrangement reached between federal prosecutors and Epstein. The case involves more than 11 years of litigation by Epstein’s victims, seeking to overturn a non-prosecution agreement entered into by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida with Epstein, blocking his prosecution (and that of his co-conspirators) for child sex abuse crimes in Florida. In the decision, the majority said that the facts tell “a tale of national disgrace,” including “active misrepresentation” by federal prosecutors to Epstein’s victims to conceal what they were doing to keep Epstein from being federally prosecuted. But the ruling also states that, because no federal criminal charges were ever filed in Florida, Epstein’s victims (girls whom he sexually abused) did not have any right to confer about the plea arrangements because the CVRA was never in effect. In reaching this conclusion, the Circuit noted that Cassell had written a law review article, in which he had explained why the CVRA can apply even before federal criminal charges are filed. But while the Circuit thought that Cassell was “one of the nation’s foremost authorities on victims’-rights issues,” it could not agree with his position. In a sixty-page dissent, Judge Frank M. Hull noted the importance of the ruling: “The Majority confesses that ‘[i]t isn’t lost on us that our decision leaves petitioner and others like her largely emptyhanded’ and ‘we sincerely regret that.’ In addition to ruminating in sincere regret and sympathy, we, as federal judges, should also enforce the plain text of the CVRA—which we are bound to do—and ensure that these crime victims have the CVRA rights that Congress has granted them.” Cassell and Edwards planned to file a petition for rehearing en banc with the full Eleventh Circuit.
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
13
Clifford Rosky
ROSKY FILES LAWSUIT CHALLENGING SOUTH CAROLINA’S ANTI-LGBTQ CURRICULUM LAW The U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina on March 11 entered a consent decree that declares South Carolina’s 1988 discriminatory anti-LGBTQ curriculum law unconstitutional and bars its enforcement. College of Law Professor Clifford Rosky was among those who fought to bring the case forward. The court’s decree came two weeks after a federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of the high school student organization Gender and Sexuality Alliance, as well as the Campaign for Southern Equality and South Carolina Equality Coalition, including their members who are public school students in South Carolina. The statute prohibited any discussion of same-sex relationships in health education in public schools except in the context of sexually transmitted diseases. The lawsuit was filed by the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lambda Legal, along with private counsel Womble Bond Dickinson, Brazil & Burke, and Rosky.
Robin Craig
CRAIG NAMED A DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR BY UNIVERSITY OF UTAH College of Law Professor Robin Craig has been named a Distinguished Professor. The rank is given out annually to a select number of outstanding professors at the U. In order to be considered for the title a professor must have at least five years of service. A professor also must have “achievements that exemplify the highest goals of scholarship as demonstrated by recognition accorded to them from peers with national and international stature, and whose record includes evidence of a high dedication to teaching as demonstrated by recognition accorded to them by students and/or colleagues.” Craig researches the law and policy of “all things water,” including water rights, water pollution, and ocean and coastal issues, as well as climate change adaptation, the intersection of constitutional and environmental law, and the food-energy-water nexus. She has authored, co-authored, or edited 11 books, 21 books chapters, and over 100 articles in both law and scientific journals. At the College of Law, Craig teaches Property to first-year students and Environmental Law, Water Law, Ocean & Coastal Law, and Toxic Torts to upper-division students. She is also affiliated faculty to the College of Law’s Stegner Center for Land, Resources, and Environment, a faculty affiliate of the University’s Global Change & Sustainability Center, and a member of the Executive Board of the University’s new Water Center.
14
FINDING SHARED SOLUTIONS TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC As the COVID-19 pandemic began to change life around the world this spring, College of Law Professor Jorge Contreras stepped into a global debate about how his field of expertise — intellectual property — might support efforts to stop the transmission of the disease. He joined forces with a group of lawyers and scientists to launch the Open COVID Pledge, a movement designed to encourage companies and universities to make their IP available in the fight against the coronavirus. Contreras spoke with Res Gestae shortly after launching the pledge in March about the initiative and the momentum it is gaining as the world continues to look for answers on how to best contain the spread of COVID-19.
Jorge Contreras
Q: What is the Open COVID Pledge? Why was this needed? How did you get involved? A: The Open COVID Pledge is a public commitment by companies, universities and others to make their intellectual property available without charge in the fight against COVID-19. The Pledge emerged as a response to reports that intellectual property was emerging as a barrier to research and development of vaccines, diagnostics and therapies for COVID-19, as well as the manufacture and deployment of lifesaving equipment and parts needed to respond to the pandemic. I was asked to join this effort given my long history of work in the area of open science and data sharing policy, as well as a recent book that I co-edited on the topic of patent pledges (http://www.e-elgar. com/shop/patent-pledges). Q: What kind of response are you seeing so far? Is this fostering collaboration between entities as organizers had hoped? A: The Pledge is just a few weeks old, but we are already seeing amazing enthusiasm. Global IP leaders like Intel, Microsoft, Facebook, HP, Amazon, IBM and Sandia National Labs have all made the Pledge, committing hundreds of thousands of patents to the fight against COVID-19. The Pledge has also received public statements of support from leading policy and advocacy groups around the world, including Creative Commons, Mozilla, Unified Patents and the Open Knowledge Foundation. Right now, it’s too early to know what real world impact this massive outpouring of technology will have, but we are in the process of identifying specific use cases for this IP that we can promote around the world. Q: How could this project open the door for other similar collaborations down the line that may lead to advancements in health? Is this initiative a game-changer for how business may be done in the future? A: The Pledge is designed as a temporary, emergency measure to spur the development and deployment of needed medical technologies in this public health emergency. This temporary duration is one of the Pledge’s most important features, as it does not require companies or institutions to give up their IP permanently, or in fields outside of the COVID-19 response. We need to continue to reward innovators with the promise of intellectual property. But it is our strong hope that the cooperation and public spirit engendered by the current emergency will form lasting collaborations and relationships that will help to fuel innovation and discovery long after this pandemic ends.
