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Cover Story Summer 2026
Michigan Law Clinics Evolve to Meet Changing Needs of Students and the Community
The 17 clinics at Michigan Law offer students practical experience while also providing clients with legal help they might not otherwise receive. At the same time, the strength of the program—and its willingness to change with the times—gives Michigan a competitive edge over its peer schools.
Features Summer 2026
Learning and Serving in Michigan Law’s Clinical Program
The 17 clinics at Michigan Law offer students invaluable practical experience while also providing clients with legal help they might not otherwise receive. At the same time, the strength of the program—and its willingness to change with the times—gives Michigan a competitive edge over its peer schools.
Features Summer 2026
The Lingering Influence of Clinical Work
The work of the Law School’s clinics can leave a profound, sometimes life-altering impact on its clients. It often does the same for the student-attorneys. Law Quadrangle recently caught up with a handful of alumni whose work with the clinics was featured in the magazine during their student days.
Features Summer 2026
Recent Clinic Wins
Students and their faculty supervisors in the clinics regularly deliver results for their clients—in and out of the courtroom.
Features Summer 2026
Clinics By the Numbers
Learn more about Michigan Law's clinical program and the work of its student-attorneys.
Features Summer 2026
Pro Bono Program Offers Additional Opportunities for Students to Gain Practical Experience and Help the Community
Particularly attractive to students who may not be quite ready to commit to an intensive, semester-long clinic experience, the Pro Bono Program offers students a chance to do some meaningful work, develop marketable skills, and maybe begin a lifelong habit of volunteering.
Features Summer 2026
Immigrant Justice Lab Teams Law Students with Undergraduates on Asylum Cases
In a unique partnership, the Immigrant Justice Lab teams up Michigan Law students with Undergraduates in the School of Literature, Science and the Arts to help young immigrants seeking asylum.
In Practice Summer 2026
Plaintiff Lawyer Jackson Pahlke, ’17, Helps Injured People Put the Pieces of Their Lives Back Together
Trial lawyer Jackson Pahlke, ’17, represents clients in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. He helps them move on to more hopeful chapters in their lives.
In Practice Summer 2026
Christopher Wendt, ’98: At the Intersection of Immigration and Health Care Workers
Christopher Wendt, ’98, Immigration Counsel and Inaugural Chair of Minnesota's Legal Aid Agency
In Practice
Jennifer Scheller Neumann, ’03: The Ever-Changing Climate of Environmental Law
Jennifer Scheller Neumann, ’03, spent two decades with the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the US Department of Justice before entering private practice in 2024.
@UMICHLAW
New Michigan Law Workshop Explores American Indian Law
A new American Indian Law Workshop led by Matthew Fletcher, ’97, the Harry Burns Hutchins Collegiate Professor of Law, provides students with the opportunity to engage with a wide range of scholars and examine more granular, niche issues relating to American Indian law.
@UMICHLAW Summer 2026
Ruben Piñuelas, ’26: Exoneree Helps Free Wrongly Convicted Client
Ruben Piñuelas, ’26, knows firsthand how the legal system can wrongfully convict someone of a crime they didn’t commit—and how that same system can sometimes be used to right the wrong.
Class Note
Jessica Jiwon Choe, ’24: Connected by the ZEC
Food has always been a source of joy for Jessica Jiwon Choe, ’24, especially traditional Korean dishes. The main character of her debut children’s book couldn’t agree more. Choe served as a student attorney in the Zell Entrepreneurship Clinic, where A Colorful Collection (ACC) was a client and earned its publisher status. Later, Choe became a client of ACC, ultimately sharing Yuna Choe and the Perfect Bowl of Rice with young readers.
Class Note
The Hon. J. Chris Larson, ’99: Boosting Inclusion
The Hon. J. Chris Larson, ’99, created an internship program for people with intellectual disabilities and established inclusivity guidelines for his courtroom.
Class Note Summer 2026
Elizabeth Morales, ’20: Humanizing the Law through Clinical Work
In 2023, as one of the few associates licensed to practice in both Michigan and Ohio in the Detroit office of Dykema Gossett PLLC, Elizabeth Morales, ’20, was uniquely positioned to work on a significant human trafficking case as a junior lawyer. She also had relevant experience from her time as a student-attorney in Michigan Law’s Human Trafficking and Immigration Clinic (HTC).
Impact Summer 2026
Ron, ’66, and Jane Olson: Democracy and Human Rights
No matter where Ron L., ’66, and Jane T. Olson have traveled, a deep investment in people, ideas, and institutions has defined their lives. Their commitment to strengthening democracy is a natural extension of this, and they recently made a $5,000,000 gift to the Law School to establish the Ron and Jane Olson Fund for Democracy, Human Rights, and Civic Dialogue.
Impact
Cathy Fleming, ’76: Learning and Legacy Building
As an homage to the opportunities she has had throughout her education and during her career—a career she says Michigan Law made possible—Catherine “Cathy” Fleming, ’76, has long been a committed and loyal donor to her alma mater.
Impact
Chris McCleary, ’91: Legacy and the Love of Law
Christopher D. McCleary, ’91, was never pushed by his father, Thomas R. Roberts, ’66, toward any one career path. Instead, he was encouraged to discover and pursue what naturally interested him. The freedom to choose, it turned out, enabled McCleary to realize a genuine interest in the law and follow in his father’s footsteps as a Michigan Law alumnus.
Impact Summer 2026
John Yun, ’83: Crossing Barriers, Carving a Path for Others
John S. Yun, ’83, a trial lawyer who spent more than two decades with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, says that his education provided him with opportunities not often available to working-class individuals and recently established a scholarship for socioeconomically disadvantaged students at Michigan Law.
@UMICHLAW
“Then, Now, Always”
The Law School community came together in March to celebrate the legacy, history, and contributions of Black alumni at the Law School.
Briefs
Exonoree and Legendary Dean Address Class of 2026
The ceremony honoring the Class of 2026 provided a unique twist: The alumna who addressed the graduates was the person who admitted each JD candidate and oversaw the office admitting the LLM candidates, Sarah C. Zearfoss, ’92. The student speaker was Ruben Mendoza Piñuelas, ’26.
@UMICHLAW
Practicing Law During the Pandemic: The Experiences of Michigan Law Alumni
The University of Michigan Law School is the only law school in the United States that annually surveys samples of its graduates about their work, through a project that dates back to 1967. The questionnaires administered in 2022, 2023, and 2024 were expanded to include questions about the impacts of the pandemic.
Features
Decades of Careers Launched by the Fiske Fellowship Program for Government Service
Robert B. Fiske Jr., ’55, HLLD ’97, understood that having government service experience early in a professional career can be formative. To make it easier for Michigan Law students to pursue that experience, he endowed the Robert B. Fiske Jr. Fellowship Program for Government Service at Michigan Law in 2001. Law Quadrangle spoke with Fiske Fellows from years past to learn more about the impact the fellowship has had on their careers.
In Memoriam
Robert B. Fiske Jr., ’55, HLLD ’97
Robert B. Fiske Jr., ’55, HLLD ’97, a renowned federal prosecutor and private practitioner who established the Robert B. Fiske Jr. Fellowship Program for Government Service at Michigan Law, died on December 4, 2025. He was 94.
In Memoriam
Jochen Abraham Frowein, LLM ’58
Jochen Abraham Frowein, LLM ’58, one of Germany’s most distinguished experts in public international and constitutional law and a former director of its prominent Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, died on February 8, 2026. He was 91.
In Memoriam
George R. Ariyoshi, ’52
George R. Ariyoshi, ’52, the nation’s first Asian American state governor, died on April 19, 2026. He was 100.