Class Notes September 2007

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.

Zhiyu (Sonny) Zhan ’06 is receiving the Judge Jacob Dim Award from the Federal Bar Association. He is honored with a $2,000 award for excellence in the study of federal courts and federal practice.

Amanda Morken '03 has joined the law firm of McManus, Schor, Asmar & Darden, LLP, in Washington, DC, as an associate attorney.  Her practice focuses on representing owners and contractors in commercial disputes, both nationally and abroad.

Jerome T. Blackwell ‘98 is a Market Regulator at the Chicago Board Options Exchange in Chicago, Illnois. Most recently, he has focused on complex investigations in the Office of Agency Practices.

Lisa Tibbits (Davidson) ’97 has been appointed Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at DataCard Corporation, headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota.  DataCard Corporation is the world leader in secure ID and card personalization solutions and serves customers in more than 120 countries.  Lisa will continue to practice in the areas of international distribution, antitrust, employment and corporate law.
 
J. Michael Prairie, Jr. ’96 will be, starting next month, the General Counsel of the US operations of Nitto Denko Corporation, a Japanese multi-national.  Nitto Denko has five companies in the United States, with headquarters in California, Wisconsin, and Florida.

Thomas J. Walsh `92 published an article entitled, The Rise and Fall of an Archetype: Revisions to the "Wisconsin Model" Child Support Guidelines, in the Summer 2006 University of Memphis Law Review.

Roger L. Kramer ’89 was named to the “Top 40 in ADR” list by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine. Kramer’s trial practice focuses on the areas of Personal Injury Insurance Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution. A veteran jury trial attorney, he has tried more than 50 jury trials to conclusion and handled hundreds of arbitrations in the field of personal injury. Kramer is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and is certified by the Minnesota State Bar Association as a Civil Trial Specialist. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Hamline University School of Law teaching insurance law. He also has certification as a Rule 114 Neutral. He is admitted to the Minnesota State Courts and the U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota.

Susan K.H. Conley ’84  has joined Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala, P.A. as an Associate in the Workers’ Compensation Law Practice Group and the General Liability Practice Group. Conley has been practicing in the workers’ compensation, general liability, and products liability areas for more than 20 years.  Prior to joining Arthur Chapman, Sue worked as a Senior Trial Attorney for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.  Sue’s successful representation record extends from the Office of Administrative Hearings to the Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals.

Family News

Allison Fiecke (Smith) ‘03 and her husband Kristopher, welcomed their first child, Kira Grace, in November of 2006.  Allison has been employed at Thomson West as a Reference Attorney since June of 2005.

Dan Burkhart '02 and his wife Lisamarie welcomed a new son named is Noah Edmund Burkhart born February 11, 2007.  Burkhart is teaching as an Assistant Professor in the Criminal Justice Department at Brown College. He is also a part-time Realtor and occasionally volunteers with the Neighborhood Justice Center in St. Paul as a criminal defense lawyer. 

Trenny (Kemnitz) Greuel ‘99 and her husband, Corey Greuel ‘99, celebrated the birth of their son, Ronan David Greuel, on August 30, 2006.

Faculty Docket

Larry Bakken

Instructor: “International Dispute Settlement Mechanisms,” Golden Gate University School of Law, Bangkok, Thailand (summer 2007). Instructor, Norway program (summer 2007). Students had the opportunity to negotiate with 23 international students from law schools in eastern Europe, China, and the European Union. Highlights in this year’s program included visits with the American ambassador, the European Union ambassador, the Chief Judge of the Norwegian Supreme Court and the Director of Ethical Investment Policies for the Norwegian Petroleum Investment Fund, one of the largest investment funds in the world.

Len Biernat

Presenter at the Computer Assisted Legal Instruction Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada: Developing On-Line Courses for Law Students (June 2007). West’s Federal Administrative Practice, Education Funding (2007 Supplement).

 

 

Edwin J. Butterfoss

A Suspicionless Search and Seizure Quagmire: The Supreme Court Revives the Pretext Doctrine and Creates Another Fine Fourth Amend-ment Mess, 39 Creighton L. Rev. 419 (2007). Bright Line Breaking Point: Embracing Justice Scalia’s Call for a Conservative Court to Abandon an Unreasonable Approach to Fourth Amendment Search and Seizure Law, 82 Tulane L. Rev. (forthcoming 2007). Elected to the national board of The Tuition Exchange, a reciprocal scholarship program for children and other family members of faculty and staff employed at more than 580 participating institutions, including Hamline. Elected to the board of directors of Centro Legal, Inc. Professor Tom Romero serves as chair of the board; alumna Gloria Contreras Edin serves as executive director. After completing his six-year term on the ABA Accreditation Committee, which he chaired from 2004–06, Professor Butterfoss was appointed by the chair of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Chief Justice Ruth V. McGregor of the Arizona Supreme Court, to serve an additional year as chair following the resignation of the current chair. Completed his service as chair of the Strategic Planning Team for Hamline University. The new 2007–2012 Strategic Plan was adopted by the Board of Trustees on May 11, 2007.

