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@UMICHLAW Winter 2024-2025
Michigan Law’s 1L Advocacy Clinic Provides Early Exposure to Real-world Lawyering
Michigan is one of the few law schools in the country to house a clinic for first-year students, who are allowed by the Michigan Supreme Court to do certain types of legal work. The experience can be transformative for students new to law school.
@UMICHLAW
Edward S. Rogers, Trademark Law Pioneer and Michigan Law Alum, Gets New Attention from Professor Jessica Litman’s Book Chapter
Edward S. Rogers was a three-time Michigan Law alumnus and an adjunct faculty member, but his most lasting contribution to the law is authorship of the Lanham Act, the core US trademark law. Professor Jessica Litman is bringing new attention to Rogers’s story with a chapter in a book coming out this fall.
In Practice
John Tepedino, ’04: Restitution for Victims of Madoff’s Fraud
When John Tepedino made a career transition into bankruptcy litigation, one of his clients had a connection to one of the largest financial frauds in history: Bernard Madoff’s investment firm.
In Practice
Nina Ruvinsky, ’13: Historic Fraud in a Nascent Market
When fraud charges against Sam Bankman-Fried jolted the financial world in December 2022, it capped several frenetic weeks of work for Nina Ruvinsky, ’13. She and her colleagues at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, in parallel with counterparts at the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Securities Exchange Commission, had brought a complex, first-of-its-kind case, which involved more than $8 billion stolen from Bankman-Fried’s FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
Impact Winter 2024-2025
Jonathan D. Lowe, ’76: A Lifetime of Community Enrichment
Jonathan Lowe, who spent his career fostering meaningful connections between individuals and institutions, knows the impact of philanthropy. He and his wife, Beth, recently gave a $100,000 endowed gift to the Law School, which will establish the Jonathan D. Lowe Scholarship Fund.
Impact
Ambassador W. Robert Kohorst, ’78: Maintaining Michigan Law’s Preeminence through Faculty Support
From a humble $10 donation upon his graduation to a monumental $1 million in cumulative gifts, Ambassador W. Robert Kohorst, ’78, has transformed an initial act of generosity into a legacy of support.
Impact
Stuart Feldstein, ’63: Innovating Communications, Inspiring Generosity
Stuart Feldstein began his career in the telecommunications industry with the Federal Communications Commission and later transitioned to private practice. He credits the Law School with preparing him for a successful career and has long felt impelled to give back.
Impact
R. Charles McLravy II, ’77: From Law to Literature
Navigating the twists and turns of murder trials was a challenge R. Charles McLravy never anticipated. And yet he finds himself surrounded by courtroom intrigue and entangled in case after case—through Burr Lafayette, the fictional protagonist in McLravy’s series of mystery novels.
Impact Winter 2024-2025
New Endowed Fund Will Support Michigan Law’s Black Alumni Reunion in Perpetuity
Elizabeth Campbell, ’78, recently made a gift to establish an endowed fund at the Law School that will support the Black Alumni Reunion and related efforts in perpetuity. Campbell’s gift will be combined with surplus funds from previous Reunions—more than 50 alumni have made gifts over the years—to establish the Black Alumni Reunion Fund.
Class Note
Emily Rutkowski, ’16: Transforming a Legal Career into a Mission of Global Support
While working at Morrison and Foerster’s corporate department in Palo Alto, California, Emily Rutkowski, ’16, discovered her passion for advocacy when she had the opportunity to work on a number of pro bono cases. In the years since, Rutkowski has followed that instinct to help others through a number of pivots in her career and personal life—including a move to Ukraine to support fundraising and other aid efforts related to the ongoing war.
Class Note
Judith Conway, ’14: Representing David in a World of Goliaths
Conway, an associate at Cooney & Conway, a midsize plaintiff’s law firm in Chicago, represents victims of serious personal injury and wrongful death, specializing in cases involving asbestos-related diseases. For her efforts, she won the 2024 Young Lawyer of the Year award from the Illinois State Bar Association and Forbes named her one of Chicago’s Best Wrongful Death Lawyers of 2024.
Class Note
Charles Lowery, ’79: Connecting the Dots at the DC Bar
When Charles Lowery assumed the role of president of the DC Bar, he brought a simple mantra with him: Connect the dots. The legal community in Washington, DC, offers a wealth of associations and other groups dedicated to the profession, but Lowery says there are additional opportunities for beneficial collaborations.
In Memoriam
Robert L. Knauss, ’57
Robert “Bob” Lynn Knauss, ’57, an educator and academic leader who served on the Michigan Law faculty from 1960 to 1972, died in Saugatuck, Michigan, on October 16, 2024. He was 93.
Briefs
Alumni Reconnect in the Quad
Law School alumni celebrating milestone anniversaries returned for Reunion this fall to share class dinners, catch up with old friends and make new connections in the Law Quad, and take in some football at Michigan Stadium.
Cover Story Winter 2024-2025
Beyond the Stacks: The Modern Evolution of Law Libraries
Trends in legal education and the profession, as well as new technologies, have led to changes in collections management, research-based curriculum, scholarship, the student experience, and other aspects of how law libraries support their institutions. In this article, three directors of Michigan Law’s library, as well as alumni who have served in leadership roles at the law libraries at Boston University and the University of Notre Dame, discuss these trends; their impact on students, faculty, and society; and the enduring value of law libraries.
Features Winter 2024-2025
Empirical Legal Research Becoming More Popular Among Faculty in Effort to Address Real-world Issues
Recent years have seen a new development in the legal academy: the rise of empirical, data-driven, and collaborative research. Scholars, including a number of Michigan Law faculty members, often hope to use such work to study the real-time effects of the law on people and institutions.
Features Winter 2024-2025
Flawed Facial Recognition Technology Leads to Wrongful Arrest and Historic Settlement
The Law School’s Civil Rights Litigation Initiative worked on behalf of a Michigan man falsely arrested for a crime based on flawed facial recognition technology. A first-of-its-kind settlement achieves the nation’s strongest police department policies and practices constraining law enforcement’s use of the technology.