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
15
ALUMNI
CONNECTING
LAW STUDENTS WITH CAREER OPPORTUNITIES ARTURO THOMPSON LEADS THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT OFFICE INTO A NEW ERA By Jonelle White rturo Thompson joined the College of Law in October 2019 as the newly appointed assistant dean of the Career Development Office (CDO). He arrived with a diverse skillset and unique experiences collected over an expansive professional life. Thompson hails from the small town of Hereford, Arizona. He launched a career in marketing and communications in Tucson, where he ran a small ad agency with a couple partners before later joining a multi-national software company based in Houston, Texas. The move allowed him to live in a market where his wife, Karen Ford Manza Thompson, could also pursue a career in nonprofit organizational development, After two years in Texas, Thompson was recruited by Jack Morton Worldwide which required a move to Chicago. That move was short-lived, after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 led to job reductions in the marketing industry. He found himself at a crossroads and decided to go back to school. Thompson first finished his undergraduate degree at Dominican University, a small school outside Chicago and then went to law school at the University of Kansas School of Law, where he graduated in 2006. Thompson began his law career with a move back to Tucson where he practiced for five years before he was recruited by his alma matter to work as the assistant dean of the CDO at the University of Kansas. He developed programs there for nine years until he was hired by Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner after a nationwide search. Thompson has been working diligently to fulfill his vision for the CDO since starting his new position. CDO veterans Jaclyn Howell, Jim Holbrook and Heidi Smith round out Thompson’s team at ULaw. The group provide an array of services to law students preparing to enter the work world following graduation. “The College has extraordinary employment numbers,” Thompson noted, adding it is his foremost goal to see CDO becoming an integral part of student life. Thompson aims to make CDO more connected with law students by engaging with them before they enter the building for their first year. Developing those relationships over the course of
16
a student’s time in law school is essential, he said. Thompson has implemented that philosophy so far through developing deep and intense engagements with students by providing hour long oneon-one coaching sessions. In those meetings, Thompson works to identify a student’s core interest. “Being a lawyer is really hard. Being in law school is really hard and to be able to identify the space and the kind of opportunity that students want, even if they have never thought of it or realized it, can make a huge difference in their success and happiness,” said Thompson. So far the approach is paving the road for students’ success. Cambre Roberts, a third-year law student graduating with the
Class of 2020, worked with Thompson to find career opportunities to match her interests earlier this year. Thompson worked hard to help Roberts find a fit to foster her interest in juvenile justice. “When I started law school, I always had in my mind that I wanted to move out of Utah following graduation. However, in my third year, I ended up questioning whether I could actually make the move from my home state. Fortunately, I was able to seek out the help of the Career Development Office to work through what I really wanted career-wise,” said Roberts. “Not only did CDO send me to the Northwest Consortium Public Interest career fair, but that fair resulted in an offer for a dream job with the Metropolitan Public Defenders office in their juvenile division. Although it took a lot of time to make the decision, with the support of the career development office, and Arturo Thompson in particular, I was able to make one of the most exciting and life-changing decisions thus far, and can’t wait to make the move to Portland, Oregon in the fall.” Thompson said he’s hopeful all students like Roberts have positive experiences with CDO. His mantra is to never book a meeting with a student for under an hour to provide adequate time to discuss goals and options. “We will use the hour. I will ask big questions and never give straight answers. We do not want to insert our bias. I will give homework and then we will do more meetings to try to figure out what the student really wants, outside of the opinions of others. There are lots of reasons to do this, but the primary reason is to figure out what
the student wants, what motivates them, what career will be the best fit and not just in their career, but also more broadly. This will make the hard days at work doable if they love what they are doing,” he said. The second core focus for the CDO is to be customer-service oriented, Thompson said. Building relationships with alumni and employers in the community is at the top of his to-do list during his first year on the job. A third goal will be to help students increase their professionalism. Thompson noted that the faculty do a phenomenal job of teaching students the technical skills of how to write and analyze, but that students need to leave the law school with a good understanding of how to act like a professional. “We need to make sure we are producing students that know how to act like a professional in an office, in a courtroom, in the community, how to network and how to deal with the nervousness of that, how to dress and then help them understand the grace of correspondence. Sometimes a letter is more important that an email, sometimes a face to face over a voicemail,” said Thompson. Thompson wants to engage with alumni and the broader legal community to advance the CDO’s mission. He hopes those with job openings will give the CDO a heads up and reach out to learn about potential recruits soon to be on the marketing following graduation.
SERVING MASTER OF LEGAL STUDIES STUDENTS The second class of students of the College of Law’s Master of Legal Studies program is set to graduate this year, bring a new set of job placements for the CDO team. Jaclyn Howell, associate director of CDO, is taking the lead for MLS alumni services. The office will provide personalized outreach and individualized counseling, career-related programming, a specialized student/alumni job board, and a conscientious inclusion into the greater law school community. “We formally invited each student to our office for a career “check-in.” Since most of these students have full-time jobs, we work with them at their convenience to explore career goals and identify the various ways the MLS degree can help them leverage advancement opportunities within their organizations and elsewhere,” said Howell, an MLS alumna who graduated in 2019. “While not every student will require assistance from the CDO, each of them should — at the very least — know who we are, what we do and how we can serve them as a member of the law school community.”
Jonelle White is the internal communications coordinator at the College of Law.
S. J. Quinney College of Law Career Development Office
S. J. QUINNEY COLLEGE OF LAW
SCOPE OF THE CDO APPLICATION
JD/MLS PROGRAM CAREER CAREER DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
PROFESSIONALISM
EMPLOYMENT
COUNSELING
OUTREACH
COLLEGE SUPPORT
COMMUNITY
Communication Networking Diversity Practice Economics
OCI Job Fairs Job Postings Traveling OCI
Personal Assessment Adulting Coaching Document Preparation
Development/ Alumni Relations Community Relations Employer Relations National/Local
Judicial Clerkship Committee Externships Clinical Programs Strategic Planning
Juciciary Career Professionals Bar Associations Emerging Career Options
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
17
NEW GRADUATE
EMILY NUVAN
LEAVES IMPRESSIVE LEGACY AT COLLEGE OF LAW By Shelby Jarman
18
NUVAN WORKED TO BRING THE 2019 LEE E. TEITELBAUM UTAH LAW REVIEW SYMPOSIUM TO NEW HEIGHTS. s a first-generation college student, Emily Nuvan had to figure out the ins and outs of higher education largely on her own – and she didn’t even have law school on her radar at first. “Growing up, I was always told I should be a lawyer,” Nuvan said. “I wasn’t sure that was a compliment, so I kind of resisted it at first. But when I was doing my bachelor’s degree, studying political science and economics and learning about inequality and the problems of poverty, I finally realized that lawyers can have a big hand in making things more fair. And that really intrigued me.” She began law school at the College of Law in 2017, where she quickly set herself apart with her thoughtfulness, motivation, and strong research skills. “Emily wants to make the world a better place, and she isn’t just dreaming about it in a wide-eyed, idealistic way,” said RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor and associate dean
Emily Nuvan is known as a leader among her peers.
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
19
Emily Nuvan (left) and College of Law Professor RonNell Andersen Jones (middle) worked together to organize a memorable Law Review Symposium that included a high profile line up of speakers, including Facebook’s Andrew Pergam.
“GROWING UP, I WAS ALWAYS TOLD I SHOULD BE A LAWYER. I WASN’T SURE THAT WAS A COMPLIMENT, SO I KIND OF RESISTED IT AT FIRST.”
20
who worked closely with Nuvan on several research projects. “She’s organizing her time and energies to make a real difference in concrete ways, and I admire her immensely for it.” During her 2L year, Nuvan became president of the Public Interest Law Organization, matching up with her desire to eventually work in criminal justice reform. She also got involved with the Utah Law Review, the college’s studentled group in charge of scholarly journal publications. “I have learned so much through being involved in law review,” she said. “It gives you the chance to step up, make decisions, and have a leadership role with these important publications.” Nuvan was elected by her peers to the position of Executive Symposium Editor on the Utah Law Review board. Every year, the Utah Law Review releases four issues: one general issue, one environmentally-focused issue, one issue focused on social justice, and a symposium issue. The team in charge of the symposium issue picks a timely legal subject and then not only produces the journal full of legal scholarship about the subject, but also plans and manages an academic event focused on that subject. The 2019 Lee E. Teitelbaum Utah Law Review Symposium, titled “News, Disinformation, and Social Media Responsibility”, brought in legal scholars, tech experts, and members of the media from across the country to discuss the changing issues of media law, the shifting norms of press freedom in an age of easy disinformation, and the threats of virality in disinformation campaigns. “This is such an important issue, with what's going on in the world today,” Nuvan said. “I mean, pretty much everybody interacts with social media in some way, and more and more people are getting their ‘news’ from social media. Basically, the way that news has been delivered in the past is changing, and it’s
fascinating to see how social media companies will tackle the problem of disinformation spreading through their channels. How do we stop it? And whose responsibility is it?” Those are the kinds of questions that were raised at the 2019 Utah Law Review Symposium, which featured keynote speaker Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University; Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor and legal correspondent at the magazine “Slate”; and even Andrew Pergam, a representative from Facebook who announced changes to Facebook’s policies at the event. Nuvan’s job behind the scenes of the symposium was to work with Andersen Jones and Professor Erika George to select timely topics, coordinate all the notable speakers and presenters, and create an event that was intellectually stimulating and brought forth meaningful legal discussion. With a crowd of over 200 people and media coverage from several local newspapers and television stations, the 2019 Utah Law Review Symposium was a huge success, thanks in large part to Nuvan’s efforts. Along with the legal research and leadership experience gained, there’s another benefit to participating in law review: how it looks on your resume. “It does reflect very well on you if you participate in law review,” Nuvan said. “It’s not for everyone, and you don’t necessarily need it, but it is a big plus. Big law firms especially look for law review participation, and it’s almost a requirement if you want to clerk for a federal judge.” Nuvan’s role in law review (along with her many other accomplishments) earned her a year-long clerkship with a federal judge after graduation. After her clerkship ends, she hopes to gain experience in the courtroom before moving on to her ultimate goal, criminal justice reform in either the public defense office or the prosecutor’s office. “Either way, those would be dream jobs for me,” she said. To learn more about the Utah Law Review, visit http://bit.ly/SJQULR. To watch the 2019 Utah Law Review Symposium, visit http://bit.ly/SJQULRS2019 (CLE credit available). Shelby Jarman is the social media coordinator at the College of Law.
