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Class Note
Steven Hanton, ’12: Using a Big Law Platform to Give Back
Marathon runner by morning, structured finance attorney by day, and community organizer by night, Steven Hanton, ’12, has time for it all—and then some.
Class Note
Dana Schmitt, ’95: Building a League of Her Own
Dana Schmitt, ’95, has had a passion for baseball ever since she and her father were invited to a Detroit Tigers game by a family friend. Thirty years later, she’s still wearing her baseball cap—but now she wears it as the president of the United Shore Professional Baseball League, the first professional developmental baseball league in Metro Detroit.
Class Note
Khalilah Spencer, ’01: Fighting for Voting Rights
As president of Promote the Vote 2022, Khalilah Spencer, ’01, is leading the campaign for an amendment to Michigan’s state constitution that would expand voting rights.
Class Note
Jesse Medlong, ’13: Addressing Climate Change across Borders and Sectors
It was only as he sat in Paris at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties that Jesse Medlong realized he might be an environmental lawyer.
In Memoriam
Rep. John E. Porter, ’61
Rep. John E. Porter, ’61, a Republican who served for more than two decades in the US House of Representatives as the representative for Illinois’s 10th congressional district, died on June 3, 2022. He was 87.
@UMICHLAW
21 New Faculty Members Join Michigan Law
Twenty one full-time professors joined the University of Michigan Law School faculty beginning in the 2022–2023 academic year, with research and teaching interests focused in areas as diverse as economics, energy law, entrepreneurship, international law, intellectual property, philosophy, and race and inequality, among others.
Features
Problem Solving Course Untangles a Web of Tribal Sovereignty and Policing
Earlier this year, students in Michigan Law’s Problem Solving Initiative course Policing by Indian Tribes had the opportunity to take a deep dive into the legal challenges that complicate law enforcement in Native American communities. In doing so, they found that there are rarely simple answers to the questions that arise.
@UMICHLAW Fall 2022
No Football? No Problem: Spring Reunion in the Quad
Michigan Law’s special spring Reunion invited alumni back to the Law Quad after their celebrations were canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, and attendees were able to participate in a wide range of substantive programming presented by current and former faculty in the Quad.
Features
A Legacy of Bigoted Deeds in Ann Arbor
The Hannah neighborhood near downtown Ann Arbor is relatively small, and its lawn signs reflect the progressive politics of residents. But that welcoming impression took a hit when neighbors started to learn last year that the deeds to their homes contain racist covenants once used for decades to exclude non-whites. The common reaction? Shock.
Impact
Recent Gifts: Fall 2022
Giving to Michigan Law is an investment in the future of legal education, and private support ensures that the excellence that has distinguished Michigan-trained lawyers continues for generations to come.
Features
Three Former Students Become Their Law Professor’s Lawyers
There is an old adage about doctors being the worst patients. So does that mean law professors are the worst clients? Absolutely not, say three former students of one Michigan Law professor, who now serve as her lawyers in various capacities.
Briefs
A Ribbon Cutting for Jeffries Hall
In April, the Law School welcomed Lisa and Chris Jeffries, ’74, to officially celebrate the dedication and naming of Jeffries Hall.
Features
Justin Amash, ’05: An Independent Voice in a Partisan Time
The driving force behind the political views of Justin Amash, ’05, is his strict adherence to the Constitution. The former member of the US House of Representatives says that fervor was born at Michigan Law.
Impact
New Scholarship Fund Celebrates the Women of ’71
Michigan Law’s Class of 1971 attended law school during a tumultuous and pivotal period in US history: The Vietnam War was raging, women were breaking out of prescriptive molds, and a new wave of civil rights was reshaping the nation.
Impact
Cause and Effect: A Donor and His Scholarship Recipient Reflect on Their Connection to Michigan Law
“This scholarship has provided me the ability to participate in law school more fully as it has alleviated a part of the significant financial burden required to attend. I feel supported in my studies, and I am able to envision a future that isn’t shaped by significant student debt.”
Impact
Patricia Carnese, ’82: Private Practice in Paris is a Dream Come True
A lover of museums, music, and delicious food, Patricia Carnese, ’82, dreamed of living and working in Europe. She is a loyal donor to the Law School Fund because Michigan Law was her ticket there.
