Winter 2020

Beauty images of the Arches
Catharine A. MacKinnon

Woman of Vision

Renowned legal scholar and Michigan Law Professor Catharine A. MacKinnon—who has been called “one of the most significant figures in feminism” by the National Organization for Women (NOW)—received the organization’s Woman of Vision Award for her work in advancing women’s rights.


 

U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, ’05

Constitutional Authority

U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, ’05, who represents Michigan’s third district, presented U-M’s annual Constitution Day address. Amash, who was a member of the Republican party and is now an independent, said the Constitution is “a subject dear to my heart.” In attendance were Amash’s brothers—John, ’01, and Jeff, ’07.


 

Dean Mark West (center) and May Liang, ’89 (left), who moved for their admission to the Court, are pictured with inductees Richard L. Kay, ’61; Andrew Kay, ’97; Barbara Jane Irwin, ’80; Sophia Hudson, ’06; Maren R. Norton, ’04; and Broderick Johnson, ’83.

Supreme Court Bar

Six Michigan Law alumni became members of the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court in October. Dean Mark West (center) and May Liang, ’89 (left), who moved for their admission to the Court, are pictured with inductees Richard L. Kay, ’61; Andrew Kay, ’97; Barbara Jane Irwin, ’80; Sophia Hudson, ’06; Maren R. Norton, ’04; and Broderick Johnson, ’83.


 

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman [R-OH], ’84—in town for his 35th class reunion—took time to co-teach Professor Julian Davis Mortenson’s Legislation and Regulation class.

Senate Sit-Down

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman [R-OH], ’84—in town for his 35th class reunion—took time to co-teach Professor Julian Davis Mortenson’s Legislation and Regulation class.


 

Fiske Fellows

Fiske Fellows

Four Michigan Law alumni are the recipients of 2019 Fiske Fellowships, which are awarded to recent graduates who have accepted positions in government. Pictured with Dean Mark West and Bob Fiske, ’55, HLLD ’97, who created the Fiske Fellowship Program, are Ashlyn Angell, ’19, U.S. Navy JAG Corps; Sarah Precup, ’17, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona; Christopher VanDeusen, ’17, Department of Justice Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch; and Sarah Grunberger, ‘19, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.


 

Letter

Sage Advice

A letter found in a drawer in a Lawyers Club student room last summer offers words of wisdom to an incoming 1L—from a rising 2L who “loves this place.”


 

NYTcrossword

Lucky 13

Seth Abel, ’92, constructs crossword puzzles in his spare time, including this one (his 13th) that was spotted in The New York Times. His crosswords also have appeared in The Washington Post and Simon and Schuster’s crossword puzzle books.


 

Strict Scrutiny

A new podcast about the U.S. Supreme Court created and co-hosted by Assistant Professor
Leah Litman, ’10


 

“We find nothing to suggest that granting someone a set-aside puts the public at risk, as skeptics have sometimes suggested. Those who receive set-asides are less likely to commit a new crime than the general adult population of Michigan. The rate of serious or violent re-offending is almost zero.”

Professors J.J. Prescott and Sonja Starr, in a Detroit News op-ed about proposed Michigan legislation that would offer certain offenders a chance to set aside their criminal records through expungement. They recently conducted a major study of the effects

 

Nicholson Price

“[T]he challenge is that current law incentivizes physicians to minimize the potential value of AI.”

Professor Nicholson Price, in the co-authored article, “Potential Liability for Physicians Using Artificial Intelligence,” which appeared in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.


 

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Samuel Bagenstos, the Frank G. Millard Professor of Law, was appointed to the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. MERC resolves labor disputes involving public- and private-sector employees by appointing mediators, arbitrators, and fact finders; conducting union representation elections; determining appropriate bargaining units; and adjudicating unfair labor practice cases.


300+

Alumni and students who participated in Michigan Law’s 2019 summer mentoring program, primarily in New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

6,876

Hours logged during the 2018–2019 academic year by students in Michigan Law’s Pro Bono Program

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, during an Environmental Law and Policy Program (ELPP) talk in which he advocated for more innovation to bring about a green economy. The ELPP Lecture Series also included the talk, “Climate Change Politics in Congress:Is a Bi-Partisan Agreement Possible?,” with U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, ’90.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, during an Environmental Law and Policy Program (ELPP) talk in which he advocated for more innovation to bring about a green economy. The ELPP Lecture Series also included the talk, “Climate Change Politics in Cong