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Class Note
Joe Neely, ’09: Outstanding Young Military Lawyer, for the Prosecution and the Defense
Capt. Joe Neely, ’09, entered law school intent on pursuing a career in Big Law, but when his 2L summer internship ended, he realized that working in a law firm wasn’t for him. As Neely researched other career options, he found himself drawn to the Marine Corps. “I knew that I wanted to do meaningful work, and I knew that I wanted to do something that challenged me physically as well as intellectually,” Neely says.
Class Note
Matt Raymer, ’08: Strengthening the GOP, One State Race at a Time
Matt Raymer, ’08, has a Jim Harbaugh bobblehead in his office. Prominent election lawyer and fellow Wolverine Charlie Spies, AB ’95, sent it to Raymer with a note encouraging him to attack the 2016 election with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind—a nod to Harbaugh’s mantra.
Class Note
Kerene Moore, ’05: Opening the Courthouse Doors to Everyone
When the marriage equality movement started gaining momentum, Kerene Moore, ’05, saw an opportunity to help the LGBT community understand its rights, and to access them. It’s why she helped to create the LGBT Rights Project at the Jim Toy Community Center in Washtenaw County.
Impact
James Phillipp, ’66: Supporting Legal History and Scholarly Research
With the James G. Phillipp Law Professorship Fund, James Phillipp, ’66, supports a subject that is of personal interest and shares his gratitude to Michigan Law for setting him on his path to a fulfilling career. “I have always been interested in history of all kinds. Even more so now that I have retired to a spot where Ponce de León was quite possibly trooping through my yard some 500 years ago.”
Impact
Record-Setting Reunion Giving
Classes celebrating milestone reunions were exceptionally generous in 2016. While many classes met and even exceeded their reunion class-giving goals, the Classes of 1966 and 2006 shattered records for revenue raised and participation.
Briefs
University Bicentennial Colloquium Features Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Susanne Baer, LLM ’93
Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Justice Susanne Baer, LLM ’93, of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, headlined the first President’s Bicentennial Colloquium, “The Future University Community,” during a January visit to campus.
Features
A Girl, Her Wonder Dog, and a Supreme Court Ruling
Last Halloween was momentous for Brent and Stacy Fry and their 12-year-old daughter, Ehlena. While Ehlena’s peers were getting ready for trick-or-treating, the young girl and her retired service dog, Wonder, were at the U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments in their disability-rights case Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools.
Impact
Recent Gifts: Spring 2017
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.
Cover Story
Can Detroit Schools Be Saved?
Think of everything you’ve heard about Detroit Public Schools in recent years: gym floors buckling, walls covered in toxic black mold, archaic math books scattered around the classroom floor of an abandoned school. A state bailout and restructuring plan. Teacher shortages, fraud charges against suppliers, and what The New York Times described as a “chaotic mix of charters and traditional public schools,” in which students in many charters as well as traditional public schools lag behind in testing and other metrics.
Now set those ideas to the side for a moment, and meet Stephen Chennault III, known as Trey.
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New Interdisciplinary Curriculum Focuses on Problem Solving
Problem Solving Initiative (PSI) classes aren’t regular classroom courses, clinics, or practice simulations. PSI courses provide a platform for the development of creative solutions to difficult challenges in business and society by giving students a framework for analyzing and solving complex problems.
Features
Raising the Curtain on a News Blackout
Harvey J. Shulman, ’72, read a letter one morning pleading for a litigator to fight against renewal of a Michigan television station’s license, saying its owner used news blackouts and manipulations for his personal and political gain. Shulman sat in his ramshackle office in Washington, D.C., transfixed by the accusations from the Lansing branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
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DLAW Class Explores Affirmative Litigation Opportunities for Detroit
As senior adviser and counsel to the mayor of Detroit, Eli Savit, ’10, knows that the legal challenges facing the city are vast. So vast, in fact, that there simply is no way for staffers to explore affirmative litigation opportunities. Such public interest lawsuits filed on behalf of the city could address topics like consumer protection, environmental justice, housing, and nuisance abatement.
Features Spring 2017
South Africa Externship Turns 2L into Education Change Agent
During her externship semester, Joh helped a local school principal successfully install an app that can coordinate information-gathering around enforcement of a consent decree. It was during a phone call—a hushed conversation in a tiny library in South Africa—when Katie Joh realized she already had begun her career as an agent of change.