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
21
JoLynn Spruance turned a grassroots volunteer placement program into a powerful network of community legal sites populations find access to justice while training future lawyers in the process.
LENDING A HAND T
MOST VULNER By Melinda Rogers
oLynn Spruance didn’t know exactly where her career path would lead her as a child growing up in California, but one thing mattered in all of the options to consider: finding a way to give back. For the past 13 years, Spruance has done exactly that in serving as director of the College of Law’s Pro Bono Initiative. The program has left a lasting impact on numerous College of Law graduates who’ve received real-world lawyering experience while volunteering to provide services for some of the most vulnerable and underserved populations in Utah under the watchful guidance of licensed attorneys. Under her leadership, the program grew from a model where the college helped students find pro bono placements with attorneys in the community on a one-on-one basis, to a more robust organization that currently operates sites year-round that are staffed by our volunteer students and volunteer lawyer supervisors in Salt Lake City and Ogden. “PBI has developed and trained some of our most important future leaders that are committed to pro bono service and continue to solve these hard emerging legal problems because they have learned the importance of giving back,” said Spruance, who will leave the College of Law to pursue new opportunities. at the close of the spring semester.
22
sites designed to help Utah’s most underserved
TO THE
RABLE
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
23
JoLynn Spruance is known as a mentor among many graduates of the College of Law’s Pro Bono Initiative program.
“Our legal community in Salt Lake City is tight knit. We all try to support and help each other,” she added. As PBI prepares for a new era, those who’ve worked closest with Spruance emphasize the legacy she will leave behind as a skilled mentor able to bring out the best in law students and as a community organizer adept at bringing people together to achieve a goal of helping underserved populations. “Having provided non-profit legal services for 30 years, it has been my experience that it doesn’t matter how great the idea or the service, if you don’t have the right person to administer the program it will never be successful. JoLynn was the “right” person to run the Pro Bono Initiative. I have worked with JoLynn since the inception of the Pro Bono Initiative and worked with her to make the family law clinic and the rainbow clinics a success. JoLynn is eternally optimistic and delight to work with – anytime an issue came up with a clinic, she worked with all the stakeholders to reach a resolution. She is a “tiger” when it comes to supporting and advocating for the students who volunteer for our clinics,” said Stewart P. Ralphs, executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake, who is a mentor of Spruance’s and a close partner in the college’s PBI efforts. “JoLynn has enthusiastically encouraged countless students to sign up for our clinics and tirelessly recruited hundreds of attorneys to volunteer to supervise at the clinics. The result is that thousands of people have received free legal services and advice, students have gained tremendous knowledge and confidence to practice law and we attorneys have been able to “give back” to students and pro se litigants – not a bad legacy at that,” he said.
“PBI has developed and trained some of our most important future leaders that are committed to pro bono service and continue to solve these hard emerging legal problems because they have learned the importance of giving back.”
24
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
KATHERINE PEPIN
MELISSA MOEINVAZIRI GRADUATED 2017
ADAM SAXBY
ADRIANNA ANDERSON
Role with PBI: Community Legal Clinic Fellow 2017-2018 Current employment: Clyde Snow & Sessions, P.C.
Role with PBI: Community Legal Clinic Fellow 2016-2017 Current employment: Perretta Law Office
Role with PBI: Peter “Rocky” Rognlie Fellow 2015-2016 Current employment: Equal Opportunity Consultant in Affirmative Action Office, U of U
Role with PBI: Peter “Rocky” Rognlie Fellow 2014-2015 Current employment: Supervising Attorney, Legal Assistance Of
GRADUATED 2018
GRADUATED 2016
GRADUATED 2015
Western New York, Inc.
ERIC HEIER
TAYLOR SMITH
ISABEL MORENO
NUBIA PENA
Role with PBI: Peter “Rocky” Rognlie Fellow 2016-2017 Current employment: Associate Athletic Director for Compliance and Student Success at Tarleton State University,
Role with PBI: Community Legal Clinic Fellow 2018-2019 Current employment: Judicial Clerk for the Honorable Trevor Atkin of the 8th Judicial District Court, Clark County, Nevada
Role with PBI: Community Legal Clinic Fellow 2015-2016 Current employment: Associate Director for Admission and Financial Aid, College of Law
Role with PBI: Pro Bono Fellow 20152016 Current employment: Director of Utah Division
GRADUATED 2017
Texas
GRADUATED 2019
GRADUATED 2016
GRADUATED 2016
of Multicultural Affairs
U of U
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
25
A PATH TO ADVOCACY FOR PRO BONO SERVICE Spruance grew up in Paradise, California, where her father practiced water law. A family connection in Salt Lake City prompted her to consider the University of Utah for college, where she graduated with a degree in family and consumer studies. Her initial work experiences were back in California, working with an organization called Loaves and Fishes that provides assistance to those experiencing homelessness in the Sacramento area. Spruance worked at the organization’s Mustard Seed School, an initiative designed to keep kids’ education consistent while their families were between permanent housing. Later, Spruance pursued a master’s degree in gerontology at the University of Utah. Her career interests were piqued by an ad for an opening for a coordinator position at the College of Law under former Dean Scott Matheson. Her father encouraged her to couple her passion for non-profits with the law, a place where there is often access to justice shortages for much of the population. She started with PBI at a time when there were two on-site clinics and a grassroots volunteer placement program. Dean Hiram Chodosh continued to expand legal sites for the program during his tenure from 2006 to 2013 as did former Dean Bob Adler, whose deanship ended last year. Today, PBI sponsors several sites in Salt Lake City and Ogden that focus on specialty areas of law including American Indian law, debtors counseling, expungement, family law, medical legal help, rainbow law, street law and general community legal sites. The program’s mission has evolved to encompass three goals: to provide skill building legal opportunities for students under the direct supervision of attorneys; to develop placements where alumni can volunteer, network and serve as mentors to law students; and to demonstrate the professional responsibility of those in the legal profession to provide pro bono legal services to the underserved in the community who otherwise would not have access to the justice system. PBI provides an unparalleled opportunity for students to engage with and serve the community, while building valuable lawyering skills including client counseling, legal research, and document drafting. The College of Law strongly encourages all students to perform at least 50 hours of volunteer service during their law school careers. Students who meet this benchmark are presented with a Certificate of Service at graduation. PBI compliments the College of Law’s changing experiential learning program, which students can
26
enroll in for credit, versus the non-credit volunteer experience that comes with being a part of the PBI. The program has grown in funding and in community participation, in part due to Spruance’s efforts, said Brett Ellsworth, manager of immigrant services for Latter-day Saint Charities, and the Welfare Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “One of our immigrant services is an immigration and family Law legal clinic. Our collaboration with PBI and JoLynn is with Welfare Square, Sugarhouse and Ogden. Our legal clinics provide brief legal counsel and advice to immigrants and their families through a combined effort of law students, pro bono attorneys, and support/funding from the LDS church, said Ellsworth. He noted the strong impact the program has made on the immigrant population, noting the services fill a gap in the community and that a feeling of trust is fostered with immigrant families.
