Mitchell on Law Fall 2010

Mitchell and the Military

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Studying and Serving the Law while Serving Their Country

Six Things About Eric J. Magnuson ’76 pg 9 Capitalizing on Law pg 18Better Living Through Policy pg 21

Mitchell on LawMitchell on Law

Networking in the New Economy: Creating ConnectionsTuesday, Nov. 16 | 4:30 – 7:30 pmPresenters: Alumni panel followed by a Dale Carnegie workshop

Cross-Cultural Communication in Immigration and Other Areas of LawThursday, Nov. 18 | Noon – 1:30 pmPresenter: Professor Afsheen John Radsan

Doing Deals in Today's Business EnvironmentFriday, Dec. 3 | Noon – 1:30 pmPresenters: Zachary Robins '08, Angie Snavely '08, and Matthew Kuhn '06

Patents with Professor Carl MoyThursday, Dec. 16 | Noon – 1:30 pmPresenter: Professor Carl Moy

Food Law with Professor Donna ByrneThursday, Jan. 20 | 7:30 – 9 amPresenter: Professor Donna Byrne

Networking in the New Economy: Networking Know-HowThursday, Jan. 27 | 4:30 – 7:30 pmPresenter: Roy S. Ginsburg and a panel of experienced Mitchell alumni

Best Practices for Successfully Working with ImmigrantsFriday, Feb. 4, 2011 | Noon – 1:30 pmPresenter: Ana Maria Gomez '03

Legal Ethics and Social NetworkingFriday, Feb. 18, 2011 | 7:30 – 9 amPresenters: Professor Greg Duhl and Jaclyn Millner '09

Overlooked Overtime Provisions in the Fair Labor Standards ActFriday, March 4, 2011 | Noon – 1:30 pmPresenters: Patrick McGuiness '06 and Tim Selander '06

Torts in the Courts with Prince and SteensonThursday, March 17, 2011 | 7 am – NoonPresenters: Professors Mike Steenson and David Prince

Title 101—Basics of Property/Real Estate Law Friday, April 8, 2011 | 7:30 – 9 amPresenter: Professor Eileen Roberts

Electronic Storage of InformationFriday, May 6, 2011 | Noon – 1:30 pmPresenters: Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, John Degnan '78, and Heidi Fessler

Web Design For AttorneysThursday, May 26, 2011 | 7:30 – 9 amPresenter: Professor and Associate Dean for Information Resources Simon Canick

Convenient. Interesting. Relevant.Mitchell’s CLEs are free to recent graduates (2009, 2010),

$20 for all other alumni, and available via webcast for $30. Learn more and register at wmitchell.edu/lectures.

The William Mitchell Alumni CLE Series

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Mitchell on Law

Volume 28, No. 2Published by the Office of Institutional Advancement

William Mitchell College of Law

875 Summit Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105-3076

651-290-6370 fax: 651-290-7502

[email protected]

wmitchell.edu/alumni

President and DeanEric S. Janus

Chair, Board of TrusteesKathleen Flynn Peterson ‘81

Board of Trustees

Stephen B. Bonner ‘72, vice chair; Peter M. Reyes Jr. ‘97, secretary;

James C. Melville ‘90, treasurer; Louis L. Ainsworth ‘77; Lynn M.

Anderson ‘80; Lawrence T. Bell ‘79; Patricia Ann Burke ‘78; Jeffrey P.

Cairns ‘81; Richard R. Crowl ‘76; John M. Degnan ‘76; John H. Hooley

‘80; Stephen R. Lewis Jr.; David M. Lilly Jr.; Martin R. Lueck ‘84; Chief

Justice Eric J. Magnuson ‘76; Judge Elizabeth Hoene Martin ‘80;

Justice Helen M. Meyer ‘83; Joseph S. Micallef ‘62; Ruth A. Mickelsen

‘81; Daniel P. O’Keefe ‘78; Ben I. Omorogbe ‘95; Lenor A. Scheffler

‘88; William R. Sieben ‘77; Marschall I. Smith; Thomas W. Tinkham;

Eric C. Tostrud ‘90; William A. Van Brunt; Mary Cullen Yeager ‘89;

Donald F. Zibell ‘62

Alumni Association President

John M. Degnan ‘76

Alumni Association Board of Directors

Kathy S. Kimmel ’96, vice president; Judge Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks

’85, secretary-treasurer; Thomas C. Baxter ‘94; Jennifer F. Beck-Brown

‘03; Peter H. Berge ’83; Timothy E. Bianchi ‘95; Mark V. Chapin ‘82;

Alison C. Drichta ‘09; Bernard M. Dusich ‘80; Jill K. Esch ’03; Mark A.

Hallberg ‘79; Lee A. Hutton III ‘02; Imani S. Jaafar-Mohammad ‘04;

Nicole James-Gilchrist ’03; Alexander J. Kim ‘06; Barbara J. Klas ‘91;

Jocelyn L. Knoll ‘92; Judge George T. Stephenson ‘85; Robert G. Suk

‘70; Chris Tymchuck ‘08

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Fall 2010 Read the magazine online @ wmitchell.edu/alumni

Executive EditorSteve Linders

EditorChris Mikko

Custom Publishing ServicesThe Coghlan Group

WritingChuck BendaSara Gilbert FrederickSteve LindersJ. Trout LowenJoe MielenhausenTodd NelsonHolly Schroeder

Art DirectionPamela Belding

Graphic Designand IllustrationPamela BeldingMelinda Bianchet

PhotographersSally AristeiMike KrivitTim RummelhoffSarah WhitingSteve Woit

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Cover: Photo by Mike Krivit of Sgt. Jennifer Wunderlich ’10, 34th Infantry “Red Bull” Division,

Midwest Regional Trial Defense Services Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge

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Mitchell and the MilitaryBy Chuck BendaWilliam Mitchell has a proud history of helping students in the military balance the rigors of a legal education with their service

Capitalizing on LawBy Todd NelsonOver the years, numerous William Mitchell alumni have discovered that a law degree can be a huge help in pursuing a business career. Thanks to the college's new Center for Law and Business, Mitchell is now doing more than ever to prepare its graduates for business leadership positions

Better Living Through PolicyBy Erin PetersonMillions in new grants and an expanded mission give the Public Health Law Center the tools to help people live healthier lives

Coming of AgeBy J. Trout LowenThe efforts of Professor Kimberley Dayton and the Center for Elder Justice and Policy provide Mitchell students with practical learning opportunities that deliver equally practical results

6 Things AboutEric J. Magnuson ’76By Steve LindersEric J. Magnuson '76, recently retired chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court

Departments875 SUMMIT: News and updates from the William Mitchell campus and community

Off the Beaten Path: Stacey Thunder '98 uses her wide-ranging talents to help the Native American community

Mitchell in FOCUS: Meet Mitchell's incoming class

Working Through Loss: The Crystal Murphy Scholarship Fund honors the spirit of a beloved community member and provides opportunities for new generations of students

All in the Family: For the Siebens, Mitchell is a family tradition

Class Notes

To the Point—Message from Dean Janus

Mitchell on Law2 Read more news online @ wmitchell.edu/alumni

News and updates from the William Mitchell campus and community

This is one of 10 questions the student editors for the Journal of the National Security Forum at William Mitchell College of Law posed to international experts in volume 36 of the journal. Other questions answered by practitioners and scholars explore the legalities of Predator drones, the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and what should happen if Iran gets nuclear weapons. Contributors include Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor at Notre Dame Law School; Joshua L. Dratel, the first private attorney to represent a Guantanamo detainee; and Timothy Lynch, director of the Project on Criminal Justice at the CATO Institute. The thought-provoking publication is one of the ways the National Security Forum serves as a national resource for discussion and research, sparks new insights, and contributes to better-informed, more thoughtful decision-making. And thanks to a gift from George N. Grammas ’88, a partner at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Washington D.C., each member of the U.S. Senate and House Judiciary, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence Committees received a copy.

>> Learn more at wmitchell.edu/national-security-forum

NSF Journal asks the tough questions

Deer contributes to passage of new law

“When will the United States cease to be the world’s No. 1 power?”

It’s not every day a law school gives its competitors a tool that can make them better. But that’s what Mitchell did when it told every other law school in the country about Pathways to the Profession of Law™. Pathways is an interactive curricular advising tool that helps students choose, sequence, and prioritize courses by showing them visual representations of different routes through the upper-level curriculum. In other words, it’s an interactive, online replacement for the old course catalogs and static web pages that most students use to choose courses. And it works. The “app” works so well that Mitchell thought every law school student should have the opportunity to use it. In October, the college made its code available to law schools across the country. So far people at Harvard, Rutgers, Baylor, and the Nevada System of Higher Education have taken a look at it. You can too, by visiting wmitchell.edu/pathways/works.

>> Read more about Pathways to the Profession of Law at wmitchell.edu/pathways/works

Mitchell gives away (some) secrets of its success

There are fewer than 10 American Indian women in the United States who are full-time law professors. Sarah Deer is one of them. Deer, a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, joined Mitchell’s faculty in the fall of 2009, and she’s wasted no time bringing to life the practical aspect of Mitchell’s Practical Wisdom brand. Deer was a contributor to Amnesty

International’s Maze of Injustice: The Failure to Protect Indigenous Women in the U.S., a report that shocked the country by revealing that one in three Indian women will be raped in their lifetimes. It also led to the development and passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act, which tightens law enforcement on reservations and gives tribes broader authority to prosecute crimes committed on their land. President Obama signed the law in July during a bill-signing event at which Deer was present. “The Tribal Law and Order Act signals a long-overdue effort on the part of the United States to address unacceptable high rates of crime in Indian country,” says Deer. “Working with Amnesty International and Native women’s organizations around the country, we were able to garner bipartisan support for ensuring that perpetrators of violent crime will be held accountable for their actions. This is a great first step, and I am proud to have been part of it.”

Professor Sarah Deer

Fall 2010 3

Sanjee Weliwitigoda received the prestigious Bernard P. Becker Award, which is named after the late Mitchell professor and renowned legal aid attorney. It recognizes legal professionals and law school students who volunteer their time to help the less fortunate

I was born in Boston and raised in a suburb of Washington, D.C. I played on the men’s soccer team at Princeton University while working on my undergraduate degree in sociology.

I came to Minnesota in 2005 because my wife was originally from Minneapolis. Five years later and I’m still adjusting to the winters here!

My father was an attorney in Sri Lanka before coming to the United States to practice law in Washington, D.C. He always wanted me to be a doctor, but I chose to follow in his impressive footsteps.

Lawyers are those within society who are charged with promoting justice and protecting individuals within the confines of the law.

William Mitchell teaches students how to apply legal concepts to real-world legal situations.

