Educating Lawyers, Graduating Leaders for North Carolina and the Nation. (Spring-Summer 2017)

CAROLINA LAW THE MAGAZINE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL SCHOOL OF LAW

Educating Lawyers.

Graduating Leaders.

VOLUME 41, ISSUE ONE

SPRING-SUMMER 2017

Executive Committee Barbara B. “Bonnie” Weyher ’77, president Scott P. Vaughn ’86 first vice president and Advancement Committee chair Karen Popp ’85, second vice president Walter D. Fisher Jr. ’86, past president (2016) Leslie C. Packer ’86, past president (2015) Craig T. Lynch ’86, past president (2014) M. Ann Cox ’85, Law Foundation chair Brian D. Meacham ’03, Alumni Engagement Committee chair John L. Jernigan ’67, Campaign Committee chair James M. Deal ’74, Community Outreach Committee chair Alice N. Mine ’85, Nominations Committee chair Marion A. Cowell, Jr. ’64, Long Range Planning Committee chair Mary L. Irvine ‘12, Pro Bono Alumni Board chair

UNC Law Foundation Officers M. Ann Cox ’85, president and chair Tracy Schaefer Calder ’84, vice president and chair, audit committee Martin H. Brinkley ’92, secretary-treasurer

UNC School of Law Office of Advancement Deirdre Gordon, associate dean for advancement Louise Harris, assistant dean for development Dana Dubis, director of annual giving Jamie Frampton, assistant director of annual giving Aaron Gard, regional development officer Matt J. Marvin, regional development officer Susan McLean, director of alumni and donor relations Kelly Mann, alumni and donor relations coordinator Jessie Blekfeld-Sztraky, advancement services manager Adam Stiffler, advancement services coordinator Amy Rossi, advancement communications specialist Rory Moore, executive assistant

UNC School of Law Office of Communications Amy Barefoot, assistant dean for communications Katherine Kershaw, communications manager

Student Bar Association

DEAN’S MESSAGE Dear Carolina Law Family, This academic year marks the retirement of two former deans of Carolina Law: Burton Craige University Professor Judith Welch Wegner (Dean, 1989-99), and Wade Edwards Distinguished Professor John Charles “Jack” Boger ’74 (Dean, 2006-15).

STEVE EXUM

UNC Law Alumni Association Board of Directors

Both Judith and Jack have been servant leaders of the first order. Their dedication to our school’s public mission and their determination to exercise what Albert Coates called its “lifting Martin H. Brinkley power” has lit up our path for decades. The 36 years Judith gave to our law school, and Jack’s 27, take their place in the great tradition of Deans Van Hecke, Wettach, Brandis, Phillips, Byrd and Broun.

As an invitation to each of you to reflect on your own stories of their influence, I want to relate my own reasons for being grateful for the presence of each in my own life.

My arrival at Carolina as a 1L in August 1989 took place less than two months after Judith became our dean. My own class of 1992, which recently celebrated its 25th reunion, was the first class that knew Judith entirely as “our dean.” I often think of the ways Judith supported so many of us in the most personal ways. To name only one: Her brilliant appointment of Winston Crisp ’92 as assistant dean of students immediately following our graduation launched a career that led Winston to the lofty position of Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs for the entire University – a perch from which he surveys 18,500 undergraduates and enjoys the affectionate sobriquet of “Vice Crispie.” (Such endearments are denied to mere deans.)

Judith was there for us at turning points in our careers, always ready with a letter of recommendation or a late-night word of encouragement via email. She seemed to understand each one of us, divining our best selves and confronting us with them. All this while serving as chair of the UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty Senate, leading the faculty of the greater UNC system, sitting on the Carrboro Town Council, and becoming president of the Association of American Law Schools. As Judith and her husband Warren move to their retirement home on Nantucket, they carry the deep affection and thanks of thousands of us.

My feelings of gratitude to Jack Boger are impossible to put into words. From the moment I was asked to succeed him, he has been a very present companion, the very best friend a green dean could ever have. Never has a law school had a more utterly warm, decent, kind, upright, gracious and forbearing soul as its leader. If we all owe much to him – as we do – I am chief debtor. Never once has Jack offered his opinion until I asked for it. But when I did, which has been practically every other day, he has been present for my call, within minutes. Jack’s understanding of our students and our faculty, cultivated over many years of faculty service prior to his ascension to the deanship, has given me perspective that a newcomer sorely needed. I shall miss him terribly.

We have had a very busy year in Chapel Hill, working hard on a strategic plan (about which you will read more in the next issue) and reflecting on how we can make the Carolina Law of the future worthy of the institution I inherited from Judith and Jack. I ask you who love this school as I do, to join me in the campaign that is to come.

Yours sincerely,

Ashley Kersnowski, 2017 president

PUBLICATION Carolina Law is published twice per year by the Office of Communications at UNC School of Law. It is distributed to alumni and colleagues. Please update your information at www. law.unc.edu/alumni.

We continually seek content for publication. Please submit alumni class notes to law_alumni@unc.edu. Submit stories and press releases to law_news@unc.edu or Carolina Law editor, UNC School of Law, 160 Ridge Rd., CB #3380, Chapel Hill, NC 27599. For more information, call 919.962.5106.

12,000 copies of the magazine have been printed at a cost of $10,399

Martin H. Brinkley ’92 Dean and Professor

CAROLINA LAW Co-Editors AMY BAREFOOT, KATHERINE KERSHAW Contributing Writers JESSICA CLARKE, MICHELE LYNN, NANCY OATES, AMY ROSSI Designers METRO PRODUCTIONS, REBECCA CARR, DONNA SMITH Photographers ROBERT CAMPELL, STEVE EXUM, TOM FULDNER, DONN YOUNG, CHARLES STORY Research Assistant VERONICA BURKHART

CAROLINA LAW VOLUME 41, ISSUE ONE

CONTENTS SPRING-SUMMER 2017

School News

2

Faculty & Research

6

Center News

11

Alumni News

13

Alumni Giving

18

Cover Story

30

EDUCATING LAWYERS. GRADUATING LEADERS.

Class Notes

22

Holderness Moot Court Teams Make History

Parting Shots

36

Adjunct Faculty Play Vital Role in Law School

10

UNC School of Law Announces Annual Alumni Association Awards

16

CORRECTIONS: February 2017 issue: Pg. 9, Richard Rosen’s class year is 1976. Pg. 28,The Hon. Stephen Michael Reilly ’92 and Larri Alexis Short ’92 are members of the Kathrine R. Everett Society. Pg. 29, David Culp ’79 is a member of the William Horn Battle Society.

Cover Design by Rebecca Carr and Donna Smith Photos without a photo credit were contributed.

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SCHOOL NEWS

Holderness Moot Court Teams Make Carolina Law History As first-year law students prepared to head into Holderness Moot Court tryouts in early spring, 2Ls and 3Ls at UNC School of Law showed off their practical skills and training in various moot court competitions.

CLIENT COUNSELING COMPETITION

Client Counseling team members, from left, Natalia Zbonack, Lucy Bertino, Christine John and Elaine Hillgrove, with coach Professor O.J. Salinas.

Elaine Hillgrove 2L and Natalia Zbonack 2L won first place in the American Bar Association’s Region 4 Client Counseling Competition held at Charlotte School of Law in Charlotte, N.C., on Feb. 11. The competition topic this year was privacy law.

Students, acting as lawyers, competed in their ability to interview, counsel and support a client through a legal issue. Team members Lucy Bertino 2L and Christine John 2L also reached the finals and placed third. This is the third time in the last four years that UNC has won the regional championship.

NEGOTIATION COMPETITION

Josephine Kim and Nick Hanna at the Negotiation competition.

After winning the American Bar Association Southeast Negotiation Competition last fall, Nick Hanna 3L and Josephine Kim 3L competed in the national championship in Chicago on Feb. 2-4. The negotiation topic was business law. The duo became the first team in Carolina Law history to become national finalists, winning the “Top Four” National Finalist Award. The competition involved more than 200 law schools nationwide, and the finals comprised of top teams from 10 regional competitions.

Hanna and Kim received the best scores in the semi-final round—perfect marks—that allowed them to advance to the finals. They were coached by Professor Sam Jackson ’77.

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UCLA’S WILLIAMS INSTITUTE MOOT COURT COMPETITION

BLSA’S NATIONAL FREDERICK DOUGLASS MOOT COURT COMPETITION

Another first for UNC School of Law: Evan King 2L and Gigi Warner 2L competed in UCLA’s Williams Institute Moot Court Competition in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 4. This LAMBDA Appellate Advocacy Team was the first in Carolina Law’s history to participate in this competition, and did so with “diction and strength,” according to Professor Donald T. Hornstein. King and Warner competed with their oral arguments and brief writing skills, and represented Carolina Law well.

Emon Northe 2L and Chelsea Barnes 2L were the first appellate advocacy team in Carolina Law’s history to compete in the National Black Law Students Association’s Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 1-5. Through this competition, the team was able to develop their appellate advocacy through oral arguments and brief writing, network with professionals and connect with law students across the country. Northe and Barnes “performed like veterans, demonstrating tremendous poise, polish and skill,” said their coach, Professor William P. Marshall.

SOUTHEAST REGIONAL FOR THE SAUL LEFKOWITZ MOOT COURT COMPETITION

WILLIAM E. MCGEE NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MOOT COURT COMPETITION

From left, Amanda Ruff, Varsha Mangal, Christian Ferlan and Yishi Yin in Atlanta.

Carolina Law’s Intellectual Property Law Appellate Advocacy Team— coached by Professor Deborah Gerhardt and consisting of Christian Ferlan 2L,Varsha Mangal 3L, Amanda Ruff 3L and Yishi Yin 3L—took second place at the Southeast Regional for the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 11.

2Ls Christopher Deck, Lucas Jensen, Travis White and Amy Schmitz also represented Carolina Law. NAPABA’S 2016 THOMAS TANG MOOT COURT COMPETITION

Carolina Law’s Asian American Law Student Association team, consisting of 2Ls Richard Chen and Farrah Raja, represented UNC at the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association 2016 Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition in Atlanta, Ga. on Sept.

30. The competition gives participants the opportunity to show off their writing and oral advocacy skills and allows them to compete for scholarships. Chen and Raja were coached

by Professor Catherine Kim.

The Julius L. Chambers Civil Rights Appellate Advocacy Team, consisting of 3Ls Matt Tomsic, Jessica Willson and Miranda Wodarski and coached by Professor Mark Dorosin ’94, competed in the William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition in Saint Paul, Minn., on Feb 17-18.The competition deals with pending decisions on civil rights and civil liberties issues.

2016 WILLIAM & MARY LAW SCHOOL NEGOTIATION TOURNAMENT

The school’s National Negotiation Team, consisting on 2Ls Roy Dixon, Emily Jessup, Kyle Jones and Jack Middough, finished in the top half of their field at the William & Mary Law School Negotiation Tournament in Williamsburg,Va., on Nov. 5-6. Kaitlin Nucci 2L and Benjamin Williams 2L also represented Carolina Law at William & Mary’s Invitational/ Environmental Negotiation Competition.

TRY-OUTS

A record number of 1Ls – more than eighty percent of the class—signed up to receive the mini-brief-writing packet for the 1L Moot Court Brief-Writing try-outs this year.

Sixty percent of the Class of 2019 ended up submitting a brief for the written component.

The second round of tryouts, consisting of the oral component, ended March 29 with Rachel Kokenes being named winner of the 1L Aycock Competition.

From left, Chris Kietzman, Director of Judicial Clerkships and Alternative Careers, Sabrina Heck 1L, Sara Farnsworth 1L, Tammy Burroughs 1L, Chris Williams 1L and Lingyue Zhu 1L.

Pro Bono Winter Trip: Students Gain Experience, Cherokee Residents Receive Legal Assistance As part of a recent Carolina Law pro bono effort, students drove nearly 300 miles across the state to conduct clinics and develop crucial lawyering skills, such as drafting legal documents and learning how to interact with clients.

The experience at the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Reservation in Cherokee, N.C. also provided a valuable opportunity for cross-cultural lawyering.

Twenty-two students participated in the twoday clinic in December--the fifth consecutive year for the trip. This year, Carolina Law Dean Martin H. Brinkley ’92 joined the students as a supervising attorney, marking the first time a UNC School of Law dean has attended a pro bono trip.

“The Pro Bono Program provides wonderful opportunities for our students to gain valuable, hands-on experience working with real clients,” says Brinkley. “I was honored to work alongside our students, to see them grow as lawyers, and to see them address unmet legal needs in the Cherokee community.”

The clinics reinforced “the importance of multicultural competency,” says Becca Mitchell 2L, a Pro Bono Program board member who co-led the trip. “Working in Cherokee helped students learn that an important aspect of providing legal services is learning to communicate and engage with clients who may have different backgrounds and life experiences. For many students, the trip to Cherokee reminds them that they

must be sensitive to possible differences when they interact with clients.”

The cultural immersion included an afternoon at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and conversations at clinics with Eastern Band clients.

“I overheard conversations ranging from clients raising their children in Cherokee-language schools and preserving culture and tradition, to cultural and religious beliefs about death,” UNC School of Law Director of Pro Bono Initiatives Allison Standard ’09 says.

