Mitchell Hamline Law Winter 2020

MITCHELL HAMLINE

LA WINTER 2020

New President and Dean Anthony Niedwiecki

A Message from the Dean

Dear Alumni,

“We need someone who is going to stand up, speak up, and speak out for the people who need help, for the people who have been discriminated against.”

Congressman John Lewis

“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I am so excited to be the new president and dean of Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Much has changed in the world since I accepted the position in February. We are dealing with a pandemic that requires that we put our courses online while people are told to limit personal contact for the safety of our community. We have seen racial unrest across the nation after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and far too many other people of color around the country. We have witnessed a divided country go to the polls to elect a president and Congress. And we have seen the death of two civil and equal rights icons who shaped the moral fabric of our nation: Congressman John Lewis and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Even with all this turmoil in our country, I remain optimistic and hopeful for our future. The pandemic has highlighted how forward-thinking this school was in 2015 when it started its pioneering Hybrid J.D. program. Mitchell Hamline had an easier time transitioning to online learning this past year because of its years of experience with teaching remotely. In fact, colleges and universities around the world reached out to Mitchell Hamline faculty and staff last spring to help train them on how to teach law online during the pandemic. We continue to be on the cutting edge of accessible learning, and I plan to build upon that even further.

This experience also helped us enroll the largest class in the school’s history, even through one of the most challenging admissions cycles in recent memory because of the cancellation of two LSAT administrations in the spring. We also enrolled the largest blended-learning class of any ABA-approved law school in the country, illustrating our continued excellent reputation in remote legal education.

When I was hired, one of my main goals was to increase diversity among faculty, staff, and students.

We also needed to work on making our overall culture more inclusive and equitable. The killing of George Floyd added urgency to these issues, so I announced on my first day a series of initiatives that would put diversity, inclusion, and equity issues at the forefront of everything we do. Most significantly, I decided to create the position of vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion, a sign that every decision we make will be viewed through that lens. Additionally, we added diversity to the executive leadership team with the hires of a new VP of finance and administration and a new VP of development and alumni affairs. And we are hiring two new faculty members of color who will begin next fall.

Mitchell Hamline needs to play a leadership role in addressing the tough racial inequality issues that have plagued the Twin Cities and other cities across the country. Our clinical program has been taking steps to address some of these issues through our Reentry Clinic. We also started a COVID legal clinic to help people who have suffered economically from the pandemic, which has disproportionately affected communities of color. But we can and must do more. We need to be grounded in the community in ways that allow our students to be the change they want to see. We need to be part of the discussions around the systemic racism in our justice system and in our profession.

Law school is where I first started to explore the issues that mattered to me and where I learned the skills that would shape the advocate and activist I became. We need to provide Mitchell Hamline students with the skills and knowledge to be agents of positive change in our communities and across the country. I was inspired by the students I met at orientation this fall, who almost universally said they came to law school, and specifically Mitchell Hamline, because they want to be part of the solutions to the many problems facing our world today. I hope you will join me in supporting our students as they become the next generation of lawyers and leaders during an increasingly challenging time in our history. I have confidence that our students will live up to the ideals that John Lewis and Ruth Bader Ginsburg set.

Sincerely,

Anthony Niedwiecki President and Dean

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW VOLUME 4 Published by Mitchell Hamline School of Law 875 Summit Avenue St. Paul, Minn. 55105 651-227-9171 alumni@mitchellhamline.edu mitchellhamline.edu/alumni President and Dean Anthony S. Niedwiecki Executive Editor Doug Belden Art Director and Designer Karl Peters Designer John Diebel

Anthony Niedwiecki, who took over as president and dean at Mitchell Hamline on July 1, is a longtime advocate for social justice. He hopes to inspire students to pursue the things they are passionate about. “I’d love to have a school of activists, fighting for what they think is important,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be what I believe in, but they need to be fighting for things they think will positively change the world.” Story, Page 4.

Writers Maja Beckstrom Allison Burke Ann Harrington Sara Krassin

Todd Nelson Tom Weber Danielle Wong

Photographers Michelle Allen St. Paul Photo Company Brady Willette

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Chair Frank V. Harris ’75

COVID-19 at Mitchell Hamline: An Oral History

8

Turning Point

12

With Empathy and Pride

19

Checking in with five alumnae in key school leadership roles

It Starts with a Red Paper Clip

Professor Sharon Press has her students start with a humble office supply and trade up

Secretary Steven J. Kirsch ’76 Treasurer Gregory L. Buck ’87

A look behind the key events and decision points

Staff member Rick Petry ’98 reflects on the George Floyd killing and the way forward

Vice Chair Nicole James Gilchrist ’03

26

Judge Reynaldo A. Aligada ’02 Brian Batzli ’85 Alex Beeby ’16 Christine Chalstrom ’91 John. J. Choi ’95 Gloria Contreras Edin ’05 Jeanne M. Forneris Judge Donovan W. Frank ’77 Patrick Garay-Heelan ’09 Judge Sara Grewing ’03 Mark A. Hallberg ’79 Dr. Linda N. Hanson David G. Hellmuth ’92 Jean F. Holloway Jim Jacobson Charles H. Johnson ’75 Christine Kucera Kalla ’94 Frances L. Kern ’13 Richard L. Mack ’93 Dr. Fayneese Miller Chris Montana ’13 Christopher Pham ’09 David D. Ransom ’91 Judge Denise D. Reilly ’83 Susan C. Rhode ’85 Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson ’95 Ugo Ukabam ’02 Wendy K. Watson ’97 Melissa Lee Wright ’93

Hetal Dalal, an assistant professor in legal writing, teaches a class remotely from her office on Nov. 13, 2020.

2

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Photograph by BRADY WILLETTE

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

3

Changing the Law A longtime advocate for social justice, new President and Dean Anthony Niedwiecki aims to make the law more inclusive by prioritizing diversity and enhancing Mitchell Hamline’s online reach to expand access.

BY TOM WEBER

T

he world changed between February and July, the months between Anthony Niedwiecki accepting and assuming the job as Mitchell Hamline’s new president and dean.

But the tumult of a global pandemic, followed by the killing of George Floyd, only affirmed for Niedwiecki the things he wanted to achieve in his new role.

“I always wanted us to have the best technology and be the most innovative school,” he noted. “But I also knew I wanted to focus on diversity in my first year at the school. The urgency of those things increased dramatically.”

On his first day, five weeks after Floyd’s death, Niedwiecki outlined his immediate goals in an email to faculty, staff, and students. They included increasing the diversity of students, staff, faculty, and leadership;

4

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

creating a position of vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion; and developing a plan to close racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in student outcomes.

By the end of his first month, he had decided to remain fully online for fall semester, even as other schools had announced at least some in-person instruction. It was a decision made possible in large part because the school had years of successful experience making a legal education accessible for students around the world through its pioneering remote platform.

Niedwiecki had two main goals: to stay well-positioned to offer robust online education and to address systemic racism by, as he noted in the schoolwide email, engaging the school community “in providing legal services or support as our city, state and nation grapple with eliminating racism in our justice system to make it fairer and more equitable to everyone.”

Commitment to diversity For Niedwiecki, it’s never been more important to prepare future lawyers. As the list of names of Black people killed by police continues to grow—and those responsible for those deaths largely escape facing justice—the inequalities of the entire law enforcement and criminal justice systems continue to be on display.

“There are students who come here because they’re idealistic about the law, and that’s great,” he noted. “But Mitchell Hamline also must be the place for people with no love affair with the law—who know the system wasn’t built for or by them—and who are here to learn the law so they can change it.”

In his first days, Niedwiecki met with student leaders and voiced support for the goals they’d shared in a letter calling for several anti-racism measures at the school. He helped write remembrances of Rep. John Lewis and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for the website. And his first hires have already diversified the ranks of executive leadership.

(See story, p. 31) “I want people to think when they come here that they’re coming to a place where they learn the skills to promote and fight for social justice,” he said.

“And I want them to associate Mitchell Hamline with this commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

That drive is a byproduct of his own life. The 53-year-old Michigan native has firsthand experience of laws both stifling progress for equality and dramatically and quickly expanding access to civil rights.

“I want people to think when they come here that they’re coming to a place where they learn the skills to promote and fight for social justice. And I want them to associate Mitchell Hamline with this commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Anthony Niedwiecki Niedwiecki is the first openly gay president and dean at Mitchell Hamline or any of its predecessor schools, and one of few openly LGBTQ law school deans in the country. His marriage was possible because of a court ruling. And his first job as a math teacher (he later learned) was replacing someone who’d been fired after school officials learned that he was gay.

Niedwiecki wants Mitchell Hamline to be a place where students can find their voices to speak out and work on issues they care about.

He found his own voice in May 2007, at the late-hours end of a flight from Chicago. While waiting for bags at Fort Lauderdale airport, Niedwiecki and his now-husband Waymon Hudson heard over the public address system a Bible passage that’s often misused to promote anti-gay sentiment.

Unsure if they were being targeted, they looked but couldn’t find any help.

Niedwiecki later spoke with the airport manager, who largely dismissed the incident and offered a curt, almost sarcastic, apology.

That spurred the two to speak out.

When a local TV reporter interviewed them and the piece led the newscast, the story exploded.

Anthony in the mid-1970s with brother Kevin (far left), sister Angela, and parents Judy and Ron.

When the worker who was found to have played the anti-gay message from his phone over the speakers was fired, Niedwiecki and Hudson became targets of anti-gay vitriol and death threats.

But for all the harassment, they realized they had the privilege that allowed them to navigate the ordeal largely unscathed. What about others?

They founded Fight OUT Loud, which worked to counter discrimination and hate directed at the LGBTQ community.

Their organizing included getting the bombastic mayor of Fort Lauderdale removed from a tourism board (a big deal in Florida). The work also inspired Niedwiecki to run for office himself— “I could keep talking about it or do something about it,” he figured. He ran for commissioner in Oakland Park, a city of 40,000 in Florida that borders Fort Lauderdale.

As the campaign started, in 2008, Niedwiecki and Hudson were married in San Francisco during what became a few months’ window when same-sex marriages were legal in California.

They returned home, where Niedwiecki won his election and became vice mayor. There, he worked to change

Anthony’s marriage to Waymon Hudson in San Francisco, 2008.

At right: Little League MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

5

residential zoning laws that essentially prevented gay couples from taking in foster children. He also served on the Broward County Human Rights Commission. As vice mayor and commissioner, he helped move the city and county to prohibit discrimination and harassment based on gender identity and gender expression. This was during a time when it was uncommon to have legal protections for transgender individuals. He also helped get sewers built to areas that had been redlined and were home to the poorest and most marginalized residents.

Broadening access Niedwiecki knows it’s not just about finding a cause. Leaders like him must first ensure access.

Mitchell Hamline’s legacy schools were created to focus on getting legal education to non-traditional students in non-traditional ways.

Niedwiecki took the helm at a moment when COVID-19 made Mitchell Hamline’s nation-leading work with online instruction even more crucial.

“I knew we were uniquely positioned,” he said. By fall, Mitchell Hamline welcomed the largest class in its history, including both legacy schools, and the most ever in its blended-learning option.

Far more students had the chance to enroll than would have been possible in a physically distanced on-campus model.

Niedwiecki stayed with the fully online model for the spring semester.

Even when COVID-19 subsides, Niedwiecki expects ongoing innovations to forever transform the way people can get a legal education—the way night and weekend classes did previously.

“This is all about finding ways to give more people access to something long thought to be exclusive,” he added. “Yes, there’s rigor and certain bars to clear to be a successful law student. But we must do everything we can to find all potential successful students and help them succeed in law school, on the bar exam, and in the practice of law.”

Niedwiecki grew up in Livonia, Michigan, where his father worked a factory job in the auto industry and his mother drove a school bus. When teenage Anthony got to go to Venezuela as a foreign exchange student, his father 6

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

worked extra shifts for months to afford it—a detail Niedwiecki only recently learned.

He was the first person in his family to attend college—and that includes not just immediate family (parents, brother, and sister) but his 50 first cousins. More than a third of Mitchell Hamline’s newest students in fall 2020 were the first in their family to attend college.

Paying it forward Niedwiecki has fond memories of attending both Wayne State University in Detroit and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. But Tulane holds a special place because he came out there.

“Everyone was so supportive,” he said.

“And I’ve always tried to remember that and pay it forward with students.”

For the past seven years, Niedwiecki has been either a law school associate dean or dean—first at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, then at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco. He’s the second president and dean at Mitchell Hamline since its formation in 2015 through the combination of William Mitchell and Hamline Law. His goal is to inspire students to find their own path. “Students from all backgrounds should feel welcomed and supported at Mitchell Hamline,” he said. “Our job is to meet students where they are and give them a legal education so they can make the changes they desire in their own lives, their communities, or society.”

Anthony and Waymon at San Francisco’s Pride Celebration and Parade, 2018.

Learn more about Dean Niedwiecki: mitchellhamline.edu/dean

Questions

for Dean Niedwiecki

We asked President and Dean Anthony Niedwiecki these five very serious (!) questions to get to know a bit about what he’s like outside of work.

Favorite place to hike: We love anywhere along the St. Croix River. When I worked at a law school in Chicago, Waymon and I came up to this area a lot for hikes and camping. So when I was applying for the job at Mitchell Hamline, we were excited to return to this area, not knowing that we would actually live right next to the St. Croix River. Wild River State Park has some great hikes, and we really enjoy the Taylors Falls area.

You moved to Minnesota during the pandemic. What thing are you looking forward to doing that you can’t quite do yet? We’re big theater and musical theater fans, so we can’t wait to get into the theaters again and see shows.

The Twin Cities has a great theater scene, and we’re excited to learn all about it.

Since we’re not eating much in restaurants, what’s been your favorite takeout?

We don’t get out much, but we love Stillwater and had a great meal and good drinks at Brick & Bourbon. And we’re open to suggestions!

Favorite singer: Whitney Houston, without a doubt. I went to about seven of her concerts, including one in 1984 where I had pretty close seats and only paid $18.50! I was completely obsessed with her growing up and had posters all over my bedroom. I don’t know how my parents didn’t know I was gay when I was a kid, with how much I was obsessed! Even on the anniversary of her death (Feb. 11), there are people in my life who check in to see how I am doing.