I always knew I wanted to practice immigration law. My desire to go to law school was grounded in my commitment to giving back to the immigration system that allowed my mother and father to come to this country and pursue their dreams.

I am an executive editor for the William Mitchell Law Review, and I work as a clerk in the Immigration Group at Fredrikson & Byron.

Before being hired full time, I volunteered my time at Fredrikson pro bono through the Minnesota Justice Foundation. My receipt of the Bernard P. Becker Award is an incredible honor because it recognizes not only my volunteering commitment, but also my work ethic, time management skills, and passion for immigration law.

I have an incredibly supportive wife, Jess, who helps me balance academic, extracurricular, and professional commitments and still be an involved husband, and a father to our three-year-old daughter, Sonia.

- Joe Mielenhausen

Meet Sanjee Weliwitigoda,2L

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Ordinarily, Jeremy Telman doesn’t get too excited about casebooks. But then the Valparaiso University School of

Law professor and ContractsProf Blog editor saw Kunz and Chomsky’s Contracts: A Contemporary

Approach. “This one is different and worth a look,” he wrote on his blog.

What’s different about the book, which was co-authored by Mitchell Professor Christina Kunz? For starters, the material is presented in a layout that’s actually visually engaging. That’s right,

blue color accents, text boxes, flowcharts, and pre-reading questions break up the material into easy-

to-consume sections. It also comes with an electronic version that provides live links to cited sources and useful websites. And it does it all by remaining true to what a traditional casebook has to offer: classic cases, restatement sections, and accurate information. “You really need to look at the sample pages to see for yourself the extent to which this is a departure from standard casebooks,” Telman wrote.

Groundbreaking Casebook: Christina Kunz

Professor John Sonsteng recently received the prestigious John J. McAulay Legal Educator Award from the Phi Alpha Delta Fraternity. The award recognizes educators whose contributions to legal education epitomize a lifetime of dedication to integrity, compassion, professional service, and courage. Those attributes capture the essence of

Sonsteng, a professor who has worked tirelessly to enhance the law school experience for 30 years.

He turned legal education on its head by bringing video into the classroom when few thought it belonged there. He literally wrote the book on how to build a better curriculum (see: A Legal Education Renaissance). He’s helping take distance learning further than many ever thought possible. And he’s training lawyers in the art of advocacy through his award-winning work with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. “Professor Sonsteng is everything we had in mind when we established the John J. McAulay Legal Educator Award,” says Phi Alpha Delta International Justice Rhonda Hill, who was a member of the committee that selected Sonsteng for the honor.

Professor John Sonsteng wins Legal Educator Award

Professor Christina Kunz

Professor John Sonsteng

>> If you're interested in seeing the new and improved casebook, visit wmitchell.edu/contractscasebook. It's available for $155.

Fall 2010 5

The difference one person can makeYears ago, Ellen Kennedy walked into a small building in Rwanda and began to sob. She saw tables piled with skulls and bones, human remains from the country’s 1994 genocide. She decided she needed to do something. “I looked at those skulls and realized that we can’t let this happen again,” said Kennedy, a sociologist who was then a professor at the University of St. Thomas. “The question I asked myself was ‘What difference can one person make?’” The answer: A big difference, if that person encourages others to join the effort. Kennedy returned to Minnesota and founded World Without Genocide, an organization focused on bringing people together to protect marginalized people everywhere, combat racism and prejudice, advocate for the prosecution of genocide perpetrators, and remember those whose lives and cultures have been destroyed by violence. This fall, World Without Genocide moved its offices to Mitchell. Kennedy is looking forward to offering Mitchell students the opportunity to gain real-world experience and make a positive difference by supporting the organization’s activities, which include shaping legislation, educating the public through programs and documentaries, and aiding victims of genocide and conflict.

"Our vision is to create a future that is brighter than the past," she says. "We believe that knowledge plus action equals power, and we look forward to engaging Mitchell students in our work—with the power to make a difference."

>> Learn more by visiting worldwithoutgenocide.org

In addition to being one of the world's top intellectual property scholars*, Professor Ken Port is fluent in Japanese, which served him well when he travled to Japan as part of Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s trade delegation to Asia. Port's mission:

recruit recent law school graduates and foreign law school professors to be part of Mitchell’s new LL.M. Program. The year-long program introduces lawyers from around the world to the U.S. legal system and provides opportunities to learn and apply advanced legal concepts in specialized areas of law—intellectual property, international and comparative law, business, and corporate law. The program is open to lawyers from any country. Anyone interested in the program should visit wmitchell.edu/llm and 今日でも入学願書を, which means “apply today” in Japanese.

*Port has won the International Trademark Association’s Ladas Memorial

Award, which annually recognizes the best published trademark law article

in the world.

Professor Kenneth L. Port travels to Asia to promote LL.M. Program

Ellen Kennedy in Rwanda with children who have spent their entire lives in a refugee camp

Governor Tim Pawlenty with Takashi Hirano, Paula Port, and Professor Ken Port in Shanghai

wmitchell.edu/library... check it outThe Warren E. Burger Library has a new website. It still includes the features that have made the site so popular with students and alumni—quick links, online access to talented reference librarians, and the catalog. But it also includes new features sure to make your legal research easier than ever, including a library blog; featured database information; a

directory that can help you connect with the right person to answer your questions; and research guides with a plethora of links, advice, and tips from the library staff. There’s more, but we’ve run out of space, so check it out at wmitchell.edu/library.



Five reasons to re-connect with the Office of Career and Professional DevelopmentA talented and dedicated staff. Four J.D. counselors have a depth of professional experience that includes employment law, family law, criminal law, estate planning, litigation, and more. Tools you can use, including career counseling, the Attorneyjobs.com website, interview preparation, online resources that can help you prepare a resume and cover letter, networking tips, and programs on starting your own solo firm. Externships, a win-win experience for everyone. Employers get a law clerk, advocate, or research assistant, and the students get academic credit and valuable experience. Symplicity, a database where employers interested in hiring Mitchell alumni post their job openings. You can find it on the office’s website, wmitchell.edu/careers. Job search coaching and planning, including two upoming programs on networking. >> You can connect with the Office of Career and Professional Development from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm Mondays and Fridays and from 8:30 am to 6 pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 651-290-6326 or online at wmitchell.edu/careers.

Networking in the New EconomyMake connections. Build relationships. Find a job.

The Office of Career and Professional Development and the Alumni Association invite Mitchell students and alumni to Networking in the New Economy, a free series for Mitchell students and alumni on making connections, building relationships, and finding a job. Creating Connections: Getting a Job, Getting a Client, or Just Getting Noticed

Featuring Jennifer Huber, senior training consultant with Dale Carnegie Training, and a panel of experienced Mitchell alumni

Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010 (4:30 pm session, 6:30 pm reception)

Networking Know-How

Featuring Roy S. Ginsburg, lawyer, business-development expert, and attorney coach with a panel of experienced Mitchell alumni

Thursday, Jan. 27, 2010 (4:30 pm session, 6:30 pm reception)

Free and open to Mitchell students and alumni.

>> Learn more and register at wmitchell.edu/lectures

7Fall 2010

In 2009, more than 600 Mitchell students volunteered 12,000 hours through the Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF) at William Mitchell. It’s safe to say that Rinal Ray ’08 has her work cut out for her. Ray is Mitchell’s new MJF staff attorney. She replaces Jane Evans, who retired after six years at MJF—during which time she helped thousands of students get real-world experience aiding Minnesotans with legal issues ranging from immigration to criminal law to human rights. As a student at Mitchell, Ray volunteered with Street Law, the Hennepin County Office of Multicultural Affairs, and MJF. After graduation she worked with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, helping draft, lobby for, and implement legislation that affects the tax-exempt status of real property owned by nonprofits. She also enjoys cooking, mentoring students, and pondering how to change the world for the better. “I’m an idealist,” she says.

>> Learn more about MJF at mnjustice.org

Changing the world for the better

Woolman honored as ‘Changemaker’Joanna Woolman is a public defender during the day, an

adjunct professor in the evenings, and a “Changemaker” nearly all the time. Woolman, who is director of Mitchell’s Reentry Clinic, was recently named a 2010 Changemaker by the Minnesota Women’s Press. The newspaper honors individuals for their work

to improve the lives of women and girls across Minnesota. At the Reentry Clinic, Woolman helps women leaving the state women’s prison in Shakopee, Minn., reintegrate themselves into society. The women are paired with Mitchell students, who act as certified student attorneys and provide assistance with employment, living arrangements, child custody, and other legal issues. Since the clinic was established in 2008, students have worked more than 2,500 hours to help 80 women. The recidivism rate for Reentry Clinic clients is 6 percent, compared to a state average of about 30 percent.

Feinberg talks about BP, CEO pay, and life in the national spotlightKenneth R. Feinberg, former special master for TARP Executive Compensation and current administrator of the BP Gulf Oil-Spill Fund, spoke at the Dorsey & Whitney Foundation Lecture in September.

>> Watch his lecture at wmitchell.edu/Dorsey

Rinal Ray '08, MJF staff attorney

An Open Letter to all William Mitchell College of Law Alumni

November 2010

Dear Alumni,

We need your help.

The new economy has changed the legal landscape in dramatic and challenging

ways. Jobs, particularly for recent graduates, are in short supply. But we think you

can help.

As president of the William Mitchell Alumni Association board of directors and chair

of the board of trustees, we are pleased to announce the Hachey Initiative, an effort

to bring together one of our greatest resources—our alumni—to share their time,

expertise, resources, and knowledge to help Mitchell students and other alumni find

jobs. Named after the late Judge Ronald E. Hachey ’43, a graduate who gave everything

to his alma mater, its students, and its alumni, the initiative’s goal is to leverage the

power of our 11,000 alumni to make William Mitchell College of Law the leader in

placing its students and alumni first.

We’re not asking for a large amount of time. We’re simply asking that you offer

what you can to help Mitchell students and graduates obtain crucial knowledge and

experience, both of which can help them land a job in this difficult economic climate.

An insert in this edition of Mitchell on Law includes more information about Judge

Hachey and a list of ways you can be part of the Hachey Initiative. Please take a few

moments to read it, fill it out, and mail it back to the Alumni Association.

Thank you in advance for your support. We look forward to the Hachey Initiative

making a real difference for our students and recent graduates.