Students helped clients at Tsali Manor Senior Center with wills and advance directives, and at Yellowhill Community Center with pro se divorces and expungement. Carolina Law partnered with the Sylva office of Legal Aid of North Carolina and the Eastern Band’s new Legal Assistance Office. Joseph Chilton ’13, who went on the Cherokee trip as a student, now works at Legal Aid in Sylva and was a supervising attorney at the clinics.

The Cherokee trips present unique learning opportunities for students because two legal systems — North Carolina law and tribal law — are involved.

“There are certain provisions under tribal law that change how one might proceed with a case,” Standard says. “For example, under tribal law the period of separation required for a divorce is only 30 days compared to the year required by North Carolina law.”

Pro bono students also spent their spring break in Boone, N.C., working with clients under supervision from the Legal Aid office of Morganton. Clients braved the snowy spring weather in order to obtain wills and advance directives. From left, International Programs Assistant Madison Hissom, Lauren Toole 1L, Courtney Bolin 1L, Kirstin Gardner 3L, Daniel Kale 1L, Becca Mitchell 2L, Chris Williams 1L, Rachel LaBruyere 1L, Olivia Taylor 3L, Izzy Vaughan-Jones 1L, Mark Gibson 1L, Stephen Robin 2L, Hannah Combs 3L, Elizabeth Fisher 1L and Joscelyn Solomon 1L.

In addition to navigating jurisdictional nuances at the clinics, students built core skills in listening, reasoning, communication and time management, and were reminded of the importance of access to legal services for underrepresented groups.

Among the Carolina Law alumni involved in the pro bono experience were recently elected Chief Justice Kirk Saunooke ’05 of the Cherokee Tribal Court and tribal court prosecutor Justin Eason ’07, both of whom met with students.

-Jessica Clarke

Students built core legal skills and were reminded of the importance of access to legal services for underrepresented groups.From left, Michael Jones 3L, Kelly Hebrank 1L, Florence Bryan 1L, Roy Jacobs 1L, Miranda Wodarski 3L, Fred Irving 1L, Gigi Warner 2L, Olivia Taylor 3L, Quisha Mallette 3L, Dean Brinkley, Kenneth Black 1L, Sarah Burnick 2L, Kerry Dutra 2L, Rick Ingram 3L, Megan Bishop 2L, Margaret Caison 1L, Kyle Grusholt 3L, Sierra Lyda 1L, Joscelyn Solomon 1L, Becca Mitchell 2L, Henry Zaytoun 1L, Chelsea Barnes 2L.

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SCHOOL NEWS

Katherine Kershaw

Stacy Kelly 3L

Alumni, Attorneys Gather for Festival of Legal Learning Feb. 10-11

Ada Wilson Suitt ’09 leads a session on implicit bias.

Public Interest Retreat Katherine Kershaw

On February 4, more than 45 students and a dozen attorney volunteers gathered at the N.C. Bar Center in Cary to meet and talk about the practice of law in the public sector. The day began with an inspiring keynote address by Anita Earls, executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. Students then gathered in six break out groups (immigration, civil legal services, prosecution/domestic violence, public defense, civil rights and environmental) to talk more intimately with area practitioners about their work and careers.

Thomas P. Holderness ’90 with Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson leads a session on individual trustees.

Seated: Jen Story ’11 (LANC Advocates for Children’s Services), Tiffany Yates 3L, Veronica Barkley 1L, Jenica Hughes 3L, Megan Broad 2L, Alexa Voss 1L, Rachel LaBruyere 1L.

The 27th annual UNC School of Law Festival of

Standing to the right, back row: Will Hendrick ’09 (Waterkeeper Alliance), Will Scott ’13 (Yadkin Riverkeeper), Graham Whittington 1L. Front row: Mia Ragent 3L, Lynn Calder (UNC Immigration Clinic), Rachel Kokenes 1L, Brent Ducharme ’15 (UNC Center for Civil Rights).

Legal Learning took place February 10-11, and gave attendees an opportunity to complete 12 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) credits from 120

Standing, first row: Ricky Watson (Southern Coalition for Social Justice), Boz Zellinger ’07 (USAO Eastern District of NC), Alex Snow 2L, Nicole Panaggio 2L, Siya Hegde 2L, Jasmine Plott 1L, Lilian Schorr 3L, Kelly Waldo 1L, Hailey Klabo 1L, April Giancola (Director of Public Interest Advising, CDO), Ashton Lee 2L. Second row: Ed Woodall 1L, Charlie Johnson 2L, Florence Bryan 1L, Paula Rojas 1L, Amily McCool ’08 (NCCADV), Quisha Mallette 3L, Kelly Hebrank 1L, Emily Page 3L. Last row: Sean Bickford 1L, John Akins (Wake County PD), Seth Yeazel 1L, Scott Garfing 1L, Raul Pinto (N.C. Justice Center), Maggie Zinkel 1L, Kayla Rudisel 3L, Phil Pullen 1L, Chris Williams 1L, Will Cauley 1L, Josh Stroud 1L.

sessions focusing on a variety of topic areas.

“Festival offers a wonderful opportunity for lawyers to obtain their CLE credits in the most enjoyable way possible,” says Mary-Rose Papandrea, professor of law and associate dean for academic affairs at UNC School of Law. “It features UNC’s own law school faculty leading sessions on a wide variety of timely topics, as well as an opportunity to mix and mingle with hundreds of members of the bar.”

Held in Chapel Hill, the Festival of Legal Learning offered a range of educational opportunities that

Amy Barefoot

addressed such topics as consumer law, criminal law, environmental law, health law, intellectual property, immigration, trial skills, professional ethics and many more. The festival was designed to build basics, sharpen skills, provide perspectives and highlight new developments in the field of law.

Chidiebere T. Madu 3L (in back), Bari A Ray 1L (second from right) and other students from the UNC Black Law Students Association participated in a wills clinic hosted by the Jackson Center in the historic Northside neighborhood in Chapel Hill in February. Working with supervising attorneys, students gained valuable hands-on experience learning how to interact with clients and draft legal documents.

Session instructors were recognized experts in their fields and included professors from UNC School of Law, UNC School of Social Work, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC School of Government,

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as well as distinguished guest faculty.

Annual CPILO Auction Benefits Public Interest Summer Grants

Students partnered with local businesses to include items such as gift certificates for wine tastings and restaurants, fitness classes and photo sessions, as well as tickets to the Carolina Ballet, theatre performances and various sporting events. Live auction highlights this year included outings and dinners with professors, and a week in South Africa.

CPILO is a student-run group that works in collaboration with UNC School of Law and Friends of CPILO, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting public interest law at UNC. The organization helps provide grants to students who accept summer internships in the public sector that are low-or non-paying; facilitates a network of support for students interested in pursuing public interest law; exposes the law school community to public interest law; and encourages students to pursue careers in the public sector.

Emily Notini 2L, Parker Murphy 2L (center) and Ethan Trotz 2L react after Notini is announced as the winning bidder on a trip to South Africa.

Martin Maloney 2L

T

he annual Carolina Public Interest Law Organization (CPILO) Auction was held Jan. 26 at Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill, raising nearly $20,000 to go towards funding grants for 53 law students who are working in summer positions in public interest. The auction, a signature Carolina Law event since 1997, included both silent and live auctions.

Judge Reena Raggi Delivers 2017 Murphy Lecture

Prior to Raggi’s appointment in 2002, she was a U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of New York. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 1973 from Wellesley

College and her J.D. degree cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1976.

"We were honored to have Judge Raggi deliver the Murphy Lecture this year," says UNC School of Law Dean Martin H. Brinkley '92. “Her penetrating comments on free speech on campus were of great interest to our students. We were also honored to have Chancellor Carol L. Folt attend and offer welcoming remarks.”

There are personal connections between UNC School of Law and Raggi. Two faculty members, John F. Coyle and Andrew Hessick, served as her law clerks.

Raggi was the first woman to serve on the 14-member bench in the Eastern District of New York and, at 35 years old, one of the youngest federal judges in the nation.

Video of Raggi’s remarks can be seen at go.unc.edu/c9XTq.

Charles Story

Reena Raggi, circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, delivered the 2017 William P. Murphy Distinguished Lecture at UNC School of Law on Thurs., March 30. Raggi’s lecture covered “Free Speech and Offensive Expression on University Campuses.”

From left, Prof. Andrew Hessick, Associate Dean and Prof. MaryRose Papandrea, Judge Reena Raggi, Chancellor Carol Folt, Dean Martin Brinkley ‘92, Prof. John Coyle.

CAROLINA LAW

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FACULTY & RESEARCH

REFLECTING ON FORTY YEARS AT CAROLINA LAW

A Conversation Between Two Deans John Charles “Jack” Boger entered UNC School of Law in 1971, graduating in 1974 at a time when in-state tuition was $420 a year and out-of-state tuition $1,145 a year. He returned to join the law faculty in 1990. He served as Dean Judith Wegner’s associate dean for academic affairs from 1995 to 1998 and served as dean from 2006 to 2015 before returning to the classroom.

He retires July 1. Judith Wegner joined the law school faculty in fall 1981. She was Dean Kenneth S. Broun’s associate dean for academic affairs from 1986 to 1988 and then served as dean from 1989 to 1999. She retired in December. Wegner and Boger were asked to offer reflections on the changes in the law school that they have witnessed over this 46-year time span.

STUDENTS

THE LAW SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

Both: Carolina Law students are what makes the school great. They inspire faculty and staff every day. They arrive in Chapel Hill from every corner of the state and beyond. Some are the first in their families to attend college; others have served in Afghanistan, Iraq or other theaters of national defense; still others arrive following graduate work, often in engineering or scientific fields.

Jack: The experience of law students has changed substantially since I was a student.

A Carolina Law education in the early 1970s was confined largely to the classroom, the law library, and for some, law review or moot court. Today’s far broader set of curricular and co-curricular offerings grew during the deanships of Ken Broun, Judith Wegner and Gene Nichol. They have given present students literally dozens of extra-curricular avenues through which to explore different aspects of the law.

Their diversity extends to their post-law school aspirations as well. Some hope to enter private practice in small towns, others in major urban settings. Others are drawn to become prosecutors or defense attorneys, to work with Legal Aid, to join the EPA, the SEC, or work internationally or with immigrants and refugees. Carolina Law’s public mission shines clearly in the rich tapestry of backgrounds and hopes that these bright young students bring with them. They regularly renew our hope for the future of our state and nation.

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Judith: I think we both tried very hard to build a stronger sense of community that would connect students, faculty, staff and alumni throughout our years here.

OUR BUILDING ADDITION

Judith: The major building expansion to Van Hecke-Wettach Hall, completed in the fall of 1999, was directly focused on trying to change the student experience.We tried to incorporate

significant space for students to engage comfortably with each other, including a central rotunda and dedicated study space nearby.We brought in more light and made a commitment to adding public art to the building that reflected North Carolina.

Jack: The building expansion Judith successfully fought for gave us more space to add faculty and vastly improved the space for our clinical programs. As Judith noted, it also changed the climate for students, providing them with welcoming additional places to study, meet and interface, and hold community gatherings. It has encouraged a student sense of involvement with the school.

THE CURRICULUM

Jack: Curriculum changes in the past half century have been many and consequential.

Carolina Law’s first-year classes in 2017 still emphasize the traditional building blocks of legal knowledge– civil procedure, contracts, criminal law, property and torts – but each has now ‘shrunk’ to four semester

Steve Exum

hours to make room for constitutional law.

More recently, Carolina Law has created a much-enhanced program in writing, research and advocacy. Students learn to draft legal memos, contracts, client letters and litigation documents and present their first mock appellate argument. The program was ranked 18th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in March of 2017.

Beyond the first year, Carolina Law now offers 20-25 ‘transition-to-practice’ courses; faculty members have revised their Socratic and lecture-format approaches to show students how practicing lawyers work. They offer students concrete opportunities to apply newly minted legal ideas to real-world or simulated settings. Judith led the faculty committee that put us well ahead of the pack in developing these new practiceoriented courses.

We’ve also added to the diversity of clientfocused legal clinics (now seven in number), and we provide more than 110 semester-long externship opportunities in which law students work for corporate, governmental or

non-profit attorneys, for credit with faculty supervision.

Judith: I am grateful that we also kept some good things that we were already doing, such as maintaining our first-year small sections. During my time as dean, we also made a commitment to reducing class sizes for professional responsibility and strongly urged students to take that course in the second year rather than the third.We also made a commitment to an improved legal writing program that integrated academic support services very closely, a model that was well ahead of what was happening nationally.

THE FACULTY AND STAFF:

Jack: I was blessed as dean in 2006 to receive substantial new financial resources from the University and General Assembly that allowed us to increase the school’s faculty size by nearly 50 percent, up from 40+ to more than 60. We also encouraged faculty excellence by sponsoring four annual faculty awards for scholarship, teaching and

service, providing an endowment fund for faculty archival and empirical research, and substantially increasing faculty research funds.

Carolina Law drew other outstanding faculty members by creating ‘centers’ with strong cross-disciplinary dimensions linking the law school with other parts of campus.

Judith: It is such a pleasure to have wonderful junior and mid-level colleagues, as well as others who have risen to senior ranks in the last few years. Both of us have observed how good it is to retire at a time when we have colleagues who are outstanding, cutting-edge scholars with national and international reputations and are also deeply committed to excellent teaching and the public mission of this great school.While we have much further to go, our faculty has slowly grown increasingly diverse.