Jim Coben

Promoted, Professor of Law, spring 2007.

 

 

 

Joseph L. Daly

Instructor: “Advocacy: Theory and Practice” at the University of Montevideo, Uruguay (October 2006). Coach, Hamline’s Far East International Commercial Arbitration Moot Team, Hong Kong (March 2007). Presenter and author: Arbitration: The Law, The Process, Minnesota Trial Lawyers Continuing Legal Education (May 2007). Presenter at the Bar Association of South Dakota Annual Meeting: Arbitration: Theory and Skills (May 2007). Instructor, “Making & Saving Deals: Arbitration Theory and Practice,” Rome, Italy (June 2007). Voted Super Lawyer in Alternative Dispute Resolution, 165 Minnesota Law & Politics 91 (2007). Arbitrator in a number of labor, commercial and insurance cases in Missouri, Kansas, Oregon; and various locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, as well as London, England (January 2007).

Marie Failinger

Recovering the Face-to-Face in American Immigration Law, 23 S. Cal. Rev. Law & Soc. Just. 319 (2007). Conference Report, Religious Americans and Political Choices, 24 Am. J. of Islamic Social Sciences 154 (2007). Co-editor, textbook for Middle Eastern K–12 students in Hamline’s Civic Education Project. Participant, Active Citizenship training of teachers from Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine (July 2007).

 

Dean Jon Garon

Main speaker at the Hennepin County Fourth Judicial District Special Session: Annual Hennepin County Bar Memorial (May 2, 2007). The memorials and Dean Garon’s address are enrolled with the Hennepin County District Court and in the archives of the Minnesota Historical Society.

 

 

Mary Jo Hunter

Moderator, "The Impact of Federal Indian Law on the Tribal Land Base," a National NALSA Moot Court Competition CLE, Hamline University (February 2007).
Presenter at the Indian Child Welfare Act at 30 Years Conference, Michigan State University: Thirty Years on the Cutting Edge of ICWA (March 2007).
Trainer for the 10th District Guardian Ad Litem Program, Anoka County District Court.
Panelist and group moderator for the Indian Law Clinic and Externship Symposium, Albuquerque, New Mexico: Lawyering for Indigenous Peoples (June 2007).

Lucinda Jesson

Presenter at Hamline Dialogues, Hamline Univer-sity: Legal Implications of the Worst Case Pandemic (February 2007).
Presenter at Health Law Professors Conference, Boston University School of Law: Time for a New Sheriff in Town? A Fresh Look at Attorneys' General Enforcement Role in Nonprofit Health Care (June 2007).
Moderator for Minnesota CLE Health Law Institute, Minneapolis: Pay-for-Performance: The Quandaries that Keep Providers, Payers and Lawyers up at Night (June 2007).
Appointed, Chair, Rules of Professional Conduct Committee, Minnesota Bar Association.
Elected, Health Law Governing Council, Minnesota State Bar.

Jonathan Kahn

Promoted, Associate Professor, spring 2007.
Race in a Bottle, 297 Scientific American 40 (2007).
Interviewed by British Broadcasting Corporation for a radio documentary, Ethnic Drugs - the Magic Bullet?
Grant recipient, National Human Genome Research Institute, Principal Investigator: The Place of Race in Gene Patenting and Drug Development.

Invited Presenter at the Rock Ethics Institute, Pennsylvania State University: The Segregated Genome: Exploring
the Intersections of Law, Commerce, and Race in Biotechnology (October 25, 2007).
Invited Presenter at the Annual Conference of the Society for the Social Studies of Science, Montreal: Ways of Knowing Race and Heart Disease Across Regulatory Regimes (October 11, 2007).

David A. Larson

Presenter at Spring Alumni Symposium, Hamline University School of Law: Protecting Your Clients' Content: The IP Challenges of Music, Media and Business Practice in Cyberspace; Technology Based ADR Distribution Models: Using Technology and Virtual Worlds to Teach; and Employment and Social Networking.

 

 

Robin Magee

Published an opinion article on the topic of racial bias in the Minnesota justice system,
Pioneer Press (April 15, 2007).

 

 

Bobbi McAdoo

Co-director of Making and Saving Deals in the Global Environment, Hamline's Italy program with the University of Rome La Sapienza. She co-taught two courses to a group of about 25 American students from law schools in the United States and 25 young lawyers from Italy, Turkey, Albania and Syria.

 

 

Angela McCaffrey

Co-authored The Value of Interactive Exercises in the Development of Professional Identity: Moldovan Law Students Voice and County Bribery with Ann Juergens, William Mitchell College of Law; accepted for publication in an issue of the Wash. U. J.L . & Pol'y, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Washington University's Access to Justice Speaker Series and the 35th Anniversary of its Clinical Legal Education programs.