Sincerely,

John M. Degnan ’76, president

William Mitchell Alumni Association Board

Alumni Association

Board of Directors

Thomas C. Baxter ‘94;

Jennifer F. Beck-Brown ‘03

Peter H. Berge ’83

Timothy E. Bianchi ‘95

Mark V. Chapin ‘82

John M. Degnan ’76

Alison C. Drichta ‘09

Bernard M. Dusich ‘80

Jill K. Esch ’03

Hon. Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks ’85

Mark A. Hallberg ‘79

Lee A. Hutton III ‘02

Imani S. Jaafar-Mohammad ‘04

Nicole James-Gilchrist ’03

Alexander J. Kim ‘06

Kathy S. Kimmel ’96

Barbara J. Klas ‘91

Jocelyn L. Knoll ‘92

Hon. George T. Stephenson ‘85

Robert G. Suk ‘70

Chris Tymchuck ‘08

Kathleen Flynn Peterson ’81, chair

William Mitchell Board of Trustees

Mitchell on Law8 Learn More @ wmitchell.edu/hachey

6Six Things About... Eric J. Magnuson ’76 recently retired from Minnesota’s high court. Now a shareholder at Briggs & Morgan, he talks about celebrity chefs, Flu Flu jigs, and advice he’d give aspiring chief justices

An Open Letter to all William Mitchell College of Law Alumni

November 2010

Dear Alumni,

We need your help.

The new economy has changed the legal landscape in dramatic and challenging

ways. Jobs, particularly for recent graduates, are in short supply. But we think you

can help.

As president of the William Mitchell Alumni Association board of directors and chair

of the board of trustees, we are pleased to announce the Hachey Initiative, an effort

to bring together one of our greatest resources—our alumni—to share their time,

expertise, resources, and knowledge to help Mitchell students and other alumni find

jobs. Named after the late Judge Ronald E. Hachey ’43, a graduate who gave everything

to his alma mater, its students, and its alumni, the initiative’s goal is to leverage the

power of our 11,000 alumni to make William Mitchell College of Law the leader in

placing its students and alumni first.

We’re not asking for a large amount of time. We’re simply asking that you offer

what you can to help Mitchell students and graduates obtain crucial knowledge and

experience, both of which can help them land a job in this difficult economic climate.

An insert in this edition of Mitchell on Law includes more information about Judge

Hachey and a list of ways you can be part of the Hachey Initiative. Please take a few

moments to read it, fill it out, and mail it back to the Alumni Association.

Thank you in advance for your support. We look forward to the Hachey Initiative

making a real difference for our students and recent graduates.

Sincerely,

John M. Degnan ’76, president

William Mitchell Alumni Association Board

Alumni Association

Board of Directors

Thomas C. Baxter ‘94;

Jennifer F. Beck-Brown ‘03

Peter H. Berge ’83

Timothy E. Bianchi ‘95

Mark V. Chapin ‘82

John M. Degnan ’76

Alison C. Drichta ‘09

Bernard M. Dusich ‘80

Jill K. Esch ’03

Hon. Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks ’85

Mark A. Hallberg ‘79

Lee A. Hutton III ‘02

Imani S. Jaafar-Mohammad ‘04

Nicole James-Gilchrist ’03

Alexander J. Kim ‘06

Kathy S. Kimmel ’96

Barbara J. Klas ‘91

Jocelyn L. Knoll ‘92

Hon. George T. Stephenson ‘85

Robert G. Suk ‘70

Chris Tymchuck ‘08

Kathleen Flynn Peterson ’81, chair

William Mitchell Board of Trustees

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Fall 2010 9

Not many law school students would have the moxie to walk into a judge’s office unannounced and ask for a job. But that’s exactly what Eric Magnuson did when he was a student at Mitchell. It turned out to be one of the best decisions he ever made. The judge he met was the late Chief Justice Douglas Amdahl ’51, who hired Magnuson as his clerk. Working with Amdahl was the beginning of a long and distinguished career that has taken Magnuson from the courtroom to the bench to retirement and back to the courtroom.

1 Other than the robe and being referred to as “Your Honor,” what will you miss most about being chief justice?I’ll miss all of my jokes being funny.

2 Seriously though, how are you going to spend your free time?My free time is spent doing a lot of things on a volunteer basis that I used to get paid to do. I give a lot of speeches. I advocate for changes to the way we select judges. And I advocate for adequate resources for the courts. I also love to fish in the summer, fall, and winter. I’m a crappie and walleye guy. My favorite lure in the winter is a little Flu Flu jig with a meal worm.

3 I heard a rumor that you’re quite the cook. Who is your favorite celebrity chef?I really like Emeril [Lagasse]. He’s got a lot of enthusiasm. I watch Rachael Ray, too. She’s practical, so you can cook her dishes quickly.

4 What's your specialty dish?I recently made a crappie tempura with a garlic dipping sauce that was fantastic. The recipe came from Lucia Watson’s Cooking Freshwater Fish.

5 You often talk about working your way through law school. What jobs did you have? When I came to Mitchell, I had just finished working for the railroad. During my first year, I drove a delivery truck and made pizzas in a bar. During my second year, I clerked for two small firms. Then, during my third year, I walked over to the court house and asked a clerk where the judges were. He told me they were on the 13th floor, so I went up there. The first judge I saw was Doug Amdahl, who was sitting at his desk eating a bag lunch, like he usually did. I handed him my resume and told him I wanted to be a clerk. He hired me; it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

6 What advice do you have for current Mitchell students who might aspire to become chief justices?Take care of your life first. Concentrate on being a good lawyer, a good human being, and someone who makes a positive contribution to the community. If you do that, you’ll have the qualifications to be a judge. I learned that from Doug Amdahl.

—Steve Linders

10 Mitchell on LawRead more news online @ wmitchell.edu/alumni

Actor. Reporter. Lawyer. Entrepreneur. Stacey Thunder '98 is dedicated to using her wide-ranging talents to help the Native American community

By Holly Schroeder

The Multitalented Ms. Thunder

Stacey Thunder has taken the world by storm. Since graduating from William Mitchell in 1998, she's carved out a remarkably diverse career. She’s an actor, journalist, business owner, and advocate for Native Americans. Somehow, she’s even found the time to be a mother of three. It all started during an undergraduate college internship.

Inspiration“After my junior year at Hamline, I interned at Taylor Law Firm in Minneapolis,” she says. “The experience changed my career path. I was inspired by the attorneys at Taylor and how they worked to help others. I decided to go to law school so I could do the same.” She came to Mitchell immediately after college and her focus became

clear when she was awarded a clerkship from the Minnesota Justice Foundation to work with Anishinabe Legal Services in northern Minnesota. “My job was to provide legal services to residents of the Red Lake, Leech Lake, and White Earth Ojibwe Nations,” she says. “I grew up in the Twin Cities, so even though my parents were raised in two different Ojibwe reservations, I wasn’t really exposed to our culture and traditions. But when I had my clerkship providing legal counsel to fellow Native people, I felt that I belonged, and I discovered a passion—helping Indian Country.” Since graduating from William Mitchell, Thunder has worked at the Indian Child Welfare Law Center in Minneapolis, as a staff attorney for the Red Lake Nation, and as the corporate attorney for the Mille

Lacs Band of Ojibwe Corporate Commission.

DiversificationThunder's interests go beyond the law. She has hosted five seasons of Native Report, a PBS news magazine series that celebrates and promotes understanding of Native people and their cultures. “I thought it would be a great way to educate the public about Native Americans,” she says. “I thought, ‘how cool would that be? To be able to share positive stories and stories of triumph, dispel myths and fight Hollywood stereotypes, and create awareness about our accomplishments and contributions to society.'" Native Report eventually led her to Hollywood. “As trite as it sounds, I followed my heart, and

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Fall 2010 11

Off the Beaten Path

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one thing led to another,” she says. She began taking acting classes to improve her on-camera delivery. In the process, she discovered another passion. “I learned acting is an art form that is meaningful to me. I absolutely love it. Not long after I learned some techniques and applied them to Native Report, I was cast in independent films. And a little later, opportunity knocked again. I answered the door, and lucky for me, I was ready.” That’s when Thunder landed a role on Crash, a Starz Network TV series starring the late Dennis Hopper. "I screen tested for a part, and Dennis made it happen. I’m grateful I had the chance to know him before he died—I’ll never forget his support.” Recently, Thunder completed filming The Promised Land, a TV series by Michael Grais, who cowrote the screenplay for Poltergeist with Steven Spielberg.

Multimedia with a singular focusIn addition to being a legal professional, journalist, and actor, Thunder runs Eagle Thunder Entertainment with her partner, Robby Romero, a popular musician. The company has four divisions: film production, a music label, music publishing, and artist management. It focuses much of its attention

on Native rock music (a contemporary sound combining traditional Native instruments and rock and roll) and more traditional Native offerings. “We recently

produced a pow-wow CD of the Red Lake Singers, a traditional drum group consisting solely of elders from the Red Lake Ojibwe Nation, to preserve and pass on our old-style songs to future generations,” Thunder says. “We’re now releasing 'Native Rock–The Singles,' which is a collection of

Robby’s popular singles.” She also keeps busy with a handful of nonprofit causes, including the Nike N7 Fund, which provides Native American communities in North America with funding for sports and physical fitness programs. In addition, she’s a board member with Native Children’s Survival, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about critical issues facing the earth through film and music. Her work earned her a 2009 Native American Under 40 Award, which is given by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development to honor professionals who demonstrate leadership, initiative, and dedication in support of their businesses, communities, and Indian Country. For all her success, she hasn’t forgotten the lessons she learned at Mitchell. “Law school was definitely a challenge, but the life experience was invaluable,” she says. “I learned how to persevere, and it made me a stronger person. I also realized that life isn’t easy and that in order to achieve my goals, whatever they may be, I would have to work hard and be ready for anything.”

Holly Schroeder is a Chicago-based freelance writer.

Thunder on the set of The Promised Land TV series, and (right) with Romero and Dennis Hopper in France in 2008

“Law school was definitely

a challenge, but the life

experience was invaluable.

I learned how to persevere,

and it made me a stronger

person. I also realized that

life isn’t easy and that in

order to achieve my goals,

whatever they may be, I

would have to work hard and

be ready for anything.”

– Stacey Thunder, lawyer, journalist, actor, business owner, advocate for the Native American community

Mitchell on Law

Mitchell and the Military

12

Sgt. Jennifer Wunderlich ’10 34th Infantry “Red Bull” Division Midwest Regional Trial Defense Services Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge

When Jenny Wunderlich was called to active duty in 2009 for the second time, she was disheartened. It meant she likely wouldn't finish law school on time. Wunderlich, 28, had joined the Minnesota National Guard in 2000 in part to help pay for her undergraduate education. After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she served for a year in Kosovo in a transportation unit. When she returned, she enrolled at William Mitchell and transferred to the National Guard’s Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG). That's when she got called up again, this time for a year in Iraq. “It was frustrating,” recalls Wunderlich, who was then 23 credits short of graduation. “All my friends were going to graduate ahead of me, and it was hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel.” She was convinced she would simply have to put her life—and law school—on hold. But then she decided to approach Dan Thompson, Mitchell’s vice president for student affairs and dean of students, and see if there was anything he could do to help. “I thought maybe I could earn a few credits through an online course or something,” she says. Thompson arranged for more than that. He suggested she meet with Professor Peter Knapp and figure out how she could earn 11 credits while in Iraq. Wunderlich didn't expect things to work out so well. But had she been better acquainted with Mitchell’s history, she might not have been so surprised.