Jack: We also experienced growth in the size of our administrative staff to meet the new demands of our changing world. There simply were no ‘information technology’ staffers in the 1980s or 1990s; today it would be impossible to get through 24 hours without their skills. We’ve increased our

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FACULTY & RESEARCH

student services office to help guide the 50+ student organizations and provide personal support, and we’ve tripled the size of our career development office to assist graduating students in navigating the extremely competitive and complex placement environment.

The role of the law library has also changed radically. The J.D.-trained law librarians now offer upper-level research courses to our students, training them in how to navigate the complex multimedia environment that characterizes law practice and research in 2017. Law school finance and budgeting have also demanded more staff, and the school has acted on the need for a larger development staff to encourage private giving during a time of diminished state support.

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

Judith: I came to UNC early in Ken Broun’s deanship and was always struck by his commitment to connect the faculty with our alumni. I remember going to the yearly alumni banquet and meeting two older women. It turned out that one was N.C. Chief Justice Susie Sharp ’29 and the other was N.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Naomi “Peanut” Morris ’55.

And that was just the start. I have many great memories of others whose kindness shaped me.

When I interviewed at UNC, I attended a panel featuring three women legislators, Helen Marvin, Bertha “B.” Merrill Holt ’41, and Trish Hunt, who spoke about the need to reform state property

laws. B. watched over and helped me repeatedly over the years, as she and her husband Clary took me to a Monday night session of the legislature, along with Gladys Coates, so I could meet people.

She also got us our first $1 million toward the building addition!

Jack: Reuniting with former classmates now in practice throughout North Carolina and the nation, and meeting the remarkable network of Carolina Law alumni were among my most enjoyable experiences as dean. So many are warmly devoted to Carolina, and their legal practices and public service are astonishing. Like Judith, I was blessed with the help of Law Alumni Association and Law Foundation leaders who spurred an increase in alumni involvement in the school’s education and co-curricular activities. Alumni were stalwarts in supporting our students during the Great Recession, offering them extra summer associate opportunities and supporting additional funds for scholarships to underwrite summer work opportunities that helped sustain students during those difficult years.

Judith: Another great pleasure for me was to help birth a yearly sign of committed service from the law school to the practicing bar. In 1990, Professor Donald Clifford proposed to create the UNC Festival of Legal Learning CLE program.Toward the end of Don’s tenure on the faculty, I took over as program director and served as impresario until Mary-Rose Papandrea took on that role when I retired.The program has expanded to now offer a selection of 120 topics with more than 100

presenters. It’s been such a joyous occasion to showcase the fine work of our faculty and esteemed colleagues from practice in offering some of the best CLE programming in the country.

Jack: Carolina Law, Bill Aycock ’48 once observed, does far more than seems possible with far less than seems sufficient. We have managed to recruit and retain nationally recognized faculty despite tuition levels far, far below those of our scholarly peers. We’ve also continued to draw an academically outstanding student body despite significantly lower scholarship aid than many of our peers offer. We have been determined to keep tuition low because of our commitment to remain a ‘truly public’ law school, so we have had to make up the difference largely through generous alumni support.

Both: We will miss the school enormously. We’ve devoted major, gratifying parts of our lives to its service, and in return, it has offered gifts surpassing our deserving. Like many before us, we have willingly embraced the school’s values – excellence, imagination, devotion to the public good and a commitment for human decency – that seem to flow like water from the Old Well. Our confidence in the school’s future is boundless. With a venerable mission, strong leadership, an outstanding faculty and staff, and bright, aspiring young students, the future seems full of lux et libertas indeed.

Muller, the Dan K. Moore Distinguished Professor of Law in Jurisprudence and Ethics, will spend his leave studying archived records from government lawyers who worked at Japanese American internment camps. To date, these archives have mostly remained unexamined by scholars. Muller’s research will offer a view of Japanese American internment from a new vantage point.

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Katherine Kershaw

THE UNC-CHAPEL HILL PROVOST’S OFFICE HAS AWARDED PROFESSOR ERIC L. MULLER A SENIOR FACULTY RESEARCH AND SCHOLARLY LEAVE.

Students Learn Invaluable Skills Working with Hornstein on Pro Bono Storm Resilience Project

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f a storm devastates North Carolina’s Outer Banks and Barrier Islands before June 30, some property owners will be able to fortify their houses for free, with help from a UNC School of Law pro bono project.

The six-month, pilot mitigation project, which began Jan. 1, will fully fund stormresistant replacement roofs for eligible people with homeowners’ policies through the nonprofit North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (NCIUA).

The industry-leading storm-mitigation construction initiative has caught the attention of those in the nation’s most prominent home — the White House. Carolina Law professor Don Hornstein, faculty adviser to the pro bono project and NCIUA board member, gave three White House briefings about the plan late last year.

In December, Hornstein participated in the last meeting in a two-year study of climate resilience and insurance by the Obama administration. NCIUA General Manager Gina Schwitzgebel also attended.

“When this dialogue began in 2014, neither the NCIUA nor any entity affiliated with North Carolina was at the table. At the final

meeting, we were at the table — largely because of the mitigation efforts of the NCIUA begun last fall with the assistance of the Carolina Law pro bono project,” Hornstein says.

“The NCIUA was able to share data from our project for OMB to use. Most of the time this is not the case, so the people in the room really seemed to perk up when that was mentioned.”

The NCIUA mitigation project was mentioned in a December 2016 blog post

by Ali Zaidi, associate director of Natural Resources, Energy and Science at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

“We are tasked with working out the details of a potentially unprecedented, insurer-driven coastal-mitigation program,” Hornstein says, “which could result in the largest windmitigation program by an insurer in our asset class in the United States.”

The pro bono project was showcased in Hornstein’s keynote address at a World Bank conference on climate change and development last December in Washington.

And the plan was featured Jan. 25 at an Environmental Defense Fund meeting in Washington on coastal resilience.

UNC students involved in the NCIUA project have provided a range of support, including helping prepare for the OMB briefings and World Bank talk, researching and writing memoranda, and reviewing presentations to clients.

Students accompanied Hornstein to meetings with North Carolina Home Builders Association president Mike Carpenter and the NCIUA mitigation subcommittee.

Hurricane Matthew’s havoc in North Carolina, although most notoriously involving inland flooding, also included damages to thousands of roofs. These roofs could have been made more resilient with the sort of upgraded design features being implemented by the NCIUA and the UNC School of Law pro bono project.

Those experiences involve “precisely the sort of skills transactional business attorneys use routinely,” Hornstein says.

The mitigation plan will “give the NCIUA on-the-ground experience with practical aspects of storm-mitigation construction projects, to inform even larger programs that the pro bono project may develop,” says Hornstein, project lead attorney and chair of the association’s mitigation subcommittee.

“The NCIUA was able to share data from our project for OMB to use. Most of the time this is not the case, so the people in the room really seemed to perk up when that was mentioned,” Blumenthal said of the briefing.

NCIUA has partnered with the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety to conduct trainings on North Carolina’s coast, so contractors, roofers and inspectors can become certified in stormresilient construction.

Steve Exum

Carolina Law’s NCIUA pro bono work has huge potential impacts.

In December, Ethan Blumenthal 2L attended an OMB briefing and the World Bank conference at which Hornstein spoke, and had a private White House tour.

The networking opportunities were most valuable to him.

“Another good takeaway was watching Professor Hornstein present to two very different audiences back to back,” Blumenthal says. “It provided a good lesson in knowing who you’re talking to and tailoring your presentation to those ends.”

-Jessica Clarke CAROLINA LAW

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FACULTY & RESEARCH

Left: Valerie Johnson ’94. Right: Jim Fuller ’71

Adjunct Faculty Play Vital Role in Law School

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efore she became an attorney,Valerie Johnson ’94 was a public school teacher.

Although she now works at the law firm she cofounded, she still spends time in the classroom — as a UNC School of Law adjunct professor.

“I love the interaction between me and the students,” says Johnson, who has taught Trial Advocacy at UNC since 2003. “It is rewarding because the growth and understanding they gain are visible and quantifiable. To have a part in that growth is immensely gratifying.”

Johnson is among about 65 adjunct professors who have a vital role in Carolina Law’s capacity to provide a robust education.

Their diverse practical experience enriches students’ training.

Jim Fuller ’71 taught Trial Advocacy and Advanced Trial Advocacy as a UNC adjunct for 27 years until this year, when he wanted more time for his practice at The McIntosh Law Firm, P.C. and his role as a Davidson, N.C., commissioner. He most enjoyed “the exhilaration of seeing professional development among the best and brightest who are about to enter our profession,” he says.

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Some of the best and brightest already in the profession fill UNC’s adjunct ranks, and new adjuncts will start in the next academic year.

Judge Chris Dillon ’90 with the North Carolina Court of Appeals will teach Real Estate Transactions next spring. Chief Judge Frank Whitney ’87 of North Carolina’s Western District will teach National Security law in the fall and Military Justice next spring.

Their expertise will add to the mix of experience and skills Johnson, Fuller and other adjuncts bring.

“Jim Fuller and Valerie Johnson are shining examples of the additions to our curriculum that practicing professionals bring,” Trial Advocacy director and Henry Brandis Distinguished Professor of Law Richard E. Myers II ’98 says. “All our Trial Advocacy instructors are seasoned litigators who also happen to be great teachers. Jim and Valerie have the ability to translate their real-world experience in trial courts to our program, which helps get our students ready for practice.”

The learning works both ways. “Each class was a learning laboratory. Each student

performance, critique session and full trial helped me as much as or more than it helped the students,” says Fuller, who has taught adjunct at Duke, Wake Forest and other schools.

“I learn so much from students, not the least of which is how fresh eyes can confront a problem in new and unexpected ways,” says Johnson, with Copeley Johnson & Groninger PLLC. “I take lessons from my trial ad students into my practice,” says Johnson, who has also been an adjunct at Wake Forest. “I can’t help but keep some of the wonder and enthusiasm for the law with me that I glean from students.

They are on the cusp of wonderful new lives as lawyers, and they make me a better and more careful lawyer.”

Even over 27 years, the rewards of teaching never disappeared for Fuller.

“The metamorphosis from the first class to the electric excitement of the final trial was present every year,” he says.

-Jessica Clarke

CENTER NEWS

UNC Center for Civil Rights Holds Conference, Argues Before State Supreme Court and Wins Diversity Award

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In February, Elizabeth Haddix ’98, senior staff attorney at the center, presented arguments in the North Carolina Supreme Court on behalf of claimants involved with the litigation of the state’s eugenics program. Between 1929 and 1973, North Carolina involuntarily sterilized people, many of them poor men and women of color. Under pressure, the state created a eugenics compensation program in 2013 to pay reparations to the victims. Early on, the center collaborated with the state Office of Justice for Sterilization Victims to provide education and outreach about the compensation program in communities across the state and assisted several dozen victims in filing claims. The center also worked to bring together pro bono attorneys to provide additional assistance to victims.

In three cases, the center represented the heirs of victims in a challenge to the program’s exclusion of victims who died before June 30, 2013. The case went to the North Carolina Supreme Court in February and ended with a unanimous ruling which reversed the Court of Appeals decision.

The case was remanded to the Court of Appeals to be heard on the merits of the constitutional claim.

In April, the staff of the UNC Center for Civil Rights was recognized by the University’s Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs with a University Diversity Award. The prestigious award is given to a department or unit for their significant contributions to the enhancement and support of diversity on the campus and in the community.

Amy Barefoot

n December 2, the UNC Center for Civil Rights held a conference titled “A Progressive Agenda for the National Future: Civil Rights & Economic Justice.” Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, delivered the keynote address and Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights gave closing remarks. Additional featured speakers included Sherrilyn Ifill (NAACP-Legal Defense Fund), Kristen Clarke (Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law), Tom Saenz (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), Sara Pratt (Relman, Dane & Colfax), Mechelle Dickerson (The University of Texas at Austin School of Law), and Robert Lawless (University of Illinois College of Law).

The staff of the UNC Center for Civil Rights accepts the University Diversity Award recognizing their contributions to supporting diversity on campus and in the community. From left, Director Theodore M. Shaw, Julius L. Chambers Distinguished Professor of Law; Mark Dorosin ’94, managing attorney; Elizabeth M. Haddix ’98, senior staff attorney; Jennifer Watson Marsh ’09, director of research, community services & student programs; and Brent J. Ducharme ’15, attorney-fellow.

Center for Media Law and Policy Welcomes Former New York Times Lawyer to Discuss “Freedom of the Press and the Trump Administration” on executive branch transparency, journalists’ access to government officials, whistleblower protections, the scope of defamation law, and respect for journalists, among other topics.

Amy Barefoot

On March 21, the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy hosted George Freeman, executive director of the Media Law Resource Center and former assistant general counsel of the New York Times Co. to discuss the challenges to press freedom under the Trump administration. After providing opening remarks, Freeman sat down with Carolina Law Professor MaryRose Papandrea, a noted First Amendment expert, for an open conversation that explored the administration’s positions

Professor Cathy Packer, Center for Media Law and Policy co-director; Professor Mary-Rose Papandrea; George Freeman; and Professor David Ardia, Center for Media Law and Policy co-director.

