News
Class Notes April 2009
If you have career or personal news to share with the Hamline Law community, please feel free to drop us a note at lawalum@hamline.edu.
Laura M. Johnson ‘08 was recently hired by Olson & Price, Ltd. as and associate attorney.
Lindsay Brice ‘07 just accepted a job with the Rochester City Attorney's Office as its newest Assistant City Attorney.
Megan Brennan ‘06 has joined the firm Nichols Kaster, PLLP as an associate attorney. She will represent employees on a variety of employment issues including multi-plaintiff class and collective actions involving overtime and minimum wage violations, and individual employment discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment claims.
Michael S. Gaarder ‘06 joined the St. Cloud law firm of Pennington, Lies & Cherne, P.A. in September 2007 after completing judicial clerkships with Judge Fred Casey and Judge Richard Zimmerman in Crow Wing County. He is currently practicing in family law, criminal defense, personal injury, employment law, and civil rights/police misconduct.
Stephanie Haedt ‘03 was named as an Up and Coming Attorney by Minnesota Lawyer. She is currently a shareholder at Peterson, Savelkoul & Benda Ltd., where she advises clients on employment and business decisions, including personnel issues and revising employee handbooks and policies. She also practices in the areas of family law and civil litigation, and currently serves on the Human Rights Commission in Austin while volunteering as an attorney for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services.
Joani C. Moberg ‘99 has been elected as a shareholder of Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren, Ltd. She currently practices family law and handles a variety of legal matters relating to marital dissolution, child custody, child support and spousal maintenance, paternity cases, property divisions, settlement negotiations, premarital agreements, litigation and appeals. She also has consecutively been named a Rising Star by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine since 2002, is the current Co-Chair of the Executive Committee for the Hennepin County Bar Association Family Law Section, and serves as Co-President for the Loan Repayment Assistance Program of Minnesota.
Rob A. Stefonowicz ‘99 has been elected as a shareholder of Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren, Ltd. He focuses his practice in real estate litigation and construction litigation, representing developers, contractors, and property owners in condemnation, property tax and special assessment matters. He has been named a Rising Star since 2005 by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine. He is a member of the American Bar Association Construction and Litigations Forums and is licensed to practice in Minnesota and North Dakota.
John Bloomer ‘96 has recently joined the Dallas Law Firm of Curran Tomko Tarski, L.L.P. as a part of their Real Estate & Finance Section. His practice focuses on sophisticated commercial real estate transactions. For over eleven years, he has worked with owners nationwide regarding acquisition, development, leasing, financing, operation, and management of all kinds of real estate, ranging from raw land to luxury apartments to senior living centers to shopping centers. He has also represented banks and other financial institutions regarding multi-million dollar real estate transactions.
Burnham "Bud" Philbrook ‘83 was chosen by Agricultural Secretary, Tom Vislack, to be Agriculture Deputy Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services in charge of international affairs. Since 1994, he has been president and CEO of Global Volunteers, an organization that sends Americans on volunteer vacations on American Indian reservations and 21 countries overseas. The Minnesota native also practiced law, served in the state House, and worked as assistant commissioner in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. As Deputy Undersecretary, he will oversee USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, and cover trade and food aid issues.
Gerald B. Yost ‘80 was recently chosen by his peers as a 2009 Super Lawyer as a business attorney to be published in Minnesota Law & Politics, Twin Cities Business and Mpls. St. Paul Magazine. It was his sixth selection. Only five percent of the attorneys in the state are named to the list.
FAMILY
Thomas L. Borgen ‘07 and his wife welcomed the birth of their new daughter, Elizabeth. Thomas also was recently hired as a new associate attorney at Nierengarten and Hippert, Ltd. in New Ulm, Minnesota, where his family now resides.
Sarah (Frisque) Schmitz ‘04 and her husband announce the birth of their new daughter, Jillian Ruby Schmitz. Jillian arrived on April 8, 2009 at 11:13 a.m., weighing in at 7lbs, 2oz and 20 inches long.