Favorite holiday tradition: The weekend after Thanksgiving, Waymon and I buy a real Christmas tree. We come home, make a big batch of mimosas, and decorate it. Then, we finish the day by watching “Love Actually.” I know that’s corny, but that movie always gives me such good holiday cheer. I pretty much know every line.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

7

at Mitchell Hamline: An Oral History A look behind the key events and decision points, with reflections from those involved

BY TOM WEBER

I

nterim President and Dean Peter Knapp spent most of March 11 in the Florida sun, part of an almost-yearly tradition of catching a few spring training games during Mitchell Hamline’s spring break. Before leaving, Knapp and school leaders had met to discuss the spread of COVID-19. They were aware of the outbreak’s effect in China, having been contacted by a law school there for help in moving instruction online.

Mitchell Hamline’s pioneering work with online instruction made it well-equipped for such a switch here, but based on public information from the federal government, school leaders didn’t think any move was needed before spring break. Knapp felt comfortable stealing away for a few days.

But as he drove back from watching a late Twins rally fall short that Wednesday evening, the news kept piling up: The WHO had declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

Travel to the U.S. from Europe was stopped. The NBA canceled all games.

And what arguably got the most attention: Hollywood couple Tom Hanks and Rita Peter Knapp Wilson announced they’d both tested positive.

Knapp circled back quickly with school leaders. “It was amazing—we were less than a week from saying we didn’t have to do anything imminent,” he recalled. “Now we were talking about the fate of classes that were just a few days away.”

“You have to remember that for us, we were heading into Capstone Weeks, during which hundreds of blended-learning students from around the country would be on campus,” noted Christine Szaj, then vice president of community relations and operations and currently vice president of institutional management. “So there was an urgent need to make a decision as quickly as possible when many colleges and universities had not announced any changes.”

8

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Szaj quickly became a point person for all things COVID-19 and the school’s liaison to the state’s health department. “None of us had ever responded to a pandemic, so during those first few weeks, we took it day by day and did our best to focus on safety.”

Decisions quickly followed.

Spring break was extended a few days so the school could prepare for an all-online Christine Szaj return. The all-online decision was initially temporary, but eventually the remainder of the spring semester was kept online and the campus was closed. Students were given the option of pass/fail grades.

As faculty and staff sprinted to move instruction online— often while also navigating their own children moving to distance learning—they were also fielding requests from other law schools. A webinar with other law schools in March drew nearly 200 people. “Some of you have learned very recently that you’ll be moving online,” said Senior Instructional Designer Amanda Sonderlind during that event. “We know that’s stressful, and we’re here to share our experience.”

“Remember, Zoom wasn’t a household name in March,” said Knapp. “But we’d already been using it a while and had developed infrastructure and people who could teach others these online techniques.”

“A number of law schools—both here and in China—are turning to a U.S. law school that’s long been a leader in online learning, Mitchell Hamline School of Law.” The National Jurist, March 2020

As the death count rose nationwide, the ABA canceled two LSAT exams before creating an online LSAT-Flex that prospective law students could take. Summer classes at Mitchell Hamline remained online, while staff helped new graduates figure out changes to the bar exams in their states.

Chris Montana ’13 Roger Reinert ’18

As this was happening, others in the Mitchell Hamline community were changing their lives as well. Chris Montana ’13 had to shut down his Minneapolis business, Du Nord Craft Spirits—the first Black-owned distillery in the nation.

But he quickly took the ethanol normally used for distillation to make (and donate) hand sanitizer.

Another alum, Roger Reinert ’18—a former Minnesota legislator and Navy Reserve officer—was deployed to Italy at the end of March to head a COVID Crisis Action Team for commanders of the U.S. 6th Fleet and forces across Europe and Africa.

At least one student, who had a high-ranking job at a hospital in New England, had to pause her studies entirely to deal with her day job’s demands.

Jeremiah Allison ’20

And then came commencement.

The school’s initial decision was to cancel—a hard thing for students to hear, even as they understood the reasons.

“I was distraught,” said Jeremiah Allison ’20. “I had put in all this work— literally working up from the bottom and a hard life in Los Angeles—and now as I finished, it felt like ‘did law school really happen?’”

The ceremony was later replaced with an online celebration that more than 300 families—including Allison’s—attended.

Through all of this, Mitchell Hamline had another transition at hand. Knapp returned to the faculty, and new President and Dean Anthony Niedwiecki took over July 1. The final decision on whether to bring students back to campus for the fall would be his.

Initially, Niedwiecki and senior leaders planned a limited return—holding some classes on campus with Anthony Niedwiecki proper distancing and safety procedures. But as the data kept growing more concerning, Niedwiecki pulled the plug on that idea and kept the fall fully online.

“I always had confidence we’d be ready on the technology side if we stayed online this fall,” said Niedwiecki. “That allowed us to focus on the science, and our medical consultant gave me an objective test: If the positivity rate in Minnesota stayed above 5% for a time, that was an indication we should not have in-person classes. And that’s unfortunately what happened.

“I also had very little resistance from faculty or staff when I was mulling the decision, so that said a lot to me as well.”

Students responded well to the plan for a fully online fall semester. A total of 404 first-year students enrolled, a record for Mitchell Hamline and both of its legacy schools. The entering class was Mitchell Hamline’s most qualified ever and slightly more diverse than last year.

The building has been largely empty this fall. Faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to work from home. The first report of a person with COVID-19 having been on campus didn’t come till mid-November. The only common space remaining open is the library, which typically attracts 10-15 students per day.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

9

“Because the library is close to the main entrance in a largely self-contained wing with controlled access, it has been ideal for testing the viability of safety protocols and procedures and identifying issues,” said Lisa Heidenreich ’92, the library’s interim director. “Our experience here will inform how we eventually reopen the rest of the building.”

Lisa Heidenreich As the school looks to the future, a few decisions are already set: There will be no in-person event for winter commencement in January, though another online celebration is being planned. And the spring semester will also be entirely online, a decision officially announced in October. “Unfortunately, the same data that informed us about fall hadn’t improved enough to make us confident about opening in the spring,” Niedwiecki said. “But I know our students, our faculty, and our staff will continue to meet the moment.”

Any timeline for returning to a structure like before rests entirely on whenever a safe vaccine is available, Niedwiecki said.

And though the world has seemingly remained in place, it has very much adapted and moved on since the spring.

After producing free hand sanitizer in the early days of the pandemic shutdowns, distillery owner Chris Montana saw his business heavily damaged during the violence that broke out after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis. He and his wife started a fund that raised more than $700,000 to support businesses owned by people of color that were damaged or destroyed. Montana, now a member of Mitchell Hamline’s board of trustees, is figuring out what a rebuild would require.

The student who paused her studies during COVID-19 to address the swarm of work at her hospital in New England has decided the work remains so intense, she’s dropped her studies altogether.

After three months of service overseas and quarantine, Roger Reinert is back in Minnesota. His day job is still very much rooted in responding to COVID-19—he’s interim executive director of the city of Duluth’s convention center.

And Jeremiah Allison continues working for Medtronic as a legal fellow, en route to being a legal counsel. In addition to the online commencement celebration they had in May, all spring graduates are included in commencement planning for January and May 2021, should they wish to participate.

Allison plans to take part.

“I know the celebration will be even grander.”

Clinic provided quick response to COVID-19 crisis

BY SARA KRASSIN

I

n a year of compounding crises, a group of students and faculty found a way to provide real-time support this summer with the COVID-19 Legal Response Clinic.

The clinic helped dozens of Minnesota clients with legal needs caused by the global health pandemic, predominately unemployment denials. It also served as a deep dive into trauma-informed advocacy and what it means to be a lawyer in a time of crisis, from the pandemic and resulting economic turmoil to the killing of George Floyd and ongoing protests against police violence. Weekly seminars explored how COVID-19 has affected unemployment, victims of domestic violence, housing, youth aging out of foster care, noncitizens, and the incarcerated.

10

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Co-designed and co-led by professors Ana Pottratz Acosta, Jon Geffen ’97, Kate Kruse, Natalie Netzel ’15, and Joanna Woolman, it was a unique opportunity to respond quickly during an unexpected and devastating crisis.

“Normally, clinics take months to plan,” explained Netzel. “With this, we were building the airplane while we were flying it, to a certain degree.”

Despite the quick turn-around and short notice, student registration was full (with a waitlist) within just a few hours. “That was a really wonderful surprise, just how quickly it came together and just how many students were interested in doing this work,” said Netzel. Ten students and one student administrator participated.

The clinic was one of Mitchell Hamline’s first to be conducted

remotely and composed primarily of students in the blended-learning enrollment option. Kim Rooney, a 3L in the Hybrid J.D. program, jumped at the chance to participate. “One of the hardest things about COVID was just how helpless I felt, to be told the best thing you could do for your community was stay home. This clinic gave me the opportunity to feel like I could do something, to help people.”

Though the clinic ended in August and is not planned to be offered again, some of its work continues in other clinics; and some students, like Rooney, have continued working cases with their faculty supervisors. “Just having us as a sounding board gives clients so much comfort. It’s so important.”

Here’s a sample of some of our most popular social media posts in 2020.

Feb. 18:

July 7:

Announcement of new president and dean.

New faculty members for 2020-21 school year.

10,010 impressions 146 reactions

10,095 impressions 180 reactions March 23:

July 9:

After COVID-19 forced the school to go entirely online, faculty and staff sent greetings to students via social media.

A brief filed by Professor Colette Routel was cited in a landmark Supreme Court decision over Native American treaty rights.

18,000 reached 990 likes 333 loves

6,384 reached 238 likes 120 loves March 24: When coronavirus struck in China, Mitchell Hamline staff and faculty helped a law school in that country move online.

July 31: Dean Niedwiecki got a new dog, Magnolia.

165 likes

3,549 impressions June 5: Video from incoming Dean Anthony Niedwiecki welcoming admitted students.

7,239 impressions

Aug. 31: Collection of photos of first week of school with MH sign on front lawn.

157 likes

June 28: The Twin Cities Pride Festival, which also went online this year, was to be held the weekend before our new dean began. Dean Niedwiecki and his husband, Waymon Hudson, shot a video to celebrate.

7,753 reached 284 likes 103 loves

More than 6,200 people follow and more than 5,800 people like Mitchell Hamline on Facebook. We have more than 19,200 followers on LinkedIn, more than 1,700 on Twitter, and more than 1,200 on Instagram.

Scan to watch Dean Niedwiecki's video.

Facebook: @MitchellHamlineSchoolofLaw Twitter: @MitchellHamline Instagram: @MitchellHamline LinkedIn: Mitchell Hamline School of Law MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

11

12

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Turning Point

George Floyd’s death presents an opportunity for real change, and the Twin Cities should lead the way

BY RICK PETRY

O

n May 25, 2020, the Minneapolis Police Department responded to a call alleging a patron at a convenience store presented a fake $20 bill to purchase cigarettes. Within 17 minutes of the first officers arriving at the scene, George Floyd was lying face down in the street, handcuffed and pinned to the ground, while an officer had his hands in his pockets and his knee pressed down on Mr. Floyd’s neck—for approximately eight minutes and 46 seconds.

Much of what happened to Mr. Floyd was captured on video and broadcast around the world. The trauma associated with witnessing his killing resulted in protests erupting within hours in over 2,000 cities across the U.S. and in least 16 other countries—despite the fact that we were in the midst of a global pandemic.

How did we get here?

Police killings of Black men are nothing new in Minnesota and other parts of the U.S. In the last five years, Minnesota officers have been involved in at least four such killings: Jamar Clark, Philando Castile, Travis Jordan, and now Mr. Floyd. In Mr. Floyd’s case, the officers involved were fired and charged with murder, but generally officers in these cases do not lose their jobs and are not convicted of crimes.

How is it that these killings keep occurring? Systemic racism is certainly a significant factor, but finding solutions is multidimensional, and thus difficult. Efforts to address the problem have resulted in finger-pointing and excuse-making rather than results. They have largely been superficial exercises. Shortly after Mr. Floyd’s death, numerous local politicians made public commitments that changes would be made within the Minneapolis Police Department. But just as those promises have been unfulfilled in the past, they remain unfulfilled now.

We need a police department, and we should be grateful for the work police do. But we still have the problem of officers being committed to serve and protect some, but not all, people. There is also the problem of some officers placing their personal interests above those whom they have taken an oath to serve. Plus, many lack the training and support they need to process the trauma they see in their work, and so it builds up and creates a powder keg waiting to explode.

Photograph by BRADY WILLETTE

Instead of more superficial political promises, what’s needed to solve this problem is doing the hard work and having the difficult conversations required to find solutions that work for all stakeholders involved.

Where do we go from here?

Unlike nearly all prior occasions where police were caught on video killing an unarmed Black man, the public response to the George Floyd killing was different. Within a week or so following Mr. Floyd’s death, I fielded calls from people across the U.S. and other countries saying they could no longer stand by quietly and ignore the problem.

Now, people are having the difficult conversations necessary to acknowledge that systemic racism exists and has for hundreds of years. As a Black man, I’m hopeful that the conversations continue—right along with the work. Perhaps for the first time in a long time, people are becoming aware that this is not just a Black-people problem. Instead, it is a problem for all of humanity that impacts our ability to move forward in our evolutionary journey.

To bring our country back as a beacon of hope, we need to bring people together and find solutions to problems we have ignored for too long. Whether we like it or not, the Twin Cities is the epicenter—the place where Mr. Floyd was killed along with the spark that ignited the awakening of people around the world. We have an incredible opportunity to become a leader in finding real and sustainable solutions to police killings of Black men and systemic racism overall.

If we have learned anything from the global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the reaction to Mr. Floyd’s killing, it is that human beings are now connected more than ever.

Our ability to survive and thrive can no longer focus on what is good for some, but instead must be focused on what is good for all. If we have learned these lessons, then those eight minutes and 46 seconds leading up to Mr. Floyd’s death will truly change the world and Mr. Floyd’s life will not have been lived in vain.

Rick Petry, a 1998 graduate of Hamline Law, is program manager in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and an adjunct professor.