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CENTER NEWS

Center for Banking and Finance Holds 21st Annual Banking Institute and Awards Student Scholarships

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he Center for Banking and Finance held the ABCs of Banking Law and the 21st annual Banking Institute March 22-24 in Charlotte, N.C.

and as a frequent panelist for the ABCs of Banking Law and the Banking Institute.

“Each year I am amazed by the quality of speakers and panelists at the Banking A highlight of the Banking Institute included Institute,” Lissa Broome, director of the the after-lunch talk delivered by David G. center and Wells Fargo Professor of Banking Leitch. Leitch is global general counsel for Law, says. “John Dugan, of Covington & Bank of America, where he is responsible for Burling and former comptroller of the the company’s legal functions around the world. currency, delivered the Beischer Address and offered a compelling solution to bank The center honored Gene Katz, senior run risk using subordination. Our panelists company counsel (regulatory and discussed topics as varied as fintech, capital compliance) at Wells Fargo & Company, raising, fair lending, anti-money laundering, with the center’s Leadership Award. Katz and syndicated credit agreements. Best of joins an elite group of five previous all, though, is the opportunity for members recipients. He was recognized for his long of the industry to get together to discuss service on the center’s board of advisors these important issues and to introduce and participation in many of its activities, our students to this incredible network of including several law student Career Treks banking and financial services attorneys.” to Wells Fargo, as a practitioner-in-residence,

Another highlight occurred when the center presented all 10 editors of the North Carolina Banking Institute Journal (Volume 21 was distributed to Banking Institute participants) with scholarships for their third year of law school. Eight 2L students each received a $3,000 scholarship and two students received $7,200. The awards are supported by sponsors of the annual Banking Institute program. The 48 sponsors who provided this funding was a record number.

Each year the center also awards a $5,000 study abroad scholarship to a rising 2L. This year’s recipient is Joshua Stroud who will be studying business and banking this summer at the University of Augsburg in Augsburg, Germany.

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CE Co-hosts Workshop in D.C., Wins Moot Court Competition and Partners with Florida State University’s College of Law

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n February 12, the UNC School of Law’s Center For Climate, Energy, Environment and Economics (CE3) co-hosted the workshop “Power Shift: Regulating the Evolving Electricity Sector” in Washington, D.C. The workshop was the latest event in an ongoing partnership between CE3, Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, and Harvard University’s Environmental Policy Initiative that brings together legal scholars, government officials, and legal practitioners to explore pressing legal issues facing the electricity sector. Speakers included Cheryl LaFluer, acting chair of the Federal Energy Regulation Commission, Lorraine Akiba, commissioner on the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, Travis Kavulla, vice-chair of the Montana Public Services Commission, and Joe Reynolds, chair of the Nevada Public Utilities Commission.

Carolina Law’s Energy and Sustainability moot court team of Jenica Hughes 3L, Amanda Aragon 2L and Rachel Procaccini 2L won first place at the National Energy

Rachel Procaccini 2L, Jenica Hughes 3L, Amanda Aragon 2L and Heather Payne ’11 at the National Energy and Sustainability Moot Court Competition.

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and Sustainability Moot Court Competition, hosted by the West Virginia University College of Law. Additionally, Aragon received the Best Oralist Runner-Up award for the competition. Kristin Athens 3L, Brooklyn Hildebrandt 3L and Tas Lagoo 2L also competed in the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition (NELMCC), hosted by the Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. Both teams were coached by Heather Payne ’11, assistant director for CE3, and greatly aided by the 26 practicing attorneys who volunteered their time to help judge practice rounds prior to the competitions.

In March, CE3 partnered with the Environmental, Energy & Land Use

Program at Florida State University’s College of Law to explore the opportunities and challenges facing municipal utilities and electric membership co-ops as they move toward a lower carbon future. The project launched with the conference “Municipal Utilities and Cooperatives: Transitioning to a Lower-Carbon Future,” held at Florida State on March 23. The event featured utility and co-op representatives from across the country, as well as energy scholars and practitioners.

CE3 awarded travel funding to Kristin Athens 3L and Shannon O’Neil 3L. Athens and O’Neil produced a summary that CE3 and Florida State project organizers will use to develop case studies to inform utility and co-op decision-making.

ALUMNI NEWS NEWS ALUMNI

Sabrina Presnell Rockoff ’02 is Asheville Firm’s First Female Managing Partner

Sabrina Presnell Rockoff ’02, elected as managing partner of McGuire, Wood & Bissette, P.A. in 2016, leads the management committee and is responsible for personnel, and the firm’s financial and strategic vision.

She was elected, she notes, because of her skills, not gender. “I see that as significant for a profession historically dominated by males in management positions,” says the Asheville native, who joined the firm in 2012 and advises employers on human resources issues.

About 40 percent of the firm’s lawyers are women, some of whom, with Rockoff, have leadership positions. Half the management committee members and practice group chairs are women.

Rockoff’s approach as managing partner is informed by many aspects of her life, in addition to gender: first-generation college graduate, employment lawyer, wife, mother and cancer survivor, among others.

“Those experiences have taught me strength, diligence, perspective, patience, compassion, financial judgment, and a willingness to address tough issues,” Rockoff says.

Such qualities and skills have influenced her success as managing partner.

“My chief accomplishments have been establishing a culture of teamwork, cross-selling, and bringing a business-like approach to providing outstanding client service. We have seen the benefits of this approach both financially and in the working environment,” she says.

Rockoff’s UNC experiences also have influenced her success.

“The contacts I made at UNC have been invaluable,” Rockoff says. “My professors were top-notch not only at teaching law but at teaching practicalities.”

At Carolina Law, “We had a collegiality and care for one another that I work to emulate at our firm. We took what can be an incredibly competitive environment and showed we could care about each other and not only still be excellent, but even better because of it,” she says. “What a valuable life lesson to implement and teach others.”

-Jessica Clarke

Donn Young

What’s new at Asheville’s oldest law firm? For the first time in its 123-year history, the managing partner is a woman — and she’s a Carolina Law graduate.

A Message From the Law Alumni Association

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reetings to my fellow Carolina Law alumni! This year my law school class celebrates its 40th reunion.

We always say that it seems like just yesterday, but it truly does to me. It causes me to reflect on all the blessings I have experienced over the past four decades that are a direct result of my UNC School of Law degree. How little we appreciated at the time of our graduation the opportunities, open doors and enduring friendships that our law school education would bring us over the next 40 years and beyond.

Today our law school requires our engagement more than it ever has! The needs are so great, but the resources are not.

Even if you have not been involved with the school since your graduation or have been involved only on a limited basis, I ask that you consider renewing your commitment in a meaningful way.

Through the dedicated work and generosity of many of our alumni, last year we reached our goal (and a record) of raising over $1 million for the Carolina Law Annual Fund. This year our goal is to exceed $1.2 million. These funds are critical for scholarships, student support and programs which help keep our school competitive in a very challenging environment.

In recent years, alumni annual giving has been approximately 20%. Compare this to UVA Law, for example, which is historically at the 50% giving level. We can do much better.

Please consider participating at the highest level you can. It can make a tremendous difference to our law school.

In addition, please consider getting involved or reconnecting with your regional alumni club. Keep an eye on the alumni calendar and plan to attend one or more alumni events near you.You will hear about all that is happening at the law school and how you can get involved. And, of course, when it is time for your reunion year, we hope that you will join your fellow classmates in Chapel Hill for Reunion Weekend.

It is always a special time. And we all know how beautiful and magical Chapel Hill is in May.

– Barbara B. “Bonnie” Weyher ’77 UNC Law Alumni Association, 2017 President Yates, McLamb & Weyher, L.L.P., Raleigh, N.C.

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ALUMNI NEWS

Rosenbluth outside the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, one of the largest immigrant detention centers in the country.

Immigration Attorney Marty Rosenbluth ’08 Fights to Keep Families Together

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hen he was a student at Carolina Law, Marty Rosenbluth ’08 heard of immigrants pulled over while out buying milk and deported without seeing their families again, essentially for what he calls “driving while Latino.”

Such stories led him to refocus at Carolina Law from human rights work to immigration law.

“I realized I didn’t need to go overseas into dangerous places to fight gross violations of human rights” — there is as much need for that advocacy in the United States, he says.

As an associate at Raleigh-based Polanco Law PC, Rosenbluth defends immigrants in deportation proceedings, mainly detained cases now, currently working in Polanco’s Lumpkin, Georgia office which is near the Stewart Detention Center, one of the largest immigrant detention centers in the country.

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Most of his clients have faced deportation proceedings after arrest for minor offenses.

“I have defended people who ended up in removal for ‘crimes’ including driving and fishing without a license, riding public transport with the wrong type of ticket, loitering on UNC’s campus, and swerving too close to the yellow line — not crossing it, just coming too close,” he says.

“Carolina Law played a huge role in getting me to where I am. I couldn’t be doing what I am doing without skills I learned in class, mentoring from faculty and other students, and particularly the immigration clinic under professor Deborah Weissman,” Rosenbluth says.

“Now as an alumnus, I get almost constant support and encouragement from other alums. That keeps me going.”

Many clients are married to U.S. citizens, and usually their children are citizens. Still, “under our very badly broken system of immigration laws, they have few options to stay here legally,” says Rosenbluth, who worked for a Palestinian human rights organization in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in the ’80s and ’90s.

As a 3L in the immigration clinic, Rosenbluth and other students wrote the country’s first report on the 287(g) and Secure Communities programs, which authorize local law enforcement agencies to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Wake and Alamance counties were among the first to be involved.

Before he entered law school, he volunteered for Amnesty International as a specialist on Israel and the occupied territories. After UNC, he intended initially to return to human rights work full time before he changed course to immigration law.

“I have been fighting to keep families together ever since,” Rosenbluth says. “The most rewarding thing is reuniting families.

Getting someone out of detention and seeing them back with their spouses and kids is amazing. I still tear up sometimes.”

-Jessica Clarke

Anita Brown-Graham ’91 Works to Transform the Job Landscape in North Carolina A UNC School of Law alumna is working with education

to see people work across sectors, regions and ideologies

and business leaders across North Carolina to expand job

on behalf of our state. The primary tools in that work

opportunities and train workers for employers’ evolving

were dialogue and deliberation.”

needs, a project that will enable more of the state’s companies and communities to flourish.

Anita Brown-Graham ’91, director of the UNC School of Government’s new ncIMPACT initiative, is helping leaders address public policy questions related to challenging issues in the economy, health, the environment, criminal justice and others.

Through a data-driven, nonpartisan approach, ncIMPACT broadens the SOG’s capacity to work with policymakers and other leaders by providing robust research and analytics to support their decisions.

The employment initiative is just one ncIMPACT project.

Working with leaders in K-12 and higher education, economic development, business and other areas, the aim is to “use data-smart solutions to better align the various parts of North Carolina’s talent-delivery system to meet the economy’s changing skill needs. The goals are to have better coordinated standards and data systems across the educational pipeline, a best-in-class

The White House took notice. In 2013, Brown-Graham was named one of President Barack Obama’s Champions of Change.

She found her calling to work with diverse groups through her community involvement when she was a federal law clerk and practiced business law in California in the ’90s.

“By the time I returned to North Carolina, I was sold completely on the opportunity to use my training to build the capacity of communities, defined by geography or interest, for change,” she says.

Brown-Graham began developing her negotiation and consensus-building skills at UNC. “At Carolina Law, I learned to earnestly value the opinions of others. That lesson has been the cornerstone of my work for decades,” she says.

And at UNC, she learned the power of believing in unlimited possibilities, which has driven her career.

“Carolina Law set a high bar for my sense of what could

labor-market information system and, most importantly,

be. I arrived as a 1L at the steps of Van Hecke-Wettach

expanded access to jobs in growing sectors,” Brown-

Hall…with plenty of determination but no true vision,”

Graham says.

Brown-Graham says. “UNC Law supplied the confidence

With that and other initiatives, ncIMPACT “capitalizes

to imagine.”

on primary intellectual assets of the university to answer -Jessica Clarke real-world challenges at a time when so many issues are at generational levels of scale and complexity” she says.

This is the second SOG tenure for Brown-Graham, who is professor of public law and government. As a faculty member at the SOG from 1994 to 2006, she helped North Carolina economic development and community leaders revive struggling communities.

In 2007, she became director of the Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) at North Carolina State University. There, also, she worked with higher education, government and business leaders on North Carolina’s toughest challenges.

At IEI, “I loved bringing people together to tackle the state’s most pressing issues,” she says. “It was exhilarating

CAROLINA LAW

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ALUMNI NEWS

UNC School of Law Announces Annual Alumni Association Awards SIX RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LEGAL FIELD

The UNC School of Law Alumni Association honored exceptional graduates and an exemplary faculty member at its annual Law Leadership and Awards Dinner May 5, 2017 at the Carolina Inn. The awards recognize members of the UNC School of Law community who embody the law school’s mission to serve the legal profession, the people and institutions of North Carolina, the nation and the world with ethics and dedication to the cause of justice.

John B. McMillan ’67 The Lifetime Achievement Award

John B. McMillan ’67, a shareholder with Manning Fulton & Skinner, P.A. in Raleigh, N.C., received The Lifetime Achievement Award for a lifetime career that has been highly distinguished and whose achievements and contributions are widely recognized as significant and outstanding in his field.

