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In Practice Spring/Summer 2023
Nadia Shihata, ’03: The Women Who Finally Stopped R. Kelly
Nadia Shihata, ’03, had taken down drug dealers, an Albanian crime boss, and other nefarious characters. This time, she and a team of prosecutors were leveling charges against Robert “R.” Kelly, an R&B superstar.
In Practice Spring/Summer 2023
Christopher Perras, ’11: Hate on Trial
Christopher Perras, ’11, specializes in prosecuting hate crimes as a special litigation counsel in the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice.
Class Note Spring/Summer 2023
Allie Maldonado, ’00: Making History
When Allie Greenleaf Maldonado, ’00, first donned the robes of a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals at her January swearing in, she became the first tribal citizen to sit on the court.
Class Note Spring/Summer 2023
Virginia Morrison, ’03: From Lawyer to Brewery Owner
Virginia Morrison, ’03, left her employment law practice to become CEO of Second Chance Beer Company, based in San Diego, which not only produces award-winning craft brews but also gives rescue dogs a second chance at life.
Class Note
Eric Cox and Rob Burnett, ’17: On the Ground Floor in FinTech
Eric Cox and Rob Burnett, ’17, first met in their Law School supersection, and the self-described best friends now work alongside one another at Netcapital, a tech firm in the nascent but beginning-to-boom financial technology sector.
Class Note Spring/Summer 2023
Kate Powers, ’20: Holding War Criminals to Account
Kate Powers, ’20, serves as the executive director of Global Accountability Network (GAN), an organization that works to bring justice to victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
In Memoriam Spring/Summer 2023
Professor Emeritus Carl E. Schneider, ’79
Carl E. Schneider, ’79, the Chauncey Stillman Professor Emeritus of Law, died on May 6, 2023. He was 75.
In Memoriam Spring/Summer 2023
Sam Zell, ’66
Sam Zell, ’66, an entrepreneur and maverick in the business world, died May 18, 2023, at his home in Chicago. He was 81.
Impact
New Scholarship Supports First-Gen Students
Recognizing that first-generation students may face distinct challenges, Susan Pavlica has established the Wilfred and Roberta McKee Fund at Michigan Law. The scholarship is named for her parents, who supported her law school dreams.
Impact
A Match Made at Michigan: Couple Supports Scholarship Funds Across U-M
Ginny and Peter Gustafson, ’70, began their journey together when they met as dance partners in a U-M Winter Weekend student event at Hill Auditorium. Longtime supporters of their alma mater, the Gustafsons’s most recent gift is directed to the elements of U-M where they feel the most connection: scholarship funds at the Law School, Stamps School, and LSA.
Impact
Like Father, Like Daughter: U-M Family Funds New Scholarship
One of the proudest moments for Ray Kepner, ’77, was watching his daughter Sarah Kepner Hamilton graduate from Michigan Law in 2005. In honor of this family legacy, Kepner and Hamilton have jointly established a new scholarship fund to benefit future generations at the Law School.
Impact
Fundraising Effort Connects Michigan Law’s Past and Future
For Paul and Sylvia Bateman, Michigan Law’s Black Alumni Reunion is a chance to gather with their classmates and meet other alumni—and an opportunity to support the next generation of Black students in the Quad.
Impact
At Michigan Law, Good Times Never Seemed So Good
Even before their first 1L class, Lynda and Joe Zengerle were an anomaly among their classmates: they were married to each other. Now more than 50 years removed from those halcyon days in Ann Arbor, Lynda and Joe remain as steadfast a team as ever—and steadfast supporters of the institution they love.
Impact
Alumna Establishes International Scholarship for LLM Students
Elaine Johnston, LLM ’87, credits Michigan Law with helping to forge her career path—and intends to pay it forward through a new scholarship that will benefit international students.
@UMICHLAW
The 2023 Black Alumni Reunion: "Celebrating Our Legacy, Empowering Our Future"
Michigan Law’s Black Alumni Reunion brought together more than 200 alumni and their guests to support, learn from, and celebrate the Law School’s Black community, and to promote the matriculation and success of Black students at Michigan Law. It was the fourth edition of the Black Alumni Reunion and the first to take place in person since 2017.
@UMICHLAW Spring/Summer 2023
Forty Years of Protecting the Great Lakes Watershed and Training Environmental Lawyers
Forty years after its introduction, what is now known as the Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic continues to provide invaluable hands-on learning experience for students, using litigation and other means of advocacy to advance environmental priorities in the Great Lakes region and beyond.
@UMICHLAW
Leah Litman, ’10, and Christopher Walker Discuss Their Rising-Scholar Honors and the Collegiality of Michigan Law
Litman and Walker were honored by two organizations at different ends of the policital spectrum, which they say highlights Michigan Law’s collegial atmosphere. In fact, the two have worked together on a number of projects this year, including teaching Federal Courts.
@UMICHLAW
Faculty Celebrate Frier and Whitman
Faculty gathered for a pandemic-delayed celebration of Bruce Frier and Christina Whitman's retirements from the faculty.
@UMICHLAW
Student Orgs Celebrate Outstanding Students
The Law School’s affinity groups held their annual banquets during the winter semester to celebrate another year and to award scholarships and fellowships to second-year students in the community.
@UMICHLAW
Celebrating Senior Day, 2023
The Class of 2023 and their families and friends convened at Hill Auditorium on May 5 to celebrate Senior Day—a gathering far removed from the start of their 1L year, which began on Zoom at the outset of the pandemic.
Features Spring/Summer 2023
The Business of College Sports
Name, image, likeness (NIL)—three words that have created enormous changes for student-athletes and collegiate sports. We spoke with two Michigan Law alumni—one historically in favor and one against compensation for athletes—who have engaged on this topic over the past several years in friendly debate with each other.
Features
Slavery’s Legacy in Architecture and Law
Slavery and the Built Environment, a Problem Solving Initiative class taught by Luis C.deBaca, ’93, examined the historical narrative of monuments in the US, including those with racist legacies. Students in the fall 2022 semester examined the history of Sylvester Manor to better understand how land use and regulation of supply chains have been shaped by slavery and its legacies.
Features
Behind the Bench at the Supreme Court
For 20 years, Jeffrey Minear’s dealings at the Supreme Court followed a familiar pattern. As a litigator in the Office of the Solicitor General, he would prepare a brief, present argument, and await the ruling—a process he repeated more than 50 times. That all changed in 2006, when a new mandate became his daily task at the Court: perform such duties as may be assigned by the chief justice.
Features Spring/Summer 2023
Jeff Titus Celebrates Life (on the) Outside
Titus, a Michigan Innocence Clinic client, was exonerated and released from prison in February. He was convicted in 2002 of killing two deer hunters in a state game area in the southeast corner of Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
Cover Story Spring/Summer 2023
Athletes as Entrepreneurs
With recent changes to NCAA rules, student-athletes now have the opportunity to earn income from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) through third-party deals. At U-M, members of the Zell Entrepreneurship Clinic are at the forefront of NIL work, helping student-athletes understand the laws and start their own businesses.