 

Mary Jane Morrison

Judge, National Hispanic Bar Association, National Moot Court Competition, Minneapolis (March 2007).
Elected to the Hamline University Faculty Council Committee, which drafted a constitution the faculty of the university then ratified for the university-wide faculty council of Hamline University.
Chair of the Human Rights and Research Committee, The Phoenix Residences (homes for developmentally disabled adults) .
Member of the Board of Directors, Minnesota Lavender Bar Association.

James Morrow

Instructor: Evidence workshop and Judicial Decision Making, National Judicial College, Reno Nevada (March 19–22, 2007).
Instructor: Evidence and Effective Courtroom Management, Minnesota New Judges School (March 26–27, 2007).
Instructor: Seminar on Evidence, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, L.L.P (May 4–5, 2007).
Group facilitator for the Advanced Evidence seminar, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 27–31, 2007).
Instructor: Judicial Decision Making, National Judicial College, Reno, Nevada (July 24–26, 2007).
Instructor: Prosecutorial Misconduct, Minnesota Criminal Justice Institute, Orlando, Florida (August 28, 2007).
Member, Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers Education Committee (2006–2007).
Appointed to the Minnesota District Judges Association, Judicial Resources Committee (deals with chemical dependency, stress and mental health issues for judges) (2007).
Member, Minnesota Judges Civil Jig Committee.
Appointed Statewide Commissioner to The Minnesota State Boxing Commission, (2006–2010). Board member, Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, (July 2007–2010)

Tom I. Romero, II

Promoted, Associate Professor, Spring 2007
Invited Speaker: Fourth Annual Gloucester Summer Legal Conference: Law and Justice in the Age Globalization: Multiracial Dissonance, Cold War Containment, and the Law of Municipal Boundaries in the United States, (July 2007). Co-sponsored by the law faculty of the University of Gloucestershire, Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, and the Central Gloucester Initiative. His presentation will be published in an upcoming edition of the Tex. Wesleyan L. Rev.

Sharon Sandeen

Received tenure, spring 2007.
Editor, Intellectual Property Deskbook for the Business Lawyer (2007).
Invited discussant: “Italy’s new trade secret law,” Third Annual Workshop on the Law and Economics of Intellectual Property and Information Technology, sponsored by the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London and the Institute of Comparative Law “Angelo Sraffa,” Bocconi University of Milan, London, United Kingdom (July 5–6, 2007).

Peter N. Thompson

Mediation Case Law Review, Part II, 2 World Arb. & Mediation Review (2007) (with James Coben).
Mediation Litigation Trends, 1997–2007,
2 World Arb. & Mediation Review (2007) (with James Coben).
2007 Supplement to Mediation Law Policy & Practice (with Sarah Cole and James Coben).
2007 Supplement to 11 Minnesota Practice, Evidence.
Peter N. Thompson and David F. Herr, Courtroom Handbook of Minnesota Evidence (2007 ed.).
Presenter at the Annual Meeting of the ADR Section of the ABA, Washington, D.C.: Mediation Case Law “Revue” (April 2007).
Accepted member, Academy of Court Appointed Masters.

Stacey Tovino

Presenter at Hamline University: The Visible Brain:Implications of Advances in Functional Neuroimaging.
Presenter at Pennsylvania State University: Implanting Change: The Ethics of Neural Prosthetics, (August 26–28, 2007).

 

Mary B. Trevor

Editor, with DRI senior fellow Giuseppe De Palo, Arbitration and Mediation in the Southern Mediterranean Countries, Wolters Kluwer (forthcoming 2007). This is the second book in the series Global Trends in Dispute Resolution.

Dean Jon M. Garon to Step Down in 2008

Jon M. Garon will step down as dean of the Hamline University School of Law in July 2008, concluding five years of service in which he strengthened the school's academic profile, expanded donor support, increased its international presence, and launched a series of innovative academic programs, including Hamline's Health Law Institute and the nation's first JD/MFA in creative writing. Following a sabbatical, Garon will return to Hamline, teaching full-time in the School of Law. Hamline will immediately launch a national search for a new dean for the law school; the new dean will take over duties in July 2008.

Dr. Linda N. Hanson, president of Hamline University, said. "We are grateful to Jon for his leadership and vision as dean of the law school, and we are pleased he will remain a faculty member at Hamline."

During the first four years of Garon's term, the School of Law significantly increased its faculty size, expanding the facilities and remodeling its classrooms to better serve its student body. Garon oversaw the creation and development of the Hamline Health Law Institute, adding a powerful academic voice on issues of health care policy and access to health care. Hamline has also added a health law clinic to provide direct client service in this area. At the same time, the Hamline Dispute Resolution Institute has risen to third in the nation as ranked by U.S. News and World Report. Garon has been personally involved in many of the law school's international efforts, including an expanded LLM for international lawyers, and a full-time JD externship program, which places students both domestically and abroad. To support these efforts, Garon has taught or lectured in Bangalore, India; Bergen, Norway; and Rome, Italy. He has also worked closely with leadership from nonprofit organizations such as the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, Centro Legal, The Innocence Project, and other nonprofit organizations to strengthen their presence in the legal community and provide meaningful opportunity for law students to engage in pro bono activities and make a positive social impact while still in law school. Garon has continued to serve as a faculty member and scholar throughout his term as dean. His most recent book, Own It - The Law & Business Guide to Launching a New Business through Innovation, Exclusivity and Relevance, will be published later this month. Garon also served Hamline in a dual role, acting as interim dean for the Hamline University Graduate School of Management in 2005-06.