He is shown at left at the George Floyd memorial site in Minneapolis.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

13

Meeting the Moment Mitchell Hamline’s newest version of blended learning drew a record number of students this fall despite the pandemic

BY TOM WEBER

A

fter applying to four law schools, Dr. Shantay Bolton chose Mitchell Hamline because it was both academically rigorous and the most flexible. As deputy chief operating officer at Tulane University in New Orleans, Bolton’s day job is plenty busy. Adding law school is a lift, but she trusted Mitchell Hamline as a pioneer in online legal education to keep innovating ways for students to complete their work.

“Tulane is also managing the challenges of maintaining a safe and engaging learning experience in a COVID environment, so I was seeking flexibility in the courses and structure of the program to make it manageable alongside my work and family commitments,” Bolton said. “As a minority first-generation college graduate, it was critically important that I felt a sense of belonging and an opportunity to learn from faculty who were responsive to student needs and professional cultivation outside of the classroom.”

“Law school is very stressful, but it’s rewarding when you have support services like tutoring, the writing center, and affinity groups such as the Black Law Students Association.”

Bolton began her studies this fall as part of a record class of more than 200 students in the newest version of Mitchell Hamline’s blendedlearning curriculum.

Blended learning is a single enrollment option that combines the best elements of the Executive and Weekend J.D. offerings with the school’s pioneering Hybrid J.D. program, which debuted in 2015 as the first online/on-campus J.D. program at an ABA-approved school.

It provides substantial on-campus time (when there is no pandemic) and is highly customizable.

“Students can design their program to finish in three years if they wish, earn specialized certificates, take classes in a variety of formats, and then graduate eligible to sit for the bar exam in every state,” said Professor Gregory Duhl, senior academic technology officer.

14

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Dr. Shantay Bolton

“And yet, nothing we started this fall is revolutionary,” Duhl said. “We’re just integrating the best from each option into this program.”

While COVID-19 forced every law school to move online, Duhl said offerings like Mitchell Hamline’s remain distinctive because they were designed with online in mind, instead of simply taking in-person curriculum and presenting it on Zoom.

“We’re also unique because the design is asynchronous,” he added. “You don’t give one lecture at one time to all students. They watch and read the material as they can.

“That’s a major point of distinction for Mitchell Hamline, and a lot of students like it because of the flexibility.”

Building on innovative past Online legal education is an extension of the kind of innovative offerings that date back to Mitchell Hamline’s legacy schools offering night and weekend classes for part-time students.

After dabbling with online courses in the 2000s, the effort was formalized in the 2010s when the school asked for an ABA variance to offer a partially online enrollment option. The faculty and administrators behind the move considered it a logical extension of helping non-traditional students go to law school, but they also saw the possibility of creating a better model of education—that there are just some things you can do better online.

Eighty-five pioneering students began the first Hybrid J.D. program in January 2015.

“I always tell my students this is ‘law school different,’ but don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s ‘law school light,’ noted Professor Michael Steenson.

Steenson has taught through the entirety of the school’s online options. He’s teaching 190 blendedlearning students in two sections of torts this fall and also is the faculty adviser to the Mitchell Hamline Law Review, which had its first blendedlearning student as editor in chief last year.

Another first happened this year when blendedlearning students Amber Goodwin and Kirsty Hanson were elected Student Bar Association president and vice president.

“Other law schools went online because they had to,” Steenson said. “We did it because we thought it was important to deliver legal education to people who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to go to law school.”

People like Melinda McElheny, who originally planned to attend law school on campus in her home state of Kansas before finding it unfeasible as a single mom. She calls it a “happy surprise” to have learned about Mitchell Hamline’s option. She joined the second cohort of students, in fall 2015.

A few months after graduating and opening her own practice, McElheny was asked by a former professor about teaching—something she could do from her home in Kansas. McElheny jumped at the chance.

“I wanted to take what I learned in Hybrid and be able to feed that back to other students,” she said. “It was also a chance to encourage other students like me—a little older than the traditional law student who are spinning a lot of plates at once—and to teach them the things I’d learned.”

McElheny taught an advocacy class in spring 2020, joining the small-but-growing ranks of blended-learning alums who now teach at Mitchell Hamline. She hopes to teach again in the future.

Professor Gregory Duhl

Professor Michael Steenson

2020-21 new blended–learning students

More flexibility ahead As Mitchell Hamline looks to the future of its innovative online legal education, Duhl expects even more flexibility for students to choose courses and to select synchronous or asynchronous. The line between a blended-learning student and a traditional on-campus student likely will blur even further, he says. He also expects the rigor and uniqueness to continue to draw students to Mitchell Hamline.

“When we started in 2015, everyone said we’d stop growing by 2017 because there would be too much competition by then,” Duhl said.

“Somehow, despite that and despite every school being online because of COVID, this fall saw a record number of students here at Mitchell Hamline.

“We are truly meeting the moment.”

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

15

Of all the things we had to cancel this year because of COVID-19, none was missed more dearly than spring com­mencement. We honored our May 2020 grads with an online celebration, fol­lowed by a Zoom call in which graduates shared memories and introduced family members and friends. A similar online celebration is planned for the January 2021 commencement as well.

These images were sent to us as part of the spring commencement celebration.

You can watch the celebration here: mitchellhamline.edu/mhsl2020

16

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

17

ALUMNI NEWS

Prairie Island general counsel helps tribe protect reservation, expand governance Jessie Stomski Seim: ‘I want to help them self-determine’

BY TODD NELSON

J

essie Stomski Seim ’08 remembers her dad driving down St. Paul’s historic Summit Avenue, admiring the Victorian homes and dropping hints while passing William Mitchell College of Law’s iconic building.

“You would be a great lawyer,” she recalls him saying.

“Wouldn’t it be cool if you went there?”

Those hints ultimately paid off when Stomski Seim enrolled at William Mitchell. Since December 2015, she has served as general counsel for the Prairie Island Indian Community, overseeing government and commercial legal matters including those related to the tribe’s Treasure Island Resort & Casino.

Like her late father, Terry, Stomski Seim is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma.

Before law school, Stomski Seim, an all-state prep athlete who grew up in the east metro, ranked among the top basketball players in University of Wisconsin history. She was drafted into the WNBA, completed pro seasons in Europe, and was recently inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

She practiced at what was then Briggs and Morgan before moving to Hogen Adams, a boutique Indian law firm. At Prairie Island, she eyes a “trifecta of threats” the Mdewakanton band faces on its reservation along the Mississippi River near Red Wing: flooding from a nearby lock and dam, trains blocking access on and off the island, and Xcel Energy’s looming nuclear plant and radioactive waste.

“I want to help them self-determine, govern, and flourish,” said Stomski Seim, who lives in Stillwater with her husband and two daughters.

18

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Governmental relations are Stomski Seim’s passion.

Prairie Island is seeking congressional approval to add 1,200 ancestral acres the tribe bought near Pine Island to the reservation for future housing. State lawmakers this year approved the tribe’s request for $46 million from an Xcelfinanced fund to develop Prairie Island’s “net-zero” clean energy project. And Stomski Seim urged passage of a bill last year in the Minnnesota Legislature that now allows tribal police to enforce state criminal law on tribal land without the county agreement that was mandated under prior state statute.

While interviewing at Prairie Island, Stomski Seim said, she conceded that she probably had less experience than other candidates. But she told tribal council members that no one would work harder for them.

The call offering her the general counsel job came before she had driven off the reservation.

Stomski Seim was in her third year at William Mitchell when her father, a charismatic, largerthan-life figure, passed away. She and her brother had moved home to take care of him after he had surgery to remove a brain tumor.

“There’s a lot of law school I don’t remember because my focus was caring for my father,” she said. “But I felt like I had all the support in the world there, with professors, with administration, with fellow students. It was a special experience in addition to it being a great place.”

Todd Nelson is a freelance journalist in the Twin Cities.

ALUMNI NEWS

With Empathy and Pride Five of Mitchell Hamline’s top leaders are alumnae, drawing on their experiences and sense of connection to guide their work with students

BY ALLISON BURKE

Ann Gemmell ’12

Lynn LeMoine ’11 Dean of Students

Vice President of Enrollment

A

Dena M. Sonbol ’08

Lisa Heidenreich ’92

Dean of Academic Excellence

Interim Director of the Library

t a time when many institutions are foundering in the face of all the challenges COVID-19 presents, Mitchell Hamline is strong this fall, and in no small part due to the contributions of five key administrative leaders—all alumnae—and their teams.

Thanks to our admissions office, our fall 2020 entering class of 404 is the largest in our school’s history. Our bar passage rate for the July 2020 administration of the exam was 87.21 percent, up from 78.4 percent in 2019, demonstrating the enormous value our academic excellence team brings to our students. Our career and professional development office’s latest employment report showed nearly 95 percent of 2019 graduates were engaged in meaningful work or full-time advanced degree studies, the highest rate in Mitchell Hamline’s five years. Our student services office and library have been leading our community through this strange time, going above and beyond to provide students the support they need. The library has reopened with an eye to safety and the access to quiet study space that is so critical to students. Student services has worked tirelessly to provide our students connection, support, and recognition with creativity and commitment through this challenging time.

Leanne Fuith ’10 Dean of Career and Professional Development

Behind these impressive achievements, the law school benefits from the dedication that comes from these women having a personal tie to Mitchell Hamline. Ann Gemmell, Lisa Heidenreich, and Leanne Fuith are all William Mitchell grads; Lynn LeMoine and Dena Sonbol are alums of Hamline Law. In talking with each of them, I learned something new about what the law school means to them. Many of them had non-traditional paths to law school, as so many of our students do, and all of them have a perspective that guides them in working with our students with empathy and pride.

Over the past nine months, I’ve served the development and alumni relations department as the interim representative on the administrative team, and one of the great gifts of that experience is seeing the care and intention that all of our leaders bring to their work. It is especially meaningful to me to know that so many of the people at that table were once students of ours and are now talented professionals devoting their careers to leading the school.

How does your perspective as a graduate of Mitchell Hamline affect the way you recruit students and evaluate their applications?

In recruiting new students, you do your best job when you’re being empathetic— remembering what it felt like. That is easy for me. That process was impactful for me, maybe even more than the undergraduate experience. I was a non-traditional law student.

Going to law school was much more intentional than the undergraduate experience.

We wrote letters to all the deposited students when we sent them their welcome gift.

So often I’d write something like, “This is such an exciting time—and I hope in the midst of the uncertainty of this moment, you’re holding on to the excitement of starting law school.” I meant it with all of my heart. I remember both how scary and exciting it was.

Ann:

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

19

ALUMNI NEWS What makes you proud of our students?

Ann: What makes me most proud of

our students is their resilience. Right now, of course—in all the ways that people need it in order to survive in this world. But there is always a need for our students, often non-traditional students, to have stamina and resilience.

Dena: Our students lead very full lives between work, family, service—and they still are also able to dedicate the time to earning a J.D. They are eager and hungry to learn, and they are hard-working.

Lynn: They

are incredibly resilient. The highlight of my professional life is sitting with someone in a struggle and seeing them come through the other side. I have the privilege of reading names at commencement, and when they come across the stage, there is often a private moment between us. It can happen almost imperceptibly—in a wink, in a nod, to say “I know your story, and I know how hard you worked to get here.”

Lisa: That’s an easy one. It is so cool to me to see how dedicated people are. They’ve got a goal in mind, and they do whatever they need to do to get there.

Leanne: I’m proud of their energy, thoughtfulness, and drive to make the profession better.

When I went through law school, I didn’t have in mind that whatever I was going to do as one individual person would influence the profession as a whole. I see in our students a want to make this a better place—for clients, for attorneys. They think differently and critically about the role that lawyers can play in society. That is extraordinary.

How does your perspective as an alum shape the way you see our students as they go through their experience at the law school?

Lynn: My experience as an alum helps me to empathize with the student experience in that we all face challenges, and we all face decisions that we have to make. As a student, I was allowed to make the decisions that made the most sense for me personally—I wasn’t forced to fit any sort of mold. I was free to follow my own path, so everything I try to offer our students is reflective of that lived experience. I try to stay humble enough to recognize that I don’t know what everyone’s path is—but I encourage them to explore it. It helps to know there is a system in place to support that kind of curiosity.

Dena: I’ve had some of their professors, which helps me help them. I feel a kinship with them— I’ve been in their shoes. They’re my people.

What is most gratifying to you about getting to work with our alumni in your capacity at Mitchell Hamline?

Lisa: A lot of alumni call the library. We always try to figure out the best resource for them.

If we don’t have what they need, we’ll help them find it. My favorite thing is when I’ve helped someone with research, and they call back to let me know how things turned out. Yesterday I had a call back from an alum who I’d talked to a couple of weeks ago. She told me she’d argued her case, and the judge had asked her to write a brief. We discussed her next steps and the resources that might help. It was gratifying to hear how things had gone.

Leanne: I love watching and supporting our alumni as they write the stories of

their professional lives. It is an amazing privilege to help them get started. I am awestruck in the moments when they return to the law school, not just for continued support in their own professional development but also to provide support to the next generation of lawyers.

Allison Burke, a 2009 graduate of William Mitchell, is alumni and donor relations officer at Mitchell Hamline.

20

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

ALUMNI NEWS

Longest-licensed attorney in North Dakota devoted to serving others

BY DANIELLE WONG

E

arly in his childhood, Albert Wolf ’56 began to witness injustices that would propel him toward practicing law.

Wolf grew up in rural North Dakota, and during harvest season, he would watch Native Americans from neighboring Sioux County have to f loat 20 miles down the river to work in the fields and earn meager pay in his town.

They were often met with racism and prejudice upon arrival.

“I always felt that’s not right. That’s not right that these folks would have to go through all this just to get a little money and then get mistreated like they are here,” he said. “I wanted to be somebody who was going to benefit people who are in great need.”

At age 89, Wolf has been licensed to practice law in North Dakota longer than any of the more than 3,000 attorneys in the state. He was admitted to the bar more than 63 years ago, in 1957. That was almost a year after he graduated from what was St. Paul College of Law but would shortly become the merged institution known as William Mitchell College of Law. True to his sentiments as a child, Wolf has dedicated much of his career to leveling the playing field for historically marginalized communities, from helping initiate the first three women into Rotary International to pushing for greater access for people with disabilities.

