“Gonzaga has a reputation and tradition of working for the common good,” said Jason Gillmer.
“I share those values. They define who I am – as a person and as a lawyer.”
John J. Hemmingson
Scott Burnham continued
A generous endowment gift created the John J. Hemmingson Chair in Civil Liberties at the School of Law. Hemmingson currently serves on the University’s Board of Regents. His involvement with Gonzaga began several years ago through the Rev. Bob Spitzer, Gonzaga’s former president, and Fritz H. Wolff, a Gonzaga alumnus and fellow regent. “The civil liberties we enjoy in this country are precious and unique,” said Hemmingson. “They distinguish us from many other nations, are a foundation for America’s entrepreneurial nature, and nurture our robust middle class. In short, our civil liberties make America what it is.” Hemmingson intends to support other areas of the University, including the School of Business. He is currently collaborating with Spitzer to create a webbased delivery system for Spitzer’s ethics curriculum.
Vytautas Magnus in Lithuania and serving as a Fullbright Senior Specialist at the University of Montevideo in Uruguay and at Can Tho University in Vietnam.
“Those institutions were all very progressive and realized that the future for their students lies in international transactions,” he said, noting how Gonzaga also has made international law a priority. “It’s a small world indeed and attorneys today must be prepared to think globally.” As a longtime law professor at The University of Montana, Burnham’s expertise and advice helped contribute to a number of legislative changes, including improvements in the law. He was a “lawyer’s lawyer,” he said, since he often worked with other attorneys to resolve problems. Burnham also assisted federal Judge Charles Lovell in a trademark case surrounding a groundbreaking issue that involved fly rods. “We not only resolved it in a way that the U.S. Supreme Court endorsed shortly after, but I encouraged him to begin the published opinion with a paean to fly fishing,” Burnham said.
As he embarks on his new adventure at Gonzaga, Burnham said he hopes to become active in Washington state law reform and to continue his involvement with national organizations including the American Bar Association, the American Law Institute and the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction, of which he is currently president. Burnham, 64, has three grown children. In his spare time, he enjoys movies and has a fondness for poker. “I like to play it, study it, and yes, watch it on TV,” he said. He and his wife, Teresa Bodwell, a western novelist, also appreciate Spokane’s beauty and natural surroundings, he said.
6
Jason Gillmer Jason Gillmer was only 28 years old when he experienced one of the proudest moments of his law career.
In the mid-1990s, Gillmer was part of a team of attorneys that represented the state of Minnesota and Blue Cross and BlueShield of Minnesota in a lawsuit against the tobacco industry. In May 1998, they reached a historic settlement that not only recovered the health care costs associated with smoking-related diseases, their legal victory also forced major cigarette manufacturers to stop marketing cigarettes to children and to put an end to tobacco advertising on billboards and other public spaces.
“It was about working for the betterment of society,” said Gillmer, who spent 3 ½ years working on that case, the largest in Minnesota history. “We achieved monetary relief for the state as well as equitable and injunctive relief.”
Gillmer’s passion for justice compelled him to delve into issues of race, class, gender and civil rights, particularly in the context of the American South during the 19th and early 20th centuries. His interest in these topics and his desire to work on behalf of the common good also brought him to Gonzaga School of Law.