"I have truly enjoyed becoming part of the Hamline community," Garon said. "I am excited to continue my service as an active member of the Hamline law faculty and a member of the Minnesota legal community."

 

"I am extremely grateful for the support alumni have given Hamline University School of Law during its first thirty-five years," he continued, "and I am proud to have been part of that tradition during my term as dean. "

Follow this link to read Dean Garon's complete message to alumni.

 

Hamline University School of Law is a collaborative community in which students work together to best serve their clients and society. Its students graduate ready to find solutions, solve problems and transform the world. Creative and innovative teaching and learning attract a diverse student body of nearly 4,600 undergraduate and graduate students to Hamline University. Challenged to create and apply knowledge in local and global contexts, Hamline students develop an individual and community ethic of social justice, civic responsibility, and inclusive leadership and service.

Ranked first in quality and value in Minnesota among comprehensive master's universities with criteria determined by U.S. News & World Report, Hamline is also Minnesota's first university, founded in 1854, and among the first co-educational institutions in the nation.

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Hamline Offers First in the Nation Joint JD/MFA in Creative Writing

Recognizing that today’s lawyers are called upon for creative and thoughtful leadership on complex issues, Hamline University and Hamline University School of Law are responding with an innovative program to produce lawyers capable of exploring social and political issues through fiction and creative nonfiction writing. Hamline students now have the unique opportunity to pursue both a juris doctor (JD) and a master of fine arts (MFA) degree in creative writing. Hamline’s joint JD/MFA in creative writing degree is the first of its kind in the nation.

“There’s no doubt that the world is rapidly changing in this global economy,” Hamline University School of Law Dean Don Lewis said. “To be successful, lawyers and other leaders must be able to think creatively and use disciplined imagination to solve problems. For students who can meet the rigorous admission requirements of both schools, the combined JD/MFA will encourage creativity and personal expression as part of the analytical rigor of law. Our graduates will be well positioned to serve as global leaders, thinkers, writers and, of course, members of the bench and bar.”

The MFA program at Hamline University was established as Minnesota’s first master of fine arts program in creative writing and is distinguished by its multidisciplinary emphasis and its encouragement of multi-genre explorations. The JD program at Hamline University School of Law provides a dramatically expanded interdisciplinary approach to writing and exploration of social and political issues through fiction and creative nonfiction writing. Students may apply to either program at any time.

Graduate School of Liberal Studies Dean Mary Rockcastle (pictured right) said the new dual program will allow Hamline “to create a bridge between two very different programs.” Rockcastle said that in the Graduate School of Liberal Studies, faculty members integrate the craft and values of good writing into interdisciplinary coursework and encourage students to write and publish in multiple content areas.

“Now, we’ll be able to do the same with students in law school, who can take their knowledge and experience as lawyers and write — nonfiction, fiction, screenplays and poetry,” Rockcastle said.

The JD/MFA is just one of Hamline’s many joint degree programs, which also include management, nonprofit management, public administration, and organizational leadership. To learn more about the new joint degree program, which was featured in the July 30 issue of Minnesota Lawyer, visit www.hamline.edu/law/jdmfa.

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Hamline Enters MBA Market

Expanded program will create new collaboration opportunities for law and business

Hamline University’s Graduate School of Management has transformed its Master of Arts in Management (MAM) program into the Hamline University Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. The sophisticated program will feature a distinctive module-based curriculum that combines critical quantitative and financial knowledge with the “people skills” employers are seeking.

“Hamline’s MBA is unique because of its focus on integration,” explains School of Management Dean Julian Schuster (pictured right). “Students will learn to integrate their understanding and application of the traditional business disciplines throughout the curriculum. They will be encouraged to integrate knowledge of the liberal arts into managing and leading organizations. And they will be required to demonstrate integrated understanding of complex business issues and to integrate what they learn into the communities where they work and live.”

The Law School currently offers joint degree programs with the School of Management in its Masters of Arts in Management (MAM), Masters of Arts in Nonprofit Management, and Masters of Arts in Public Administration. Dean Garon said that he expects the JD/MBA to eventually replace the JD/MAM, allowing the School of Law to return to this joint degree program, which started in the early 1990s and was in place until 2001, in association with St. Thomas University.

“The expansion of the business school is a great addition for Hamline and the Law School,” noted Dean Garon. “The collaborative opportunities will enable us to expand programs in both schools and enhance the quality of academic scholarship and student opportunities.”