A tradition of service Some people think Mitchell is anti-military because it is one of a few law schools in the country that doesn’t allow military recruiters on campus. The truth is, Mitchell is pro-military. “We seek the broadest opportunities for our students,” says Eric Janus, Mitchell’s president and dean. “Some may be unhappy with our position, but we want all of our students who are interested in serving their country to have the opportunity to do so.” The reason Mitchell doesn’t allow military recruiters on campus is because the recruiters won't sign the college's anti-descrimination policy. “We don’t allow any employers on campus if they won’t sign our policy,” says Janus. Throughout its history, William Mitchell has gone out of its way to assist military men and women. Professor Douglas Heidenreich ’61 is Mitchell’s resident

historian. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War prior to enrolling at Mitchell, and like many of his fellow classmates, he used G.I. benefits to help finance his education. Heidenreich, who wrote a history of Mitchell that was published in 1999, notes that faculty members of the Minneapolis–Minnesota School of Law (one of Mitchell’s predecessors) made steep sacrifices for the school during World War II so it would be in place when the veterans returned. “During the war, there weren’t many people around who were suited for or able to attend law school,” says Heidenreich, who joined the Mitchell faculty in 1963 and served as its dean from 1964 to 1975. “The Minneapolis–Minnesota School of Law—which merged with the St. Paul College of Law in 1956 to form William Mitchell—had a particularly rough time during the war years.” Many of the faculty members worked for nothing, according to Heidenreich, and some of them even put up their own money to keep the school afloat. “Andrew Johnson, who was a long-time faculty member and dean of one of the Minneapolis schools for a time, was particularly noteworthy,” he says. The tradition of serving nontraditional students continued after World War II. During the 1960s, a number of students who were stationed in the Twin Cities completed their entire law school educations while on active duty. “The school has always tried to be sympathetic to people who had outside issues to deal with,” says Heidenreich. “We’re flexible when we can be.”

FlexibilityIn recent years, William Mitchell has been proactive in its efforts to accommodate students serving in the military. For starters, the college offers a unique tuition-freeze policy. A student called to active duty for one year starting in 2008, for example, would pay 2008’s tuition rate in 2009, 2009’s rate in 2010, and so on. “One of our students recently received about $5,000 to $6,000 in savings for his total tuition, thanks to this policy,” says Thompson. The flexibility extends beyond dollars, however. Mitchell faculty and staff members routinely try to meet the needs of students called to duty, and the college offers independent project and online learning options. Wunderlich’s experience offers a case in point. She would be working as a paralegal in the JAG Corps while in Iraq,

Fall 2010 13

Some think William Mitchell is anti-military. The truth: Mitchell has a proud history of supporting students in the militaryBy Chuck Benda

continued on next page

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Mitchell on Law14 Read the magazine online @ wmitchell.edu/alumni

continued from page 13

Mitchell in the Military

so it wasn’t much of a stretch to turn that into a credit-earning externship. She also arranged to write two research papers, each worth two credits, while in Iraq—and had the good fortune to be assigned to work for Hennepin County District Court Judge Fred Karasov ’83, an adjunct professor at Mitchell. Karasov himself had been called up for a tour of active duty at the same time as Wunderlich, and would be serving as chief of military justice for all of Southern Iraq. “Because Judge Karasov—who has taught advanced evidence at William Mitchell—was willing to teach Jenny, she was able to earn three credits for an advanced evidence class,” says Thompson. Karasov and Knapp planned out the course prior to the deployment. “I met with Peter Knapp, showed him the book I would use, and explained my method of teaching,” he says. “It was a serious class. Jenny and I actually started the class during our predeployment training at Fort Lewis in Washington.” In Iraq, he and Wunderlich met five days a week for 45 minutes to an hour at a time, working their way through all of the Minnesota rules of evidence. They then discussed dozens of vignettes illustrating problems related to the rules. The learning sessions sometimes included another Mitchell presence: Jennifer Beck-Brown ’03, who was serving as the lead trial counsel on Karasov’s legal team in Iraq. Her job on the team was to provide advice to military leaders on legal matters, and when the need arose, prosecute crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Along with sitting in on Wunderlich’s evidence classes, Beck-Brown, who is an assistant Hennepin County attorney, seized every opportunity she could to draw on Karasov’s experience. “We spent massive amounts of time talking about the Uniform Code of Military Justice, how it applies to different crimes or actions, and how it is similar to or different from the law in Minnesota,” she says. “Fred is an amazing teacher.” Wunderlich, who is now working as the victim’s coordinator for the Mille Lacs County Attorney’s Office, agrees. “Judge Karasov and everyone at Mitchell was extremely helpful,” she says. “It meant everything to me. I finished up the rest of my credits this spring, graduated in May, and took the bar exam in July.”

Chuck Benda is a Hastings, Minn.-based freelance writer.

New student group helps veterans in law schoolJ. Virgil Bradley 3L is a 14-year U.S. Navy veteran who was in active duty during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Today, he's actively putting his experience to work at Mitchell to make a difference for his fellow veterans, their families, and his classmates. Bradley is president and a cofounder of the new Mitchell Veteran’s Assistance Organization (MVAO), which is the first student/veterans organization on campus since 1974. The year-old group is working with partners including the Military Assistance Council for Veterans and the Minnesota Justice Foundation to provide legal services to people who have served in the military. So far, MVAO members have offered veterans a free, one-day clinic on legal issues and housing assistance. Next year, the MVAO hopes to set up a support group for spouses and family members of students called to active duty. “Vets need a lot of legal assistance around disabilities, family law, and criminal law, but the Veterans Administration is a beast unto itself," says Bradley. "There are many disabled veterans who can’t get benefits because the system is so hard to work.” Bradley is also working to provide more resources to help law students develop the skills they need to assist veterans. He and Professor Kimberley Dayton have developed a one-credit course on disabilities and he is working on two continuing education classes on legal issues facing veterans and their family members. “I’m hoping William Mitchell will become a leader in veterans’ law education,” he says. “We’re just getting started, but we’re already among the largest student groups on campus.”

On Tuesday, Nov. 28, 1944, an envelope addressed to Jonel Hill arrived at Aachen, Germany. Hill, a 19-year-old private with the legendary 1st Infantry Division, had just endured more than a month of brutal combat. He was wary, scared, muddy, and cold. He opened the envelope to find a photo of Lois, a young woman at the University of Minnesota he had met days before being shipped to basic training. Looking down at the pretty face and dazzling smile in the photograph made him feel immortal. He tucked the picture into his shirt pocket, over his heart. The next night he was captured by the enemy. And so began a life-defining journey across Eastern Europe that would shape Hill’s life forever. After being captured, Hill and about 50 other 1st Infantry Division soldiers were force-marched across Eastern Europe. They slogged through villages where a grandmother spat in Hill’s face. They spent Christmas Eve locked in a crowded boxcar, singing carols with their captors and contemplating their mortality. They lived in frozen, miserable squalor, and battled constant hunger and boredom. “Always boredom,” Hill recalls. “I was miserably ill on Jan. 21, 1945, so I stayed in bed while others were forced to march in the bitter cold. Nearly every person who marched that day was forced to keep moving until war’s end in April.” Finally, after the Germans surrendered in 1945, Hill made his way to Odessa, Russia, boarded a ship to Naples, Italy, and then another bound for Boston. He was in the first group of POWs to return to the United States. After a 90-day furlough, he returned home to Minnesota. Then he visited Lois in Wyoming, her picture still in his pocket. The two married in 1946, and he enrolled in the St. Paul College of Law, working as an editor at West Publishing during the day and attending classes at night. He graduated in 1950 and embarked on a successful career in business. After graduation, Jonel and Lois moved to Oregon where he created the index for the Oregon statutes, became the first Oregon State trial court administrator, and later was appointed to be the sole Oregon Public Utilities commissioner, serving eight years. He spent 18 months in New York City working as an attorney with AT&T before joining the nation’s largest national gas business, Southern California Gas. He retired in

1990, after serving as president of the company for five years. In 1995, he was asked by the mayor of Los Angeles to create an information technology agency for the city, which he did before retiring again in 1996. Hill attributes much of his professional success to the skills and knowledge he gained in law school, saying, “never a day passed in my career that I didn’t use something from my legal background.” His personal life, however, has been shaped by something much less tangible. “I remember thinking that if I lived through the war my life would be permanently enriched by the experience,” says Hill. “I learned the value of believing in yourself, staying true to who you are, and luck. Luck is better than skill, and I’ve been lucky.”

—Steve Linders

Jonel Hill '44,

Fall 2010 15

Lois and Jonel Hill in their art-filled Pasadena home

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a Mitchell graduate and American hero

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Mitchell on Law16

MITCHELL IN FOCUS

>>

This fall, members of Mitchell’s incoming

class gathered on the law school’s

front lawn. They ate—chatted with

representatives from Mitchell’s student

organizations—and talked about their

backgrounds, why they came to law

school, and why they chose Mitchell.

Learn more about Mitchell's 2010-2011 class. Visit wmitchell.edu/profile

Read the magazine online @ wmitchell.edu/alumni

Fall 2010 17

Photo by Steve Woit

• 357 students from 30 states, 18 countries, and 120 undergraduate institutions, including Yale University and the U.S. Naval Academy

• a wife and mother who previously worked as an investigative reporter in Gary, Ind., and Chicago

• a graduate of Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, who holds five U.S. patents and has 50 more pending

• 86 part-time students

• a Minnesota state representative

• the owner of a pet-care store in Minneapolis

• best friends who lived next door to one another in Hopkins, Minn., since they were three years old

• a U.S. Marine

• a 20 year old and a 50 year old

• a former lobbyist in Armenia and Washington, D.C.

• a teacher of remedial English with the Minneapolis Public Schools

• an associate professor of English at Nanjing University in China

• a pilot

• and many more students who came to Mitchell because of its flexible scheduling, accessible faculty, and commitment to practical wisdom.