A NEW CHAPTER As Spruance prepares for new career opportunities outside the College of Law, the program will temporarily be overseen by alumni Rob Jepson, who is an Access to Justice Director at the Utah State Bar and a PBI alumnus. In addition, alumnus Jonny Benson will take the lead with three community legal clinics. The COVID-19 pandemic will likely bring a host of new issues to PBI clinics in coming months. The services provided to the community have always shifted with needs, Spruance said. “All of the sites have changed according to legal needs of community and the times that are in. Whoever takes the reins of PBI next will have a whole new set of interesting challenges – landlord tenant issues, the pandemic and other issues,” she said. Much of PBI’s success is due to an already strong presence of legal non-profits in the community to aid PBI’s mission. Many alumni view the progress made under Spruance’s direction as beneficial not only to the community, but to the law school’s evolution. “I consider the PBI as a signature project for the law school. It has been successful primarily because of Jolynn’s efforts and earned the respect and affection of the LDS church and the community. I have personally attended the PBI in Salt Lake and found it to be very satisfying for several reasons. One is the opportunity and privilege it is to work closely with our law students for a couple of hours as they learn to appreciate the satisfaction of doing pro bono service. They are bright and enthusiastic and a credit to the school as they volunteer their time without expectation of school credit or other reward.
JoLynn Spruance spent more than a decade developing student leaders as part of the Pro Bono Initiative.
Just much needed service,” said attorney Rod Snow, a former president of the Utah State Bar, who has worked with Spruance and PBI. Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner praised Spruance’s contributions to the law school and said the institution will continue to build on the progress she has made as the program moves into the future. “JoLynn is truly a phenomenal person. Not only has she played a substantial role in developing an amazing program that benefits our students and our community – PBI, but she has created a very special community
here at the College of Law. Numerous current students and graduates have shared stories with me about how JoLynn created a “safe space” at the College of Law where they could go for support (and snacks). She also helped numerous students prepare for the bar exam. Additionally, she is one of the nicest, most professional people I have had the pleasure of working with. She will be greatly missed,” said Kronk Warner. Melinda Rogers is the communications director at the College of Law.
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
27
IN THEIR OWN WORDS Res Gestae asked students and alumni to share stories about their experiences working with JoLynn Spruance and the Pro Bono Initiative. Here are a few responses. “There are so many
positive things that can be said
about JoLynn and
her legacy as the Pro Bono Initiative director that cannot adequately be expressed in this short statement. She
genuinely cares about the community and has
helped to develop many clinics that serve diverse groups across Utah. It is in her nature to be welcoming, inclusive and positive ... these traits have sparked
passion in stu-
dents and members of our legal community to give back and help countless people in need. She is an incredible mentor and a compassionate friend to so many because she genuinely cares about who you are as a person. Besides my subterranean library cubicle, I spent more time in her office than any other space on campus.
I am personally indebted to her for her kindness, guidance & the opportunities that the Pro Bono Intiative created in my life. Overall, she exemplifies the spirit of a humanitarian and her legacy will continue to echo the ethos of what pro bono work is all about. Thank you Jolynn!”
—
Ta d d
D i e t z
“My name is Sinndy and I’m a pre-law leap student. During fall 2019 a requirement of my leap class was to volunteer at a legal site, so I picked the PBI program offered at the law school. I’ll
never forget how welcoming JoLynn was at my first clinic, she made me feel like I belonged. Over the semester
she always reminded me of my strengths and how to overcome challenges. JoLynn is a very
inspirational person and I wish her the very best on her new endeavors. Sad to see her leave but I am happy for this new chapter in her life.”
28
—
S i n n d y
R i o s
“Hard to put into words the impact JoLynn has had on the legal community, the law school, and S.J. Quinney’s students.
and far between.”
People of her quality are few —
E r i c
H e i e r
She has positively impacted the lives of so many students!! Thanks for all your amazing service over the years!” “JoLynn is irreplaceable!
—
“JoLynn is an institution!
K i m
H o o p e r
I am so grateful for all she has done in this
role and I wish her very well.”
“One of the
Pa u l d i n g
—
A l i s o n
A n n
law school’s very best. Best wishes, JoLynn.” —
“JoLynn is amazing and will
A n n e l i e s e
B o o h e r
surely be missed!” —
E d d i e
P r i g n a n o
“My law school experience would have been so much less fulfilling without JoLynn and PBI. JoLynn reached out to me to work with her running the expungement clinic.
I was awed by how much time she put in — how many evenings — and how many years she had been doing that. JoLynn not only invested in the clinics and their clients, but in her law student volunteers. She
was always asking how my classes were going, and whether I was keeping my life in balance. In addition to looking out for the students, she somehow stayed on top of the details of all the different clinics and their needs. I felt overwhelmed just with one clinic. When law school was discouraging,
JoLynn was always encouraging. And PBI gave
you a glimpse of what could be after school.” —
E m i l y
M a b e y
S w e n s e n
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
29
(Right) Students from the College of Law provided services to immigrants detained at the border earlier this spring. (Below) Immigration attorneys Leonor Perretta and Melissa Moeinvaziri taught a course at the College of Law focused on immigration law prior to the students’ trip to Texas.