“You always have to review your values, what your benefits are in life and how you could give back for how you’ve benefited,” he said. “If you have the opportunity, the ability, the time, along with the mannerisms to give back, then you’ve been blessed to do it.”

Jack McDonald, Wolf ’s law partner at the Wheeler Wolf firm in Bismarck for more than 40 years, said if he wasn’t working at the office, Wolf would be serving his community, whether that was fundraising for a charity or assisting on the board of a local nonprofit.

“Everybody knew Al Wolf,” said Burt Riskedahl ’73, who was immediately drawn to Wolf ’s f lamboyant, outgoing personality at the Bismarck Rotary Club. “I always saw him as a leader in the legal community in Bismarck, and really in North Dakota.”

A generalist who has handled everything from commercial banking to tribal issues to criminal law, Wolf has had to slow down during the pandemic but is eager to get back to work.

He said the key to maintaining a passion for practicing law as long as he has is to balance wanting to earn good pay, be seen as a leader in your community, and serve the needs of others. “If you’d combine those three, weigh them back and forth and offer their relative importance in your life, you can become a very happy lawyer.”

Danielle Wong is a freelance journalist in the Twin Cities.

“I wanted to be somebody who was going to benefit people.”

Albert Wolf

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

21

ALUMNI NEWS

Kristin Nimsger brings years of experience running tech firms to new advisory role

BY TODD NELSON

S

uccessful tech CEO Kristin Nimsger ’98 has gone from building and running software companies to advising them on a larger scale on growth strategy and operational transformation.

Nimsger joined Vista Equity Partners in April as a senior adviser in the Austin, Texas-based firm’s private equity division. She previously led two portfolio companies for Vista, which has $58 billion in capital commitments across its investment strategies.

And she’s moving in 2021 to a new job as operating partner at Thoma Bravo, a leading software investor that recently raised $22.8 billion in new capital.

The Minnesota native thrives on competition, from dancing competitively as a youngster to working as a product liability lawyer in Minneapolis to leading rapidly growing tech companies.

“What I loved about (legal) practice is that competitive component, the desire to advocate for your client and drive change and positive results,” Nimsger said. “That’s not horribly dissimilar to the charter of growing a business. It’s creating positive change and evolution and opportunity.”

Nimsger joined Twin Cities tech start-up Ontrack Data International in 2000 after a William Mitchell classmate told her how much fun he had working there. She became president during a decade-long run before leading Thomson Reuters’ litigation practice software business for two years.

Vista called in 2013, recruiting Nimsger to serve as CEO of MicroEdge, a philanthropic tech company based in Minneapolis and New York City. After MicroEdge was sold, Nimsger joined Vista portfolio company Social Solutions as CEO in 2016. She helped secure a $59 million pledge from former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for the firm, which supports nonprofits and government agencies with data science and information solutions.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest crisis for Nimsger, who also led tech companies through 9/11’s aftermath and the 2008-09 financial meltdown.

“What’s exciting is the opportunity to take those experiences and bring them forward across a broader portfolio of companies and help their management teams grapple with those hard challenges that I and my management teams have seen over the years,” Nimsger said.

Working at Vista, which partners with enterprise software company executives to advance and scale their portfolio companies, and now moving to a similar role at Thoma Bravo, “is not something I would have expected as I walked into Mitchell my first day,” Nimsger said.

Nimsger chose William Mitchell in part to be close to friends and family. Having worked full time since she was 16, including while earning a bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Nimsger appreciated maintaining a full work and class schedule in law school.

To this day, Nimsger said, her closest friends are her law school classmates.

“There was something unique about the culture and the sense of community,” Nimsger said. “People really helped each other. The relationships that were formed there, there are people that are still my go-to people. I loved my time at Mitchell.

Those are experiences and knowledge that I draw on every day.”

Todd Nelson is a freelance journalist in the Twin Cities.

22

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Photograph by MICHELLE ALLEN

ALUMNI NEWS

Cambodian refugee honored for decades of immigration advocacy Sothea Phea Poch ‘does not give up on people easily,’ colleague says

BY MAJA BECKSTROM

W

hen Sothea Phea Poch ’99 arrived in Minnesota as a teenager from a refugee camp in Thailand, he says, “I had nothing to offer but determination and persistence.”

It turns out that was enough.

Poch (pronounced POACH) became the first Cambodian graduate of a Minnesota law school. In September, he received the Minnesota Justice Foundation’s Outstanding Service Award in the category of Advocate, in recognition of three decades of working with immigrants and refugees.

“I just wanted to help people who were in my situation,” he says.

In the camp, Poch was unable to afford fees for English lessons, so he eavesdropped through a hole poked into the palm-leaf walls of a makeshift classroom.

After coming to Minnesota in 1984 with little formal schooling, the 19-year-old read newspapers to learn more English.

He graduated from Augsburg College in 1990 with a double major in social work and French and became a paralegal at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS).

At the time, Cambodians who had fled the Khmer Rouge and settled in the United States were petitioning to be reunited with children and parents.

The only way to prove family relationships was through DNA testing, so Poch accompanied his mentor Glenda Potter ’80 to Cambodia to obtain blood samples and carried them back on ice in a suitcase. “It was easy then,” he recalled.

“Now I don’t think we’d be allowed to bring them in.”

Potter encouraged Poch to enroll in law school, and after graduating from Hamline University School of Law in 1999, Poch returned to SMRLS, where he has helped hundreds of people apply for permanent resident status and become citizens.

“Mr. Poch’s passion and commitment to help people are unwavering,” his colleague Susie Vang ’12 wrote in a letter nominating him for the MJF award. “People come to Mr. Poch when they are on their last strand of hope. They have

gone through the immigration system. They have been denied immigration benefits. They are dejected. But Mr. Poch does not give up on cases easily. He does not give up on people easily.”

Poch also occasionally works on behalf of people facing deportation. “If I’m able to help this person, in many cases people are really happy, they’re in tears,” he says. “It’s a thing I love to do. It reminds me of when I was desperate. This is where the most rewarding work is, if I can help one family stay together.”

Maja Beckstrom is a writer and journalist in St. Paul.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

23

ALUMNI NEWS

Alumni Association adds members, names new leaders Mitchell Hamline’s Alumni Association board added five new members and had a change in leadership starting July 1.

Alex Beeby ’16, an attorney with Larkin Hoffman, is the new president, and Landon Ascheman ’09, owner of Ascheman Law, is vice president.

The Hon. John Rodenberg ’81 completed his term of service on the board and has rotated off.

The new members are:

Kevin Cassidy ’16 Staff attorney and data practices compliance official, Minnesota IT Services

Jason Johnson ’18 Judicial law clerk, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota

Jackie Perez ’19 Judicial law clerk, 2nd Judicial District, Minnesota

Evan Tsai ’07 Defense attorney, League of Minnesota Cities

Joe Roach ’94 Founder and managing partner, Roach Business Law

Employment rate for 2019 grads nearly 95 percent Nearly 95 percent of Mitchell Hamline 2019 graduates have found meaningful employment after law school, according to data compiled this spring. That’s the highest rate in the five years since Mitchell Hamline was created from the combination of its two legacy schools. That rate measured nearly 300 students who graduated between Sept. 1, 2018, and Aug. 31, 2019. It was 90 percent the previous year.

Mitchell Hamline’s student population includes a significant number of established professionals who are earning a law degree to enhance or build upon an existing career–often through the blended-learning path. The class of 2019 employment rate includes graduates working in jobs that require bar passage as well as those who have found employment in positions where a J.D. is an advantage and other professional positions. Those pursuing an advanced degree full-time within 10 months of graduation are counted as well.

Of the 94.9 percent of Mitchell Hamline’s 2019 graduates who have found work, nearly one in five are employed in judicial clerkships in federal and state courts.

24

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

In October, we emailed our first edition of The Brief—an update to the alumni e-newsletter that many of you have received for years. We are excited to be delivering alumni all of the updates and information in this engaging new format.

Going forward, we hope you’ll continue to stay informed as The Brief arrives each month and take action. We’ve made it more user-friendly and easier to share and connect on social media. If you aren’t subscribed to the e-newsletter, visit mitchellhamline.edu/alumni and sign up!

ALUMNI NEWS

Alumni Award winners focused on serving others The Mitchell Hamline Alumni Association honored three women who work on behalf of underserved communities with its alumni awards for 2020.

Jean Lastine ’80 received the Distinguished Alumni Award for her work of more than 20 years at the helm of Central Minnesota Legal Services (CMLS), helping low-income Minnesotans get access to legal services.

Lastine has worked in the legal aid community since graduating from William Mitchell College of Law in 1980. She was with several divisions of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid before joining CMLS in 1997.

Jill Esch ’03, a state ombudsperson for Native families navigating the child protection system, received the Outstanding Alumni Award for her work to attract Native students to study at Mitchell Hamline.

Esch’s work includes investigating complaints for noncompliance of the Indian Child Welfare Act, the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act, and other laws and policies. A Native Hawaiian, Esch won the firstever Women in Law scholarship at William Mitchell in 2000.

Mirella Ceja-Orozco ’12 received the Recent Alumni Award for her work in immigration law.

Since graduating from law school, Ceja-Orozco has worked to help people navigate the complexities of immigration law. Originally from Northern California, Ceja-Orozco came to St. Paul to attend Hamline University School of Law and has remained. She worked in private practice and at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota before joining Ojala-Barbour law firm in St. Paul.

Law review honors Lillehaug and two alums The Mitchell Hamline Law Review announced a new award this spring honoring former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Lillehaug in addition to recognizing two alums for leadership and public service.

The Justice David Lillehaug Service Award honors the former justice, who retired in July 2020, for his lifelong contributions to the Minnesota legal community and support

David Lillehaug

John Choi

Mara Burr

for Minnesota legal scholarship. It will be awarded in the future to recognize significant lifetime legal achievement.

The law review honored John Choi ’95 and Mara Burr ’95 with its 2019 Wallace-Lerner Excellence in Leadership Awards.

Choi, the first Korean-American chief prosecutor in the United States, serves as Ramsey County Attorney in St. Paul. He is a nationally recognized leader in criminal justice reform and, as Ramsey County Attorney, has revolutionized how the government responds to sex trafficking and domestic violence cases.

Burr is director of multilateral relations in the United States Department of Health and Human Services. She coordinates responses to international health policy among U.S. agencies and manages the department’s relationship with the World Health Organization, United Nations, and Pan-American Health Organization.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

25

FACULTY NEWS

It starts with a red paper clip

Melissa Miroslavich's daughter with pug, Macaroon

Professor Sharon Press has her students trade their way up from a small office supply to something valuable

By Maja Beckstrom When Melissa Miroslavich ’20 noticed her neighbor cleaning out the garage last year, she hustled over with a proposition.

“I said, ‘I have this red paper clip, and it’s really cool, and do you have something you want to trade for it?’” said Miroslavich. Her neighbor thought the request was strange but offered a sleeve of golf balls.

That exchange was part of a law school assignment.

Since 2017, Professor Sharon Press, director of the Dispute Resolution Institute, has mailed a red paper clip to students in her online Negotiation class with instructions to exchange it in a series of five trades for something valuable. The exercise is based on the experience of Canadian blogger Kyle MacDonald, author of “One Red Paperclip.” In one year and 14 trades, MacDonald famously bartered his way up from a red paper clip to a house.

While no one has landed real estate, students have ended up with an airplane ticket, a drum set, and a bathroom renovation. One got a lawyer to complete divorce papers, and another, who was expecting twins, landed a double stroller.

“I have been completely blown away,” said Press. “Not only have they gotten impressive things, many of them have gotten things they really wanted.” More to the point, they’ve learned principles of negotiation—what does the other party value, and what would encourage someone to engage?

26

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Miroslavich thought she’d easily find someone who valued golf balls. “I was wrong,” she said. After being turned down by several golfers, she finally traded them for a young adult novel, which she swapped for three bracelets, which she traded for a stone planter.

She sent 45 emails offering the planter in exchange for items people had posted on Craigslist and Nextdoor. “I did find one woman who was willing to trade a yoga mat and a water bottle,” she said. “But how do I go from this $250 planter to a yoga mat?”

With the assignment due in days, she sent desperate emails to shop owners, suggesting they might want a planter outside their door. Miroslavich ended up bartering with the owner of an upscale dog salon for a plush dog bed that wasn’t selling, a cheetah print dog sweater, and a crystal-studded, suede collar—retail value $305.99.

“Having a level of trust with the person you’re negotiating with is important. So is a positive attitude,” said Miroslavich.

“When everybody wins, those are the best negotiations.”

The biggest winners in Miroslavich’s case? Her 14-yearold daughter and the girl’s pug, Macaroon. “My daughter thinks this is the best stuff ever. I mean, in her eyes, this is all priceless.”

Maja Beckstrom is a journalist and writer in St. Paul.

FACULTY NEWS

Professors in the

edia

Mitchell Hamline faculty are often interviewed for their legal expertise on the news of the day.

Here’s a sample of 2020 media coverage from across the country featuring our faculty: “This decision is a wakeup call to state governments and local municipalities that treaties are going to be taken seriously—as they always should have been—by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

ANGELIQUE EAGLEWOMAN (Wambdi A. Was’teWinyan, Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Oyate), on the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt v. Oklahoma decision. Aug. 11, NPR

“The border zone is a relatively lawless place as far as civil liberties are concerned. The federal government has pretty wide-ranging authority to engage in questioning, to detain you, or to conduct searches.”

ANA POTTRATZ ACOSTA, on Iranian Americans reportedly being detained entering the U.S. in the Pacific Northwest. Jan. 6, KARE 11

“In the states that allow cameras in the courtroom, we just haven’t seen evidence that trial proceedings are affected in a negative way. To a large extent, these high-profile cases probably offer some of the best arguments for coverage because people are really interested.”

RALEIGH LEVINE, on the debate over whether cameras should be allowed in the courtroom in the upcoming trial of the police officers accused of killing George Floyd in Minneapolis. July 30, KSTP

“The idea is to instill a new culture, a new belief system, so that when there’s training and awareness made of these laws, officers know that something is different.”

JIM HILBERT, on Minnesota’s law that details when police can use deadly force, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and ahead of a special session where state lawmakers were to debate changes to the law.