Dean Schuster said the Hamline MBA will develop proactive, future-oriented, people-centered leaders for organizations and communities. “Students will emerge from our program with a strong sense of self, solid quantitative skills, integrated knowledge of core business disciplines, and the interpersonal and communication skills needed to successfully guide organizations and communities through growth and continuous improvement.”

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The Honorable Louis H. Schiff '80 Receives Florida's Highest County Court Judicial Honor

The Conference of County Court Judges of Florida awarded Broward County Court Judge Louis H. Schiff ‘80 the Harvey Ford Award at its annual conference in July.

As the highest honor bestowed on a county court judge by The Conference of County Court Judges, the Harvey Ford Award recognizes a county court judge who has demonstrated the highest level of profound service to the community, legal profession, and to the Conference of County Court Judges of Florida.

Judge Schiff, 52, was elected in 1996, and serves at the North Regional Broward County Courthouse in Deerfield Beach, where he handles both civil and criminal cases. Some of Judge Schiff’s accomplishments include the following:

• Received the League of Women Voters first “Civics in Action Award” in April 2007.
• Featured in the cover story in the August 13, 2006 USA Today Weekend, “Parents Who Make School Better.”
• Received Hamline University’s “Outstanding Alumnus for Ethics and Community Service” Award in 2000.
• Has served as a volunteer faculty member of the Conference of County Court Judges of Florida D.U.I. Traffic Adjudication Lab and as the chairperson of its Education Committee.
• Has served as a volunteer instructor at the National Judicial College (NJC) at the University of Nevada
  in Reno.

The award is named for Broward County Court Judge Harvey Ford, who died in 1995, and was known for his outstanding and dedicated community and professional service.

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Professor Mary Jane Morrison Reflects on Constitutional Issues During Sesquicentennial

The question of whether or not Minnesota should continue its century-and-a-half practice of electing judges is one with long historical roots. The Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) only narrowly approved a resolution for the state to move to a judicial appointment system, with 33 voting in favor of the resolution and 31 voting in favor of taking no position at the MSBA annual meeting in June. Hamline Law Professor Mary Jane Morrison, author of The Minnesota State Constitution, A Reference Guide, reports that this debate dates back 150 years to the time when Minnesota’s state constitution was being drafted.

In the ensuing century-and-a-half, scholars have been debating why the framers chose to endorse judicial elections. Morrison is overseeing a Hamline undergraduate political science student, Angelene Hennes, on a research project into the historical debates that influenced Minnesota's constitutional framers on this issue. The research will be used by Minnesota Women Lawyers to develop a program on the topic in early 2008, as part of the state's sesquicentennial celebration.

"By 1835 there already was a deeply entrenched view in American society that an elected judiciary was better for democracy," Morrison explains. "And between 1845 and 1912, all new states admitted to the Union had elected judiciaries. Some scholars thought this shift was due to a rise of populism, which was a follow-on development to Jacksonian democracy.

"By the 1950s, however, scholars were convinced that the preference of many states for judicial elections had been driven by an emotional reaction from citizens who felt judges had become part of an aristocracy. This perception shifted again in the 1970s when scholars began postulating that the shift to elections had been the work of lawyers who wanted to improve the perception of quality among the judiciary, in essence to professionalize the judiciary," she says.

These ongoing debates among scholars about why respective state constitutional framers chose, in large part, to require judicial elections reflect a larger ongoing debate regarding whether judicial elections enhance or harm freedom. Morrison said she hopes the research she and Hennes are conducting on the topic will lead to a lively presentation, perhaps featuring historical reenactments of the original debates. The presentation should be especially timely as Minnesota debates switching to a judicial appointment system with judges standing for retention elections or reviews.

 

Exploring Constitutionality of Dedicated Fund Clauses

Morrison also will apply her constitutional acumen to another sesquicentennial-related program at the 23rd Annual Policy Analysis Conference sponsored by the Citizens League on October 17, 2007 at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus. She will discuss issues around constitutionally dedicated funds, which allow state legislatures to allocate monies raised from a particular source - such as lottery ticket or license plate sales - to be earmarked for one specific purpose only. Morrison published an article on this topic in 2006 in the Minnesota Journal.

While the use of dedicated fund clauses seems to be relatively recent in Minnesota, Morrison says the funding technique dates back to the country's founding, when the federal government grudgingly provided land and/or cash to the new states for public schools.

 

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Hamline Community Joins Effort to Provide Legal Assistance to Veterans

Professor Mary Jane Morrison is among a large group of local lawyers who have committed to provide pro bono legal assistance to members of the military, many of whom struggle to regain a place in society after returning from deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and other war-torn countries. The pro bono effort is organized by the Minnesota State Bar Association Military Affairs Committee and Minnesota CLE. Hamline alumna and Judge Advocate, Captain Lyndsey Kimber ‘03, 34th Infantry Division Legal Advisor with the Minnesota Army/National Guard, helped to organize and teach a seminar on military legal assistance as part of the effort. (Kimber also was instrumental in establishing the Hamline JAG Practicum.)