U STUDENTS GAIN EXPERIENCE IN PRAC By Melinda Rogers Scenes from immigrant detention centers at the border of the U.S. and Mexico hit home for Amitay Flores. Children separated from their parents and crammed in tight cells, sometimes sleeping on cement floors. Unsanitary conditions that don’t permit a clean place to change a diaper or wash a bottle. Cold temperatures that leave those locked up prone to the flu and other illnesses. The troubling situation in photos flashed in news stories about the immigration crisis left Flores feeling helpless and angry. Flores, a second-year student at the College of Law, could easily picture her own family behind the chain-linked fences had circumstances played out differently at the time her parents arrived in the U.S. from Mexico years ago. So as the debate over detaining immigrants in ICE detention facilities continued on the political stage, she sought a way to make a difference. Her passion to help those in dire circumstances inspired Flores to raise money independently as part of the Student Immigration Law Association to send a group of law students to the border earlier this spring to offer assistance to those held at the South Texas Detention Complex in Pearsall, Texas. Ten students and U professors Melissa Moeinvaziri and
30
RonNell Andersen Jones offered services to many housed in the 1,904-person facility for a week earlier this spring, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the country down temporarily. Students were mentored by their professors and licensed attorneys to provide a variety of assistance to immigrants who were representing themselves in asylum proceedings. The group partnered with non-profit American Gateways that connected them to immigrants in need. “When you’re detained, you don’t always have access to legal representation or know how to navigate this incredibly complex system,” said Flores, who aspires to practice immigration law after graduation and organized the trip in her capacity as president of the Student Immigration Law Association. Many local legal providers are overwhelmed because of the border crisis and the ability for those detained to connect in a timely manner with an attorney can be difficult. Law students being supervised by attorneys brought additional human capital to the region to help, she said. Moeinvaziri, an assistant adjunct professor at the College of Law and an attorney who practices immigration law, said the opportunity to travel to the border allowed students to take a deep dive into the current immigration situation to see first-hand how real people are being affected by polices administered by President Donald Trump. Moeinvaziri taught an immigration law course along with
“Not only is this experience the most memorable, but it has been one of the most impactful experiences in my life. It was an eye-opening experience to witness first-hand how our immigration system treats those who are coming to the United States to escape from violence and extreme poverty.” Leonor Perretta, a local immigration law attorney, in advance of the trip. The classroom time allowed the professors to prepare students for what to expect on the frontlines of the border crisis. “I believe this will be an invaluable experience for the students,” said Moeinvaziri. “This experience should instill in them the importance of volunteering. While they are getting school credit for this, I hope the students are encouraged to volunteer when they are attorneys. As a profession we make a living off of a complex and inaccessible legal system, I believe we owe it to our community to off pro bono services as often as we are able. “ Many of the experiences gained during the trip, which hap-
pened right before the U.S. shutdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will stay with students for a lifetime, Flores said. Throughout the course of the week, students met with clients and laid the groundwork for cases through translating documents. They learned to interview people and practiced how to communicate compassionately, with clients describing trauma on a level many students hadn’t previously witnessed. Andersen Jones said the students’ professionalism and quality of work in hard circumstances impressed the group of professors overseeing the work. “I could not have been prouder of the students who volun-
CTICING IMMIGRATION LAW AT BORDER Students enrolled in an immigration law course received a strong background in legal issues before volunteering in Texas.
teered on this border trip. They were professional, focused, compassionate, and tireless in their efforts to assist. They represented the very best of what Utah Law stands for—hard work, creative problem-solving, and, especially, a commitment to serving those most in need. They were impressive to everyone we met,” said Andersen Jones. Flores said the experience will stick with her as memorable from her time at the College of Law. She’s grateful for donor contributions that allowed the trip to happen, including donations from the Utah Bar Foundation and law firms Fabian Van Cott and Parr Brown Loveless and Gee. “Not only is this experience the most memorable, but it has been one of the most impactful experiences in my life. It was an eye-opening experience to witness first-hand how our immigration system treats those who are coming to the United States to escape from violence and extreme poverty. There are numerous barriers that are intentionally placed to prevent these individuals from accessing justice,” said Flores. “I believe law students have a crucial role to play in tearing down these barriers and assisting immigrants to apply for relief from detention. I look forward to the day when the United States government stops placing immigrants in detention, until then, I will continue to do everything in my power to serve those who come to our country looking for a better future,” she said. Melinda Rogers is the communications director at the College of Law.
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
31
Lori Nelson
HONORING ALUMNI IN THE MIDST OF A PANDEMIC Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone’s lives have been disrupted in one way or another. One significant and deeply saddening disruption has been the cancellation of the law school’s annual alumni awards dinner. It has been the school’s privilege to recognize significant alumni and honorary alumni at each annual dinner. That privilege is now being transferred to this column, hopefully for the first, and only, time. YOUNG ALUMNA OF THE YEAR This year’s Young Alumna of the Year is Amy Fowler. The criteria for selection of this award includes consideration of performance in the profession. Fowler was chosen for this award because of an amazing career in her short time as a lawyer. Fowler practiced criminal defense at the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association for five years as a trial attorney prior to starting her own firm, FowlerVenable. Fowler has been active in the legal community since her graduation in 2011. For example, she is the co-founder of the LGBT & Allied Lawyers of Utah, is a Utah State Bar commissioner and was elected to be a Salt Lake City Councilwoman in 2017. Fowler also spent five years working and living with different communities in Guatemala and speaks Spanish fluently. ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR This year’s Alumnus of the Year award recipients are Steve Clyde and Kent Scott. The criteria for the selection of this award includes sustained or extraordinary service to the legal profession. Clyde is vice president, director and shareholder at Clyde Snow, where he has specialized in natural resources law, including oil and gas, public land law, and mining law, with a primary emphasis in water law. Clyde has been active in the legal community throughout his career. He has served on the Utah Legislature’s Water Task Force and on the Executive’s Water Task Force since 2007. In addition to all his other public service, Clyde served tirelessly on the College of Law’s Board of Trustees for many years, including a stint as chair and as an adjunct faculty member at the law school. Scott is vice president and shareholder at Amy Folwer Babcock Scott and Babcock. Scott has 43 years of experience and has primarily been involved in the prevention and resolution of construction project disputes. But that is only
32
the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Scott’s contributions to the profession. Scott is a leader in the ADR community and worked closely with Jim Holbrook, a longtime College of Law professor, on ADR programs and service to the community. He has been active in Lawyers Helping Lawyers and served as a 12-step meeting coordinator, sponsor and mentor for attorneys, the homeless and the addiction communities. He has also acted as pro bono counsel for the Calvary Baptist Church by providing contributions and support to the congregation and as pro bono counsel to the Skaggs Memorial Church. Last, and possibly most meaningful Kent Scott Steve Clyde to the law school, each and every year Scott donates money to the law school to pay for 10 students to attend the alumni dinner. He does this completely voluntarily and without expecting any recognition. As is true of so many College of Law alumni, Clyde and Scott contribute silently and selflessly. Their contributions make such a significant difference that even though they don’t expect recognition, it is an honor to recognize them and ensure that their service is given the attention it deserves.
HONORARY ALUMNA OF THE YEAR Utah State Rep. Patrice Arent is this year’s Honorary Alumna of the Year. Arent is a graduate of the University of Utah and Cornell Law School. She has devoted most of her professional life to public service, serving for almost 20 years in the Utah Legislature as a Democrat representing Millcreek. Most tellingly, in this era of conflict, Arent is widely known for her ability to collaborate with diverse groups to solve serious problems facing our state. Among other areas, Arent has been active in two highly significant issues: clean air and Utah’s Newborn Safe Haven law. Her clean air bills have been enacted and began the crucial work to improve Utah’s air quality. Her Newborn Safe Haven law has saved an estimated 40 babies and the stories about their lives are truly heartwarming. Arent is the founder and co-chair of the Legislature’s bipartisan Clean Air Caucus and co-chair of the House Ethics Committee. She has also passed legislation to make it illegal to engage in price gauging during an emergency, something that is highly relevant in today’s world. Prior to her legislative service, Arent was a division chief in the Utah Attorney General’s Office, worked in a private law firm, and served as associate general counsel to the Utah Legislature. She has also taught as an adjunct at the College of Law. Arent is not only well-deserving of the award, she is a truly remarkable woman and someone we are honored to recognize as this year’s Honorary Alumna of the Year.