This year’s class is as impressive as any Mitchell has ever enrolled. It includes:

Capitalizing on Law

18 Mitchell on Law

William Mitchell's new Center for Law and Business is designed to give students who want to work in business a leg up on the competition

Fall 2010 19


Illus

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by K

eith

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Capitalizing on Law

By Todd Nelson

The William Mitchell law degree that Patrick McGuiness paid for with earnings from a landscaping company he started as a teen is now returning dividends for him in the business world. Since graduating in 2006, McGuiness, who sold that first business, has launched two new ventures: One Call Property Care, a landscaping and property management business, and the Zlimen and McGuiness law firm, which specializes in representing landscaping firms, garden centers and nurseries, and other horticulture-related companies and occupations. “I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after college,“ McGuiness says. “I’ve always found the law to be an interesting animal, so I decided to go to law school—not knowing if I wanted to practice in a traditional sense or take a business route.“ A significant share of William Mitchell alumni—about 25 percent—have capitalized on their legal education to pursue careers in business. They’ve worked as corporate attorneys, entrepreneurs, and at the highest levels of business leadership. McGuiness and others credit the analytical and critical thinking skills they gained in law school with helping them achieve business-world success. Legal studies prepared them to identify critical issues, anticipate and solve problems, advocate and argue with credibility, understand complex laws and regulations, and know where to dig for answers. “Law school teaches you how to think and analyze so you can figure out what the law is and how it applies to a unique situation,“ McGuiness says. “You also learn how to figure out the answers to any question, legal

or otherwise. That’s the real value—teaching you how to think completely differently about each situation.“

The transition to business Jann Olsten ’74 offers a classic example of how a Mitchell law degree can pay dividends in business. He got his start practicing law in Little Falls, Minn., and later became a partner at the Minneapolis law firm Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi. Moving into politics, he spent four years as chief

of staff to U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz before serving as executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He made the transition to business leadership in 1989, when he became COO at ProEx Photo and Portrait, which was founded by Bruce Thomson, one of his former clients. “I learned I like running things better than I liked giving legal advice,“ Olsten says of the move. After ProEx was sold, Olsten and Thomson left to start Archiver’s, a Minnetonka, Minn.-based scrapbooking business, in 1999. Olsten, who served as president and CEO, steered the company through the economic challenges of the

last decade, finally leaving last fall as the company brought in new management. He says he owes his 20-year business career to his legal education. “The critical thinking skills one obtains in law school are put into practice almost every day in business,“ he notes. “They helped me with being able to identify key issues, recognizing that some facts aren't as important as others, while keeping in mind the strategic aspects of what we were looking to accomplish.“

Olsten has come full circle of late, returning to Mitchell earlier this year to serve as executive director of the college’s new Center for Law and Business. The idea for the center evolved in part from months of discussions between Mitchell and alumni in business, including Olsten, about the role legal education has played in their success. “Every one of us had the same thought: A legal education is excellent preparation for a career in business,“ Olsten says. “What’s more, Mitchell’s emphasis on practical outcomes and the strength of its academic offerings result in a mix of students with a broader set of

interests than strictly practicing law.“ The center’s curriculum will include business law courses and some non-law business courses such as marketing, finance, strategic planning, and entrepreneurship to prepare graduates for business leadership positions. The distinctive goal of the center is to provide Mitchell students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to succeed as business leaders. It is also designed for students who want to work as business lawyers in corporate settings and law firms. “The center will advance William Mitchell’s mission of providing

The distinctive goal of the center is to provide Mitchell students

with the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to succeed as business leaders. It is also designed for students

who want to work as business lawyers in corporate settings

and law firms.

Mitchell on Law20


Capitalizing on Law

practical wisdom to our students so they can be productive contributors immediately upon graduation,“ says Professor Thuy Vo, who serves as faculty co-director of the center with Professor Eileen Roberts. “Mitchell's goal is to give our students more career options than law schools have traditionally provided.“

Real, hands-on experience To help provide students with real-world business experience, Vo developed a business law externship program in which upper-level students earn academic credit by working at companies and law firms to gain hands-on experience in business and business law. She offers a course that prepares students for their externships by introducing them to business concepts such as accounting, finance, and the process of doing a deal. “It’s beneficial for businesses to hire students with that background because these students are aware of business needs and business issues and can adapt their legal advice to further meet the objectives of the business,“ Vo says. One student who took part in the business law externship was Ashley Stende. Stende, who also is president of the student Business Law Society at Mitchell, worked at a relatively new business that is a joint venture of two financial services firms. Her

Mitchell classroom experience proved particularly useful when a company attorney asked her to work on a

matter relating to the firm’s board of directors. “What he wanted me to work on was similar to situations we covered in class,“ says Stende, who came to Mitchell intending to go into business or corporate law. “I read through my class materials again and talked to Professor Vo to gain more information on the topic, collaborated with my supervisor, and found a solution to the problem.“ Business was the primary focus of Kyle Johnson’s externship at a mid-sized energy company. While he assisted with some in-house legal work, he also conducted business research on a new market territory

the company was considering expanding into. While the project was more business-related than legal,

Johnson says his legal studies proved invaluable in addressing it. “The analytical part of looking at a problem—going through the options, figuring out the best solution, and weighing the risks and potential problems you can mitigate—is the same kind of stuff we do in school,“ Johnson says. “The analytical aspect is a skill you can use in many different places. There’s value to being able to practice that in a non-legal setting.“ Student Matthew Helgemoe says his externship with a large international manufacturer included a project involving compliance issues related to a new product. He reviewed

internal documents and contracts and recommended adjustments to avoid problems with other company departments and external vendors. “I believe that being trained as an attorney allows you to view things from a unique perspective and see issues in a different light than perhaps a straight-up business person would,“ Helgemoe says. “That’s valuable. Learning the principles of business as part of a legal education creates a wide array of opportunities.“

Todd Nelson is a Woodbury, Minn.-based freelance writer.


the center for law and businessRahul Aggarwal M.D.St. Mary’s Medical Center Louis L. Ainsworth ‘77Faegre & Benson Lynn M. Anderson ‘80Holiday Companies Eric A. Bakken ‘84Regis

Lawrence T. Bell ‘79 (retired)Ecolab Steven Bucher ‘90 (retired)I-Tech Thomas J. DiPasquale ‘81 3M George C. Flora ‘81 (retired)Minnesota Thermal Science

John H. Hooley ‘80 (retired)Supervalu Barbara A. Jerich ‘86Innov Auto Group William O. McCormack ‘73(retired)Schwan Foods James C. Melville ‘90Kaplan, Strangis and Kaplan

Daniel P. O’Keefe ‘78Aon Benfield David M. Sparby ‘80Xcel Energy John M. Stanoch ‘85Qwest Communications Paul A. Zagaria ‘76Beltmann North American

21Fall 2010

Better Living Through Policy

By Erin Peterson


Millions of dollars in new grants and an expanded mission give the Public Health Law Center the tools to help people live healthier lives

In 2008, public health advocates and nonsmokers in Iowa could breathe easy. The state legislature had just passed its Smokefree Air Act, meaning smoking was banned in most indoor spaces. But it didn’t last long. Three months after the bill passed, a coalition of bar and restaurant owners struck back with a lawsuit challenging the act’s constitutionality. Knowing it had a fight on its hands, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office asked the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium based at William Mitchell’s Tobacco Law Center, for help. The consortium had the resources, knowledge, and a track record of success helping cities and states across the nation snuff out smoking in public spaces. And that’s exactly what it did in Iowa. “The consortium marshaled all of the materials from challenges to smokefree laws around the country,” says Matt Gannon, an Iowa assistant attorney general. “They were familiar with the arguments against Iowa’s law, and pointed us to research, cases, and other materials that were useful in our successful defense.” Shortly after the consortium got involved, the case was dismissed and the smoke cleared for good. Smoke-free policies have been

Public HealthLaw Center

at William Mitchell College of Law

Doug Blanke, the Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi director of the Public Health Law Center at William Mitchell

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Mitchell on Law22


Better Living Through Policy

sweeping the country for more than a decade, and the Tobacco Law Center has been leading the charge since 2000. The center has been so successful that in recent years it expanded to help shape policy on health-related issues beyond tobacco, from nutrition disclosure policies at restaurants to selling sodas in vending machines in schools. The shift meant the center’s talented and dedicated staff could play an even larger role in making America healthier. “We realized if we had a more holistic approach to health, we would do a better job,” says Doug Blanke, the center’s director. “People would get more value from what we were doing.” It also meant the center needed a new name—and more resources.

New resources, new ambitionsLast summer, the Tobacco Law Center changed its name to the Public Health Law Center. Then the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) gave it a multi-million dollar grant to become the national coordinating center for the new Public Health Law Network, which will be made up of five universities and colleges serving different regions of the country. Employing the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium’s successful model of serving as a resource to cities and states on legal issues related to public health, the new network will bring together experts across the country to solve public health problems. “This is a first step to see if we can set up an infrastructure that allows public health practitioners, attorneys, and advocates to think about ways to apply and use law proactively to improve public health,” says Angela McGowan, an RWJF senior program officer. “William Mitchell was a good leader for this [venture] because of the expertise and experience that was already there, and because it’s an academic center focused on providing practical, useful materials, and not just academic theory.” The idea behind the Public Health Law Network is simple. Because city and state governments have a limited number of attorneys at their disposal, those attorneys often lack the specialized knowledge required in public health policy and legal cases. When public health issues come up, the attorneys don’t have to spend days

digging into the details; instead, they can get the thorough, accurate information they need through the Public Health Law Network. “We have experts who have been doing this work for 20 years and know it like the back of their hand,” says Blanke. “That’s what makes this network so valuable.” Each of the network's five regional centers will provide legal technical assistance to an area of the country. The network will address public health issues including tobacco control, injury prevention, and public health emergencies. The grant will fund the network for an initial period of 30 months. Though RWJF expects to continue providing funding beyond that timeline, it also hopes the network will begin to find additional support so it ultimately can be self-sustaining. “We hope that this project—and public health law—becomes integrated into regular public health practice,” says McGowan. “In a sense, we’re building a field. We hope to show that there’s a demand for these kinds of services, and that they can help address important problems.” Blanke knows there will be demand for services, so Mitchell’s center is already preparing. In addition to a total of 15 attorneys, it has brought on more than a dozen student researchers who will assist on-staff attorneys and gain valuable real-world experience. The center’s staff has also prepared policy papers on healthy eating for Blue Cross of Minnesota and worked with the State Health Improvement Program to examine more than three dozen policies that studies suggest will improve health, from helping farmer’s markets find spaces to making workplaces friendlier to new mothers. For Blanke and his staff, the goal is simple, even if the process for achieving it is complex.“Over the long run, we are making a commitment to public health law that’s going to benefit not just health departments, but everybody who’s concerned about the country’s health,” he says.

Erin Peterson is a Minneapolis-based freelance writer.