Impact
Alumnus Establishes New Prize to Bolster Scholarship at the Law School
Interpreting the Constitution and applying it to contemporary legal issues has been at the heart of all that Paul Dimond, ’69, has done in his career as a civil rights litigator, scholar, and private practitioner.
Briefs
News in Brief: Fall 2022
Santa Ono becomes the University of Michigan’s 15th president | Professor Jim Hathaway retires | Professor Sam Bagenstos confirmed as HHS GC | and more...
Impact
From Green and Gold to Maize and Blue, New Fund Connects Central Texas and Ann Arbor
One couple’s split loyalties and international ambitions have led to the creation of a new scholarship fund that will support students at the Law School.
Cover Story Fall 2022
The Evolution of the General Counsel
Traditionally, general counsels were relegated to a niche role that addressed the specific legal needs of an organization—such as overseeing litigation, executing contracts, or advising on legal risk. But the role has transformed during the past few decades, and has evolved from a narrow legal resource to the center of an organization’s creative problem solving.
Impact
In Pursuit of the “Why,” Alumnus Establishes Fund to Support Philosophy of Law
When not flying his airplane, traveling with his grandchildren to Scotland, or taking a biking trip in Florida, Michael Fayhee, JD ’73, LLM ’20, is thinking about the law.
Features
In-house on Campus
As the University of Michigan’s vice president and general counsel, Tim Lynch has seen it all in his nine-plus years on the job—well, except for admiralty law cases.
Impact
True Partners at Home and in Giving Back
With a shared love for Michigan sports, an appreciation for the power of education, and a philosophy of giving back, Rochelle “Shelley” Alpert, ’75, and Steve Greenwald, ’73, have been thick as thieves since they first met at the University of Michigan.
Briefs
Celebrating Senior Day 2022
“I come to you with a spirit of hope, a spirit that’s embedded in what I know you are capable of. And I want to make sure that my message to you is, let nothing distract from your purpose.” So said the Hon. Roger Gregory, ’78, in his Senior Day address to the Class of 2022.
Impact
Longtime U-M Supporter Endows Law School Professorship
When Thomas Lacchia, ’69, made a gift to establish an endowed professorship at the Law School, it was the culmination of more than 40 years of philanthropy at the University of Michigan.
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India’s Supreme Court Cites Article by SJD Student Ajitesh Kir, LLM ’18
It’s not very often that a junior scholar gets published in an esteemed peer-reviewed law journal. It’s even less common for that junior scholar to have their article cited favorably by a country’s highest court.
In Practice Fall 2022
From Pizzagate to Private Practice: Navigating Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity
Demian Ahn, ’03, worked at the intersection of radicalized online spaces and violent behavior during his time as an assistant US attorney.
@UMICHLAW
Michigan Law Among Top US Teams at Vis Moot
A team of six Michigan Law students argued their way to the Round of 64 at the 29th Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot earlier this year, the first time a U-M team has made it that far.
In Practice Fall 2022
Litigating Death Row: A Long Road of Loss
For 16 years, Jodi Lopez, ’03, fought to save Matthew Reeves’s life—and twice his life was spared. But the hard-fought victories that Lopez, Ben Friedman, ’13, and others won on Reeves’s behalf were reversed by the US Supreme Court. For Lopez and Friedman, the case raises salient due process questions that warrant examination of and discussion about the American justice system.
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Addressing Communication Disabilities in Jails and Prisons
The Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, which is housed at Michigan Law, published this summer the first in a series of white papers focused on criminal justice policy reform. It was drawn from the tens of thousands of litigation documents in the clearinghouse collection.
In Practice
A Red-Letter Day for Black Widow
When Disney released the much-anticipated film Black Widow in July 2021, people didn’t need to head to their local theater to see Scarlett Johansson star as the Avengers heroine. They just needed to find their remotes.
@UMICHLAW Fall 2022
Clinic Helps Bring Clean Cooking to African Nations
Working from their clinic in Ann Arbor, three U-M law students participated in an international transaction during the 2021–2022 academic year that will have an impact not only on the environment but on millions of people living half a world away.
Briefs
Fall Reunion Returns to the Quad
There’s something magical about fall in Ann Arbor, and that’s especially true for Michigan Law alumni celebrating reunion milestones.