Utah State Rep. Patrice Arent
Lori Nelson RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
33
A CAREER CHANGE FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE COURTROOM BY HEATHER MAY
Alumni Spotlight
TRENT LOWE CLASS OF 2016 Trent Lowe always knew he wanted to be a lawyer. But before he got to the courtroom as a civil litigator, he decided to spend time in the classroom as an 8th grade teacher. It sparked a passion for education equity that would last, as he used skills
34
gained at the College of Law to continue to help youth. While he was applying to law schools, Lowe learned about Teach for America, which recruits college grads and places them in low-income schools. He spent three years as an English teacher in Memphis. “It was a wonderful experience. I sometimes miss it,” he said. “It was definitely hard work. You weren’t only a teacher but also a camp counselor, a classroom dad and advice giver. You had to fill all of those roles for students who didn’t have the family support or community support growing up that I had.” He loved it so much he considered committing to education, but the economic realities of teaching led him back to his first goal of becoming a lawyer. It was a no-brainer for him to return to the University of Utah, where he completed his undergraduate degree. “From birth, I’ve been a Ute,” he said. He was drawn to civil and business litigation after his first-year civil procedure class, and the passion was sealed after working as a summer associate at Clyde Snow, where he works as an associate focusing on business litigation and employment law. Litigation, he said, “just fits my personality. I’m a talker and I enjoy being in the courtroom. I enjoy the adversarial nature of it. I knew I wanted to be engaging with other attorneys and working on the strategy of litigation.” Lowe said the learning that took place in the law school classrooms led to his understanding of the law. And the clinical experiences at the U “prepared me to understand how the law is actually practiced.” He was an intern at the Utah
Court of Appeals and the federal district court, and he earned a slot on the national trial advocacy team. As a second-year law student, Lowe worked as a policy intern at the Salt Lake County Mayor’s Office, where he worked on a Pay for Success model that funds high-quality social interventions if they achieve outcomes. Lowe’s work led to a $1.15 million grant in 2014 from the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Social Innovation Fund for the Policy Innovation Lab to help state and local governments implement Pay for Success projects across the country. The project is now housed at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business and it is funding projects that include reducing chronic homelessness and recidivism, along with improving outcomes for children through programs that improve kindergarten readiness and help students with disabilities. Lowe continues to give back to the community by volunteering for the U Alumni Association’s Board of Governors and the College of Law’s Young Alumni Board, where he helps organize events like mock interviews and the fall and spring “crawls” that introduce students to law firms. That’s where he was first introduced to his own law firm. He says he wants to give back to an institution that gave him so many great opportunities. “If I could contribute to and help out the law students to have experiences that could potentially get them jobs like I did, I wanted to be a part of that,” he said. Heather May is a Salt Lake City-based freelance writer.
A YOUNG ALUMNUS BUILDS A CAREER AND GIVES BACK BY HEATHER MAY Alumni Spotlight
TYLER BUSWELL CLASS OF 2008 Going to law school was a delay tactic for Tyler Buswell. He had graduated with an undergraduate degree in American Studies from Utah State University and wasn’t sure what to do next. “The idea of being a lawyer seemed like it provided me lots of options—more school!—instead of getting a job,” Buswell joked. He graduated from the College of Law in 2008 and “fell into” becoming a real estate lawyer after a summer working for a litigation firm during law school and getting an offer to go into real estate. It may not have been his plan, but more than a decade after graduating from law school, Buswell is a top attorney specializing in real estate transactions and land use planning as a shareholder at Kirton McConkie in Salt Lake City. He credits his time at the U for honing skills on how to think, analyze and present an argument, providing lifelong friends and developing an ethos of giving back to the community. That’s why he volunteered on the law school’s Young Alumni Association board, joined the college’s Board of Trustees and donated to help rebuild the law school, which was completed in 2015. He continues to give money for law school scholarships, too, because he remembers how stressful law school was and how the financial aid he received helped. “I didn’t get a ton of scholarships in law school,” he said, but the ones he received “made a big difference. I didn’t have to get as many loans, and I could focus on studying. Having a little extra money in scholarships can make the law school experience significantly better. I had heard that was a need right now and I was happy to contribute.” Buswell oversees large real estate transactions around the country and special-
izes in self-storage, agricultural, healthcare, industrial, office, retail, condo and hospitality. The notable Utah projects he is involved in include the City Creek mall in downtown Salt Lake City, the new hotel project next to the Salt Palace Convention Center and various acquisitions and dispositions of property for Intermountain Healthcare. He notes that he uses his law degree to help large companies make money, but law school also helped him analyze how his work impacts people and how he can give back in other ways. “That’s part of the ethos of law school,” he said. “A law degree is essentially a liberal arts graduate degree. You are learning to think about a bunch of different things, you learn ways to think. Most lawyers that I know are very thoughtful and caring people,” he said. He remains fond of his professors who he says helped him expand his way of thinking and for how they showed students they wanted them to succeed, including Dan Medwed, who taught evidence, Amy Wildermuth, who taught civil procedure and legal theory professor Terry Kogan. Buswell recalls giving a response in Kogan’s class and being told that lawyers don’t speak in platitudes. “’I want you to give me direct, clear answers. You’re going to be a lawyer,’” he remembers Kogan saying. “I knew that he cared and wanted me to succeed. He was trying to push us. I could say that with lot of professors.” One of the lasting ways law school shaped Buswell’s life is through his classmates. He counts the class of 120 students as friends, relationships that were forged through a
difficult but exhilarating time of friendly competition. “There was something about the U law school community that really did foster and encourage people to have good relationships,” he said. “I really care about those people.” Heather May is a Salt Lake City-based freelance writer.
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
35
AN ADVOCATE FOR INCLUDING MORE SEATS AT THE TABLE BY HEATHER MAY Alumni Spotlight
AIDA NEIMARLIJA CLASS OF 2008 Aida Neimarlija never saw herself as a lawyer. While earning undergraduate degrees in political sciences and economics at the University of Utah, she thought she would go into human rights work — a topic close to home for the refugee who fled Bosnia with her family when she was 13 and moved to Utah two years later. (Her mother had remembered briefly learning about Utah in school and, half-jokingly, said swimming in the Great Salt Lake would be like going to swim in their home country’s Adriatic Sea.) A remark made to Neimarlija during an internship at the Utah Attorney General’s Office changed her trajectory. She had completed a legal project and the chief of one of the divisions was impressed. “He said ‘Have you thought about going to law school?’ That type of encouragement
made a huge difference to me. By then, I had not met any lawyers. I was a refugee. I learned English when I was a teenager. It just never hit me that I could be a lawyer,” Neimarlija recalled. She graduated from the College of Law in 2008. Like that mentor, Neimarlija has since seized every opportunity to help a more diverse pool of Utahns recognize themselves as potential lawyers and judges. After a decade of intense litigation practice, Neimarlija took a sabbatical and focused full-time on diversity and inclusion issues as executive director of the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion. She recently stepped down from the post to become assistant general counsel for the Larry H. Miller Dealerships but remains an advisor on the executive committee. The center aims to make Utah’s legal profession more reflective of the state’s changing demographics by “advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in Utah’s legal profession,” according to its website. “The way I see it, UCLI’s mission is about giving everyone a seat the table … and giving them an opportunity to shape the justice system,” she said. “Without people participating in the justice system, seeing themselves on the court, seeing somebody that looks like them as a judge, as a law firm leader, as a U.S. Attorney, if they don’t see that, the trust and confidence in the justice system is not going to be as high.” Neimarlija considered going out of state for law school but chose the U. because she received a large scholarship and wanted to benefit from the U’s small class sizes. “Everything I had heard about the law school was true: It was very high quality. I loved the classes. I heard about close relationships between students and the faculty,” she said. What stands out most from the law school were the excellent faculty and her practical experiences, including her trial advocacy class and internship opportunities. During her third
year at school, Neimarlija joined the prosecution team at the Special Department for War Crimes of the Prosecutor’s Office in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, bolstered by her classes on criminal law and criminal procedure. “The school has always done such a great job with the on-campus interviewing process and connecting students with local companies and organizations for internships and jobs,” she said. Such opportunities undoubtedly “enhanced my law firm career.” While she intended to go into human rights or international law, her first-year summer associate experience at Snow, Christensen & Martineau sparked her interest in the courtroom. She joined Howrey LLP after law school to work on securities and antitrust cases, along with general business litigation. “I absolutely loved representing clients. I loved being in the courtroom and developing strategy on cases,” she said. She became a partner at Burbidge Mitchell and Gross and then Gross & Rooney, where she had “a lot of opportunities to go to court, to take depositions, to do very meaningful work, and most importantly, to try cases. I caught the trial bug, big time.” While taking a sabbatical, Neimarlija was approached by (now-retired) Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham about working at the Utah Center for Legal Inclusion. “It was so amazing and fulfilling to think about how we can shape things in our state. The demographics have changed, and they continue to change, but the legal profession has not kept up. One of the big issues we need to work on is the pipeline issue. We need to have a more organized, collaborative approach to bring diverse, traditionally underrepresented kids to law school and then help them succeed during law school and in the practice.” she said. “It was just a fascinating opportunity to play a major part in putting these pieces of a puzzle together and making a big impact.” Heather May is a Salt Lake City-based freelance writer.