It was standing room only on August 2 at Dorsey & Whitney for the half-day seminar, which provided information about the Service Members Civil Relief Act and the Uniformed Services Employment and  Re-Employment Act. Hamline alumna Caroline Palmer '99, with the Minnesota State Bar Association, was one of four attorneys at the event providing additional resources to participants.

Hamline Law student Steve Schemenauer participated in the program by describing his deployment experience in Afghanistan.

Schemenauer recently founded the Hamline Veterans Association student organization, which is seeking contributions for a scholarship fund to benefit Hamline law students who are actively serving in the military or are veterans. Contributions can be made through Hamline's Development Office online or by contacting Bill Martin at 651-523-2472 or wmartin04@hamline.edu. Top

Building Ties to the Heart of Europe

An LL.M. student from Germany's University of Trier will be attending classes at Hamline during the 2007-08 academic year as part of a new bilateral exchange program between the law school and the University of Trier. Because the University of Trier does not include a law school (students there earn a basic law degree by attending the undergraduate school for an extra two years), Hamline students taking advantage of the exchange will serve internships at the Clifford Chance Law Firm in Frankfurt.

"The exchange program with the University of Trier builds on the Law School's already strong study abroad program," commented Dean Garon. "It also strengthens our commitment to building Hamline's LL.M. program, which already includes outreach recruitment efforts in India, Brazil, Africa and Israel."

The University of Trier, pictured above, is located on the outskirts of Germany's oldest city, close to the borders of Luxembourg, France and Belgium. Teaching and research focus on European issues, practical application of academic concepts and interdisciplinary subjects, including law. Total enrollment at the University of Trier is 11,500. While new to the Law School, undergraduate students at Hamline University long have participated in a similar bilateral exchange program at the University of Trier. Top

Faculty Focus: Professor James Coben

Preparing law students to be effective in the 21st century, particularly through the use of mediation and arbitration, is a driving passion for Professor James Coben. As a skilled mediator, however, Coben can look dispassionately at both sides of an issue. He sees both the positive and negative aspects of alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

"As a self-governing device, it's tremendously attractive," he says. "When abused, an informal non-rules based system can unfairly reward those in society who already enjoy more power, such as corporations."
Still, as Director of Hamline's Dispute Resolution Institute (DRI) - which, along with Harvard, recently was named third in the nation for ADR programs by U.S. News & World Report - Coben is clear about the emerging importance of mediation and arbitration.

"I really believe there's a significant evolution going on regarding how justice is delivered in society. Hamline is on the forefront of that evolution and we're trying to promote a critical look at justice as it's delivered increasingly through private mechanisms. Though relatively few of our students will work full-time as mediators and arbitrators, virtually all students will counsel clients about dispute resolution options. Our goal is to produce lawyers with a sophisticated understanding of problem-solving who can make the best choices for their clients and help their clients understand the implications of those choices," he said.

Scholarly research by Coben, along with Hamline Professor Peter N. Thompson, has made it considerably easier for any lawyer to weigh the pros and cons surrounding mediation and arbitration. Building on the ground-breaking article they published in the Harvard Negotiation Law Review in spring 2006, "Disputing Irony: A Systematic Look at Litigation about Mediation," they have developed an in-depth website offering a wealth of resources exploring the lessons that can be learned from failed mediations. As a result of this project, they have been invited to join with Professors Sarah Randolph Cole and Craig McEwen to author the third edition of the West Thomson Treatise "Mediation: Law, Policy & Practice," which is scheduled for publication this spring.

"The work Jim has done to advance ADR scholarship speaks for itself," said Dean Jon Garon. "He is a tremendous asset to Hamline and our students. His passion, vision and hard work have propelled our program to the very forefront of the nation."

Coben assumed leadership of Hamline’s DRI program in 2000, twelve years after joining the faculty. His interest in mediation, however, began much earlier when he was serving as a federal court clerk in Minnesota immediately after earning his JD from Northeastern University School of Law.

After joining Hamline in 1988, he taught legal writing and clinical courses. Soon thereafter he was recruited by Professor Bobbi McAdoo to begin teaching courses in the Dispute Resolution Institute program that she had begun at Hamline in 1991.

“Bobbi already was a leader in alternative dispute resolution at that time, both regionally and nationally. I was tremendously lucky to have fallen into one of the most fertile places in the country for ADR. Bobbi became one of my mentors. She was, and is, an absolute star in the field,” he says.