Bethany O'Neill ‘96 and her husband, Jeffrey Commisso, have a new baby boy: Joseph Alexander Commisso, born April 13, 2009.
Six Minute Social
On Thursday, April 30, 2009, from 7-9pm, the Culture Committee of the Alumni Association Board is hosting a Six Minute Social at Gabe's Roadhouse, with the Hamline Student Bar Association's weekly Bar Review to follow.
The focus of the evening is on Hamline Law students having the opportunity to network with Hamline alumni to learn more about various areas of practice or other ways in which alumni are using their law degrees.
Food and beverages will be served, and great fun will be had by all! The Six Minute Social is a great way to meet current Hamline Law students, but more importantly, it's a way to assist students with choices they have as they go forward in pursuit of their degrees and consider options that exist after they graduate from law school.
We hope to see you there!
Where: Gabe's Roadhouse
991 North Lexington Parkway
St. Paul, MN 55103
When: Apr. 30, 2009 - 7:00PM
Contact: Please RSVP to Anne Markus at amarkus01@hamline.edu or 651-523-2943 and give your name, year of graduation, and area of practice or career. Top
Intellectual Property Reception
Please join us at the Annual Intellectual Property Law Alumni & Legal Community Reception
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
At the Gray Plant Mooty Law Firm in Minneapolis
Please RSVP to Anne Markus at amarkus01@hamline.edu or 651-523-2943
We hope to see you there!
Where: Gray Plant Mooty Law Firm 500 IDS Center, 80 South Eighth Street, Minneapolis
When: May. 5, 2009 - 5:30PM
Contact: Anne Markus amarkus01@hamline.edu or 651-523-2943 Top
Law Alumni Reception at Larkin Hoffman
Spring into Bloomington!
Please join us for light hors d'oeuvres, cocktails, and friendly conversation with fellow alumni on May 14 at the law firm Larkin Hoffman, located in Bloomington, MN.
Where:
The law firm of Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren, Ltd.
7900 Xerxes Ave. S., #1500
Bloomington, MN 55431
When: May. 14, 2009 - 5:30PM
Contact: Please RSVP to Anne Markus at amarkus01@hamline.edu or 651-523-2943 Top
13th Annual Alumni Golf Tournament
June is just around the corner and so is the 13th Annual Alumni Golf Tournament on June 2nd! It is sure to be another fun day with colleagues and friends at the beautiful Prestwick Golf Course in Woodbury.
1:00 p.m. Shotgun Start/Scramble Format
6:00 p.m. Dinner, prizes, and raffle drawings
We hope to see you there!
Where: Prestwick Golf Club, Woodbury, MN www.prestwick.com
When: Jun. 2, 2009 - 1:00PM
Contact: Anne Markus at amarkus01@hamline.edu or 651-523-2943 Top
April 2009 Faculty Notes
Professor Jon Garon recently completed a presentation at Hebrew University Faculty of Law entitled "Reintermediation, Relationships, and Regulation - Managing the Semantic Web," on April 1, 2009.
Professor David Larson made a presentation to the United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary in Washington, D.C. Professor Larson's April 24th presentation was titled "Consumer Arbitration: The Arbitrator's Perspective." Professor Larson also has published, Conflicts of Interest and Disclosures: Are We Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill? Volume 49, Number 4 of the South Texas Law Review. (2008) and an article titled Technology Mediated Dispute Resolution Can Improve the Registry for the Deaf Ethical Practices System: The Deaf Community is Well Prepared and Can Lead by Example in Volume 10, No. 1 of the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution. The article was co-authored with Paula Gajewski Mickelson, Department Chair of the ASL & Interpreting Department at the College of St. Catherine.
Professor Angela McCaffrey was a presenter at a Minnesota Legal Services Coalition CLE on March 6, 2009. The CLE focused on Strategies for Unemployment and other Administrative Hearings, and Professor McCaffrey's topic was on Presenting Evidence in those forums.
Professor Douglas McFarland is having a close-out sale on his book, Few Are Chosen: A Campaign Memoir, on Wednesday, April 29, from 12 noon to 1 p.m. in the Law School's faculty study (Room 200).