SPRING-SUMMER 2017

The Distinguished Alumni Award

The Honorable Patricia TimmonsGoodson ’79, of Fayetteville, N.C., vice chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, was presented with The Distinguished Alumni Award for accomplishments and contributions that have enhanced the school and the profession of law at the local, state, national and international level.

David Fulghum Kirby ’77

Vivian R. Connell ’13

The Distinguished Alumni Award

The Outstanding Recent Graduate Award

David Fulghum Kirby ’77, partner at Edwards Kirby LLP in Raleigh, N.C., was presented with The Distinguished Alumni Award for accomplishments and contributions that have enhanced the school and the profession of law at the local, state, national and international level.

Vivian R. Connell ’13, of Chapel Hill, N.C., educator and community organizer, received The Outstanding Recent Graduate Award posthumously for achievements that have brought credit to the school, the legal profession or society.

Douglas S. Sea ’80

Charles E. Daye

The Distinguished Alumni Award

Professor S. Elizabeth Gibson Award for Faculty Excellence

Douglas S. Sea ’80, of Charlotte, N.C., senior attorney with Legal Services of Southern Piedmont, was presented with The Distinguished Alumni Award for accomplishments and contributions that have enhanced the school and the profession of law at the local, state, national and international level.

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The Honorable Patricia Timmons-Goodson ’79

Charles E. Daye, Henry Brandis Professor of Law Emeritus, was presented with the Professor S. Elizabeth Gibson Award for Faculty Excellence for embodying the outstanding qualities of integrity, legal scholarship, exemplary teaching and commitment to service to UNC School of Law and the University.

Donn Young

Donn Young

ALUMNI EVENTS

Deborah Ross ’90, Professor Mark Weisburd, Gardner Altman ’71 and Tony Rand ’64 catching up before the 2017 Witt Professional Roundtable.

Donn Young

Donors and students gather at the 2017 Stewardship Luncheon. From left, Nic Eason 1L, Tom Lockhart ’51, Ashe Lockhart ’97, Leah Neal 3L and Isabelle Chammas 2L..

Alix Darrow ’89 and Angela Liu ’09 with Jerry Buting ’81, the criminal defense attorney featured on Netflix’s “Making a Murderer,” at an alumni gathering in Chicago. Find your regional #UNCLawAlumni club to stay in touch with classmates: alumni.law.unc.edu.

Donn Young

Dean Martin H. Brinkley ’92 joins Leona Paschal Whichard and The Honorable Willis P. Whichard ’65 in welcoming Nate Reisinger 1L, recipient of the Willis G. Whichard Scholarship.

Mel Wright, Jackie Chang 1L, Professor Rachel Gurvich and Bill Edwards ’88 discuss the 2017 Witt Professionalism problem over dinner.

CAROLINA LAW

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ALUMNI GIVING

Leading Through Giving Judge K. Edward and Joan P. Greene Public Service Scholarship

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hen K. Edward Greene ’69 was growing up Biscoe, N.C., the Montgomery County town had a population of 1,000 people, none of whom were lawyers. Greene enrolled at East Carolina University (ECU) with the goal of becoming a school teacher. But that plan changed when Greene—then president of the ECU student government—met the chair of the ECU board of trustees, the first attorney Greene ever met.

That lawyer was Robert Morgan, a committed public servant who served North Carolina as a state legislator, attorney general and a U.S. senator, among other civic and political posts. “Robert Morgan was the person who suggested I might want to go to law school,” says Greene. “He told me, ‘If you think you’d like to help people, you need to be a lawyer.’”

Greene took that advice and graduated from Carolina Law in 1969 before going on to earn a Master of Law degree from the University of Virginia. Greene says that Morgan’s message of public service was reinforced by Dickson Phillips Jr., who served as dean of Carolina Law during Greene’s years as a student there. “The dean encouraged students to be involved in their community while they were in law school,” says Greene. “He told us, ‘When you leave this place, go out and make a difference in people’s lives.’ That’s what I did and what a lot of my classmates did.”

“He told me, ‘If you think you’d like to help people, you need to be a lawyer.’”

Greene did that by serving eight years as a trial judge in District Court in North Carolina in Harnett, Johnston and Lee Counties. He followed that with 16 years on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, retiring in 2002 as that court’s senior associate judge.

“My career has been about trying to help people solve their problems,” says Greene. “As a district court judge, I enjoyed listening to the people in my courtroom because I felt like I could make a difference in their lives.” When the vacancy arose on the court of appeals, Greene says that he ran because, “I thought that if I could help people in a three-county area as a district court judge, I would be able to make a difference all across the state as a court of appeals judge.”

Since stepping down from the bench, Greene has continued as a community leader through volunteering and through his work with Raleigh law firm Wyrick Robbins, which he joined in 2003. In addition, he taught as an adjunct professor at Carolina Law from 1992 to 2004 and at Campbell Law School from 1982 through 2004.

With the desire to encourage the next generation to give back to the community, Greene and his wife recently made a generous gift to the UNC School of Law for the Judge K. Edward and Joan P. Greene Public Service Scholarship. “When Joan and I decided to do this scholarship, we wanted to encourage people to go to law school and then encourage those who attend to commit to making a difference in people’s lives through a public service position,” says Greene.

“I think that lawyers are uniquely qualified to be in government, so I’d like to see more Carolina Law graduates serve as legislators, county commissioners, school board members and judges,” he says. “But there are many ways to serve the community. I hope that what Joan and I have done will encourage more students to do that. Being a lawyer in public service has been very satisfying to me.”

-Michele Lynn

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National Mortgage Settlements Digital Archive Finds New Home at Carolina Law, Thanks to Joe Smith

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hen legal scholars, attorneys and members of the public seek insights into the housing crisis of the late 2000’s, one of the prime resources they can turn to is the National Mortgage Settlements Digital Archive, hosted within the Carolina Law Scholarship Repository. Thanks to the generosity and foresight of Joseph A. Smith Jr., this repository—a service of the UNC School of Law’s Kathrine R. Everett Law Library—is the home of primary legal documents related to the settlements.

Smith, a partner at Raleigh’s Poyner Spruill law firm who served as the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks for nearly 10 years, was the monitor of consent judgments among eight major mortgage servicers (including the four largest banking organizations in the United States), the United States Government and 49 states relating to alleged abuses by these firms in their dealings with distressed borrowers.

“I wanted the documents in a place committed to learning and scholarship.”

“I believe the settlement showed a template for temporary interventions by governments in connection with problems in the financial markets that address specific problems and then sunset,” says Smith. “I hope people will use the digital depository to understand what went on in the aftermath of the financial crisis. I also hope it will be a source of information for governments and financial firms trying to craft settlements for future issues in our financial system.”

Smith says that he chose Carolina Law as the home for the documents because of his admiration of the University, particularly

the law school and its Center for Banking and Finance, on whose advisory board he has served for years. “I have great respect for Lissa (Broome, Wells Fargo Professor of Banking Law and the director of the center) and the role that the law school is providing in terms of scholarship in issues related to banking and financial services,” says Smith. “I wanted the documents in a place committed to learning and scholarship.”

The endowment gift of $50,000 from the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight to create the National Mortgage Oversight Digital Collections Fund was structured by Smith and then supplemented with $25,000 from his company, Smith Monitoring.

“My gift acknowledges the expenses incurred in the administrative costs involve in maintaining and preserving these documents,” he says.

Julie L. Kimbrough ’01, clinical assistant professor of law and deputy director of the law library, is grateful for Smith’s support. “Joe is an influential figure both in North Carolina and nationally and understands the importance not only of preserving these documents but of preserving them as a collection,” she says. “We are able to provide that.”

Much of the work to make the documents accessible is being done

by Aaron S. Kirschenfeld ’15, digital initiatives law librarian and clinical assistant professor of law. “Digital collections—which are a small but growing part of what this library does— allow us to fulfill the dual role of access and preservation,” says Kirschenfeld. “Joe’s faith in us will allow other entities not associated with the university to look at our library as a place where they can deposit legal materials, enabling us to increase the service that we provide to the state and the nation.”

--Michele Lynn

Donald A. Pape, Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight board member, Professor Julie Kimbrough ’01, deputy director of the law library, and Joe Smith at the Banking Institute in Charlotte, N.C., in March.

CAROLINA LAW

19

ALUMNI GIVING

Carolina Law Names Deirdre Gordon as Associate Dean for Advancement

U

NC School of Law is pleased to announce Deirdre Gordon as its new associate dean for advancement.

Gordon is responsible for meeting the school’s annual and campaign goals and managing a team of 10. She is working with the school’s 11,000 alumni, along with the school’s staff, faculty, and students to ensure that Carolina Law secures the funding needed to support the people and programs necessary to train the next generation of lawyers.

Gordon is also responsible for managing the boards of the Law Alumni Association and the UNC Law Foundation.

“We are delighted to have Deirdre join our experienced advancement team,” says Martin H. Brinkley, dean of UNC School of Law. “Our alumni are a critical part of the success of Carolina Law and she has the relationship-building skills that will continue to solidify the bonds we have cultivated with them.”

“I am eager to partner with the law school alumni, friends of the school, and a talented advancement team to help the school reach its full potential.”

Carolina Law’s Firm Campaign — What’s a Little Competition Among Firms?

For more than 15 years, one of the most reliable forms of support for the Carolina Law Annual Fund has been the Firm Campaign. More than 60 law firms with four or more Carolina Law alumni team up each year in a competition to achieve 100% firm participation in supporting the annual fund.

While the competition officially began on Oct. 31 and concluded Dec. 31, 2016, any gift made before the fiscal year ends on June 30, 2017 will count as part of the campaign.

20

SPRING-SUMMER 2017

“This particular campaign raises over half a million dollars and touches nearly 1,000 alumni,” assistant director of annual giving Jamie Fleming Frampton says. “That kind of participation speaks volumes about our Firm Campaign volunteers. It’s an amazing group.

They’re so engaged. They really care about this institution and want to see us do great things.”

The 2017 campaign has raised $560,204 in gifts and pledges, and 34 firms reached 100%

participation. The participation rate as of April 2017 is 75%, illustrating the tremendous impact made when Tar Heel lawyers work together.

When asked about their support of the Firm Campaign, alumni are vocal about the importance of giving back to their alma mater and providing the same opportunities they were given.

“Our legal education has afforded us the ability to practice law and support our

Gordon has extensive experience in higher education fundraising, with a track record of setting and exceeding ambitious goals in graduate and professional schools. She exercises an entrepreneurial approach to fundraising that is grounded in strong development practices with a focus on opening new avenues of support, discovering new prospects, and moving current donors to higher giving levels.

“I’m thrilled to join Dean Brinkley and the Carolina Law community to help build on the strong tradition of legal education at UNC, and I am honored to serve the people of North Carolina at the state’s great public law school,” says Gordon. “Philanthropic support is increasingly important to fulfilling the mission of Carolina Law, so I am eager to partner with the law school alumni, friends of the school, and a talented advancement team to help the school reach its full potential.”

Gordon has spent her career in philanthropy at Duke University.

She worked in a variety of development positions at the Sanford School of Public Policy, the Nicholas School of the Environment and at the Divinity School. Most recently, Gordon worked at Duke Athletics serving as the director of Iron Dukes Development Analytics and Strategy where she was responsible for driving the strategy for principal gift prospects and for soliciting major gifts.

In addition to Gordon, the Carolina Law advancement team has expanded to include Jessie Blekfeld-Sztraky, advancement services manager; Aaron Gard, regional development officer; Matthew J. Marvin, regional development officer and Adam Stiffler, advancement services coordinator.

From left: Jessie Blekfeld-Sztraky, advancement services manager; Aaron Gard, regional development officer; Matthew J. Marvin, regional development officer and Adam Stiffler, advancement services coordinator.

families. As alumni, we should strive to be more generous with both our time and resources in support of UNC School of Law,” says Elizabeth D. Scott ’86, the Firm Campaign representative for Williams Mullen.

Each firm has at least one representative who provides colleagues with information about the campaign and encourages them to make a gift. John H. Anderson ’02 of

McGuireWoods says being a Firm Campaign representative is important to him.

“Many attorneys in private practice get busy with work and tend to forget about – or never hear about – the financial challenges faced by Carolina Law, and the growing need for alumni support to fund scholarship opportunities to attract the best and brightest law school applicants,” he says.

He finds that serving as a Firm Campaign

representative provides an opportunity to speak with colleagues about these issues and to encourage the type of support that will strengthen Carolina Law’s legacy.

-Amy Rossi

CAROLINA LAW

21

EDUCATING LAWYERS. GRADUATING LEADERS.

Educating Lawyers.

Graduating Leaders.

22

SPRING-SUMMER 2017

“For generations, Carolina Law graduates have been the glue of practically every community in our state and many outside North Carolina. We are the best glue factory in the world.”

Dean Martin H. Brinkley ’92

WHEN RAY STARLING ’02 NEEDED A LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION to persuade a staunch Republican to help launch his career, he turned to someone at Carolina Law with whom he’d built a relationship of mutual respect. The glowing missive for Starling, a Republican who went on to become chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and now has joined the Trump administration as special assistant to the president for agriculture, trade and food assistance, was written by thendean of the law school Gene Nichol, an outspoken Democrat.