June 17, Star Tribune

“This happens all the time. It happens because a lot of companies are not in a position like Hubbard is, to have the resources to bring litigation.”

SHARON SANDEEN, on trademark infringement alleged by Hubbard Broadcasting in a lawsuit against Facebook and Instagram for naming a videosharing service “Reels.” Hubbard has long owned a cable and satellite TV network called REELZ. Aug. 19, Minnesota Lawyer MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

27

FACULTY NEWS

Mitchell Hamline adds six faculty members Mitchell Hamline strengthened its legal writing program with the addition of three faculty members in 2020 and bolstered leadership of the Indian Law Program, now called the Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute.

In all, six new members of the faculty began July 1.

Joining the legal writing program are Professor of Law Wendy Shea, previously the Judge Freddie Pitcher Jr. Associate Professor of Law at Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Associate Professor of Law Melissa Shultz, who was an assistant professor and director of legal writing at the University of North Texas Dallas College of Law; and Assistant Professor of Law Hetal Dalal, who served for 10 years as in-house counsel for The Center for Popular Democracy and its predecessor organization, which she co-founded in 2010.

Wendy Shea

Melissa Schultz

Hetal Dalal

IN BRIEF Professor Ann Juergens, co-director for nearly 30 years of the school’s clinical programs and a longtime advocate on behalf of low-wealth and marginalized communities, received the David Graven award in April from the Minnesota State Bar Association. The award, named for a University of Minnesota law professor and trial attorney who was long active in state politics, was created to recognize and encourage public service among lawyers.

Associate Professor Ana Pottratz Acosta, clinical instructor for the Medical-Legal Partnership, received the Olga Zoltai Award this spring from the International Institute of Minnesota for her work in immigration law. The award is named for a Hungarian refugee and immigrant advocate who cofounded the immigration law clinic at William Mitchell College of Law in 1985.

Professor of Law Angelique EagleWoman co-directs the Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute. She has been a visiting professor at Mitchell Hamline since 2018 and was previously dean and professor of law at Bora Laskin Faculty of Law at Lakehead University in Ontario.

Two visiting professors of law joined the faculty: Steve Aggergaard, a 2004 graduate of William Mitchell College of Law who had been assistant professor of legal writing at Mitchell Hamline since 2017 and was previously in private practice; and Stevie Swanson, who was a professor of law at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School since 2016 and associate professor of law at the school for 10 years before that.

Angelique EagleWoman

Steve Aggergaard

Stevie Swanson

Professor Thaddeus Pope has received a Fulbright Scholar Award to be a research chair in health law, policy, and ethics at the University of Ottawa in the spring of 2021. He plans to compare end-of-life care policies between Canada and the United States, focusing on medical aid in dying, medical futility, and brain death.

Professor Nancy Ver Steegh received the Stanley Cohen Distinguished Research Award for 2020, sponsored by the Oregon Family Institute. The award recognizes outstanding research in the field of family and divorce.

Professor Colette Routel co-authored a brief that was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in its July ruling in McGirt v.

Oklahoma, which affirmed that a large part of eastern Oklahoma remains a reservation for the Creek Nation. Routel co-authored two amicus briefs on behalf of the National Congress of American Indians.

More information at mitchellhamline.edu/news

28

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

STUDENT NEWS

2020 INCOMING CLASS IS LARGEST EVER FOR MITCHELL HAMLINE AND PREDECESSOR SCHOOLS Our fall 2020 incoming class of 404 is the largest in the history of Mitchell Hamline and its legacy schools. The entering class is Mitchell Hamline’s most qualified ever, slightly more diverse than last year, and includes the highest-ever number of blended-learning students.

“We are honored that so many students decided Mitchell Hamline was the place for them to continue to work toward their goals in this extraordinary time,” said Ann Gemmell, vice president of enrollment. “This school’s history of success in online learning gave students the confidence to continue toward their goals despite the uncertainty this year has brought.”

Fall 2020 Incoming Class: 404 students

1,300 applications 125 of the 1Ls are enrolled in the full-time J.D. program 279 are enrolled in part-time J.D. program 55% come from outside Minnesota 22% are students of color or Indigenous students 52% are women 10% identify as LGBTQ+ 21 students are receiving veterans educational benefits Total Enrollment: 1,226 students

474 full time 752 part time 48 states represented 16 students with foreign citizenship

Photograph by BRADY WILLETTE

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

29

STUDENT NEWS

Three new graduates selected for merit awards This past April, three students from the class of 2020 were selected by the Mitchell Hamline Alumni Board as recipients of the Student Award of Merit. Winners are recognized for their academic accomplishments; contributions to the community; commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; and drive to remain engaged with the law school as alumni.

Jane Blaney was editor in chief of the Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice and president of the Health Law Society. She earned 2nd place at the 2019 Health Law Regulatory and Compliance Competition. She volunteered as a mentor to students and served as an ambassador for the admissions office, giving tours to prospective students and faculty.

Gabriel Ramirez-Hernandez was vice president of the Student Bar Association and served as the student representative on the President and Dean Search Committee. He was a judicial extern for Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Davis. He was the only student from Minnesota and one of 30 law students nationally to participate in the Hispanic National Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Law Institute in Washington, D.C. In April, he and partner Caleb Gerbitz won best brief at the Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition, put on by the Younger Lawyers Division of the Federal Bar Association.

Adriana Orman, a student in the blended-learning enrollment option, was a member of the Native American Law Students Association and co-chair of the public relations committee. She was primary editor of the Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Practice and Policy, in which she published her research on school funding on the Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona, where she lived for her first two years of law school.

IN BRIEF Gabriel Andrade, far left, and Jacob Petersen were awarded first place brief this summer in the Hispanic National Bar Association’s 25th Annual Uvaldo Herrera National Moot Court Competition.

Nicole Joy Frethem won a special election to the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners in Minnesota in Nov. 2019, then won a full term in the 2020 election.

Amber Goodwin, far left, and Kirsty Hanson are the first students in the blendedlearning enrollment option to be elected president and vice president of the Student Bar Association. Goodwin is the first Black woman to serve as the group’s president.

30

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Al Metoxen was honored posthumously as a finalist this spring for Law School Student of the Year by National Jurist. Metoxen, a member of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, was to have graduated in January 2020 but died unexpectedly in October 2019.

Dylan O’Brien was honored this fall with a Law Student Volunteer Award by the Minnesota Justice Foundation.

SCHOOL NEWS

DEAN NIEDWIECKI NAMES TOP LEADERSHIP TEAM

Stephen Kent

Leslie Wright

Ann Gemmell

Chris Szaj

President and Dean Anthony Niedwiecki is building his executive leadership team with a mix of new hires and current administrators, and the seven-member group will include a newly created position overseeing diversity efforts as well.

Niedwiecki has hired two people this fall to fill open vice president positions.

Stephen Kent, who goes by Kent, is the new vice president of finance and administration. He comes from North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where he was vice president of finance and facilities. Previously, Kent served in the military for over 25 years in various chief financial officer roles in South Korea and Kuwait. He has a B.S. in business administration from Alcorn State University and an MBA, Comptrollership from Syracuse University.

Leslie Wright is the new vice president of development and alumni affairs. She has been director of external engagement at the Greater Twin Cities United Way for the last two years and was director of community engagement for three years before that. Previously, she was senior vice president for destination sales and services at Meet Minneapolis and director of sales and marketing for Marriott International. Wright earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from Howard University.

Niedwiecki announced on his first day as dean in July a variety of measures to increase diversity, including creation of the new role of vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

A search firm has been hired to fill that job, and Niedwiecki hopes to have someone in place early in 2021.

In addition to Kent, Wright, and the vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion, the executive leadership team includes four existing Mitchell Hamline staff members: • Ann Gemmell ’12, formerly dean of admissions and now vice president of enrollment; • Chris Szaj, formerly vice president of community relations and operations and now vice president of institutional management; • Professor Jim Hilbert, newly named vice dean for academic and faculty affairs; • Dean of Students Lynn LeMoine ’11.

Professor Jim Hilbert

Lynn LeMoine

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

31

SCHOOL NEWS

Board of trustees adds five members Five new members joined the Mitchell Hamline School of Law board of trustees July 1, and new leaders were installed.

Frank V. Harris ’75, retired executive director of Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, began serving as chair.

Harris took over leadership from Lisa A. Gray ’86, who rotated off the board.

Nicole James Gilchrist ’03 is the new vice chair; Steven Kirsch ’76 remains as secretary; and Gregory L. Buck ’87 is treasurer.

In addition to Gray, the following trustees stepped down after completing their terms: Judge Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks ’85, James J. Hoolihan ’79, Ellen G. Sampson ’84, and David M. Sparby ’80.

Alex Beeby ’16

Patrick Garay-Heelan ’09

David G. Hellmuth ’92

Attorney with Larkin Hoffman and alumni board representative to the board of trustees

Senior vice president and senior wealth advisor at Bremer Wealth

Founding partner of Hellmuth & Johnson

Chris Montana ’13

Melissa Lee Wright ’93

Owner of Du Nord Craft Spirits

Chief content officer at Twin Cities PBS

Office of Disability Services puts focus on student needs Up until a year ago, Mitchell Hamline’s work with students with disabilities was shared among various employees in the Office of the Dean of Students. In the fall of 2019, in response to a growing number of students with disabilities, the school created the Office of Disability Services and hired Shammah Bermudez, who brought more than a decade of experience working with college Shammah Bermudez students with disabilities.

Formerly director of disability services at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania and now assistant director for disability and student services at Mitchell Hamline, Bermudez said it is important for students with disabilities to have a resource specifically dedicated to serving their needs.

Bermudez works directly with individual students and also schoolwide to address barriers of access and inclusion, provide professional development programs around disability

32

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

awareness, and help modify policies. A second employee, Jennifer Iverson, joined the Office of Disability Services in June as an accessibility resource specialist, focusing on providing documentation remediation support for students.

She had previously been in a temporary role.

Seven percent of Mitchell Hamline students identify as having a disability and work with Disability Services, but that doesn’t count students who may have a disability and have not sought out services. Part of the work of his office, Bermudez said, is “trying to normalize the use of accommodations and working to get rid of that stigma.”

“I always try to view my work through a social justice lens whenever I look at disability services,” he said. The barriers experienced by those with disabilities are socially created, he said, and removing those barriers is as important as other civil rights. Having an office specifically dedicated to pursuing that mission, Bermudez said, “also aligns with Mitchell Hamline’s goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus.”

SCHOOL NEWS

Reentry Clinic receives funding, recognition for helping incarcerated seek medical release The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has provided a new focus for Mitchell Hamline’s Reentry Clinic, which has helped secure the release from prison of medically vulnerable people and supported them with follow-up legal services.

The Arnold Foundation recently announced a $125,000 grant to the clinic and its director, Jon Geffen ’97, to provide services to the more than 150 people recently released from Minnesota prisons and to assist those still incarcerated overcome barriers to release. The grant will also help expand the Reentry Clinic’s work, including funding two new staff positions.

“We are very grateful for the new funding, which will further allow us to assist incarcerated individuals to obtain release during COVID-19 and serve those already released with their legal needs,” said Geffen. “This work is vital because of COVID’s impact on incarcerated individuals’ health.” The clinic received a $145,000 grant last year from the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundations to support its efforts as well.

Geffen, along with fellow William Mitchell grad Professor Brad Colbert ’85 and Mitchell Hamline students, was honored in September by the Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF) for the work the clinic has done assisting incarcerated people with applying for conditional medical release. The honor was shared with professors and students from the University of Minnesota and the University of St. Thomas.

MJF cited work the three law schools started in April to assist incarcerated people with applying for release. Prisons and jails are hotspots for COVID-19 infection around the country. The Minnesota Department of Corrections agreed to allow incarcerated individuals to call a new law school hotline to complete application forms. Because of the volume of calls, and because it was not possible to call the inmates back, the Reentry Clinic needed many more volunteers to answer the phones. Professors from the law schools put out the word seeking help, and the response was overwhelming. Students drafted nearly 300 applications and took hundreds more calls from family and friends. The Department of Corrections ultimately approved the release of 178 individuals.

Jon Geffen

Brad Colbert

“We are very grateful for the new funding, which will further allow us to assist incarcerated individuals to obtain release during COVID-19 and serve those already released with their legal needs.”

Jon Geffen

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

33

SCHOOL NEWS

IN BRIEF The Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute is the new name for what was known as the Indian Law Program. Angelique EagleWoman, far left, who was named professor of law as of July 1, co-directs the institute along with Professor Colette Routel. The name change helps highlight the importance of sovereignty within Native American law, said EagleWoman. “Tribal nations have governed in this region and across the country since time immemorial. Our institute focuses on the sovereign-tosovereign relationships of tribal governments in alliances and with the U.S. federal government.”

Also this fall, EagleWoman was sworn in as an associate justice on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Supreme Court of Appeals.

It is a four-year term, and she is the first Sisseton-Wahpeton tribal member to sit on the tribe’s highest court, which was established in 2014.

“I am extremely honored by this appointment and looking forward to serving my tribe in this role furthering our values and laws,” said EagleWoman.

The Health Law Institute announced winners this summer in a new national contest, the Roy Snell Health Care Regulatory and Compliance Writing Competition.

Submissions were judged by an independent panel of legal and compliance experts, and neither the entrants’ identity nor academic institution were known to judges. Mitchell Hamline student Jane Blaney came in first, followed by law students from Villanova University and Georgia State.

The contest, which required students to analyze a hypothetical fact pattern involving an organization facing multifaceted health care regulatory/compliance matters, is named for Roy Snell, former CEO of the Health Care Compliance Association and the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics.

Barbara Colombo ’89, professor of law and director of the Health Care Compliance Program, became director of the Health Law Institute this fall. She replaces Professor Thaddeus Pope, who had served as director since January 2012.

34

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

was voted Best Law School and Best Non-Association Continuing Legal Education Provider by readers of Finance and Commerce and Minnesota Lawyer in the 2020 Reader Rankings. Mitchell Hamline won these two awards, plus Best in Alumni Relations, in 2017 and 2018 as well.