Professor Mary Jane Morrison of the School of Law has been named the 2008 Minnesota ESGR Ombudsman of the Year for her volunteer work mediating disputes between employers and members of the Guard and Reserves. ESGR is an agency of the Department of Defense, and these disputes are governed by the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act [USERRA].
Professor Howard J. Vogel has been selected by the United Theological Seminary (UTS) Alumni Council as this year’s Distinguished Alumnus. Professor Vogel graduated from UTS in 1978 with a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies (MARS). As professor of law and religion at Hamline University School of Law, his teaching reflects a deep commitment to law, religion, and ethics, and his scholarship and work outside the classroom demonstrate his dedication to restorative justice.
Dean Lewis Responds to Recent U.S. News & World Report Rankings
Dear Alumni,
The U.S. News & World Report rankings of graduate schools were released last Thursday, leaving us with cause for both celebration and disappointment.
First, the good news. Our Dispute Resolution Institute continued its excellent No. 4 ranking for alternative dispute resolution programs nation-wide. Moreover, our Health Law Institute is now nationally ranked within the top 20 health care law programs. It is a fantastic achievement for HLI to be ranked just a couple of notches below Harvard and ahead of even Stanford after only three years in place. We congratulate and thank Jim Coben and Cindy Jesson, the respective institute directors, and their teams for their impressive showings in the rankings.
Now the tough news: Hamline is once again in the fourth tier overall. (William Mitchell has move up to the third tier, where St. Thomas also resides, and the University of Minnesota has moved up a couple of notches to No. 20 nation-wide.)
We don't have access yet to all of the backroom data, including per student expenditure data, that factored into the formula, but I want to invite you to look closely at the published report and also to look at some of the data that has been published online. You'll see that in some important categories in the published data, Hamline has improved from last year and has scored better than our competitor schools.
Here are a couple of examples. In the peer assessment scores--the judgments of deans and selected faculty from around the country--Hamline scored a 2.0 compared to William Mitchell's 1.9 and St. Thomas' 1.9. Similarly, in the judgment of a sample of judges and lawyers nation-wide, Hamline's score was 2.4 compared to Mitchell's 2.3. In the criteria of selectivity of admissions, Hamline scored 48 percent compared to Mitchell's 57 percent acceptance rate. And in the all-important student-to-teacher ratio category, Hamline was at 15.4 compared to 21.9 at Mitchell and 17.6 at St. Thomas, comfirming the foundation of our law school's student-centered learning environment.
Where do we lag behind? In the admissions indicators, Mitchell had stronger GPAs and LSAT scores for its entering class. This may be due, in large part, to the inclusion for the first time of part-time students in the computations for this category. With respect to job placement, Mitchell boasted 96.5 percent employment nine months after graduation versus a strong 91.6 percent for Hamline. Mitchell also ranked significantly higher in U.S. News' first ranking of part-time programs.
We often quarrel with the U.S. News rankings and question their methodology. For today, we acknowledge that we were pleased last year when we were up in the third tier and that we are now disappointed to find ourselves in the fourth tier. Despite their many faults and questionable validity, the rankings provide a useful yardstick for some and often influence applicants, albeit unduly.
However, the U.S. News rankings are no where close to a measure of our success and progress as a law school. Our published scholarship continues to raise Hamline's national and international profile. We still excel in providing a practice-focused legal training in a student-centered culture within a well-respected university. Our faculty continue to remain passionate about their teaching, about their writing, about their service. Perhaps we should market and brag about it a little bit more, but if we continue to focus on the good work that we are doing, improved rankings will follow.
For your part as alumni, please continue to support your law school alma mater: by spreading the word about our accomplishments locally and nationally: by finding employment opportunities for our students and graduates; by actively participating in law school events; and by investing financially in our future with an annual gift. Our best work is ahead of us.
Weekly video blog posts from Dean Donald Lewis about all things Hamline can be found on the Law School's website homepage.