Public HealthLaw Center

at William Mitchell College of Law

publichealthlawcenter.org

23Fall 2010

Crystal Murphy’s parents were a little surprised when their only daughter decided to attend William Mitchell. She had grown up in Tennessee and done her undergraduate studies at Lipscomb University in Nashville. Her mom, dad, and younger brothers all lived there. But when Crystal visited Mitchell, she quickly decided it was where she wanted to be. “She was very impressed with William Mitchell’s judge/clerkship program,” says Mark Murphy, Crystal’s father. “She thought it was a natural fit for her.” So although he had hoped Crystal would choose Samford University, which is located only 15 minutes from the hospital he worked at in Birmingham, Ala., he and his wife, Jennifer, fully supported Crystal’s move to Minnesota. And they were pleased to find that Mitchell warmly welcomed their daughter. Crystal fell in love with St. Paul, made many close friends, and was happy at the college. That’s why the Murphys thought it would be appropriate to set up a scholarship in their daughter’s name after she was killed in a car accident on May 20, 2004—just a day before she was set to leave for a trip to Prague, and a few months before she would have started her final year of

law school. In the midst of their grief, the Murphys recognized that her other family was grieving as well. “William Mitchell was an adopted family for Crystal,” Mark Murphy says. “They supported her so much. She absolutely loved that school and the city of St. Paul. She was planning to live in Minnesota after she graduated and practice law there.”

Reaching out to youth Today, the Crystal Murphy Scholarship Fund is designated to help the youngest applicant to William Mitchell who demonstrates strong spiritual ties to his or her community. Crystal was the youngest applicant in her class, at only a couple of months past her 19th birthday when she was accepted. She was also a devout Messianic Jew who was committed to her spiritual growth and eager to share it with others. As an undergraduate at Lipscomb, for example, she had worked at the university’s religious radio

station. “Part of what she did there was reach out

to other students and younger kids

in the community to inspire them to do better and

attend college,” Murphy explains. Crystal’s death

shook the Mitchell community. The

student body sent flowers to the funeral,

the school started a memorial fund and planted a maple tree in her honor, and students submitted memories that were published in the student newspaper that fall. They remembered her as a “constant friend” with a “dazzling smile, contagious laugh, and eclectic ideas.”

Working Through LossThe Crystal Murphy Scholarship Fund honors the spirit of a beloved member of the William Mitchell community—and provides opportunities for new generations of studentsBy Sara Gilbert Frederick


Crystal (middle) with her family

Mitchell on Law

They mentioned how much they would miss seeing her in Hachey, sharing late-night meals at a local Perkins, and hearing her comforting words of encouragement when they needed them. “If only there were more Crystals in the world,” one classmate wrote. Working through grief Her family is still wishing that same thing. “Her brothers idolized her—she was a mother hen to them, a general over them. It was very hard for them to lose her,” Mark Murphy says, adding that the boys were withdrawn and sullen for the first couple of years after Crystal’s death. “Now they seem more engaged again. They have started to heal.” Murphy also has seen a change in himself. “I always had a feeling of invincibility,” he says. “I believed I could overcome anything. That has changed. I know that some things have no solution, no matter how hard I work. A lot of my exuberance and my aggressiveness with life are gone.” Helping others in Crystal’s name has been an important step in helping the Murphy family cope with their loss. The Murphys also have sponsored a scholarship award through their church for graduating high school seniors and have created a program in their hometown of Lewisberg, Tenn., that celebrates students’ scholastic achievement with a trip to Disney World. Building the Crystal Murphy Scholarship Fund has been especially important to Murphy as he tries to get through life without his daughter. Although he had originally hoped to fund it with about $100,000, he’s since upped his goal. “We’re motivated to get this done right,”

he says. “We’re working to extend it up to $1 million or more, based on the long term.” Helping students similar to Crystal seems like the right way to celebrate her life, says Crystal's mother, Jennifer. “Crystal was on loan to us from God, however, she belonged to God first. We are proud that she demonstrated a loving and kind spirit while on earth. I taught my daughter something I learned from this George Washington Carver quote: ‘No one has the right to leave this world without leaving behind reasons for having existed.’ Crystal’s life showed that she understood that lesson completely. Therefore, we are privileged as a family to donate whatever we can to help future Mitchell law students fulfill their destiny in this life. We are also proud that the college dedicated a tree, which will forever recognize Crystal, on the campus.”

Sara Gilbert Frederick is a Mankato, Minn.-based freelance writer.

24 Read more news online @ wmitchell.edu/alumni

Working Through Loss


In 2005, a tree was planted on the campus grounds in honor of Crystal Murphy.

"...she carried with her a sense of being solid, of being intellectually, emotionally and spiritually sound. It's a quality that many of us wish we had."

Vice Dean Niels SchaumannExcerpt from remarks at the Crystal Murphy Memorial on Oct. 15, 2004

All in the Family

Fall 201025

For the Siebens, Mitchell is a family traditionThroughout Minnesota, the Sieben name is synonymous with legal excellence. At Mitchell, it also connotes legacy, tradition, and generosity. Harry S. Sieben graduated from William Mitchell in 1966. He’d already embarked on a distinguished career in government, serving as a United States marshal under President John F. Kennedy. After law school, he became the director of the Small Business Administration under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Harry passed away in 1979 and is remembered for his fondness of Mitchell, keen legal mind, and commitment to public service—family traits that are shared by his children, grandchildren, and nephews to this day. Since ’66, eight other members of the Sieben family have graduated from Mitchell. Harry’s son Bill graduated in 1977. He was followed by his cousin Jim in 1983. Eighteen years later, in 2001, Bill’s nephew Jeff earned his degree, and a year after that, Jeff’s brother Tom earned his. Then, in 2003, Jeff’s wife Amy graduated from Mitchell. Four years later Bill’s son Kevin, earned his degree. And in 2009 Kevin’s sister Ali and her husband Marcus earned their degrees in practical wisdom. “If you’re going to practice the law in Minnesota, there’s no better place to go to law school than William Mitchell,” says Bill, who successfully guided both of his children to Mitchell once they indicated they were interested in law school. “I told my kids what my father told me: A Mitchell education will serve you well, but you’re going to have to study harder than you’ve ever worked before if you want to be successful.” Bill is a partner with Schwebel Goetz & Sieben, where he practices in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, and construction site litigation. Ali recently joined him at the firm, practicing in the area of plaintiff’s personal injury litigation. Amy practices construction law with Fisher Bren & Sheridan. Her husband Jeff is a personal injury attorney with Sieben, Grose, Von Holtum & Carey. And Jim is an attorney with Health Billing Systems. Marcus is at Briggs & Morgan and Kevin and Tom have their own practices. “Everyone in my family who has attended Mitchell has had a positive experience,” says Ali. “And it all started with my grandfather.” To honor Harry, who was a life-long Hastings, Minn., resident, Harry's wife and the rest of the family established the Harry S. Sieben Sr. Scholarship for excellent students who live in Dakota County. Bill and his wife Joyce also established the Kimberly Middendorf ’02 Courage Scholarship to help students with physical disabilities make it through law school. Bill represented Middendorf after she was severly injured while working road construction during her junior year of college. “I admire her courage,” he says. “She not only finished her undergraduate degree, but she also made it through law school. She worked hard, which is something I value and respect.” For the Siebens, hard work is a family tradition.

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Coming of Age

By J. Trout Lowen

The efforts of Professor Kimberley Dayton and the Center for Elder Justice and Policy provide William Mitchell students with practical learning opportunities that often deliver equally practical results

When the Minnesota Vulnerable Adults Act was amended in 2009, it made headlines in newspapers across the state. Hands were shaken, backs were slapped, and photos were taken with the governor at a bill-signing ceremony. What the public heard was that the act was a win for people of every age across the state. What they didn’t hear was that it was made possible in large part thanks to the work of the Center for Elder Justice and Policy at William Mitchell.

Professor Kimberley Dayton founded the center in 2008 to provide students with real-world policymaking experiences and provide policy advocates for the elderly with access to technical resources and legal expertise available at Mitchell. “Academia has a lot of resources that other organizations don’t have—students, faculty experts, library resources, and even physical space,” says Dayton. In the center’s first year, Dayton placed 11 students in internships with

state and national policy organizations. The students researched, wrote briefs, developed manuals and consumer publications, and worked on legislative issues. John Simshauser ’09 was an Elder Justice Scholar with the Vulnerable Adult Justice Project (VAJP), a coalition of more than 50 organizations and state agencies working to pass new legislative protections for vulnerable adults and the elderly, when he got his first look at the law-making process.

He remembers watching the political deal-making, the tedium of sitting for hours in a cramped hallway waiting to testify before a legislative subcommittee, and the pay off. “I was exposed to people from the Department of Human Services and all of the government departments that make elder law in our state,” Simshauser recalls. “I was sitting in meetings with multiple legislators talking about the Vulnerable Adults bill.” The amendments, which Simshauser helped lobby for, clarified the definition of financial exploitation, increased the authority of county prosecutors to investigate financial abuse claims, and created a civil cause of action in financial abuse cases with treble damages and attorneys fees. Simshauser feels fortunate to have had the opportunity to play a role in getting the act amended and for the opportunity to gain real-world experience, which is what Dayton had in mind when she created the center. “It’s a very different experience for law students,” Dayton says. “The students get to learn theoretically and practically what’s involved in the legislative process.” As an intern with the office of the Minnesota Ombudsman for Long-Term Care, Mark Schulz ’10 investigated the practice of nursing home “dumping”—dropping elderly patients at hospitals and then refusing to readmit them. The internship, coupled with a seminar on the legislative process, allowed Schulz to experience both law and policy first-hand. “It really opened my mind to how the whole process works,” he says. Allison Crandall Burke ’09 got her

first client experience working on a nursing home admissions discrimination case while interning at the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis. She wrote a paper on the application of the Fair Housing Act to nursing home admissions that was selected for

presentation at a Canadian conference on elder law. “The opportunities Mitchell provided through the center probably changed the trajectory of my law school career,” says Burke, now an attorney practicing elder law with Minneapolis-based Buchholz & Burke.

A personal passionProfessor Dayton considers herself an interdisciplinary scholar. She enjoys teaching, reading, and writing about many aspects of the law, from criminal procedure to feminist jurisprudence. “I have always thought of myself as something of a Renaissance woman.” Dayton says. “By becoming an elder law specialist, I got to build on my interest in all of these other areas while staying focused on one substantive area of focus: elder law.” Dayton credits a research assistant at University of Kansas Law School, where she was a faculty member, with igniting her passion for elder law. The assistant sought Dayton’s support in opening an elder law clinic on campus. But her passion for elder justice issues

has a personal side, too. Growing up, she was close to her maternal grandparents, who lived a hardscrabble life in the American south. “I was quite aware of what the lives of many older people are like,” she says. Dayton’s passion isn’t just to see

that elder Americans' rights are enforced in a courtroom, however. She would like to see the CEJP help reorient the way society views aging. “To me, part of elder justice is trying to change the way that we think about getting older, trying to change the way we prepare for getting older, trying to change the definitions of so-called good aging,” she says.