  By 1996 Coben began to make his mark at Hamline with the formation of an Employment Discrimination Mediation Representation Clinic, now taught by Professors Joe Daly and Marilynne Roberts, which takes advantage of a collaboration between Hamline, the Equal Rights Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. Students represent victims of alleged employment discrimination cases where the EEOC and Department of Human Rights have offered early intervention mediation.
Coben’s passion for Hamline’s Dispute Resolution Institute is palpable. He ticks off the program’s strengths without hesitation: “an incredible variety of courses, innovative clinical programs, outstanding symposia, faculty scholarship and study abroad options in Budapest, Rome and London.” And, he notes with pride, “with DRI Associate Director Kitty Atkins and Program Coordinator Debra Berghoff, we have administrative expertise that is the envy of every other university’s conflict resolution program.”

Development of DRI's study abroad options is perhaps Coben's greatest point of pride. "We're all operating within this ubiquitous global environment, even within the Twin Cities. So widening our students' vision of the world by letting them study abroad is crucial. It makes them better listeners, they learn to ask better questions and they realize how dangerous assumptions can be."

Intense concern about how students learn and develop lawyering skills is chief among Coben's priorities. "Jim's first question for any new ADR initiative is, ‘how is this going to help students?'" says Professor Bobbi McAdoo. "He's always on the lookout for how we can help students understand a new paradigm of dispute resolution and what this means for their future advocacy role. He's a great listener and he's sensitive to the concerns of students. Jim is helping to model what lawyers should be doing with their clients by the way he interacts with students."

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Giving Matters

Alumni Joel Aberg ’79 and Paul Gatto ’76 support Hamline through active participation and generous financial gifts.

Alumni Joel Aberg ’79 (pictured left) and Paul Gatto ’76 both have fond memories of their days at Hamline University School of Law. They recall passionate professors, energetic and caring fellow students and the feeling of being part of something significant. “The best educational and social experience I ever had was at Hamline,” says Aberg.

“The professors were hard on us, they challenged us and they made sure I received a good education at Hamline,” adds Gatto.

These two alumni, both successful practicing attorneys, express their gratitude to Hamline law school through generous and ongoing contributions, both in terms of time and financial gifts.“

I want to make sure the school stays viable and keeps its programs growing,” explains Aberg, who has focused on labor and employment litigation at Weld, Riley, Prenn & Ricci in Eau Claire since 1986. Other Hamline alumni at the firm include Christine Gimber ’92 and Bill Spangler ’03.

Aberg is the first member of Hamline University School of Law’s Heritage Society, which means he has chosen to include the law school as a beneficiary in his will. He originally named the school a beneficiary of a whole life insurance policy but later decided to increase his eventual bequest to the law school by naming Hamline as a beneficiary of a portion of his 401(k).

“It’s substantial at this point and it’s as simple as listing Hamline University School of Law as the beneficiary on a form,” Aberg says.
In addition to his estate plan, Aberg makes a substantial annual contribution to the school’s Law Dean’s Excellence Fund (annual fund), qualifying him for membership in the Justice Society (which recognizes annual donations of $1,000
or more).

“With estate planning, it’s going to be a while before the benefits are attained. I also want to support the school now. So I’m a member of the Justice Society.

I consider that to be the least I can do. I would urge other graduates who want to preserve the heritage of Hamline Law School to think about giving what they can as well,” he says.

Paul Gatto (pictured at right) shares the view that giving is something that needs to happen on an annual basis. Gatto is generous with both his money and his time, serving as chair elect of the Law School’s Board of Advisors and making appearances as a guest lecturer in Professor Doug McFarland’s classes.

He is the president of Swor Gatto, which specializes in personal injury law. When one of his young relatives was tragically killed in a car accident, Gatto wanted to do something to make sure the deceased youngster who shared his son’s name, John Paul or J.P., would be remembered. (Gatto’s son, J.P. Gatto, graduated from Hamline University School of Law in May 2007.)

“We established a scholarship fund in his name for students at Hamline who are interested in children’s rights and child advocacy. The scholarship is exceeding six figures now,” he says.

Gatto also contributes to the school’s annual fund and urges other alumni to do the same. “Hamline grads are well prepared, articulate and professional. They’re a credit to the profession and the school,” he says. “I’ve heard anecdotes that large employers prefer Hamline graduates but wish the school would move up in the rankings. The only way that can happen is for more alumni to give annually so the school can develop a major endowment.”

Why is Gatto so passionate about supporting Hamline financially?

“It’s fact of life that money makes educational institutions go. If there is no money, the institutions cannot provide great educations. I think it would be great if all Hamline grads would support the school with an annual gift, even if it’s just $100 a year,”Gatto says.

“Charitable giving is very personal and easy to put on the bottom of the list,” he adds, “but I hope at some point Hamline would pop up on the list and become a regular part of our alumni’s giving.”

If you have any questions about the Law School's Alumni Annual Fund, please visit the Annual Fund Page or contact Karla Williams at (651) 523-2686 or kwilliams15@hamline.edu.  For general questions about giits to the Law School, feel free to contact Hans Thomsen at 651-523-2560 or hthomsen01@hamline.edu.

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In the Academic Press

Professor Marie Failinger’s article, “No More Deaths: On Conscience, Civil Disobedience and a new role for Truth Commissions” which appeared in the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review, was featured on the Immigration Profs blog in June (http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2007/week24/index.html).