Mitchell Hamline

The Dispute Resolution Institute’s (DRI) mediation course this past summer was the first fully online mediation course approved by the Minnesota State Court Administrator’s Office as meeting certification requirements enumerated under Minnesota General Rules of Practice for the state’s district courts (Rule 114: Alternative Dispute Resolution). Designed and taught by Professor James Coben, the 8-week course, for which students could earn law and graduate school academic credit, utilized the Canvas and Zoom platforms to give students the opportunity to conduct simulated virtual mediations as part of their classroom experience. DRI will offer the Rule 114 approved mediation course again in January as a synchronous, online course via the Zoom platform.

The Center for Law and Business debuted its Open Resource Tool on its website, designed to solicit ideas, research, articles, and discussion on the teaching of business and the law.

The Expert Witness Training Academy received renewed funding this summer from the National Science Foundation, in the amount of $447,741 over three years.

Mitchell Hamline’s Mobile Law Office was honored June 30 by the Ramsey County Bar Association Diversity Committee with its annual Excellence in Diversity Award. The award recognized the “Wheels of Justice” for offering free legal services to members of the community who are often underserved. The vehicle was also used this fall to help register voters for the November election.

More information at mitchellhamline.edu/news

CLASS NOTES

1972

1984

1989

STEPHEN B. BONNER was appointed to the White Field Avant Global team as an investment committee member and strategic adviser.

CARTER DELAITTRE received a 2021 Best Lawyers designation.

ANNETTE ASHLEY was reelected to the MiddletonCross Plains Area School District in Wisconsin.

1985 JOHN M. STANOCH joined the Community Health Charities national board of directors.

1979 BILL BLONIGAN was elected mayor of Robbinsdale, Minn.

1980 JOHN N. ALLEN received the Gary Holmes Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2020 Minnesota Real Estate Awards.

BARBARA J. GISLASON presented at the 63rd Congress of the Union Internationale des Avocats in Luxembourg.

JEAN A. LASTINE was awarded the Mitchell Hamline Distinguished Alumni Award for her work of more than 20 years at the helm of Central Minnesota Legal Services.

1982 STEVEN G. HOFFMEYER wrote a short story, “The Best Decision For All Concerned,” that was published in the “Minnesota Not So Nice” mystery anthology.

1983 ALAN A. PANEK was named member of the year by the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

LAWRENCE M. ROCHEFORD joined Lommen Abdo as shareholder.

TIMOTHY M. WALSH received a 2021 Best Lawyers designation.

PAULA CALLIES was elected to the city council in Shorewood, Minn.

1990 TIMOTHY C. BAXTER retired after serving 30 years as Crawford County (Wis.) district attorney.

1986 CLARK D. OPDAHL was named one of the 2019 Attorneys of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer, was selected to the 2020 Minnesota Super Lawyers list, and received a 2021 Best Lawyers designation.

1987 JAMES P. CAREY was appointed to the board of directors of Union Bank & Trust Company.

LISA E. SEIFERT celebrated the 30th anniversary of Seifert Law Offices.

1988 STACY A. BROMAN was awarded the 2020 Diversity Award from the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel.

CHARLES HALVERSON was reelected to Minnesota’s 9th Judicial District Court bench.

BRIAN E. STROMEN joined the executive management team at Ryan as principal and practice leader of the national tax practice.

JEANINE R. BRAND was appointed to Minnesota's 9th Judicial District Court bench.

JOHN E. SWANBERG retired from the Army after 42 years of combined active and reserve duty. He will be working in Douglas County (Wis.) as assigned counsel for the Public Defender's Office.

1991 JOE ATKINS was reelected to the Dakota County Board of Commissioners in Minnesota.

JANA AUSTAD was reelected to Minnesota’s 9th Judicial District Court bench.

RODNEY W. DEQUAINE was named 2019 Attorney of the Year by the Wisconsin Child Support Enforcement Association. He is the director and attorney for the Door County Child Support Agency.

JACQUELINE A. MRACHEK joined the Minneapolis office of Littler as shareholder.

SYLVIA L. STROBEL was elected as a member director on NPR’s board of directors. She was also named president and CEO of Twin Cities PBS (TPT).

1992 PATRICIA A. ELIAS was appointed vice president, general counsel, and secretary of the Merrill Corporation.

ANNE K. MCKEIG, an associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court, was awarded the 2020 Child Welfare Leadership Award from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare.

MARK A. MUHICH was appointed to supervise public defender services in Carlton and northern St. Louis counties in Minnesota.

TIMOTHY S. MURPHY joined the Minneapolis office of Taft as partner.

1993 JOSEPH T. BAGNOLI joined Winthrop & Weinstine as shareholder.

SUSAN R. BUCKLEY was elected president of the Ramsey County Bar Association for 2020-21.

MITCHEL C. CHARGO was named general counsel and executive vice president of Leafline Industries.

MARK D. STIGNANI joined the Minneapolis office of Barnes & Thornburg as partner.

MELISSA L. WRIGHT was promoted to chief content officer at Twin Cities PBS (TPT).

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

35

CLASS NOTES

1994

1997

2001

ERIC H. CHADWICK received a 2021 Best Lawyers designation.

He was also listed as a 2020 top patent practitioner by IAM Patent 1000.

RICHARD P. OHLENBERG received a 2020 Minnesota Super Lawyers designation.

NAN I. HAGGERTY was elected county commissioner of District 1 in Pope County, Minn.

PETER M. REYES presented at the 63rd Congress of the Union Internationale des Avocats in Luxembourg.

MINARD “MIKE” HALVERSON joined the Minneapolis office of DeWitt as partner.

BRENT R. JOHNSON is serving his second year in a two-year term on Lommen Abdo's board of directors and is chair of the finance committee.

TIMOTHY M. KENNY was named global head of intellectual property at Norton Rose Fulbright.

He also serves as the firm's Minneapolis partner-in-charge, leading a global IP team of more than 250 lawyers.

AMY L. DUMOND KOTTKE joined the Minneapolis office of Hinshaw & Culbertson as partner.

BRIGITT M. ORFIELD received a 2021 Best Lawyers designation.

MARK D. SALSBURY joined Fredrikson & Byron as shareholder.

1995 STONEY L. HILJUS was elected chief judge of Minnesota’s 10th Judicial District.

ROBIN N. KELLEHER published her second book, “Sit Stay Pray”, based on her blog about her toy Australian shepherd, Lina.

1996

36

GARRETT M. WEBER joined the intellectual property and business law teams at Moss & Barnett.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

1998 ERIC W. BEYER was promoted to partner at SiebenCarey.

JOE FREDERICK was elected to membership in the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation.

TIMOTHY L. GUSTIN was reelected to a three-year term on Moss & Barnett's board of directors.

GORDON S. WEBER was named senior vice president of legal, general counsel, and secretary of Surmodics.

1999 PATRICK J. GALLAGHER joined Barnes & Thornburg as partner in the Intellectual Property Department of the Minneapolis office.

KATHLEEN M. LOUCKS was reelected to serve a second two-year term on Lommen Abdo's board of directors. She also serves on the firm's succession planning and compensation committees.

2000 WENDY BADGER joined the Ovaile Law Group as of counsel.

MARTIN S. FALLON was appointed to Minnesota’s 1st Judicial District Court bench SARA WILSON joined the Minneapolis office of Lommen Abdo.

JOEL D. LEVITON was recognized as a 2020 Minnesota leading practitioner in trademark law by World Trademark Review 1000. This is the eighth year he has been selected.

MAY CHAO PARKER joined the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development as general counsel.

ANDREW C. SLOSS was selected as chief economic development director and CEO of Brookings Economic Development Corporation.

LISA T. SPENCER was promoted to president of Henson Efron. She was also named a 2020 Women in Business honoree by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal and was selected to the 2020 Minnesota Super Lawyers Top 100 and Top 50 Women Lists.

KARL G. SUNDQUIST was appointed division head of the St. Louis County, Minn., Attorney’s office.

2002 JAYNE J. JONES BEEHLER has written five youth hockey fiction books, with a sixth to be released this year.

PATRICK M. BIREN was appointed to Minnesota’s 1st Judicial District Court bench.

BARBARA BURANDT was reelected to the Sherburne County Board of Commissioners in Minnesota.

JASON E. ENGKJER is serving his second year in a two-year term on Lommen Abdo's board of directors. He is co-chair of firm’s transportation law practice and chairs the business development and marketing committee.

SHERRY E. HALEY was appointed to Minnesota’s 5th Judicial District Court bench.

ANDREW J. NOEL joined Robins Kaplan as partner in the firm's Minneapolis office.

2003 RACHEL L. AHRENS was appointed to Alaska’s Superior Court bench.

TAMMERA R. DIEHM was named president of Winthrop & Weinstine. She is the first woman to hold the position.

JILL K. ESCH was awarded the Mitchell Hamline Outstanding Alumni Award for her work to attract Native students to study at Mitchell Hamline.

CAMERON R. KELLY was elected to a two-year term on Lommen Abdo’s board of directors and also serves on its finance and business development and marketing committees.

JILL A. LISKA was appointed general counsel, director of legal services, and senior vice president of Sargent & Lundy.

LYNDSEY M. OLSON obtained a master's degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.

RUTH A. RIVARD was recognized as a 2020 Minnesota leading practitioner in trademark law by World Trademark Review 1000. This is the fourth year she has been selected.

CLASS NOTES RICHELLE M. WAHI was a recipient of the 2020 Diversity & Inclusion Award from Minnesota Lawyer.

2004 MICHELLE E. BASHAM was named president and CEO of YWCA Minneapolis.

NICOLE L. JOHNSON joined Blank Rome as partner.

MICHAEL M. SKRAM was elected managing shareholder of O'Meara, Leer, Wagner & Kohl.

NATHANIEL D. WELTE was appointed to Minnesota’s 7th Judicial District Court bench.

2006 BRITTANY L. DUNLOP was named district attorney in Anchorage, Alaska.

ALEXANDER J. KIM was named one of the world’s leading patent professionals

by IAM Patent 1000.

PAUL E. KISSELBURG joined the Carlton Fields’ Washington, D.C., office.

2007 KATHLEEN K. CURTIS joined HKM Law Firm.

ERIN SINDBERG PORTER was named chair of the Minnesota Commission on Judicial Selection.

Alums win seats in Congress, Minnesota Legislature The halls of Congress will have another Mitchell Hamline alum after Michelle Fischbach ’11 won election in November, defeating an incumbent who had held the seat for nearly three decades.

Fischbach, a former state senator and briefly Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, will serve as U.S. represenMichelle Fischbach tative from Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District, which covers a large swath of western and northwestern Minnesota. She defeated longtime Rep. Collin Peterson. She joins fellow Republican—and fellow William Mitchell grad—Tom Emmer ’88 as the two Mitchell Hamline alums in Congress.

The election also saw three alums elected to the Minnesota Legislature: • House, Sandra Feist ’07 and Cedrick Frazer ’07 • Senate, Jen McEwen ’09.

With the departures of four alums—Reps. John Lesch ’98 and Jean Wagenius ’83 and Sens. Jerry Relph ’74 and Dick Cohen ’75—the new count for Mitchell Hamline alums in the Minnesota Legislature will be 15, come January.

Alums teach present and future military attorneys Recent or soon-to-be graduates pursuing a legal career in the military might encounter fellow alumni as their next teacher. Major Joshua Scheel, a William Mitchell grad, and Hamline Law alum Major Annemarie (Ellig) Vazquez are professors at the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia. Scheel serves in the national security law department, and Vazquez is a member of the contract and fiscal law department.

The school educates attorneys serving in the five military branches (judge advocates) and the Department of Defense legal community. The programs include a basic course for all new Army judge advocates, continuing legal education courses, and an ABA-approved LL.M. program in military law for senior practitioners of all branches.

During the 2019-20 school year, Mitchell Hamline had three alums on the faculty, giving it the largest representation from any law school, Scheel reports. Lieutenant Colonel Eric Catto, a William Mitchell graduate, previously taught in the criminal law department and is now serving as a military judge.

From left: Major Annemarie (Ellig) Vazquez ’08, Major Joshua Scheel ’08, and Lieutenant Colonel Eric Catto ’06.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

37

CLASS NOTES

2008

ESTEBAN A. RIVERA became the 102nd president of the Hennepin County Bar Association.

JANE BOWMAN was appointed to Minnesota’s Tax Court bench.

AMBER L. DONLEY was appointed to Minnesota’s 1st Judicial District Court bench.

AMBER N. GARRY joined Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala.

JONATHAN D. HOLETS received the Standpoint 2020 Journey of Hope Legal Services Award.

2011 KARIE M. ANDERSON was appointed to Minnesota's 3rd Judicial District Court bench.

KATHRYN H. BENNETT joined Robins Kaplan as partner in the firm's Minneapolis office.

MIKE FRANKLIN was elected mayor of Jordan, Minn.

2009 THOMAS J. HAINJE rejoined Messerli Kramer.

CAROL LEWIS was reelected to the city council in St. Cloud, Minn.

ADINE S. MOMOH was recognized as a 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Award honoree by Minnesota Lawyer.

She was also selected to the 2020 Twin Cities cohort for the Young American Leaders Program at Harvard Business School.

CHRISTOPHER D. PHAM was named one of the 2019 Attorneys of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer.

TARA L. SMITH joined Maxim Law as partner.

2010 JESSICA A. FOCHT-PERLBERG was named executive director of the Southeast Como Improvement Association.

BRIDE A. SEIFERT was appointed to Alaska’s Superior Court bench.

38

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

LORETTA L. FREEMAN was selected by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity to serve as city lead for the 2020-21 term in Atlanta.

COLE A. HICKMAN was named a 2020 Up & Coming Attorney

by Minnesota Lawyer.

NICHOLAS D. MCNEELY was named executive director of the Minnesota Subcontractors Association.

2012 ANDREW M. BIGGERSTAFF was selected as the city attorney of Fridley, Minn.

MIRELLA O. CEJA-OROZCO was awarded the Mitchell Hamline Recent Alumni Award her work in immigration law.

CAITLYN E. FRANCOIS received the 2020 Excellence in Service Award from the Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice.

XIAO C. HUANG joined the Minneapolis office of Faegre Drinker in the Intellectual Property Group.

JEFFREY R. PETERS was elected shareholder at Bassford Remele.

ALLISON M. SEELEY joined the Minneapolis office of Greenberg Traurig.

TRISHA VOLPE was named vice president of ThemeVision.

