Mitchell Hamline Law Winter 2017

Jake Crandall ’73 (WMCL): EVENING Jake Crandall ’73 planned to work in labor law, return home to Austin, Minn., and run for the state Legislature.

Instead, he ended up retiring as president and CEO of the American Automobile Association of Minnesota in 2004 after 30 years of service—all because a professor took a personal interest in him. Crandall was working his way through law school, taking evening classes and loading trucks overnight at UPS when a professor suggested he put his legal education to better use.

That professor, now retired Minnesota Court of Appeals judge and former state Sen. Jack Davies, sent young Crandall to apply for a job at the Capitol. Crandall managed the Senate index, and through that experience he learned the legislative process and met some of the state’s most influential people. Had he not attended night school at William Mitchell, Crandall doubts he would have had the chance to work at the Legislature or at AAA. Later, because of his experience in the Legislature and his role as general counsel to AAA’s Minnesota chapter, he was appointed by Gov. Wendell Anderson to help craft the state’s no-fault auto insurance bill.

“The real strength of William Mitchell was that as a student I had real-life experience—with lawyers, legislators, and clients,” Crandall said. “Those experiences strengthened my law school education.”

Martin Prego, 3L: HYBRID J.D. PROGRAM Growing up in Buenos Aires, 3L Hybrid J.D. program student Martin Prego knew he wanted to be a lawyer. He also wanted to live in the United States, so going to law school in Argentina didn’t make sense.

Prego won a full scholarship in 1996 to the University of Miami for a master’s degree in international relations. He took a job with Merrill Lynch as a way to remain in the United States, and he put aside his dream of becoming a lawyer.

Prego is now senior vice president and group chief compliance officer for a Miami bank and its subsidiaries and president of the bank’s wholly owned broker-dealer. When his daughter was born three years ago, he realized he couldn’t teach her to pursue her dreams if he didn’t pursue his own.

He investigated part-time programs in the Miami area but needed more flexibility to accommodate his schedule. With the Hybrid J.D. program, Prego is able to study online after he puts his daughter to bed each night.

“This is a fantastic program for many reasons for someone who wants to go to law school but also have a full-time life in terms of having a job and family,” he said.

Prego’s classmates in the Hybrid J.D. program include a vast array of professionals, doctors, entrepreneurs, a former mayor, and business people.

“I’m learning so much, not only from the faculty but also from each other,” he said. “Everyone has such an impressive resume.”

And the exposure to new things has sparked a new interest for Prego. “I’ve been bitten by the litigation bug,” he said. “It was not expected, but I love it.”

Nancy Crotti is a freelance writer, editor, and speechwriter in St. Paul.

These are a few of our students and their professions: • Brooke Baker, physician in Albuquerque, N.M. • Dawn Brantley, sheltering coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management • Stephen Griffith, emergency room doctor in Florida

• Brian Kennedy, CEO of the El Paso Sports Commission in Texas • Fred Knowles, professor of criminal justice and director of Native American Studies at Valdosta State University in Georgia • Aaron Rice, gospel singer from Tennessee

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

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