Starling, who later taught at Carolina Law as adjunct faculty, says of his time at Carolina Law “I was treated fairly. I never felt I was being checked on my political views.”

Carolina Law has a 100-plus-year history of fostering leaders for North Carolina and the nation. Among the law school’s alumni who have shaped our state and country are: N.C. Supreme Court chief justices Susie Sharp ’29 and Henry Frye ’59; N.C. governors Terry Sanford ’46, who also was a U.S. senator, Jim Holshouser ’60 and Jim Hunt ’64; U.S. Appeals Court Judge Dickson Phillips ’48; UNC President Bill Friday ’48 and Chancellor Bill Aycock ’48; and civil rights leader Julius Chambers ’62.

Recent law school graduates are carrying the tradition forward, seerving on both sides of the aisle in the General Assembly, in past and current presidential administrations, and in elected offices in municipalities large and small.

Not all students enter Carolina Law intent on running for public office, but every graduate emerges adept at peer leadership and skilled in statecraft, bringing people of diverse views together at the table to solve a problem, making them well-suited for policymaking positions.

CAROLINA LAW

23

EDUCATING LAWYERS. GRADUATING LEADERS.

THREE YEARS AGO, JOHN KASPRZAK ‘05, Carolina Law’s assistant dean for student development AND SYLVIA NOVINSKY, former assistant dean for public service programs, began a yearlong co-curricular program on leadership and, after two years, transformed it into a semester-long course. Delving into strategic planning, conflict resolution, priority setting and people management, the course gives students the opportunity to practice important legal skills. Kasprzak, who will co-teach the course next year with Novinsky, director of the North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center and Jared Smith ‘16, says the material and projects reinforce the leadership experiences students have working with law journals, moot court, clinics and student organizations.

“We didn’t think about politics in planning the course,” Kasprzak says.

The course is skills-based, as opposed to the traditional doctrinal courses in law school, and includes crisis management.

“How do you prepare for a crisis and respond to it?” he says. “That’s not something students will talk about in their doctrinal classes, but it will happen in practice, whether in their job or service on boards or running for office. Crises will come up.”

With politics becoming increasingly divisive, elected officials sometimes must decide between doing the right thing for the community and doing the popular thing that will get them re-elected.

“A piece of moral courage comes up there,” Kasprzak says. “I hope all of our graduates realize their career is a journey, not a destination.”

N.C. SEN. TAMARA BARRINGER ’85 says that aside from the technical skills she picked up in law school — “the ability to draft legislation and read and interpret a statute: I use that skill set daily” — she learned by example from her professors “to stand up for what really matters.”

She maintained strong relationships with some faculty even after she left law school. She recalled times when the General Assembly had all-night sessions, and Dean Judith Wegner stayed available by internet 24 hours a day to weigh in on questions about local government.

“I’m in the General Assembly to make change and make a difference, and I can’t do it by myself,” Barringer says. She stressed the importance of consensus-building to ensure solutions that will stand the test of time.

“If I do it on my own,” she says, “the next person who comes along may undo it.”

She continues: “You don’t lead by standing at the front of a room. You lead by inspiring people to bring out their best.”

24

SPRING-SUMMER 2017

THE NEGOTIATING SKILLS ESTHER MANHEIMER ’98 PRACTICED IN MOOT COURT HAVE PAID OFF IN HER ROLE AS MAYOR OF ASHEVILLE. She uses them every day. “It’s amazing how much your ability to interact with people in a positive way bears on your ability to get things done,” Manheimer says. “You can walk out of law school a genius, but if you can’t navigate people, or read a judge, or look across the table and figure out where your opponent is trying to go, or come up with a win-win solution, you’ll have to litigate everything.

“That human component that layers on top of the law is critical.

I built that muscle in moot court.”

WORDS OF WISDOM From Tar Heel Lawyer-Leaders

“You have a certain bond with those people after you’ve been to law school together for three years.

That bond continues for life.”

Lou Bissette ’68 Chair of UNC’s Board of Governors

“Lawyers are taught to advocate for a particular ONE OF MANHEIMER’S PREDECESSORS AS MAYOR OF ASHEVILLE, LOU BISSETTE ’68, who is now the chair of UNC’s Board of Governors, seconded the importance of the human connection. “I may be oldfashioned,” he says, “but I just don’t think you can be an effective body unless you develop the appropriate personal relationships.”

To work together effectively even though they have very different opinions, board members need to get to know one another and earn each other’s respect. Mutual trust develops from mutual respect and clears the path for compromises when people disagree.

“The people you’re leading have to believe in you,” Bissette says. “That comes from the honesty you exhibit in your dealings with them. That’s not as easy as it sounds.”

position. We get caught up that there’s only one way.

That makes it difficult to work together. We don’t have enough attorneys who look at all sides of an issue.”

Jim Deal ’74 Former Watauga County Commissioner

“Lawyers are disparaged and people make jokes about us, but the reality is every community organization wants lawyers on their board. Folks value our advice and experience.”

Larry McDevitt ’68 Former Mayor of Asheville CAROLINA LAW

25

EDUCATING LAWYERS. GRADUATING LEADERS.

SOME OF THE BEST ADVICE N.C. REP. PRICEY HARRISON ’85 RECEIVED WAS FROM A FELLOW MEMBER of the N.C. House, Joe Hackney ’70, who warned her not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. He urged her to be more of an incrementalist.

“Compromise is a tough one,” Harrison says. “You can be super-principled and absolutely committed to a certain standard, and get nothing done. Our state is a purple state, and we have to work with all sides on an issue to move forward.”

She got a taste of that delicate balance through her clinical experiences in law school. “Finding that balance of when to cede and when to stand firm is something you learn from practical experience,” she says.

Mentors she met in law school and Carolina Law alumni she connected with after she was elected encouraged her to develop thick skin. “You’re under constant criticism from both sides,” she says of practicing the art of compromise. “You really have to learn to take it.”

Strong mentors and role models, found in abundance at the law school, help young lawyers visualize where they want to be a decade or two into their career journey.

TYLER MITCHELL, SET TO GRADUATE IN 2018, RELIED ON THE COUNSEL OF PROFESSORS HIS FIRST YEAR IN LAW SCHOOL when he had the opportunity to run for a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives when the incumbent in his home district retired. He spoke with a number of professors who had been involved in political spheres to varying degrees to determine the costs and benefits of running. All agreed the timing wasn’t ideal, but if he felt he could make a positive change for his community, he should run. So in the fall of his 2L year, he studied in Chapel Hill three days a week, then commuted back to South Carolina for the other four.

He believes it’s time for the younger generation to step up and not be dissuaded by established politicians countering that his generation needs more seasoning.

“There’s a perception among the older generation that young people don’t care about what’s going on,” Mitchell says. “That’s not by any means the case. People in my generation have a disheartening sense that politics just doesn’t work. It’s not efficient. The solutions are too partisan. There’s no real progress made. This age of hyper-partisanship is all we’ve ever known.”

As far as his generation wanting everything now, he frames it differently. “We’re tired of fighting for fighting’s sake.” Law school has taught him to understand what makes good law.

26

SPRING-SUMMER 2017

Former Charlotte Mayor RICHARD VINROOT ’66 acknowledges the sacrifices people make to hold public office and believes they are worth it. He appreciates that Carolina Law promotes public service.

“We’re not just a university of wealthy people or intellectuals,” he says. “We’re a university of all the people. You come out wanting to do right by those people.”

Given how much society relies on lawyers to solve problems, he feels disappointed that more lawyers don’t get involved in public service.

“I learned in law school to be fair and do what’s right,” Vinroot says. As an elected official, “you’re constrained by those laws designed to be fair to everybody. You don’t get paid much to figure out how to educate our children or protect our citizens or make a city functional, but that’s what governments do, and it’s really important to a good community.”

WORDS OF WISDOM From Tar Heel Lawyer-Leaders “The excellence of our law school will in large part be determined by our ability to continue to recruit these sorts of professors and keep the young rock stars we have.”

Michael Jones ’17 MICHAEL JONES ’17 HAS BOTH YOUTH AND EXPERIENCE. AS AN UNDERGRAD AT YALE UNIVERSITY, HE SERVED ON NEW HAVEN, CONN.’S, BOARD OF ALDERMEN. A lesson he learned as an elected official and one underscored in law school was that “there are plenty of places in society where civility can prevail.

Law has to be one of those areas.”

“That’s critical when so many people in society view each other with suspicion and distrust,” Jones says. “Leaders must make sure we have the sort of civil debate that allows reason and wisdom to prevail.”

“You’re never done learning; you’re always reaching. Justice Mike Morgan said, ‘It’s called the practice of law for a reason: You’ll never get it perfect; you’re always trying to get better.’”

John Kasprzak ’05 Assistant Dean for Student Development, Carolina Law

“I’m amazed people can Jones admits that millennials are more inclined to pursue instant gratification.

Part of that stems from how rapidly technology has progressed. People expect to communicate fast, and sometimes the value of sitting down with people, looking them in the eye and listening to them gets lost in the shuffle.

“Law school taught me that it’s important sometimes to tap the brakes and be thoughtful about the full policy consequences,” he says.

serve in local public office and not be a lawyer. You can’t believe how much in the day-to-day operation of the city you deal with the law.”

Esther Manheimer ’98 Mayor of Asheville CAROLINA LAW

27

EDUCATING LAWYERS. GRADUATING LEADERS.

While the speed of communication in an interconnected world may change, the core competencies that lawyers learn in law school — clear writing, sharp legal analyses and strong critical thinking skills — do not, says health care lobbyist DANA SIMPSON ’00, a partner at Smith Anderson.

“How do we balance some client expectations of speed with the need to be able to provide thoughtful analysis?” he says. “I sure hope the importance of talking to people does not diminish in trying to find that balance.”

While he stays open to technology providing quality service to clients at good value, N.C. Rep. GRIER MARTIN ’95 defends the importance of talking with people directly to solve problems. As a lawyer for the Army, he had to negotiate an agreement with an Afghan military lawyer, a general in the Afghan army, after some children died collecting scrap metal at a mortar range in Kabul. The interpreter for the meeting was a physician with no legal training.

“I had to explain the American concept of negligence and understand the Afghan concept,” Martin says.

“As the general was speaking in Farsi, I was looking at his face, listening to his tone of voice, watching his hand gestures to supplement the translation the interpreter was giving. Then we got deep into the meaning of negligence and the abstract concept of what a system of negligence is trying to do.

“If a computer can do that, we’ll award it a law degree.”

As a staff officer representing different functional areas — supply, operations, aviation — Martin learned the art of peer leadership to become a trusted broker between competing ideas among staff.

“I was equipped through my legal training at Carolina to make my case for what I thought was the best course of action, while still listening civilly to their cases,” he says.

A lesson he has carried with him to the General Assembly is that “good followership is a form of leadership.” If someone else has a good idea, get behind them and advance their arguments.

“It’s not always about leading from the front,” he says.

HAYWOOD COUNTY ATTORNEY AND FORMER LOBBYIST CHIP KILLIAN ’69 SAYS THAT IN A ROLE THAT REQUIRES HIM TO PERSUADE AND EDUCATE PEOPLE, NOT TELL THEM WHAT TO DO, “YOUR REPUTATION AND CREDIBILITY MEAN EVERYTHING.” “If you play fast and loose, you won’t be effective at all, irrespective of politics,” he says. “You learn credibility and ethics in law school. Lawyers have an advantage by having that kind of background and framework for our activities.”

Former Watauga County Commissioner JIM DEAL ’74 recalled the respect with which Professor Bill Aycock ’48 treated his students and in so doing served as a role model for political leadership.

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SPRING-SUMMER 2017

“When you attack individuals, you shut the door on being able to work with them,” Deal says. “These days it seems as if one party is for it, the other party has to be against it. Even when I disagreed with other members of my board, I never made it personal.”

Other words of wisdom from Aycock resonated with LARRY MCDEVITT ’68, a former mayor of Asheville.

“Bill Aycock told his students that as lawyers we should be involved in things to make sure the government deserved the public trust,” McDevitt says. “That’s been a guiding principle in my public life.”

When it comes to the law school’s role in his career success, N.C. Sen. JEFF JACKSON ’09 took a legislative drafting class from a professor who still plays an active role in state legislation. He also took a class on state politics from a professor who served as chief of staff for a top leader in the N.C. Legislature.

He occasionally pulls out his notes from his constitutional law class to check on things that come up in the senate. And he took an alternative dispute resolution class he would recommend to every single member of the General Assembly.

“Carolina Law gives you an appreciation for the law and our state. You meet lawyers who work here and judges who preside here. You get a head start on understanding our state’s legal history and political scene. If you’re going to practice in this state, the case for Carolina Law is very strong,” says Jackson.

WORDS OF WISDOM From Tar Heel Lawyer-Leaders “Not every strong and effective leader graduated in the top 10 percent of his or her law school class.”

N.C. Rep. Pricey Harrison ’85

“My civil procedure professor taught me the fruits of practicing discipline and of not being intimidated by the impossible.”