2013 DANIEL D. KALK was appointed chief deputy attorney of Brown County, Minn.

BRADLEY M. PALMER married Emily Jean Ashlin on Sept. 14, 2019.

2017 DIANE B. GALATOWITSCH was recognized by the Pro Bono Council of the Minnesota State Bar Association Access to Justice Committee and the Minnesota Supreme Court for her outstanding pro bono efforts in 2019.

PATRICK D. NEWMAN was elected shareholder at Bassford Remele. He was also named a 2020 Up & Coming Attorney

by Minnesota Lawyer.

WYNNE C. REECE was named a 2020 Women in Business honoree by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

2014 COREY S. BRONCZYK was elected shareholder at Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala.

2015 JESSICA M. LAMIE was appointed state’s attorney of Hughes County (S.D.).

SARAH A. MCGUIRE was named as one of the 2019 St. Cloud Times/LOCALiQ 5 Under 40 award winners.

AMANDA M. MILLS joined Fredrikson & Byron.

ALLISON M. PLUNKETT received a 2021 Best Lawyers designation. She was also selected to the 2020 Minnesota Super Lawyers rising stars list.

2016 TAL A. BAKKE joined Bassford Remele.

INTI MARTÍNEZALEMÁN received the 2020 Reisman Award for Excellence in Client Service.

NICHOLAS G. STRAFACCIA joined Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala.

2019 ESSENCE B. CLEVELAND was selected for a Witherite Law Group personal injury fellowship.

SARAH COX joined Burnette Shutt & McDaniel as associate.

HALLE HATCH was elected district attorney of Pierce County, Wis.

MEAGHAN HUNT joined Lathrop GPM. LOGAN R. KUGLER joined the Minneapolis office of Stinson as associate.

CAITLIN L. SCHWEIGER was awarded a Benjamin B. Ferencz Fellowship in Human Rights and Law for a second time from World Without Genocide.

MARIA B. SHATONOVA joined Halunen Law’s employment law practice group.

ZACHARY M. SHEAHAN joined the Minneapolis office of Stinson as associate.

CLASS NOTES NICHOLAS P. VALLE joined Kennedy & Graven as associate.

BROOKE M. BESKAU WARG was a recipient of the 2020 Equal Justice Works Fellowship.

2020 DAVID L. DOPPELHAMMER joined Peterson, Kolker, Haedt & Benda.

Photograph by BRADY WILLETTE

CALEB R. GERBITZ was recognized by the Minnesota Federal Bar Association for his outstanding commitment as a law student to the federal bar and excellence in the study of federal law and practice.

YOLANDA N. WILSON VANVEEN was awarded the 2020 Becker Award from the Minnesota State Bar Association.

MARISSA R. WUNDERLICH joined Walbran & Furness.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

39

IN MEMORIAM

Doris Huspeni, Minnesota Court of Appeals judge Judge Doris Ohlsen Huspeni ’70, who died on September 11, 2020, at the age of 91, will be remembered as a skilled practitioner, jurist, and beloved member of the community.

She was one of four women to start classes at William Mitchell College of Law in the fall of 1965. She had four children when she began law school, and had a fifth by the time she graduated as the sole remaining woman from her entering class and a top student. Following law school, she worked in the state Public Defender’s office and as an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Law School until she began working in the court as a family court referee. She later served as both a municipal and district court judge and was appointed to the newly formed Minnesota Court of Appeals by Governor Rudy Perpich in 1984. She retired in 1998 but continued to serve as a senior judge for the Court of Appeals until 2014.

Huspeni remained engaged with William Mitchell as an alumni board member and adjunct professor. In 1992, she received the Hon. Warren Burger Distinguished Alumni Award.

She is remembered by family members as a wonderful mother and grandmother who led by example and demonstrated the value of remaining gracious and grateful. She had many hobbies and enjoyed singing, ballroom dancing, and gardening.

Huspeni is survived by her sister, Judy; sons Paul (Nancy), Jeff (Mary), Mark (Kathy), and Todd (Nancy); daughter Laura Maus (Marc); and grandchildren Matthew (Brittany), Elaine, Kevin, Lauren, Thomas, and Christopher.

1954

1957

1962

CHARLES T. “CHUCK” BARNES, 91, died Jan. 12, 2020. Survived by children Jan Barnes, Joie (Tim) Acheson Lee, Susan (Bruce) Barnes Elliott, and Robert (Sarah) Barnes; grandchildren Kate (Cole) Scattarelli, John (Sarah) Acheson, Annie Acheson, Christian, Joseph and Claire Barnes, Max and Charlie Elliott, Dan and Doug Lee; greatgranddaughter Rose; brother David (Edith) Barnes; sister Nancy (Ken) Barnes McKenna; sister-in-law Marilyn Bradburn; and many loved nephews and nieces.

DANIEL B. GALLAGHER, 91, died Aug. 31, 2020. Survived by his wife, Grace; daughters Ann Gallagher and Mary Gallagher (Jonathan Eversoll); grandchildren Soren and Solvej; many nieces and nephews.

ROBERT L. FINDORFF, 91, died June 7, 2020. Survived by daughters Jean Findorff, Laura (Doug) Norberg, and Mary Findorff (Alan Peterson); sons Karl (Cindy) Findorff and John (Nancy) Findorff; 11 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; three step-great grandchildren; and his cat, Sunshine.

1955 JOHN H. RAMSTEAD, 92, died Feb. 28, 2020.

Survived by his wife, Rosalie; sons Nick Bryant and John (Donna); daughter Anne-Marie; grandchildren Annie, Grace, and Lily Sullivan and John, Micheal, and Matthew Ramstead; and great-grandson AJ Ramstead.

40

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

1961 HAROLD E. BURKE, 85, died April 29, 2020. Survived by his wife, Mary Katherine (Sullivan); children Tim (Penny Leporte), Ann (Eugene) Karels, Joan (Rick) Orr, and Cathy; grandchildren Cassie and Liz Burke, Matthew, Juliana, Clare, and Cecilia Karels, and Rebecca, Emily, Charlie, and Nick Orr; brother George (Shirley); close family friend Tom de Ranitz; and many nieces and nephews.

JAMES H. JOHNSON, 87, died April 20, 2020. Survived by his wife, Marilynn; daughters Chillon Leach and Cynthia Johnson; grandchildren Kristin, Shannon, and Kevin; sister Mary Kay Austvold; brother Michael Johnson; and nieces and nephews.

RUSSELL JAMES “JIM” GESELL, 84, died Dec. 21, 2019. Survived by his wife, Teddy (Rene Ziegler); children Heidi (John Edgerton), Peter (Liz Flink), Andrew (Sthitie Bom), and Charlie (Kerry Benefield); grandchildren Ryan, Logan, Madelin, Samuel, James, and August.

JAMES C. NOONAN, 91, died April 8, 2020.

Survived by wife, Ardis Niemann Noonan; sister Jean Faulkner; brother Edward Noonan; children James (Margaret Schaus), Christopher (Elise), Mary (Bill) Wallraff, Anne (David) Platt, and Catherine (Ed Hoffmann); 12 grandchildren; four great-grand children; and many nieces and nephews.

1964 NEIL P. CONVERY, 87, died Nov. 14, 2019. Survived his wife, Cathy (nee Pohl); children Maureen (Mike) Harms, Michael, Margaret (Jagi) Gill, Kathleen (Dave) Steffes, John (Colleen), Sheila (Dan) McDowell, and Brian (Stacey); grandchildren John and Julia Harms, Sean (Liz), Erin, Collin, Brian, Quinn, and Ian Gill, Ellen, Shelagh, Audrey, and Dan Steffes, Mitch and Megan, Carson, Reese, and Quinn; Sister Peg Ross; brother George (Joan); and many nieces and nephews.

IN MEMORIAM

James Pielemeier, professor emeritus Professor Emeritus James Pielemeier, who died on February 7, 2020, at the age of 70, will be remembered as an engaged faculty member by colleagues and a beloved professor by former students.

He was born on April 1, 1949, and was raised in Bloomfield, Indiana. He attended Indiana University and received his J.D. from Indiana University School of Law. In 1976, at age 27, Pielemeier joined the faculty at Hamline University School of Law after practicing at Dorsey & Whitney. During his 37 years on the faculty, Pielemeier was a favorite of his students, and they honored him with a Professor of the Year award. He published extensively in the areas of civil procedure and conflict of laws. He served on a number of faculty committees, with a particular interest in teaching and technology.

Fellow Professor Emeritus Peter Thompson said of Pielemeier: “James was a great friend and terrific colleague. His door was always open. No matter how busy he was, he always had time to listen to my misunderstanding of the law. He would then patiently correct me, show me the correct resource, and guide me in the right direction.”

Pielemeier is survived by a sister, Barbara McCallon of St. Augustine, Florida; a brother, John Pielemeier, of Washington D.C.; and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews.

1965

1968

1974

1980

ROBERT W. GYURCI, 82, died May 16, 2020. Survived by his wife, Judy; children Steve, Julie (Rob) Meany, and John; grandchildren Connor and Ryan Meany, and Griffin and Annika Gyurci; and sister Valetta Gyurci.

LAWRENCE E. AGERTER, 80, died Sept. 4, 2020. Survived by his wife, Michelene; children Dr. Dena (Christan) Cornelius and Christie Agerter; siblings Ronald (Marykay) Agerter, Stewart (Darlene) Agerter, Steven Agerter, Maryanne Agerter (John Walton), and Dr. Dave (Barbara) Agerter; and grandchildren Nathan, Bryce, Simplicia, Asher, and Penelope.

EDWARD “ERICK” F. GLANZ, 73, died Oct. 7, 2020. Survived by his wife, JoAnne; sisters Wendolyn and Niki; stepchildren Chris (Heather) and Angi (Ryan); and stepgrandchildren Liam, London, and Freya.

WILLIAM L. LINDSAY, 77, died Sept. 7, 2020. Survived by his wife, Yvonne; daughter Meggen (Peter) Lindsay Berlute ’14; stepson Tim (Dawn) Kildahl; stepdaughter Amy Kildahl; grandchildren Lauren and Abby Berlute and Kyle (Abby) and Sean Kildahl; sister-in-law Kate Lindsay; nephew Alec (Kate Teeter) Lindsay; niece Elizabeth Lindsay; and many other relatives.

THOMAS J. MCLEOD, 81, died Jan. 7, 2020.

Survived by his wife, Barbara Joanne; children Joseph Michael (Joan), Jeffery Thomas (Robin), Patricia Louise Todora (Dennis), Lisa Ann Lofquist, Scott Richard (Susan), William John (Jeanne), Robert Anthony (Danelle), and Thomas James Jr. (Kristy); 24 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

MICHAEL J. GARVEY, 87, died April 15, 2020. Survived by children Tim (Linda) Garvey, Tom (Joni) Garvey, Mary (Mike) Niemeyer, Mike (Meki) Garvey, Mark (Lee) Garvey, and Maureen (Ehrich) Braunschweig; grandchildren Emily, Matthew, Robert, Natalie, Rosaleen, Kaitlin, Sarah, Taylor, Rachel, Andrew, and Alaina.

1971 DAVID T. MAGNUSON, 78, died Dec. 25, 2019. Survived by his wife, Mary; children John (Heather), Frances (Matt), and Jim (Jane); and grandchildren Jack, Meg, Emily, Dylan, Madeline, and Nadine.

1978 STEPHANIE M. HELGESEN, 76, died Jan. 28, 2020.

Survived by daughter Cecily (Joshua) Schwimmer; granddaughter Scarlet Schwimmer; brother Timothy (Jean) Helgesen; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

RICHARD K. HOCKING, 68, died Sept. 5, 2020.

Survived by his wife, Kay; daughter Jill (Ryan) Sorensen; son Philip (Josie) Hocking; grandchildren Kyle Sorensen, Peyton Hocking, and Easton Hocking; sisters Donna (Mike) Hukka and Cindy (Frank) Chamernick; and nieces and nephews.

SUE B. STINGLEY, 73, died May 23, 2020. Survived by children Tom (Dawn) L. Stingley and Amanda (Jeremy) V. Burns; grandchildren Alexander, Abigail, Tanner, Ian, and Carter; sister-in-law Anne Baetz; and niece Elizabeth Baetz.

LOIS B. WATTMAN, 66, died Sept. 28, 2020. Survived by her husband, Doug Shaw; stepson Mike (Becky); grandchildren Claire and Wes; brother David Wattman (John Karason).

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

41

IN MEMORIAM

1982 DONALD T. RIDLEY, 64, died August 16, 2019. Survived by his wife, Dawn; children Zipporah (Justin) Paul, Morwenna Borden, and Grant Borden; grandsons Connor Borden and Matthew Mickus; father Thomas Ridley; siblings Jean Ridley, Patty Ridley, and Michael (Annemarie) Ridley; and nieces Quinn Ridley and Claire Ridley.

STEVEN J. VODONIK, 64, died May 3, 2020. Survived by sisters Linda Kenney (Patrick) and Sally Gruber (Patrick); and 13 nieces and nephews.

1983 PAUL E. ROSS, 64, died Feb. 5, 2020.

Survived by his wife, Mary; brother Gerald Ross; sister Carrie (David) Thompson; niece and nephew Tori and Erik Thompson.

JAMES N. SCHLONER, 64, died Nov. 4, 2019.

Survived by sisters Peggy (Jay) Winchester and Nancy (Bert) Tenenbaum.

1984 BRIGID MCDONOUGH, 68, died Jan. 21, 2020.

Survived by her husband, Reid McLean; siblings Maura (Kevin) Cope, Richard McDonough (Mimi Exon), and Maureen McDowall (Peter Anderson); and nieces and nephews Rory, Shannon, and Ryan Stewart, Shawn Cope, and Miles and George McDowall.

JEFFREY D. CARPENTER, 64, died Sept. 26, 2020. Survived by his wife, Gina; daughter Lisa; son Brian; mother Jan; brothers Scott (Anne) and Tim (Kathy); 10 nieces and nephews; extended family; and his dog, Charlie Boy.

1985 DEBRA K. ERICKSON, 68, died July 17, 2020.

Survived by her husband, Paul Erickson; siblings Mike Kuipers and Laurie (David) Saari; numerous in-laws, nieces, and nephews.

