ALUMNI NEWS
Alums part of milestone for Minnesota female chief judges For the first time in Minnesota history, half of the state’s 10 district courts are overseen by female chief judges. Four of those five are alumni:
Michelle Dietrich ’94 (HUSL) – 5th District Kathryn Messerich ’87 (WMCL) – 1st District Sally L. Tarnowski ’96 (WMCL) – 6th District Jodi Williamson ’83 (HUSL) – 3rd District Another three chief judges are also alumni, bringing alumni representation among chief district court judges in Minnesota to 70 percent.
Jay D. Carlson ’79 (HUSL) – 7th District John H. Guthmann ’80 (WMCL) – 2nd District Michael J. Thompson ’80 (WMCL) – 8th District
Across the state, 43 percent of the state’s almost 300 district court judges are women, and Mitchell Hamline alumni account for almost 50 percent of that number. Overall, just under half of Minnesota district court judges are alumni.
Strong Mitchell Hamline representation in Ramsey County Mitchell Hamline alumni have had a strong showing as chief judge in Ramsey County, having held the position 7 out of 8 times since Judge Joanne Smith became the first woman elected chief judge of a judicial district in Minnesota in 1989.
Joanne M. Smith ’77 (HUSL) 1989-1992
Gregg E. Johnson ’83 (HUSL) 2004-2008
Kenneth J. Fitzpatrick ’62 (WMCL) 1992-1995
Kathleen R. Gearin ’75 (WMCL) 2008-2012
Gordon W. Schumaker ’71 (WMCL) 1995-1997
Teresa (Tracy) R. Warner ’86 (WMCL) 2012-2016
J. Thomas Mott ’76 (WMCL) 2002-2004
John H. Guthmann ’80 (WMCL) 2016-2018
Alum Rick Petry leads effort to increase residency opportunities for students The goal at Mitchell Hamline is for every student to be able to spend a semester in law school working full time at a firm, business, courthouse, or other legal setting. Rick Petry is leading the effort to make that happen. Petry, a 1998 graduate of Hamline University School of Law, was hired this summer as assistant director of career and professional development. He said Mitchell Hamline offers more than 30 residency placements at the moment but that he’d like to get that number to about 150 by 2019. Students participate in residencies in one of the 4
MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW
last three semesters of law school. They earn credit, and in some cases are paid. They spend all week at their work site except for a few hours of class, and they are supervised by faculty as well as the attorneys at their site. Residencies are a key part of Mitchell Hamline’s effort to help students make the transition to practice. Petry comes to Mitchell Hamline after nearly 20 years as an attorney and consultant. He encourages alums who may have a residency opportunity to contact him at Rick.Petry@mitchellhamline.edu or 651-695-7633.