Mick Mulvaney ’92

-Nancy Oates

Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget

“Make sure you know why you’re doing what you’re doing, and are you passionate

LET US KNOW!

about it? Or have you put gold handcuffs on and don’t want to take the hit? I took

Alumni, have you served on a board for a non-profit, held

a $90,000 salary cut to

elected office or participated in pro bono legal services? If so,

become the general counsel

please keep an eye out for a questionnaire to be delivered to your inbox and your mailbox in the coming months that will

at the state department of agriculture. People said, ‘You’re part of a law firm.

ask you a handful of questions about your service in leadership.

Why would you leave?’ But lo

With this information, we want to show how Tar Heel lawyer-

and behold, I get to walk into

leaders are the heart of communities everywhere!

the White House every day and go to work.”

Ray Starling ’02 Special Assistant to the President for Agriculture, Trade and Food Assistance CAROLINA LAW

29

CLASS NOTES

We love keeping up with our alumni!

Class Notes are compiled from information submitted by alumni and press releases received from law firms. If you have information you would like to share, please submit your class notes online at www.law.unc.edu/alumni/news/classnotes or contact Susan McLean at law_alumni@unc.edu.

1959

1972

1977

The Honorable Henry E. Frye of Greensboro, N.C., was presented the 2016 Chief Justice’s Professionalism Award by North Carolina Chief Justice Mark Martin ’88.

Garber Alfred Davidson Jr. serves as chair of the Foreign Service Grievance Board, Department of State. Davidson was appointed chair by Secretary Hillary Clinton and renewed

by Secretary John Kerry. Davidson is a retired senior foreign service officer with a career in USAID as lawyer and senior executive.

Richard T. Boyette, partner at Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog in Raleigh, N.C., was selected for inclusion in the 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers for his work in defense professional liability.

1962

1973 Dan McCord Hartzog, of counsel at Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog in Raleigh, N.C., was selected for inclusion in the 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers for his work in defense civil litigation.

The Honorable Linda Mace McGee was one of three judges selected to lead the launch of the North Carolina Judicial Branch Speakers Bureau’s public service announcements to encourage civic education.

John M. Rosenberg, of Prestonsburg, Ky., received the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award from the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville.

1967 John B. McMillan was recognized by the UNC Law Alumni Association with the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Stuart Alan Saunders is enjoying a return to private practice after 11 years as an assistant public defender in Hampton,Va. Prior to his time as a public defender, Saunders was involved in private practice for 38 years.

1969 The Honorable Burley B. Mitchell Jr. retired from Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP in Raleigh, N.C.

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SPRING-SUMMER 2017

William Thomas “Tom” Parrott III, of THINKlaw PLLC in McLean-Tysons Corner, Va., was recognized by Best Lawyers in America for his work in corporate law.

John E. Skvarla joined Nexsen Pruet in Raleigh, N.C., as senior government relations advisor.

1974 Richard Yates Stevens, of counsel at Smith Anderson in Raleigh, N.C., received the Distinguished Public Service Award at the N.C. Chamber’s 75th Annual Meeting.

1975 William R. Purdy, partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP in Birmingham, Ala., was recognized in Who’s Who Legal: Construction 2017 among the world’s leading construction lawyers.

Susan King Dunn was promoted to legal director of the ACLU of South Carolina.

S. Revelle Gwyn, of Huntsville, Ala., retired from Bradley Arant.

The Honorable Philemina McNeill Jones is a retired federal administrative law judge.

Her past positions include retired Commander, United States Navy/Reserves; assistant director/attorney, Civil Division, Department of Justice (DOJ); and board member, Board of Immigration Appeals, Executive Office of Immigration Review (DOJ). Jones is a past recipient of the DOJ Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service.

David F. Kirby was recognized by the UNC Law Alumni Association with the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award.

1978 Robert C. Cone, former partner with Tuggle Duggins P.A. in Greensboro, N.C., was honored prior to his passing in March, by the North Carolina State Bar with its John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award. The award, which was presented to Cone by State Bar president Margaret Hunt at the meeting of the Greensboro Bar Association in October, recognizes North Carolina lawyers who have demonstrated exemplary service to the legal profession.

Mark Andrew Sternlicht, managing partner at Beaver Courie Sternlicht Hearp & Broadfoot, PA in Fayetteville, N.C., was recognized by Best Lawyers in America for his work in personal injury-plaintiffs.

1979

1985

David N. Kirkman retired from his position as special deputy attorney general for the North Carolina Department of Justice.

Janice Perrin Paul accepted a position at North Carolina Central University School of Law as an adjunct professor and the legal director for the Center for Child and Family Health through the school’s clinical programs department. The center focuses on state policy related to child well-being, training on mental health law and expert testimony, and court preparation for child witnesses.

The Honorable Patricia Ann TimmonsGoodson was recognized by the UNC Law Alumni Association with the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award.

1980

1986

The Honorable James Floyd Ammons Jr., was awarded the E.J. Wells Cup by the Fayetteville Kiwanis Club. The cup is presented for the “Most Outstanding Civic Contribution in Cumberland County.”

June L. Basden, of Carruthers & Roth, P.A. in Greensboro, N.C., was honored by the N.C. Bar Association Business Law Section with its 2017 Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her extraordinary commitment to the organization.

The Honorable Paul Martin Newby was one of three justices selected to lead the launch of the North Carolina Judicial Branch Speakers Bureau’s public service announcements to encourage civic education.

Kevin P. Roddy, shareholder at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A. in Woodbridge, N.J., was selected for inclusion in the 2017 New Jersey Super Lawyers for his work in business litigation.

Douglas S. Sea was recognized by the UNC Law Alumni Association with the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award.

1981 Jane Perkins, legal director at the National Health Law Program in Carrboro, N.C., received the Kutak-Dodds Prize which honors an equal justice advocate who, through the practice of law, has contributed in a significant way to the enhancement of the human dignity and quality of life of those persons unable to afford legal representation Louise Critz Root, of Root and Root PLLC in Weaverville, N.C., was recognized by Best Lawyers in America for her work in workers’ compensation.

Steven Howard Sholk, director at Gibbons P.C. in Newark, N.J., gave a presentation to the New Jersey State Bar Association entitled “Ethics and RPC Rules Governing Lawyer-Lobbyists in New Jersey.”

1982 Keith Boyd Mason co-founded Mason & Jones, P.A. in Washington, N.C. and Wilmington, N.C.

Byron B. Kirkland, partner at Smith Anderson in Raleigh, N.C., was selected for inclusion in the 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers.

John Kinney Mashburn, of Washington, D.C., accepted the position as Deputy Cabinet Secretary in the Executive Office of the President of the United States of America.

John W. Ormand, partner at Brooks Pierce in Raleigh, N.C., was recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a “Local Litigation Star” for his work in labor and employment law. Ormand was also selected for inclusion in the 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers for his work in business litigation.

1988

A. Summey Orr III, of Atlanta, was selected for inclusion in the 2017 Georgia Super Lawyers.

Allen S. Kinzer, partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP in Columbus, Ohio, was selected for inclusion in the 2017 Ohio Super Lawyers for his work in employment and labor law.

Lee Poole Jr., of counsel at Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog in Raleigh, N.C., was selected for inclusion in the 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers for his work in personal injury medical malpractice defense.

Renee Hom Neary joined Boyd Collar Nolen & Tuggle in Atlanta.

1989

Barbara Hellenschmidt Wright retired from her positions as senior vice president and co-counsel at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, N.C.

1987 Stephanie Hutchins Autry, partner at Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog in Raleigh, N.C., was selected for inclusion in the 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers for her work in defense civil litigation.

Roy James Baroff, a solo practitioner in Pittsboro, N.C., began service as the North Carolina State Faculty Ombuds. Baroff also started teaching a negotiation course at Elon School of Law. The Honorable Joseph M. Buckner, chief district judge for Chatham and Orange Counties, was recognized with the Advocacy Award by the UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health for his role in starting and supporting North Carolina’s first mental health court.

Anthony Wayne Cummings accepted a position with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., as assistant general counsel.

Michael Scott Fox, partner at Tuggle Duggins PA in Greensboro, N.C., was appointed to the North Carolina Board of Transportation by Governor Roy Cooper ’82 and elected as chair of the board by the members.

1990 Robert E. Duggins, partner at Smith Anderson in Raleigh, N.C., selected for inclusion in the 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers..

CAROLINA LAW

31

CLASS NOTES

H. Clay Hodges, partner at Harris Sarratt & Hodges LLP in Raleigh, N.C., spent two years building a website on product liability law: www.northcarolinaproductliabilitylawyer. com. The site focuses on medical devices and prescription drugs.

Deborah Koff Ross, of Raleigh, N.C., joined Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP.

Melany K. Earnhardt is celebrating her 25th year with Legal Aid of N.C./Legal Services of N.C. Earnhardt launched the Environmental Poverty Law Project and directed the program until 2005 and has been managing attorney since. After serving as president of the Orange County Bar Association in 2003, Earnhardt moved to the Greensboro office of Legal Aid of North Carolina in 2004 and switched her practice focus to state and federal consumer law.

Jan Clayton Lyons accepted a position with BP International in London as group head of tax.

Elizabeth Ayn Froehling accepted a position with the Title IX office at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

1991 George Autry Jr., partner at Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog in Raleigh, N.C., was selected for inclusion in the 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers for his work in eminent domain.

Hillary Jane Michaud, of Baltimore, is a law professor and the legal studies program coordinator at Stevenson University and an affiliate accounting and law instructor at Loyola University Maryland.

Susan LaNelle Trevarthen, of Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, P.L. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., received the International Municipal Lawyers Association President’s Award: Most Outstanding Associate, given to an IMLA associate member to recognize his/her achievements and contributions over the past year.

1992 Constance Apostolou Anastopoulo, associate professor at Charleston School of Law in Charleston, S.C., accepted a publication offer from Indiana Law Review for her latest article, “A New Twist on Remedies: Judicial Assignment of Bad Faith Claims.”

Terry Lynn Crandall of Chapel Hill, N.C., celebrated 20 years with GlaxoSmithKline and for the past seven, served as general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary of ViiV Healthcare, a global joint venture focused on HIV medicines owned by GSK, Pfizer Inc. and Shionogi Ltd (global HQ in London, UK HQ in Research Triangle Park, N.C.). Crandall was also nominated for 2016 “Woman’s Global Compliance Officer of the Year” by C5 Forum, a global compliance organization.

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SPRING-SUMMER 2017

The Honorable William A. Snoddy was appointed to the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Md. Prior to joining the bench, Snoddy served as deputy county attorney in Prince George’s County Office of Law and oversaw the litigation and child welfare sections.

1996

David Wesley Spence, president of Good Space Inc., celebrated 20 years as owner of Good Space, Inc., a redeveloper and operator of historic commercial properties in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas.

1993 Perry “Rip” Warren was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to represent House District 31, which includes his home town of Newtown, where he served on Borough Council for seven years.

1994 Mark Dorosin, managing attorney for the UNC Center for Civil Rights, was elected to a second term on the Orange County, N.C. Board of Commissioners, and was selected to serve as chair of the board by his colleagues.

Timothy A. Nordgren joined Sands Anderson PC in Raleigh, N.C., and will focus on estate planning law.

Ian S. Taylor joined Pacifica Law Group in Seattle as a partner in the firm’s real estate practice group.

1995 Derek C. Abbott, of Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP in Wilmington, Del., was inducted into the American College of Bankruptcy as a fellow.

Leslie Powell-Boudreaux, of Tallahassee, Fla., was promoted to senior attorney with Legal Services of North Florida.

Michelle L. Frazier joined Smith Moore Leatherwood’s Raleigh, N.C., office. With 20 years of legal experience, Frazier will continue her practice of representing clients before the state’s legislative and executive branches.

John T. O’Neal, of O’Neal Law Office in Greensboro, N.C., was named chapter editor for the “Commercial Rights/Consumer Law” chapter of the seventh edition of the North Carolina Manual of Complaints. The manual is published by the North Carolina Advocates for Justice and Lexis-Nexis.

1997 Susan D. Del Sarto was promoted to the assistant special agent in charge of the naval criminal investigative service (NCIS) office of strategic support in Washington.

Tasha K. Dickinson, shareholder of Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs, P.A., in West Palm Beach, Fla., was named as a “Top Lawyer” in the 2017 edition of South Florida Legal Guide for her work in trust and estate planning.

Beth S. Posner, clinical assistant professor at UNC School of Law, was a recipient of the Gwyneth B. Davis Award. The public service award is given to valuable members of the North Carolina legal community who promote the participation of women attorneys in the legal profession and the rights of women under the law.

David K. Teeples was named vice president and deputy general counsel of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

1998

Stephanie E. Lewis, office managing principal at Jackson Lewis P.C. in Greenville, S.C., was recognized by v “25 Most Beautiful.”The award honors women who have made the Greenville community more beautiful by living beautiful lives.

Lewis was recognized for exceptional pro bono work and her dedication to the Rotary Club of Greenville where she presides as president.

2002

Constance Covington Smith is the vice president for client solutions at Cicayda, a cloud-based software and services company, in Palm Beach, Fla.

2000 Caroline Farmer was named the executive director of the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.

(AmeriCorps).

Christopher Henry Kouri, of Nexsen Pruet in Charlotte, N.C., was selected to lead the law firm’s expansion of services within the Carolinas to include a strategy division focused on providing communications and business strategy support to corporations, governmental entities and non-profit organizations.