According to Dayton, society too often views “good aging” as a senior who is physically active and able to live on his or her own. There is a lot more to it than that, she says. Dayton is using a $15,000 grant from the Borchard Foundation Center on Law & Aging to work with Israel Doron, a law professor at Haifa University in Israel, to research how municipalities can use their regulatory authority to protect the elderly and create aging-friendly cities by changing building codes, rethinking tax policies, and mandating services. “There are many different things that municipalities could do to improve the lives of seniors,” Dayton says. “For the most part, they haven’t.” With the behind-the-scenes efforts of students and the Center for Elder Justice and Policy, that could soon change.

>> Learn more at wmitchell.edu/cejp

J. Trout Lowen is a Minneapolis-based freelance writer.

Fall 2010 27

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“To me, part of elder justice is trying to change the way that we think

about getting older, trying to change the way we prepare for getting older,

trying to change the definitions of so-called 'good aging'.“

<< photo: (L to R) Iris Freeman, Mark Schulz '10, Allison Crandall Burke '09, Professor Kim Dayton, John Simshauser '09 at the Minnesota State Capitol

Elder Law & Policy

28 Mitchell on Law

1960Lew Linde received the Help and Hope Legacy Award from Hastings Family Service. Linde is one of four co-founders of the community-based nonprofit organization and has served on its board of directors and as a volunteer throughout its 40-year history.

1963Obert Undem received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont. He has worked as director of planned giving at the college for 15 years.

1969John Carey was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America. He specializes in wrongful death lawsuits, medical malpractice, product liability, and alternative dispute resolution.

1974Thomas Egan was elected Chair of the Dakota County [Minn.] Board of Commissioners for 2010.

1976Paul Schweiger was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America. He specializes in personal injury and wrongful death litigation and has more than 32 years of practice experience.

1979Leslie M. Metzen retired as a First Judicial District trial court judge in Hastings, Minn., after six years of service.

1980John Guthmann was elected to serve as a representative to the Minnesota State Bar Association Assembly.

1981Timothy W. Ridley has been elected to a five-year term on the management committee of Meagher & Geer, Minneapolis. For more than 20 years, he has practiced in the preparation of wills, trusts, and estate plans for individuals, as well as related litigation.

Dan O’Connell was elected to serve as an alternate representative to the Minnesota State Bar Association Assembly.

1982Ken Abdo was elected to the board of directors for Lommen, Abdo, Cole, King & Stageberg, Minneapolis.

1984Paul Godfrey was elected president of the Ramsey County Bar Association. His practice involves the defense of personal injury lawsuits.

Ellen G. Sampson of Leonard, Street and Deinard, Minneapolis, was singled out as a top Minnesota attorney by Chambers USA in its 2010 guide, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. She practices in employment litigation and counseling.

1985Jamie Forman authored a chapter entitled “Equitable Relief: Protecting a Business’s Intellectual Property” in Aspatore Books’ Law 2010: Intellectual Property — Top Lawyers on Trends and Key Strategies for the Upcoming Year.

1986Elizabeth Keyes was elected to serve as a representative to the Minnesota State Bar Association Assembly.

Robert Awsumb was elected to serve as an alternate representative to the Minnesota State Bar Association Assembly.

1987Brooks F. Poley was selected as one of the Top 40 Business Litigation Attorneys for 2010 by Minnesota Law & Politics.

Jim Carey was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America. He specializes in personal injury law and holds a seat on the Million Dollar Roundtable, an exclusive club recognizing Minnesota lawyers who have won million-dollar-plus verdicts.

1988Amy Chazin Levine is the new head of research and reference for the U.S. Courts Library for the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

Kim Schmid was named managing partner at Bowman and Brooke, Minneapolis. She practices drug and medical device litigation.

Susan M. Holden was recently selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America. She specializes in personal injury litigation and served as chair of the Special Master Panel that administered compensation funds for survivors of the I-35W bridge collapse.

Class Notes


Fall 2010 29

1989Richard H. Kyle, Jr. was elected to serve as a representative on the Minnesota State Bar Association Assembly.

1990John P. Carrell was promoted to colonel in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

Dominic J. Cecere of Leonard, Street and Deinard, Minneapolis, was singled out as a top Minnesota attorney by Chambers USA in its 2010 guide, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. He practices in labor relations law and litigation.

Class Notes

Each year, the William Mitchell Alumni Association honors two outstanding alumni at the Annual DeParcq Leadership Dinner. This year, James J. Hoolihan ’79 received the Honorable Warren E. Burger Distinguished Alumni Award for his service to rural communities throughout Minnesota. For more than 30 years, Hoolihan has been a tireless champion of small towns across the state. In addition to running a family business that created jobs across the Iron Range, Hoolihan served three terms as mayor of Grand Rapids, Minn. Currently he is a member of numerous civic boards and the president and chief executive officer of the Blandin Foundation, which strives to build strong rural communities. Carolyn A. Bates ’76 received the Honorable Ronald E. Hachey Outstanding Alumni Award. After graduating from Mitchell, Bates embarked on a successful career at 3M, rising to the position of assistant chief intellectual property counsel at a time when few women practiced law.

Throughout her career, Bates remained close to her alma mater and made an indelible impact on Mitchell. She was instrumental in creating the Women in Law Tea and served for nine years on the board of trustees. Today, she is a mentor, generous supporter of the law school, and a member of the Intellectual Property Institute board of advisors.

Watch videos on the honorees at wmitchell.edu/alumni

The Alumni Association honored Carolyn A. Bates ’76 and James J. Hoolihan ’79 at the Annual DeParcq Leadership Dinner.

Mitchell honors outstanding alumni

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1991Rodney R. Peterson retired from the Minnesota Army National Guard after 24 years of service.

Eric Larson was elected to serve as a representative on the Minnesota State Bar Association Assembly.

1992Raymond Bonnabeau joined Hellmuth & Johnson, Eden Prairie, Minn. He practices information technology and e-commerce law.

David Hellmuth’s firm, Hellmuth & Johnson, Eden Prairie, Minn., was named as one of the 50 largest law firms in Minnesota by Minnesota Law & Politics. Hellmuth is a founding partner.

Nancy Polomis of Hellmuth & Johnson, Eden Prairie, Minn., has been elected to serve a three-year term on the board of directors for the Minnesota chapter of the Community Action Institute.

Class Notes

Justice Esther M. Tomljanovich Women in Law Tea—April 13, 2010Women in law donned their most festive hats, celebrated their accomplishments, and participated in a CLE at the Annual Spring Tea and CLE presentation at William Mitchell. This year, the tea marked its 10th anniversary. The event was renamed in honor of Justice Esther Tomljanovich ’55, a role model for women in law. The next tea is scheduled for April 13, 2011.

>> To see a video tribute to Justice Esther Tomljanovich, visit wmitchell.edu/tea

31Fall 2010

Class Notes

1993Richard Stebbins was elected vice president of the Ramsey County Bar Association. He currently handles family law, alternative dispute resolution, and criminal defense cases for Collins, Buckley, Sauntry & Haugh, St. Paul.

Sheila Bjorklund was elected to the board of directors of Lommen, Abdo, Cole, King & Stageberg, Minneapolis.

1994Brent Johnson, shareholder at Lommen, Abdo, Cole, King & Stageberg in Hudson, Wis., was selected as one of the 2010 Leaders of Law by the Wisconsin Law Journal.

1995Kathleen S. Ruhland, a partner with Faegre & Benson, was elected to serve a two-year term on the board of directors of the World Law Group, a global alliance of 49 independent law firms.

1996David M. Dahlmeier has joined Bassford Remele, Minneapolis, as a shareholder. He focuses his practice in the areas of product liability, construction, commercial litigation, and insurance coverage.

1999Mara DeBoe has joined Kagan Binder of Stillwater, Minn. DeBoe specializes in general client counseling, contracts, confidentiality and license agreements, and intellectual property budget preparation.

Patrick J. Gallagher was named partner at Fulbright & Jaworski, Minneapolis. Gallagher practices intellectual property, trademark, and copyright law.

Kevin Goodno was named one of the 2010 Minnesotans on the Move by Finance & Commerce. Goodno is a shareholder of Fredrikson and Byron and serves as chair of its Government Relations Group.

Robin Hathaway is a special U.S. attorney at the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Kansas.

Danny Queenan has been named president of central operations of Trammell Crow, a Chicago-based property development firm.

2000Stuart T. Alger was elected shareholder of Leonard, Street and Deinard, Minneapolis. He practices real estate and land use law.

David Camarotto was elected shareholder of Bassford Remele, Minneapolis. He practices in construction litigation, product liability, professional liability, personal injury, and general liability.

Leigh Frost was elected to serve as an alternate representative to the Minnesota State Bar Association Assembly.

Brian N. Larson of Larson/Sobotka, Minneapolis, is a Ph.D. candidate in Rhetoric and Scientific and Technical Communication at the University of Minnesota. He will focus his research on legal rhetoric and writing pedagogy.

2001Kevin Decker and his wife, Emily, welcomed their son, Oliver Martin Decker, April 3, 2010.

Chad J. Hintz joined Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala, Minneapolis, as a senior associate. He practices in the areas of professional liability, including medical and legal malpractice, and insurance law and appeals. He also serves as an adjunct appellate professor at William Mitchell.

John Michael Tecson was named partner at Hogan Marren, Chicago. He practices in the litigation, health care, and employment and labor law practice groups.

Stay connected! Like William Mitchell on Facebook.

Three Mitchell alumni ranked among the top 10 Super Lawyers in 2010

Mark J. Briol '81Briol & Associates

Martin R. Lueck '84Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi

Bill Sieben '77Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben

Super. Lawyers.

Wom

en in

Law

Tea

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32 Mitchell on LawRead the magazine online @ wmitchell.edu/alumni

Class Notes

2001 cont. Anh Le Kremer was named one of 2010’s Up & Coming Attorneys by Minnesota Lawyer. With an interest in world cultures and international business, she has represented Minnesota businesses embroiled in litigation and arbitration in foreign markets, including the People’s Republic of China.

Joel D. Leviton was named an Up & Coming Attorney for 2010 by Minnesota Lawyer. He is a principal in the Trademark & Copyright Group at Fish & Richardson, Minneapolis.

Andrew C. Sloss wrote an article that was published in the May 2010 edition of the Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives.

2002Roberto Capriotti was named partner of K&L Gates in Pittsburgh. He practices intellectual property law, including high technology patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

Aimée D. Dayhoff was elected shareholder at Winthrop & Weinstine, Minneapolis. She was recently named to the Minnesota Law & Politics Rising Stars list of 2010. Brian W. Thomson was elected shareholder of Leonard, Street and Deinard, Minneapolis. He practices product liability, construction, commercial and business law, and ERISA litigation.