USING A CAREER IN THE LAW TO HELP PEOPLE BY KEVIN CARRILLO Alumni Spotlight
LOWELL BROWN CLASS OF 1982 Lowell Brown has provided tremendous support to the College of Law since his graduation in 1982. In 2015, Brown, began soliciting other law alums in Southern California to name a study room in the new building. He and his wife Sonja recently made a significant gift to their endowed fund, which will provide an annual student scholarship. Brown also serves on the College of Law’s Board of Trustees. Brown spoke to Res Gestae recently in a Q&A about his time spent in law school and his desire to give back at this stage in his life. Q: What made you interested in going to law school? A: It all began with an adolescent understanding of what it meant to be a lawyer. When I was 14 years old, the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” enthralled me. Like thousands of other young people, I wanted to be like Atticus Finch: To stand for noble principles and make statements by my behavior consistent with those principles. Then something happened that changed my perspective forever. A few years later, when I was in high school, I had a brief conversation with my late father. He was profoundly hearing disabled and never had the opportunities that I would have, especially in that era when disabled people weren’t accommodated as they are now. His influence on me was profound – beyond that of anyone I’ve ever known. My dad asked me what kind of work I wanted to do when I grew up. I told him I was thinking I would like to be a lawyer. He thought for a moment, and then his response was something like this: “Well, that is a good profession to have if you like to help people.” That moment has stayed with me ever since. Until then, in my youth I had never seen practicing law quite that way. The simple concept of using the law to help individual people remained present in my mind
throughout the rest of my formal education, including law school, and endured after I became a lawyer in Los Angeles. Now, after 37 years of practicing law, I look back with profound gratitude at the opportunities I’ve had to help individuals who are struggling with the provision of medical care. These are physicians and others who work with them: their medical peers, nurses, therapists, and administrators. They are real people who care deeply about patients and about their colleagues, and who are devoted to patients’ safety while also seeking to preserve the careers of their fellow physicians who are struggling. It is, in essence, exactly the kind of work I wanted to do, and I feel profoundly grateful for having that opportunity. Q: How did your time at the law school shape and/or help you in your career? A: On reflection, I’m surprised to admit that what I remember most about law school is the students I studied with, struggled with, laughed with, and learned with. There are many classroom moments, of course, and hallway discussions with professors, but it is my fellow students who made the biggest mark on me. They were from everywhere and were of all shapes, sizes, colors, and backgrounds. I remember the hours we spent studying torts, the rule against perpetuities, the law of offer and acceptance and contracts; the late nights editing law journal articles; and so forth. We studied hard, but we helped each other learn. For the last several decades I have employed the same approach to working with colleagues. I work best in a group, when I can collaborate, share ideas, debate issues, and eventually come up with the right approach to a client problem. I am convinced that I would not have approached the law that way during my career if I had not been exposed to that collaborative, explorative method while in law school. Q: What is one memorable experience from law school that will always stay with you? A: I remember vividly one brief conversation I had with Professor Sam Thurman, who was by far my favorite professor and a Christopher L. Peterson
man whose teaching style I loved. Somehow, the subject of what it would be like to be a lawyer came up, and I shared with him my expectation that I would have to devote a lot of time and energy to law practice, and that it would be challenging. In his inimitable quiet way, Sam looked at me, smiled and said, “Yes, it is a rigorous life.” I’ve never forgotten that. Sam proved to be right, and the “rigorous life” has not been a bad thing at all. Thankfully, I have been able to practice law, have a rewarding personal life, and still immerse myself in the rigors of the profession. To me, that meant rigorous challenges, rigorous thinking, and rigorous devotion to high standards. It has been exhilarating, and I’ve always felt that way about it. Q: Outside of work, tell us about something interesting that you like to do? A: I’m not a man of many hobbies, apart from being an almost ridiculously ardent fan of University of Utah football and basketball. My acquaintances and colleagues in Southern California are astonished that I, someone who grew up in Northern Utah, never learned to ski and still don’t ski. About 20 years ago, however, I began to read novels again. I’m afraid law school temporarily ruined my feelings about pleasure reading, because I spent so much time with my face in books in law school and later in practice. I finally decided that I would re-read the classics that I was supposed to read in high school and college, many of which I admittedly experienced only through the Cliff’s Notes. My repentant effort has been very rewarding. The novels I read as a high school and college student might as well be different books to me now, when I read them as an adult with three times the life experience I had when I first experienced them. Kevin Carrillo is director of development at the College of Law.