1989 DAVID BLAESER, 60, died May 25, 2020. Survived by his wife, Sandi; children Anna and Jack; parents Joan LaPage and Wayne (Anita) Blaeser; siblings Rick (Rici) Blaeser and Michelle (Steve) Sather; step-siblings Wayne (Patti) Emberson and Kris (Jeff) Passineau; brothers-inlaw Doug Schmidt and Dwight Schmidt; aunts and uncles Karen and David Johnson, Mary Jo and Bob Buss, and Sharon and Doug Mueller; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

KYLE J. HEGNA, 56, died Jan. 18, 2020. Survived by his wife, Patty; daughters Chandler and Kinsey; parents Wayne and Carolyn Hegna; brother Corey (Lauren) Hegna; niece and nephew Emily and Jacob; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law JoAnn Eskelson, Gerald (Nancy) Boesche, Alan (Shelia) Boesche, Susan (Tom) Boesche, Mark (Chris) Boesche, Kevin (Gayle) Boesche, and Robert (Nancy) Boesche; and many other relatives.

1990 WALTER J. PISZCZEK, 84, died Sept. 17, 2020.

Peter Berge, former alumni board member Peter H. Berge ’83 passed away on February 25, 2020, at age 63, after a battle with brain cancer.

Berge was an invested member of the Mitchell Hamline community, having served as an adjunct and an alumni board member for many years. He was an early supporter of the school’s partially online Hybrid J.D. program. He worked at Minnesota CLE for many years as director of web education, and his years of work in continuing legal education helped him understand early on the potential of distance legal education. Outside of his professional life, he had many talents and interests, including playing guitar and photography.

In February 2017, Berge was involved in a fatal car accident in St. Paul when his car struck a runner. Soon after, he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, which was determined to have caused the erratic driving that led to the accident.

Frank Harris ’75, chair of Mitchell Hamline’s board of trustees, said of Berge: “He made impressive use of his Mitchell law degree, both in practice and teaching, and yet he was so much more than merely a great lawyer. Peter truly was a Renaissance man. An accomplished musician with a remarkable guitar collection, he played for years in local groups; an awardwinning photographer, his works prominently displayed; an oenophile, he assembled— and greatly enjoyed—one of the finest cellars in the Twin Cities; and a cutting edge legal technologist. However, we will best remember Peter for his kindness, for his ability to engage with such a wide variety of people on such a personal and genuine level. Peter is greatly missed.”

Berge was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Debra Sit.

42

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

IN MEMORIAM

1991

1998

M. MICHAEL BAXTER, 71, died April 18, 2020.

Survived his wife, Paula Barnes; children Mike (Kate) Baxter-Kauf, Matthew (Melia) Baxter, and Erin Baxter; granddaughter Kiernan; grandsons Calvin, Walter, and Sidney; and sisters Mary White and Bonnie Pauly.

JASON T. CLEEREMAN, 54, died Sept. 22, 2020. Survived by his wife, Evangelina (nee Medina); children Amelia and Jack.

JUDITHE A. HEFFRON, 74, died May 12, 2020.

Survived by daughters Samantha (Neil) Hanson and Moriah (Jake Anderson); grandsons Eric and Ethan Hanson and Christopher and Nicholas Veres; brothers James Spicer and Larry (Dorey) Spicer; sister Barbara (Bob) Fladeland; sister-in-law Moira Heffron; and many nephews, nieces, great-nephews, greatnieces, and cousins.

JOHN C. HERBERT, 56, died Aug. 28, 2020. Survived by sisters Colleen Herbert and Linda Burns (Jon Lellelid); nephew Mike Burns and his father Robert Burns; daughters Fiona and Gillian; and their mother Julianne Herbert.

1995 MARK D. ANDERSON, 57, died Jan. 1, 2020.

Survived by his wife, Jerrilee; children Christine (Tim), Alexandra, Samuel, and Emma; grandson Griffin and another grandson due in 2020; mother Arlene (Jay) Feight; siblings Scott (Colleen), Kevin (Jennifer), Julie (Carol Rue); and nieces, nephews, and extended relatives.

KATHLEEN K. GODDARD, 70, died April 29, 2020.

Survived by her husband, Nicolas; children Kate (Joe), Michael, Gwendolyn (Kai), and David; siblings Dan (Cyndi) and Carol (John); and grandchildren Lily, Grace, and Avery.

2001 CECILIA M. JAISLE, 76, died Sept. 5, 2019. Survived by sister Joanne Kwoka; son Adam; daughter Carllie (formerly Karla) and husband T. Perry Bowers; grandchildren Kieran Benno, Talia, Lucia, Giada, and Angelo; and two nieces, one nephew, and their families.

2009 MARK R. SUEL, 54, died June 11, 2020. Survived by siblings Jim, Bill, Mary Pat, Kelly (Dan) Bishop, Charlie, and Maura; caring friend Mary; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, and uncles.

2014 MATTHEW S. WILLIAMS, 40, died July 3, 2020. Survived by parents Jerry and Jean; brothers J.J. (Amanda), John, and Sam; sisters Andrea and Maggie; niece Abby; nephew Connor; and many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

2017 MANDISA L. HOLMES, 43, died Feb. 22, 2020.

Survived by son Craig Collins Jr.; bonus daughter Jania Ross; grandson Karter Emmanuel Collins; parents John and Pauline Holmes; siblings John A. Holmes Jr., Camila D. Holmes, and Jelani L (Sherri) Holmes; nieces La Star Armour, Keshia Johnson, Teneek Holmes, Jafra Johnson-Holmes, and Makayla Grace Holmes; nephews D’Ondre Holmes, Jamir Johnson-Holmes, and Isaiah Holmes; aunts and uncles; cousins; close friends Nikki Rush, Ashley Upkins, Rashan Canady, and Mrs. Amanda; and special friend James Ross.

William Martin, professor emeritus Professor Emeritus William “Bill” Martin passed away on November 14, 2020. He will be remembered for his dedication to Hamline University School of Law and to its students. Martin was born in Illinois in 1942. After graduating from Dartmouth College, he served in the Army from 1965-1969.

Following his service, he attended law school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Save for a few years in practice at the Dorsey & Whitney firm, he spent his career at Hamline Law. He served as associate dean for several years, guiding the school through some difficult periods. He was well-loved by students and was voted Professor of the Year multiple times. While at Hamline, he helped create a program called Acceptance

by Performance, which gave nontraditional students an opportunity to demonstrate they could be successful in law school.

He is survived by his wife, Patricia; daughters Lauren Martin (Rick Hellebrand), Michelle, and Emily McPherson (Scott); son Christopher; and grandchildren Griffin, Eva, Oliver, Georgia, Adeline, and Theo.

Trevor Buttermore, recent graduate Trevor Buttermore ’19 died on November 10, 2020, just 12 days shy of his 27th birthday. He is survived by his wife, Marissa, and their three young daughters.

Dean of Career and Professional Development Leanne Fuith described Buttermore as “a really wonderful student and a genuinely nice person.” During his time at Mitchell Hamline, he worked as a student attorney in the Dakota County (Minnesota) Child Support Enforcement Division, taking part in more than 800 hearings on the wellness of children—all while raising his own newborn.

He joined de Beer & Associates in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, after graduation.

Before law school, Buttermore was a baseball player at both North St. Paul (Minnesota) High School and the University of Minnesota-Crookston.

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

43

One Step at a Time

A

Life in the Law

BY MOLLY TYROLER

O

n September 18, 2020, amidst a global pandemic, civil unrest, and political nightmare, this country lost Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a fierce advocate and tireless champion of women’s rights. I spent the next several days reading her decisions, fiery dissents, and reflections on her career. Of everything I read, one interview answer struck me the most: “real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”

Despite feeling an unrelenting obligation to advocate, even at a young age, I never seriously considered the possibility of becoming an attorney. More accurately, I did not believe becoming an attorney was within reach. I was a small-town kid who did not fully understand what I could achieve.

During my senior year of college, I was provided the lifealtering opportunity to intern at the local county prosecutor’s office. It took me one day at that internship to understand.

I do not remember the exact moment I felt brave enough to tell my parents I wanted to pursue law school, but I will never forget how my mother showed up for me once I did.

“We will just take this one step at a time. Together, we will figure out what we need to do first and only worry about that step. Then, we will figure out what we need to do next.”

After reading Justice Ginsburg’s approach to change, I realized this one moment with my mother had the most profound impact in the development of my legal career.

I graduated from William Mitchell in an incredibly difficult job market and was so fortunate to land one of those few coveted litigation positions immediately after I was sworn in.

I did not know anything about workers’ compensation, but I knew I would figure it out, one step at a time. I spent that time learning the law and how to practice with tenacity and grace from some of the best attorneys I have met. I loved the adrenaline of advocacy and litigation, but I felt a pull to shift my career when I was about to have my first baby.

As I contemplated the change away from advocacy toward accepting a position as a mediator/ arbitrator for the state of Minnesota,

several people told me it was the wrong career move and would negatively affect my forward progression. It was an incredibly difficult decision, but I relied on the trusty “one step at a time” mantra.

While still navigating how to conduct arbitrations and write decisions as a neutral, I was given an opportunity to conduct a mediation. That one mediation turned into two, and two turned into hundreds. A new passion was ignited.

Before long, I was mediating all day, every day. It also did not go unnoticed that a young woman was breaking into a very male-dominated mediation practice, and that came with its own challenges. I tried to embrace those challenges. I was hyper-focused on becoming the most effective mediator I could. My colleagues were amazing mentors and friends, and I thought my career there would be long.

Everything changed in an instant the day I found out I was paid at a step below the male colleagues who were hired around the same time. After failed attempts at equalizing my pay, I was left to decide whether to ignore the inequity I uncovered or disrupt a career I loved. That feeling of unrelenting obligation and advocacy crept back. As a mother to two small girls, as a friend to many women lawyers who have shared similar experiences along the way, and to those that come after me, it was not really a decision at all.

I left that job feeling terrified about what that meant for my career and what my colleagues and clients might perceive.

I found strength in my conviction. I took a deep breath and a big leap of faith as I registered Tyroler Law and Mediation.

Without knowing anyone else who was able to succeed after this type of move, I mustered up confidence and marched forward so that I could continue to do what I love, mediate cases, and fight for pay equity at the same time. Two years later, I can now step back and see how all of these small steps built the foundation for a thriving mediation practice, a practice that I am passionate about and humbled by, and an opportunity to make real and impactful change.

Today, while exhausted by all that is 2020, I feel deep sensational gratitude for the patience and wisdom of the women who laid the foundation before I even knew what was within reach.

MOLLY TYROLER ’10 is owner of Tyroler Law and Mediation in Woodbury, Minnesota.

44

MITCHELL HAMLINE LAW

Photograph by ST. PAUL PHOTO COMPANY

Beloved former registrar leaves $150k gift in estate for endowed scholarship fund

BY ANN HARRINGTON

J

oyce Traynor, a former registrar and administrative assistant to the dean at Hamline University School of Law, was known for her fun, friendly personality and the M&M dispenser she kept on the counter of the registrar’s office. But her dedication to the school ran deep: When she died last year at 75, she left a $150,000 gift from her estate that was added to her endowed scholarship.

A former legal secretary, Traynor first came to Hamline Law in 1990 as executive assistant to Dean George Latimer, the former mayor of St. Paul, and then worked for former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Sheran when he served as interim dean. In 1995, with some reluctance, she became registrar, succeeding her good friend Shelley Harker. She soon made the job her own.

“She was beloved by the students. She knew them all by name,” said Mitchell Hamline Professor Ed Butterfoss, who worked closely with Traynor as associate dean, and later dean.

“You never saw Joyce without a smile on her face,” Harker said, but she was no pushover. “She was very real. She wasn’t phony. If you were screwing up, she was not afraid to let you know.”

As a recovering alcoholic, Traynor “could spot a student in trouble a mile away,” Butterfoss said. “She saved I don’t know how many students, because she spotted them early.”

That care and concern were returned when Traynor was seriously injured in a car accident leaving the school in 1998. “The students were really upset,”

Butterfoss recalled. “If meals had to be delivered, they would do it for Joyce.”

A few years later,Traynor was diagnosed with macular degeneration. She was afraid she would lose her job, Harker said, but with the support of her colleagues, some accommodations, and the help of experimental treatments, she persevered.

At her retirement in 2006, a former student, Brian Geis ’02, helped establish the Joyce A.Traynor Endowed Scholarship Fund to honor her and benefit students with disabilities, in appreciation for the way she helped him succeed in law school and beyond.

Traynor’s generous gift will increase the impact of her endowed fund substantially, according to Jason Zotalis, senior development officer at Mitchell Hamline. Endowed funds like hers are critically important, he said, because they help the school weather all sorts of financial ups and downs, such as economic or enrollment changes. And in a competitive market, he added, “the more endowed

scholarships you can award, the better students you’re going to be able to attract.”

Although Traynor had “tons of friends,” Harker said, she never married, and had no children, so Hamline was like a family to her.

Former colleague Judge James Morrow ’78, a Mitchell Hamline faculty member, was surprised at the size of Traynor’s gift, but not at the impulse to give back.

A longtime recovering alcoholic himself, he said most people in recovery, like Traynor, are grateful, “because we know other people have helped us, or we wouldn’t have made it.”

Ann Harrington is a writer and editor in St. Paul.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our donors. If you would like to know more about the impact of your gifts at Mitchell Hamline and how you’ve contributed to our success, view our donor report at mitchellhamline.edu/donors.

Total Donor Restricted Endowments at Mitchell Hamline: $28,315,027 Scholarships

$19,913,242.35

Faculty Chairs

$4,802,044.27

Academic Programs

$3,330,053.43

Public Service

$194,714.08

Prizes/General

$74,972.95

Scholarship endowments make up 70 percent of donor endowments at Mitchell Hamline. This year the school and students benefited from nearly $750,000 in endowment earnings made available for student scholarships. If you would like to know more about how you can make an impact like Joyce Traynor, please reach out to Jason Zotalis at jason.zotalis@mitchellhamline.edu or call 651-290-6467.

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID Twin Cities, MN Permit No. 1300

875 Summit Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105-3076

RBG “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1933-2020

01935 2020-12