Issue: Winter 2020
35 results


Impact Winter 2020
New Scholarship Supports Student Exploration
Bruce Vinokour, ’72, holds his law school experience in such high esteem that his wife, Stephanie, recalls it being one of the first topics he brought up when they met 27 years ago. “It was clear to me then, as it is today, that Michigan embraces students like Bruce, who love to learn, and allows them to explore and find their own path,” she says. “Because of that, it was only natural for us to give back.”


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Finkbeiner, ’13, Named Public Interest Director
“As a student, I met regularly with a previous public interest director, and her guidance shaped my career inside and outside of law school. That experience played no small role in my decision to apply for this position. I aspire to have that same kind of impact on the students and community here today.”


Cover Story
Emily Paster, ’99: From Legal Appeals to Appealing Recipes
Take a peek at Emily Paster’s West of the Loop blog, and you’ll find recipes for braised beef brisket, potato latkes, and kreplach. Hungry yet? Paster has more recipes to share, including beginner peach jam, apple and honey cupcakes for Rosh Hashanah, and parmesan green bean fries made in an air fryer.


@UMICHLAW Winter 2020
Michigan Law through the Years: A Faculty Perspective
John Nannes, ’73, a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and the national chair of the Victors for Michigan campaign, moderated a conversation on how Michigan Law has changed. Faculty members Evan Caminker; Doug Kahn; Ted St. Antoine, ’54; and Christina Whitman, ’74 participated in the discussion.


In Practice Winter 2020
Craig Kramer, ’87: Mental Health Ambassador
“My overarching goal is to help transform mental health care worldwide. It’s broken everywhere, and it is a global problem,” says Craig Kramer, ’87, Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) first mental health ambassador. But raising awareness about and erasing the stigma of mental illness were not part of his plan as a Michigan Law graduate—nor was it where he started.


Impact Winter 2020
A Lifetime of Giving Back to Michigan Law
Kent Whittaker has given to Michigan Law every year since graduating in 1960—that’s 59 years of making a difference in the Quad. His most recent gift—a $200,000 bequest to establish the Kent E. and Judith C. Whittaker Fund for Student Support—topped off decades of supporting the Law School Fund.


@UMICHLAW
Valerie Jarrett, ’81: Looking Back and Moving Forward
“The fact that generation after generation of my family had overcome enormous obstacles to succeed, and my parents had made sacrifices so I could have the opportunity to be on that campus, was never far from my mind,” writes former White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett, ’81, in her memoir, Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward.


Cover Story Winter 2020
Kevin Scott, ’83: Franchise Owner
It was a busy Friday night, and Kevin Scott, ’83, was learning how to work the fryers. It was his first day in the kitchen of a Culver’s fast-food restaurant, and Scott—unaccustomed to the cacophony of buzzers going off—was doing his best to keep up with the orders.


@UMICHLAW
Tax Day, Every Day
On the last Thursday in July, members of Michigan Law’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) arrived early at Legal Services of South Central Michigan in Ypsilanti to set up for their walk-in tax event. By 9:30 a.m., a half hour before the doors opened, four people were already waiting in line.


Cover Story Winter 2020
A Seat at the Table: Legal Careers in the Food Industry
From Texas Roadhouse to Massachusetts dairy, we profile alumni working across the food industry's varied legal landscape. This includes a food lawyer who, “has participated in the development of virtually every law and regulation affecting the food industry in the last four decades,” an environmental lawyer advocating for sustainable meat production, a food writer, and a fast-food franchise owner.