Law Quadrangle

In Practice Fall 2017

Monitoring Volkswagen's Compliance Reforms

Larry D. Thompson, ’74, was enjoying semi-retirement—his second attempt in six years—when he received an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Cover Story Fall 2017

The Tech [R]evolution in Law

The first thing we do, let’s replace all the lawyers with computers. While even a modern-day Shakespeare might think such a paraphrase is science fiction, the legal profession is grappling with whether or not it could be true someday. Technology is changing our society in immeasurable ways, and the practice of law is no exception.

Students standing in the front of a class at a University Law School Event

Cover Story

Problem Solving Initiative Trains Future-thinking Lawyers

“Law school can get very in the weeds,” says Katie Hart, a 3L. “All your classmates are learning how to speak the same language. But to be an effective lawyer, you need to communicate with clients who won’t be fluent in legalese.”

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Sabrina Hadinoto, ’15: Helping Businesses Get Off the Ground

With experience honed in the Zell Entrepreneurship and Law (ZEAL) Venture Capital Lab, Sabrina Hadinoto, ’15, works as an associate at Venture Investors, identifying and analyzing prospective investments. She's just one of the successful VC innovators to benefit from ZEAL.

Beautiful image of the windows at the University of Michigan law school

In Practice Fall 2016

The Michigan Law Classmates Behind a $3B Hewlitt-Packard Verdict

When Hewlett-Packard found itself in a multibillion-dollar contract dispute, HP General Counsel John Schultz decided that the case called for a team with “an all-star at every position.” When the case finally went to a jury trial in May and June this year, HP’s all-star team included 1983 Law School classmates Camille Olson, of Seyfarth Shaw LLP, and Mark Ferguson, of Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP.

Cover Story

Tension: Privacy vs. National Security in the Digital Age

Cindy Cohn, ’89, was in her office at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), interviewing a job candidate, when a staff member knocked on her door. Cohn initially said she couldn’t step away from the interview, but her colleague persisted. It was June 5, 2013—the day that would change everything.

Illustration of a car driving over a highway. The car is blue, and the rest of the scene is muted in color.

Cover Story Spring 2016

In the Driver’s Seat: Autonomous Vehicles and the Law

The technology of autonomous and connected cars has come a long way, and it has outpaced solutions in another realm: The legal world. Now, Michigan Law is set to become the central repository for rapidly evolving legal and regulatory information involving autonomous vehicles.

Delphi is one of the leading participants in the self-driving car sphere

Features

Driverless Cars and the Legal Issues They Create for Manufacturers and Law Firms

It started with a phone call from a West Coast lawyer seeking some basic legal advice about the auto industry. Then a few more calls, primarily from California and Europe. Before long, Richard Walawender, ’86, and other members of the automotive group at Miller Canfield PLC realized they needed to start a new team that would focus specifically on autonomous vehicles.

Features

Schneider on the Failure of Mandated Disclosure

Mandated disclosure is a Lorelei, luring lawmakers onto the rocks of regulatory failure. Mandated disclosure is alluring because it addresses a real problem, the problem of a world in which non-specialists must make choices requiring specialist knowledge. Its solution is charmingly simple: If people face unfamiliar and complex decisions, give them information until the decision is familiar and comprehensible.

Law and Technology

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Seinfeld Searches Younger Doctrine for Answers in Google Inc. v. Hood

An authority on federal courts and jurisdiction, Professor Gil Seinfeld acknowledges that it is a rare occasion when the public’s attention is captured by a case that aligns with his scholarly interests. Google Inc. v. Hood was just such an exception.