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Learning by Doing: Students Assist with Real-Life Workplace Law Issues
While raising the minimum wage around the country has become a well-known political and legal battle, many people are being paid 40 cents an hour—or even less. And it’s perfectly legal. This so-called “subminimum wage” is paid to people who have physical and mental impairments. An organization called Disability Rights Texas decided to push back, and they did so with the help of students in an innovative Michigan Law class.
In Practice Spring 2017
On the Front Lines of Europe’s Human Rights Concerns
Sometimes Bojana Urumova, ’96, works on high-profile issues with regional or global implications. Sometimes the work simply concerns individuals. But in her line of work, nothing is really simple.
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Not Your Father’s (or Mother’s) Clinic: A Conversation with David Santacroce
Michigan Law’s commitment to producing well-rounded, career-ready lawyers with real practice experience dates back to the launch of our first legal clinic in 1969. The Law Quadrangle recently sat down with David Santacroce, associate dean for experiential education, to discuss how the Law School’s experiential education program has evolved in 45-plus years. The bottom line: “It’s not what you remember,” says Santacroce. “It’s much bigger and much better.”
In Practice
Scoring a Solo-Practice Touchdown
Nineteen years after wearing the winged helmet, Terrence Quinn’s college football coach, Lloyd Carr, praises his listening skills. “Terrence always paid attention, so I had confidence that he would remember what he was told and know what to do.” At two critical junctures, however, Quinn, ’02, didn’t listen.
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African American Alumni Reunion: Reconnecting with Classmates and Michigan Law
The second African American Alumni Reunion, held March 24–26, increased the size of 2014’s inaugural run, while retaining the same spirit of excitement to be home in the Law Quad and eagerness to stay connected.
In Practice
Setting the Pace at the Boston Athletic Association
The Boston Athletic Association’s legacy was sealed when it sent a team of runners to the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, and they returned with multiple medals along with descriptions of a new road race that exceeded 20 miles. The first Boston Marathon was held the next year—and every year since.
In Practice
Bringing Global Sports to Audiences in China
After working at international firms in Beijing (in capital markets and mergers and acquisitions) for nearly four years, Sam Li, ’06, was ready to move back to the United States. But then, in 2012, NBA China came calling, and the course of his career changed instantly.
Impact
Georgia Bullitt, ’87: Honoring Four Generations of Michigan Law Graduates
In establishing the James and Shelda Baylor Scholarship Fund, Georgia Bullitt, ’87, honors her family and celebrates their legacy with Michigan Law. “Michigan makes such a difference in so many lives,” says Bullitt. “Just look at what it did for my family.”
Briefs
News in Briefs: Spring 2017
Halfway through... | Michigan Law hosts Big Data in Finance conference | and more...
Impact
Cause and Effect: A Donor and His Scholarship Recipient Reflect on Their Connection to Michigan Law
Barbara J. Kacir, ’67, established the William J. Brattin Scholarship in 1990 in honor of her father. Jenna Neumann, a recipient of the Brattin Scholarshiop, is a 3L from Flint, Michigan, where she founded Chapter for Children, a program to promote literacy among future generations.
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Geneva Externship Turns 10
Amy Bergstraesser, ’16, decided that she would, one day, make a difference in the world as well—by pursuing a career in the law. So it was natural that she would look for a law school with strong international offerings, and she chose Michigan Law in no small part because of the Geneva Externship program.
Impact
Robert “Bob” Dinerstein, ’66: Redefining His Relationship with Michigan Law
Even though Robert “Bob” Dinerstein, ’66, spent 50 years away from his home in the Law Quad, he has never forgotten what the Law School gave him.
@UMICHLAW Spring 2017
@UMICHLAW: Spring 2017
Barb McQuade joins Michigan Law faculty | Dean West reappointed | Clerking for Justice Kennedy | and more...
Impact
Stewart Feldman, ’80: Holistic Education Equals Better Leaders
Adaptability serves Stewart Feldman, ’80, well. As a law student, he always studied at the same table in the Reading Room—until the persistent jackhammering from construction of the Allan and Alene Smith Law Library addition forced him to cross the room. “We always thank the library addition for our introduction,” says Marla Matz Feldman, BS ’78, DDS ’82, who had long studied on the opposite side.