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MSBA Awards Five Hamline Students Minority Clerkships
The Minnesota State Bar Association has selected five Hamline University School of Law 1L students of color to participate in its Minnesota Minority Clerkship Program. The students, (from left) Gregory Schwartz, Maira Gavioli, Irene Kao and Moises Medina (the fifth clerkship recipient, Malika Kanodia, was not available for this photo), will spend the summer working in various law offices gaining valuable legal experience. The Minnesota Minority Clerkship Program was established four years ago to foster diversity within the Minnesota legal community by matching selected students-of-color from Minnesota law schools with participating Minnesota legal employers.
The MSBA reports that this program gives law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies a unique opportunity to promote diversity within their firms and agencies through hiring students-of-color from Minnesota law schools—practice settings in which diverse lawyers are now under-represented. In participating in this program, employers are assisted in finding highly qualified candidates for employment for summer months and beyond, all while increasing their workforce diversity. In turn, student participants gain a unique opportunity to obtain “real world” experiences after only their first-year of law school at a premier legal employer. Employer registration for the Summer 2009 Clerkship Program is complete. Employers who are interested in participating in the 2010 Summer Program should contact David Ahlvers, Program chair, at dahlvers@lindquist.com.
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Poet-Attorney Highlights Synergies between Law & Storytelling
Why would capacity crowds gather at Hamline University School of Law in March to hear from, of all things, a poet? It's not as incongruent a scene as one might imagine. Not, at least, if the poet in question is Martin Espada, a former tenant lawyer, widely published and lauded poet, and professor of English at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where he teaches creative writing and the work of Pablo Neruda. (Espada is pictured above, center, with Hamline Graduate School of Liberal Studies Dean Mary Rockcastle and Hamline Law Professor Jon Garon.)
"What is advocacy but storytelling? I try to use the facts as I understand them to create a poem, but you are also engaged in an act of imagination. The facts and the imagination come together and produce something written by a lawyer," Espada explained. "Think of what happens when you draft an affidavit. I'd write an affidavit in the first-person voice of my client. You can adopt another voice when you write affidavits and you can do it when you write a persona poem."
The presentation by Professor Espada, which can be heard at http://tinyurl.com/cb5rxa, was an inaugural event for the new JD-MFA joint degree program offered by Hamline University School of Law and the Graduate School of Liberal Studies. The program is the only joint Juris Doctor and Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing degree in the nation. More information about the program can be found at http://law.hamline.edu/hamline-university-jd-mfa-program.html
TopAlumni Describe Challenges and Opportunities in Public Interest Careers
Hamline 1L students John Tribbett (center) and Jess Riemer recently organized an alumni panel to help themselves and other students understand the challenges and opportunities inherent in a public interest career. Alumni participants included Wisconsin criminal defense attorney John Matousek '84 (second from right), the Honorable Sangeeta Jain '88 (not pictured), Saint Paul City Attorney John Choi '95 (second from left), Second District Assistant Public Defender Corey Sherman '05 (far right), shown here with Professor Angela McCaffrey. Also on the panel was public interest attorney Sheila Stuhlman. Panelists shared stories about the paths their careers have taken and urged students "to find the thing they love."
Jain, who has worked as a Magistrate in Hennepin County for 20 years, said she was born in India and moved to the United States at age 9. Her grandfather had worked for the freedom movement in India and taught her Gandhi's philosophy, "Be the change you hope to see in the world." She told students she had "turned down a six-figure job years ago and has not looked back....I can honestly and sincerely say, ‘Yes, I have made a difference in this world.'"
St. Paul City Attorney John Choi emphasized the importance of keeping up with personal contacts. "You never know where people will end up," he said, explaining that he had known St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman for many years before he became mayor. "After he won in 2005, he called and asked me if I would like to be part of his administration...I love what I'm doing because it serves the public interest. From a prosecution standpoint, I believe we are the administers of justice. We also have the opportunity to look at opportunities for restorative justice."