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
37
GIVING BACK DONORS PAY-IT-FORWARD WITH CREATION OF ADMISSIONS AND INCLUSION SUITE By Heather May Ken Okazaki doesn’t have a story to tell of feeling left out or different as one of the few non-white students who attended the College of Law in 1979. “No, I’ve never felt unwelcome. I never thought I was a person of color. I just always thought I was who I was,” said Okazaki, whose parents moved to Utah from Hawaii to attend graduate school and decided to stay to raise their family. Instead, Okazaki invokes the U’s rival to explain why he wanted to donate to the Admissions and Inclusion Suite at the College of Law. The room opened in 2016 as a place to help people of color connect with resources and a community to assist them in excelling during law school. Okazaki donated personally and his law firm, Jones Waldo, matched his contribution. Other individual donors include Gilbert Martinez, Sam Alba, Jane and Tami Marquardt, Robert Marquardt, and Cecilia and Ross Romero. “It’s almost like that BYU [Brigham Young University] motto, the world is our campus,” Okazaki said. The suite is a “gateway to the law school. We should welcome everybody.” Okazaki said it’s important that a diversity of perspectives are represented at the school, which is the pitch that moved him to donate. “In order to be a good lawyer, you’ve got understand people and understand the judges and the clients and the other side,” he said, adding that it would be “myopic” if “you can only see white middle class, upper class perspectives on things.” Ken Okazaki When Okazaki was planning his career, there was no question he would continue his education beyond a bachelor’s degree. His parents were passionate about education and well known for their contributions to Utah. His mother, Chieko Okazaki, was a teacher in Hawaii, Utah, and Colorado and earned a master’s degree in educational administration. She became the first non-Caucasian woman to serve on a general board of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1961. She was a member of the General Relief Society Presidency and an author. His father, Edward Yukio Okazaki, also served in the LDS church as a mission president and regional representative, was a decorated World War II veteran who received the Silver Star and Purple Heart, had a successful career in social work, and is thought to have created the nation’s first Council on Aging for Utah with former Gov. Cal Rampton. “They both believed education was the most important thing to get in preparation for the rest of your life,” Okazaki said. He also contributes to the U’s College of Social Work in his parents’ names. Okazaki said he took a variety of graduate school exams and received a few scholarships but ultimately chose the U for law school. He graduated in 1982. “I’m not the smartest guy who came out of there, but I’m one of the luckiest guys,” he said. While Okazaki didn’t want to name his clients, his practice today revolves around ligation. He feels most gratified in negotiaAT A GLANCE: tions related to resolutions of disputes and mergers and acquisitions. He likens taking on THE ADMISSIONS AND INCLUSION SUITE new clients to dating. “It’s a real relationship Several donors were integral to the creation of the College of Law’s Admissions and business. You have a list of what you’re looking for in your spouse, it’s kind of what you Inclusion Suite, designed to be a welcoming gateway to law school for the minority look for in a lawyer. I’ve told many people, student community. ‘This is like dating. We’re going on a date. The suite was dedicated in 2016. Its mission is to help law students better connect If you don’t like me and I don’t like you, we with resources and a community to assist them in excelling through law school, a shouldn’t go steady,’” he said. path that for many first generation and minority students is travelled alone. For the clients he commits to, Okazaki said the rewards extend beyond winning Donations from Gilbert Martinez, Sam Alba, Jane and Tami Marquardt, Robert cases. “I’ve represented some really good Marquardt, Ken Okazaki and Cecilia M. and Ross I. Romero were vital to launching people. We’ve become really good friends.’”
the idea. The law firm Jones Waldo also contributed significantly.
38
SCHOLARSHIP STORIES
The College of Law joined together to raise an impressive total of
$15,000 to support scholarship for law students during the U’s second annual giving day. All donations made to the College of Law will go towards the Dean’s Fund which is a discretionary tool for Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner to allocate for priorities such as scholarships and diversity and wellness initiatives. The “Dollars for the Dean’s Fund” campaign included a matching
$5,000 gift from Elizabeth Kronk Warner and her husband, Connor Warner, a professor at the U’s College of Education.
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
39
ABIGAIL AND JUSTIN
TALES OF LAW DEGREES AND LOVE By Shelby Jarman
DALLAS AND MAURA
No one heads to law school expecting to find love, but when you put a bunch of bright young adults together, the occasional spark is bound to fly. We celebrate a few of the law students who found love as well as a law degree at the College of Law. Donna Somma & Bob Tamietti (class of 1985) Donna and Bob met at first year orientation, but they didn’t truly get to know each other until the famous Salt Lake City floods of 1983. A group of law students (including Bob and Donna) volunteered to help sandbag State Street, and all the lifting and hauling gave the two of them plenty of time to talk. “We admired each other from afar most of the way through school,” Bob said. Bob and Donna went their separate ways after graduation (Bob to San Francisco and Donna to New York City), and it would be another three decades before they would meet again. They reconnected at their 30th class reunion in 2015, and the same connection they shared in law school was still there. They started dating long distance soon afterwards, and now they live together in Truckee, California. “We both believe the best is yet to come,” Donna said. Donna recently retired from a tech startup called ComplexIQ that she cofounded. She spent most of her career working in the legal department at Scholastic, eventually becoming Vice President of Business Affairs for the Software and Internet Group. She has also been an adjunct and guest lecturer for business law, contracts, and licensing. Bob has spent the past 17 years as a Superior Court Judge in Truckee and plans to retire later this year. Mike & Sheri Mower (class of 1993 and 1992) Sheri was acting as the teaching assistant in Professor Ed Firmage’s Constitutional Law II class when she first met Mike. “I attended her tutorials to not only learn more about Con Law, but also to learn more about Sheri herself,” Mike said. Mike must have been intently paying attention to Sheri’s lessons, because he took over as TA for the same class the following year. Sheri spent the next summer clerking in Newport Beach and Phoenix, and a lovestruck Mike flew back and forth in order to court her. Both former congressional staffers in Washington, D.C., they bonded over their passion for politics and public policy. Sheri and Mike got married during winter break of Mike’s 3L year. After graduation, Sheri worked for the law firm Holme Roberts & Owen and later for Wood Crapo. Mike worked as
40
MIKE AND SHERI
the Director of Community & Government Relations for Provo and was more recently appointed as the Deputy Chief of Staff to Utah Governor Gary Herbert. Together, Sheri and Mike had four children – Mallory, Christian, Abigail, and Alex. Sheri was diagnosed with cancer in 2002 and, after a long and hard battle with the disease, passed away in 2004. “Sheri was one of the nicest and brightest people I knew,” Mike said. “And the outpouring of love and support from our friends at the College of Law at the time of her passing was so appreciated.” And the Mower’s legacy continues – Mike and Sheri’s daughter, Abigail Mower Rampton, was recently admitted to the S.J. Quinney College of Law’s class of 2023. “Sheri and I thoroughly enjoyed our time in law school together, and it’s exciting that our daughter is heading there this fall,” Mike said. Justin Fouts & Abigail Brammer Fouts (class of 2018) It was a fateful fall day in Professor Terry Kogan’s Contracts class when Justin decided to introduce himself to Abigail. “She had recently been elected as our SBA Rep, and I was new to Utah, so I figured ‘Hey, here’s a person who is obligated to be my friend!’” Justin said. After coordinating costumes for Halloween and truly missing each other over the fall break, Abigail and Justin started dating during the fall of their 1L year. Their relationship grew during their time at law school, culminating in a proposal on the roof of the law school building on graduation day. “That was my favorite law school memory!” Abigail said. The Fouts sealed the deal last fall and now live in Arizona. Abigail is currently working for Jewish Family and Children’s Service, helping their clinics promote health equality throughout
DONNA AND BOB
the Phoenix area. Justin is an associate attorney at Elardo Bragg Rossi & Plaumbo. Maura Murphy & Dallas West (class of 2019) Depending on who you ask, Maura and Dallas first met either at the beginning of orientation week during the Intro to Law class or at the end of orientation week at an afterparty. “This is quite the point of contention for us, and we both think we are 100% right,” Maura jokes. “Could our ‘meet cute’ sound any more like two attorneys?!” Maura and Dallas didn’t waste much time before becoming permanent study buddies. “Prior to entering law school, I was committed to avoiding intimate relationships like the plague, especially those involving fellow law students,” Dallas said. “However, Maura was (and still is) very convincing.” Dallas must be pretty convincing too, because Maura enthusiastically agreed to marry him during a trip to Jackson Hole towards the end of their 3L year. Being engaged while in law school does have its perks, such as the chance to practice drafting and negotiating their own prenuptial agreement during Professor Laura Kessler’s family law class. (That’s the kind of hands-on experience you just don’t get at other law schools). Both Maura and Dallas currently work in the Office of Sponsored Projects at the University of Utah negotiating clinical trial agreements between the U. and large pharmaceutical companies. Dallas works with the Huntsman Cancer Institute and Maura works on the team that focuses on the Internal Medicine Departments. Shelby Jarman is the social media coordinator at the College of Law.
RES GESTAE / SUMMER 2020
41