Katie Rose Guest Pryal, writer and consultant in Chapel Hill, N.C., had her article “Barring Felons from Voting Sounds Tough on Crime, but It’s Quietly Destroying American Communities” published by Quartz digital news outlet.

Derek W. Black, professor of law at the University of South Carolina School of Law, in Columbia, S.C., published his book “Ending Zero Tolerance: The Crisis of Absolute School Discipline” (NYU Press, 2016).

Addie K. S. Ries made partner at Smith Anderson in Raleigh, N.C. Ries was also selected as a 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers “Rising Star.”

The Honorable Samantha Hyatt Cabe was voted and sworn in as a Chatham and Orange County District Judge.

The Honorable Michael Charles Surles was elected as district court judge in Jacksonville, N.C. for the 4th judicial district.

David L. Cox joined Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. in Herndon,Va., as assistant general counsel in the privacy, data governance and e-discovery department.

Angela Hardister Zimmern, senior counsel at McGuireWoods, LLP in Charlotte, N.C., was selected as a member of the Charlotte Business Journal’s 2017 “40 Under 40.”

Jason M. Hensley, formerly with the Bernhardt Furniture Company in Morganton, N.C., was named executive director of the North Carolina Bar Association.

The Honorable David J. Bryan was appointed as a judge with the housing court in New York City.

Brian Duncan Meacham, partner at Smith Anderson in Raleigh, N.C., was selected as a 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers “Rising Star.”

Raymond A. Starling began a new role at the National Economic Council in the White House as special assistant to the president for agriculture, trade, and food assistance.

2003 Asaf Batelman, of Arlington,Va., joined Cantor Colburn LLP as an associate.

Jeffrey William Childers, Ph.D., joined Michael Best & Friedrich LLP in Raleigh, N.C., where he brings his background in chemistry to his intellectual property practice. Childers concentrates on counseling clients through various transactional matters and issues including preparing and filing domestic and foreign patent applications, preparing freedom-to-operate and infringement opinions, and providing guidance on management of patent portfolios.

2005 Christopher A. Brook, legal director of the ACLU of North Carolina in Durham, N.C., was a recipient of the Gwyneth B. Davis Award. The public service award is given to valuable members of the North Carolina legal community who promote the participation of women attorneys in the legal profession and the rights of women under the law.

Brian C. Fork joined Brooks Pierce Law Firm in Raleigh, N.C., as partner. His practice will focus on bankruptcy and business litigation.

David W. Green joined Brooks Pierce Law Firm in Raleigh, N.C., as of counsel. His practice will focus on real estate and general corporate law.

Jenny M. McKellar joined the Raleigh, N.C., office of Womble Carlyle where she focuses her practice on advising and representing hospitals and other healthcare clients in business, local government, nonprofit, regulatory and compliance matters.

Katherine E. Fisher joined the Van Winkle Law Firm in Asheville, N.C.

CAROLINA LAW

33

CLASS NOTES

2006 Atinuke “Tinu” Diver, director of compliance at North Carolina State University, was appointed to the board of directors of Communities in Schools of Wake County, a local affiliate of Communities in Schools, the nation’s largest dropout prevention organization.

Jamis Michael Gardner joined software company Entrata, Inc. in Lehi, Utah, as in-house litigation counsel.

Dan M. Hartzog Jr., partner at Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP, in Raleigh, N.C., was selected as a 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers “Rising Star.”

Melody Jewell Jolly, partner at Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP, Wilmington, N.C., was selected as a 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers “Rising Star.” and received an AV® rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

Julie Klipp Nicholson, coordinator of the Buncombe County Family Justice Center in Asheville, N.C., was a recipient of the Gwyneth B. Davis Award. The public service award is given to valuable members of the North Carolina legal community who promote the participation of women attorneys in the legal profession and the rights of women under the law.

Michael Benjamin “Ben” Stanley joined the Minnesota Senate Counsel, Research, and Fiscal Analysis Office in St. Paul, Minn.

2007 Kate M. Bell, previously a lobbyist for marijuana policy issues, joined the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, as legislative counsel.

Farah Lisa Whitley-Sebti, joined Alston & Bird LLP, in Raleigh, N.C. as a senior associate.

2008 John-Paul Benitez is counsel for managed health care services organization Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis.

Stephanie C. Courter joined Ice Miller in Indianapolis. Her practice area will focus on white collar defense, financial investigations, and tax and compliance.

Eric M. David, partner at Brooks Pierce Law Firm LLP in Raleigh, N.C., was selected as a 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers “Rising Star” for his work in business litigation.

Jason G. Idilbi, of Davidson, N.C., joined Passport, Inc., the largest provider of mobile payment parking software for the parking and transit industries of North America, as general counsel.

2009 Cara Anne Gardner accepted a position with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. as an assistant U.S. attorney. Additionally, the non-profit she co-founded, Amara Legal Center that provides free legal services to survivors of sex trafficking, was able to expand and hire two additional attorneys.

Stephanie Lewis Sanders, of Poyner Spruill LLP in Raleigh, N.C., was elected as partner in the firm.

2010

Daniel F. E. Smith, of Brooks Pierce Law Firm LLP in Greensboro, N.C., was selected as a 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers “Rising Star” for his work in environmental law.

2011 Katie O. Berkey, attorney and land planner at Pavese Law Firm in Fort Myers, Fla., was honored by the Lee County Bar Association at its Pro Bono Awards Luncheon as an exceptional representative of the legal profession while making a positive impact by providing free legal services to those in need.

Bruce “Andy” Andrews accepted a position as assistant university counsel with the University of North Carolina Office of University Counsel practicing in the area of health care law.

Drew Michele Slone was elected shareholder at Winstead PC in Dallas.

SPRING-SUMMER 2017

David Yorke Sartorio, of Smith Anderson in Raleigh, N.C., was selected as a 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers “Rising Star.”

2012

Elizabeth Jacobs Hunt accepted a position with Southeastern Health in Lumberton, N.C.

34

Danielle McLean is the attorney for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina in Lumberton, N.C.

Jeffrey Scott Widmayer, Ph.D., accepted a position with the New York City Law Department in the tort legal division as assistant corporation counsel.

Edward Thomas Chaney was named partner at Schell Bray, PLLC in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Adam P. M. Tarleton, of Brooks Pierce Law Firm LLP in Raleigh, N.C., was selected as a 2017 North Carolina Super Lawyers “Rising Star” for his work in estate and probate law.

Andrew P. Flynt, was named shareholder of Young Moore and Henderson, P.A. in Raleigh, N.C.

Lori M. Allen, was named shareholder of Young Moore and Henderson, P.A. in Raleigh, N.C.

Jacqueline N. Azis accepted a position as staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida in Miami.

2015

Marcelius L. Braxton is the director of the Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn.

Samera Beshir joined Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig, LLP in Miami.

Kevin W. Delaney accepted the position of law clerk with NBCUniversal in New York.

Noah Elliot Brisbin accepted a position with the University of Wisconsin System as associate system legal counsel.

Barton T. Lee is an associate with Butler Snow LLP in Birmingham, Ala., practicing in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and organization and capital formation.

Crystal Boni Carswell joined Hunton & Williams LLP in Miami.

Nicole M. Downing is a reference librarian at UNC School of Law’s Kathrine R. Everett Law Library.

Amy Alderman Poe joined Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman in Raleigh, N.C.

2016 Danielle E. Kimelstein accepted a position with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina in Durham, N.C., as staff attorney.

2013 Vivian R. Connell was recognized posthumously by the UNC Law Alumni Association with the 2017 Outstanding Recent Graduate Award.

Marshall Oliver Dworkin joined Kasowitz, Benson, Torres and Friedman, LLP in New York.

Cameron Blake Ellis joined the Law Offices of John Vong in Houston.

Bethan R. Eynon joined Duke Law School in Durham, N.C., as their public interest career counselor.

2014

Brooks Pope Miller accepted a position at Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe & Garofalo in Charlotte, N.C., practicing insurance defense in the civil litigation department.

Nicole Marie McCluney joined the North Carolina District Attorney’s Office as an assistant district attorney. Photo courtesy of Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office Robert S. Sparks accepted a position with UNC School of Government as a legislation analyst.

Elizabeth Dannelly Morgan was promoted to the position of director of principal and major gifts at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Kevin D. Mulet joined the Derrick Law Firm in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Anne S. Salter joined Pisgah Legal Services in Asheville, N.C.

Ryan C. Fairchild joined Brooks Pierce in Wilmington, N.C. Justin M. Mann joined the Washington office of Alston & Bird LLP in their health care practice - FDA team.

Sheldon M. Stokes accepted a position with Johnston, Allison & Hord in Charlotte, N.C. CAROLINA LAW

35

PARTING SHOTS

Katherine Kershaw

Eight students won the opportunity to hang out with Dean Kelly Podger Smith ’02 over a Mama Dips-catered dinner at her house thanks to the Carolina Public Interest Law Organization’s (CPILO) auction in January. Lindsey Spain ’12; Benjamin Spain, assistant director of admissions and recruitment management; Smith; Nate Reisinger 1L; Lauren Margolies 2L; Gigi Warner 2L; Alexandra Snow 2L; Hailey Klabo 1L; Tyler Walters 2L; Amanda Aragon 2L; and Bianca Mack, assistant dean for admissions, watched Carolina beat Kentucky to advance to the Final Four.

N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Chris Dillon ’90 (second from right) speaks to Jesse Swords 3L, Professor Sara Warf ’06 and Monica Marie Burks 2L at a reception after hearing oral arguments in the school’s Graham Kenan Courtroom in January.

Courtesy of NEA

Katherine Kershaw

Carolina Law’s Externship Program, directed by Professor Maria Savasta-Kennedy, enhances traditional classroom instruction by engaging students in real life lawyering experiences. Lauren Russell 2L spent her semester-in-practice externship at National Public Radio in Washington, D.C., where she had the opportunity to help American legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg cover U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings. “Like all law students, I pored over many Supreme Court opinions during my first three semesters at Carolina Law,” Russell says. “Watching the justices and the attorneys at work during oral arguments has been an incredible experience, and I’m excited to see the final products of this process when the opinions are released. I expect I’ll remember this semester for the rest of my life!”

The Veterans Advocacy Legal Organization (VALOR) hosted Lieutenant General Charles D. Luckey, chief of the U.S. Army Reserve and commanding general of the Army Reserve Command, in February. He spoke to students about his experience as both a lawyer with military training and as a soldier with a legal background.

36

SPRING-SUMMER 2017

Professor Erika Wilson spoke at the National Education Association’s Woman Observance, highlighting facts, challenges and opportunities that educators should engage and lead.

2017 Recruiting Opportunities ON-CAMPUS INTERVIEW PROGRAMS Fall: August 14 - September 29

REGIONAL OFF-CAMPUS INTERVIEW PROGRAMS Dallas, TX July 31 Chicago, IL July 31 New York, NY August 1 Washington, DC August 2 Houston, TX August 3 Miami, FL August 4 Atlanta, GA August 7

DIVERSITY OFF-CAMPUS INTERVIEW PROGRAM Southeastern Minority Job Fair (Atlanta) July 21 to 22

IP OFF-CAMPUS INTERVIEW PROGRAMS Southeastern IP Job Fair (Atlanta) July 25 Loyola Patent Law Interview Program (Chicago) August 3 to 4

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Free, of course, and with interactivity and links right at your fingertips for an enhanced experience.

We’re an App!

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA! Facebook.com/UNCSchoolofLaw

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Contact Laina Balafas Recruitment Manager 919.962.0280 | laina@unc.edu www.law.unc.edu/career

#UNCLAWALUMNI CAROLINA LAW

37

CAROLINA LAW

Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID PERMIT # 177 Chapel Hill, N.C.

Van Hecke-Wettach Hall 160 Ridge Road, CB # 3380 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3380 www.law.unc.edu twitter.com/unc_law

Alumni, update your contact info at www.law.unc.edu/alumni.

Save the Date!

SEPTEMBER 22-23 CAROLINA LAW FALLFORALL WEEKEND

Bringing alumni, students, faculty and staff together for a weekend of family friendly activities in celebration and support of Carolina Law.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

UNC LAW ALUMNI ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP GOLF CLASSIC Players face stellar competition on UNC Finley Golf Course, the home of the Tar Heels men’s and women’s golf teams. More important than who brings home the trophy is the knowledge that their day of fun is in support of a great cause - student scholarships.

COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT Sponsored by the Law Alumni Association Alumni Engagement Committee and the Student Bar Association, our project is an opportunity to meet others, have fun and make a difference. Participants receive complimentary lunch tickets to Bluegrass and BBQ.

20 YEARS OF PRO BONO Join students, faculty, alumni and staff for a reception celebrating the 20th anniversary of UNC School of Law’s Pro Bono Program. Please join us as we honor two decades of service to the residents of North Carolina and beyond.

BLUEGRASS AND BBQ Join alumni families and friends for North Carolina style BBQ buffet, cold beer and live music prior to the football game. Children 6 and under eat free! Cheer on the Tar Heels as they take on the Duke Blue Devils. Limited football tickets will be available at the discounted rate of $50. Already have season tickets? Plan to join us for Bluegrass and BBQ and then walk over to Kenan Stadium at game time. $15/per person.