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Bush Fellow Jody TallBear to Study Renewable Energy & Tribal Economies
When Jody TallBear receives her JD from Hamline University School of Law in May she will be ready to begin a "dream job" studying renewable energy as a vehicle to strengthen and diversify tribal economies. As a 2009 Bush Fellowship recipient, she plans to advocate on behalf of Native tribes in Minnesota and the Dakotas, with the goal of helping to ensure the inclusion of tribal interests in renewable energy policy and projects. TallBear also will embark on a self-directed study of federal policies and regulation governing renewable energy development.
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LRW Students Wax Poetic, Showcase Grammatical Prowess
Not every student finds poetic inspiration from the rigors of law school, but Hamline law student Laura Moore did just that. She participated in a poetry and grammar competition sponsored by the Legal Research and Writing program. Her winning Haiku was selected by Dean Lewis:
Papers, exams, grades
Stress is my new companion
Hope is my old friend
Laura is pictured (center) with LRW professor Kimberly Holst and Dean Lewis. The winner of the grammar competition was student Jon Harkness.
TopHamline Students Support Project Homeless Connect
Hamline law students (from right) Greta Bauer Reyes, Renee Uzong and Clarrisse Kebashigawa met with Matthew Ayers (center) from Hennepin County/Project Homeless Connect and Dean Donald Lewis earlier this month for the presentation of more than $1,100 raised through a recent diversity fashion show at Hamline. The gift will help support a Project Homeless Connect event on May 11, 2009, at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Project Homeless Connect is a one-stop shop model for delivering services--including legal assistance--to people experiencing homelessness. Twice each year, Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis partner with service providers, businesses, citizens, and faith communities to bring multiple resources to one location where people can come to find the services they need. There are a variety of volunteer opportunities, but the majority of volunteers will act as guides, partnering with guests to help them find needed resources. Hamline alumni are urged to consider volunteering their legal assistance at the May 11 event. Details are available by calling 612-673-2525 or on the web www.homelessconnectminneapolis.org/volunteer.htm
The first of these events occurred on December 14, 2005, at the Basilica of St. Mary. It was a tremendous success, involving 250 volunteers and service providers and serving more than 500 men, women, children, and youth experiencing homelessness. There have been five events since that first event at the Basilica, growing to serve more than 2800 individuals seeking services with the help of 1600 volunteers.
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Law Alumni Annual Fund
Approximately 200 students will receive a Hamline University JD in a few short weeks. Alumni support has assisted the Class of 2009 in many ways, such funding student scholarships, covering transportation costs for competitions, and buying reference books for the Law Library. Each and every gift from alumni assists these aspiring members of the bar and bench in developing their professional skills for a successful career in the legal community. To continue supporting the School of Law, its students and practical experiential programs, visit www.hamline.edu/giving today. Thank you!
TopAlumni Board Positions Available
Hamline's Law Alumni Association Board is seeking applications for open positions beginning in the Fall of 2009. A job description for this volunteer position is available here.
To apply for a Board position, please send a brief letter discussing your background and stating the reasons you are interested in serving on the Alumni Board. Please limit your submission to a page (or two) typewritten. Feel free to attach a resume to your submission, but this is not required. The deadline for application submission is May 1, 2009.
You may submit the application electronically by return e-mail, drop it off in Room 106A of the Law School Building or send it to:
Anne Markus
Hamline University School of Law
Office of Alumni Relations
1536 Hewitt Ave
MS-D2005
Saint Paul, MN 55104
There will be a Board orientation in mid-August and regular meetings generally have been held every other month beginning in September on the 2nd or 3rd Wednesday of the month.
Board applicants will be notified of the status of their applications by May 30. Thank you for your interest!
TopA Note from Professor McFarland
Remember hearing about my book Few Are Chosen: A Campaign Memoir, the honest and funny story of my campaign for the Senate, last fall? As I said, anyone connected with HUSL will get a kick out of it. Now, I'm having an academic year-end close out sale. Come over to the Faculty Study (room 200, north end of the building) any time from noon to one on Wednesday, April 29, and get an autographed copy 60% off. [So much for becoming a wealthy author.] The book is also available in many bookstores and online book sellers, including www.fewarechosenbook.com. If you're out of town, you can also send me an email if you want an autographed copy.