2003Brian Benkstein was elected shareholder at Felhaber, Larson, Fenlon & Vogt, Minneapolis. He practices employment and labor law.

Robbie Thompson was named president/CEO of Mid-America Credit Union Association, Bismark, N.D. He has 20 years experience in the financial services industry, previously serving as association general counsel of the Minnesota Credit Union Association and as general counsel for the New Jersey Credit Union League.

2004Jessica Hafemeyer and her husband, Eric, welcomed their daughter, Kristin Marie, Feb. 22, 2010.

Elizabeth Clysdale was elected to serve as an alternate representative to the Minnesota State Bar Association Assembly.

2005Jay Kautt of Principal Financial Group, St. Paul, has qualified for the company’s Premier Club by being one of its best producers nationwide.

Melissa Milbert Wendland and her husband, John, welcomed their daughter, Eleanor Josephine, Dec. 10, 2009.

Jacob B. Sellers joined Winthrop & Weinstine, Minneapolis, as an associate in its Creditors’ Remedies & Bankruptcy Law group.

2007Anne K. Lindberg has joined AND Law Offices in Plymouth, Minn., and practices in estate and tax planning.

Ben and Sandra Feist welcomed their son, Brennan Mercury Feist, March 2, 2010.

2008Michael J. Sheridan has joined Schleck & Associates, Minneapolis. He practices bankruptcy and litigation law.

Alumni Board welcomes new officers and new members

PresidentJohn Degnan ’76 Briggs & Morgan

Vice PresidentKathy Kimmel ‘96

Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly

Secretary/Treasurer Judge Jill Halbrooks ‘85 Minnesota Court of Appeals

Alison Drichta ‘09Minnesota Attorney General's Office

Chris Tymchuck ‘08Zelle, Hofmann,

Voelbel, & Mason

Alex Kim ‘06 Hamre, Schumann,Mueller & Larson

Bernard Dusich ‘80Sieben Polk

ALUMNI BOARD

33Fall 2010

Class Notes

Matthew Sims has joined Wallace, Saunders, Austin, Brown & Enochs in Springfield, Mo. He practices in insurance litigation and workers’ compensation defense.

Heather Diersen joined the Law Office of Brian A. Meeker, located in Middleburg Heights, Ohio. She will focus her practice on automobile, property, and business insurance defense.

2009Courtney Atwood has joined Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, Minneapolis. She practices in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, technology transactions, corporate finance and securities, and commercial/project finance and real estate law.

Matthew Kirkpatrick has joined Chuck Roulet ’99 at the Roulet Law Firm in Maple Grove, Minn. He practices estate planning, family law, and general litigation.

Sarah Steenhoek has joined Nichols Kaster, Minneapolis, as an associate. She will represent employees on a variety of employment issues, including overtime and minimum wage violations, individual employment discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment claims.

Katherine Rodenwald has joined Gray Plant Mooty, Minneapolis. She practices trust, estate, and charitable planning law.

Courtney E. Thompson has joined Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, Minneapolis. She practices in the business litigation group.

Alumni Golf Tournament—May 24, 2010

Mitchell alumni and friends gathered at the Minnesota Valley Country Club in Bloomington, Minn., last May for the 36th Annual Alumni Golf Tournament. Event proceeds support the Student Award of Merit, which is given to a graduating student who has demonstrated exemplary scholastic achievement. Next year’s tournament will be on Monday, May 23, 2011.

Chief Justice Douglas K. Amdahl ‘51

Former Minnesota Supreme Court

Chief Justice Douglas Amdahl passed

away at the age of 91 on Tuesday,

Aug. 24, 2010.

Throughout his life, Chief Justice

Amdahl made major contributions

to William Mitchell, as well as to the

legal profession and the judiciary.

He enrolled in law school after

serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. After

graduation, he served as his alma mater’s registrar while practicing

law out of his office at the college. He left the law school four years

later when he was hired as an assistant Hennepin County attorney,

but he always stayed close to Mitchell.

He served on the board of trustees, as an adjunct professor, as

a mentor to students and alumni, and, along with his wife, Phyllis,

was a generous supporter of the school. Together, they established

the Hon. Douglas K. and Phyllis J. Amdahl Scholarship and

contributed significantly to the Chief Justice Douglas K. Amdahl

Scholarship.

Justice Amdahl’s family has asked that memorials be made to the

American Lung Association or the Chief Justice Douglas K. Amdahl

Scholarship Fund at William Mitchell College of Law.

>> To view a memorial video, visit: wmitchell.edu/amdahl

34 Mitchell on Law

Visit wmitchell.edu/alumni for the latest William Mitchell alumni news, opportunities to get involved, and ways to connect with other Mitchell grads.


>>

Class Notes

1947Robert McGuigan, 90, Jan. 17, 2010. He practiced law in St. Paul. Survived by wife, Marjorie, and three children.

1951Donald H. Seel, 91, May 7, 2010.

2009 cont.Nicole E. Billings has joined Tuft & Arnold, in Maplewood, Minn. She will focus her practice primarily in the area of family and juvenile law.

Keilembo Ellison has joined Nichols Kaster, Minneapolis, as an associate. He will represent employees on a variety of employment issues, including overtime and minimum wage violations, individual employment discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment claims.

2010William J. McNulty has joined Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala, Minneapolis, as an associate. He will practice in the areas of insurance coverage, automobile, construction, and general liability law.

Keep Us Posted: Send your Class Notes updates to [email protected] or fill out the online form at wmitchell.edu/alumni. You can also fax 651-290-7502, call 651-290-6370, or mail your updates to Mitchell on Law, 875 Summit Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105. We (and your classmates) look forward to hearing from you!

35Fall 2010

1951 cont. John T. Phillips, 83, April 12, 2010. He left service as a captain in the Korean War to pursue a career in banking. He earned his law degree from St. Paul College of Law (a William Mitchell predecessor), and then rose to the roles of senior vice president and trust officer at U.S. Bank and American Bank & Trust.

1954Paul G. Donlin, 89, May 10, 2010.

1956Paul Kinneberg, 96, Feb. 15, 2010. Survived by three children, nine grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

Roger W. Reed, 85, Jan. 14, 2010. He was a partner at Reed & Pond Law Firm. Survived by his wife, Joanne, and stepsons, Rick and Scott Staunton.

1957Donald M. Feroe, 83, Jan. 6, 2010. He served on the William Mitchell College of Law board of trustees and worked at Northwestern National Life Insurance for 32 years. Survived by his wife, Jean; his daughter Nancy Feroe Manson; and sons David, James, and William.

1959Wallace V. Blomquist, 81, Dec. 11, 2009. He was an employee of First Bank—now U.S. Bank—for over 30 years, retiring as executive vice president in 1990. Survived by wife, Elaine, and three children.

1960Patrick F. Flaherty, 77, May 24, 2010. He spent his entire career as a principal with the firm now known as Moss & Barnett, Minneapolis. He was a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Council.

1966Lew Schwartz, 77, Dec. 25, 2009. Survived by daughter, Stephanie, and sons Adam and Matthew.

1967Calvin John Krebs, 75, May 1, 2010. For 18 years, he worked for Cargill in Minnetonka, Minn., as a labor negotiator. He then was chief labor negotiator, attorney, and director of employee relations for Univar, Seattle, for 22 years. Survived by wife, Marilyn.

1970Glenn “Laurie” Smith, 69, April 3, 2010. He served on the Edina School Board, Edina City Council, Hennepin Tech Board, and as Mayor of Edina. Survived by former wife, June, and children, Jay, Julie, and Justin.

Kenneth Truax, 75, May 17, 2010. He served as a referee for the Ramsey County Juvenile and Family Court for 20 years.

1978Angela M. McCaffrey, 60, Jan. 27, 2010. She served as clinical professor and clinic director at Hamline University Law School and was a former adjunct faculty member in the Civil Litigation Clinic at William Mitchell. Survived by husband, Mark, and sons, Mike and Charlie.

1979James D. DiLorenzo, 58, March 29, 2010. He practiced law for more than 20 years in Ocala, Fla. Survived by son, James, and daughter Ami.

1986Brian D. Hulstrand, 59, Jan. 13, 2010. Survived by his wife, Elaine, and children, Alissa, Nathan, Julie, and Nicholas.

2004Carol Conklin, 51, Jan. 7, 2010. She served 20 years in the military and operated a private law practice, Conklin Law Office, in Ladysmith, Nev. Survived by her husband, Brian, and their three children.

OtherPatrick William Fitzgerald, 82, Jan. 22, 2010. He served as chief judge of the Fourth Judicial District and was instrumental in establishing the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines. He also served as an adjunct professor and taught evidence at William Mitchell for 40 years. Survived by wife, Veronica, three children, and 16 grandchildren.

Leonard J. Keyes, 87, Jan. 26, 2010. Adjunct faculty member and trustee at William Mitchell. He was a Ramsey County District Judge, worked at Briggs & Morgan, and argued Minnesota v. Cloverleaf Creamery before the U.S. Supreme Court. Survived by wife, Donna, and five children.

Herbert L. Sherman, Jr., 87, May 14, 2010. He taught personal injury law, labor law, and labor arbitration for 37 years, including as a visiting professor at William Mitchell. He arbitrated more than 1,000 labor disputes in the United States and Canada, and was elected to the Board of Governors of the National Academy of Arbitrators.

Richard F. Sachs, 80, May 27, 2010. He was a former adjunct professor at William Mitchell.

Obituaries

Mitchell on Law

To the Point From the Dean

When our students graduate, I hope they follow in the footsteps of those who came before them and do the things that Mitchell alumni have always done—use their skills and knowledge to make our community a better place; serve the public by creating jobs, serving on the bench, standing for elected office, being part of the civic and corporate fabric of our society; and doing the hard, day-to-day work required to do justice and bring the rule of law to life. Our mission is to help our students grow into ethically grounded professionals. The generosity of our alumni and friends makes our mission possible.

- Eric S. Janus William Mitchell's president and dean

Photo by Steve Woit

36

The Annual Fund is the financial lifeblood of the Mitchell student experience.

The Annual Fund helps us provide scholarships and financial aid. It helps pay for the Law Review and our clinical program,

giving students real-world learning opportunities. And it makes a huge difference in our ability to deliver a brand

of practical legal education that’s unlike that of any other law school in the region.

Simply put, the Annual Fund makes the Mitchell experience better for all of our

students. Please make a gift.wmitchell.edu/giving

>> To learn more about the many ways you can benefit from Mitchell events and alumni networking opportunities,

please visit wmitchell.edu/alumni

875 Summit AvenueSt. Paul, MN 55105-3076

Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDSt. Paul, MN

Permit No. 1300

Professor Doug Heidenreich '61, the longest-serving member of the Mitchell faculty, teaching Professional Responsibility

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Mitchell on Law Fall 2010

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