Her recent article, “Recovering the Face-to-Face in American Immigration Law,” which appears in the University of Southern California’s Review of Law and Social Justice (spring 2007), also covers the topic of undocumented worker immigration.

 

Professor David Larson spoke at the United Nations' Fifth International Forum on Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) conference, sponsored by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, in Liverpool, England. Delegates from 29 different countries attended the conference. Professor Larson's April 20th presentation was an updated version of his recent article "Technology Mediated Dispute Resolution (TMDR): A New Paradigm for ADR."

 

Assistant Professor Stacey Tovino presented various issues related to neuroethics and the law in conjunction with the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 30th Annual Health Law Professors Conference and the American Journal of Law and Medicine. She also made six other scholarly presentations on neuroethics and the law in the past academic year.

 

Professor Howard Vogel has developed an innovative series of programs entitled, “The Courage to Practice Law with Integrity,” and is a leading voice regarding how the law can and should serve the common good.
 

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Dr. Kelly Wilson, founder of the Minneapolis Center for Forensic Psychology

Dr. Kelly Wilson, who is founder of the Minneapolis Center for Forensic Psychology, will make a presentation on her job as a forensic psychologist with the Minnesota Security Hospital, a maximum-security psychiatric hospital, including the testimony she has provided in several cases that have made it to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Professor Stacey Tovino will host, and there will be modest refreshments. Feel free to bring your lunch.
Where: Law School Room 105
When: Sep. 25, 2007 - 12:00PM Top

Commitment to Community Keynote

Patricia J. Williams, advocate and expert on race relations, celebrated professor, and renowned author, will deliver Hamline University’s 2007 Commitment to Community keynote address on Thursday, September 27. She will speak on the topics of race, justice, law and issues of community.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. at the Hamline United Methodist Church, 1514 Englewood Ave. The lecture is free and open to the public but passes are required for admission. Free passes will be available beginning September 13 and can be picked up in advance at the Hamline University Student Center, 1561 Hewitt Ave., or by calling 651-523-2420.

Williams is a professor of law at Columbia University. She is a member of the State Bar of California and the Federal Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Williams has served on the advisory council for the Medgar Evers Center for Law and Social Justice of the City University of New York and on the board of governors for the Society of American Law Teachers. She is the author of several books and articles, most noteably, The Alchemy of Race & Rights (Harvard Univ. Press).

Annually, the Commitment to Community lecture brings in nationally known speakers, activists, academicians and leaders to address major diversity topics, issues and questions. This event consistently draws approximately 800 members of the University and surrounding communities. In recent years' speakers have included Dr. Cornel West (scholar, educator, social critic, author), Winona LaDuke (activist), Kweisi Mfume (NAACP), Ray Suarez (writer/ television correspondent), Helen Zia (writer), Rebecca Walker (activist, author), and J. Herman Blake (educator).

Where: Hamline United Methodist Church, 1514 Englewood Ave, St. Paul, MN 55104
When: Sep. 27, 2007 - 7:00PM
Contact: 651-523-2420 Top

Public Law Community Meet-and-Greet Cook-Out.

PLC and MJF will hold a joint meet-and-greet cook-out. PLC and MJF will provide food-but bring your own soft drinks or water (but NO alcohol because we will not be getting a permit for that). Anyone who will help with set up or cooking or clean up should contact mmorrison@hamline.edu or kmccormick03@hamline.edu with specifics soon or they will begin to panic about whether they are going to have to shoulder the entire burden of this event.
Where: Law School Patio
When: Sep. 29, 2007 - 11:15AM
Contact: mmorrison@hamline.edu or kmccormick03@hamline.edu Top

On-the-Fives Reunion and Distinguished Alumni Award

Our annual On the Fives Reunion Reception will take place on campus on Thursday, October 11.  Classes who graduated 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years ago will gather to celebrate in the Circle Lounge and atrium area from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m., followed by the presentation of our Distinguished Alumni Awards for 2007 (beginning at 7:00 p.m.) 

The Alumni Association Board will announce the winners of the Distinguished Alumni Awards later this week. 

Please feel free to join the festivities on October 11!

Where: Law School Atrium and Circular Lounge
When: Oct. 11, 2007 - 5:30PM
Contact: Susan Stephan at lawalum@hamline.edu or 651-523-2338. Top

Negotiating the Release of Kidnapped Hostages

Michael Tsur will speak on “Negotiating the Release of Kidnapped Hostages.” Public Law Community is sponsoring the talk along with the Hamline-Hebrew University Program on Conflict Resolution. Following his talk, there will be a reception in the atrium.

Where: Law School Moot Court Room
When: Oct. 17, 2007 - 10:45AM Top

Symposium: An Intentional Conversation about Conflict Resolution in Health Care

The American health care system affects every man, women and child in our country. It encompasses over 15% of our Gross Domestic Product. Costs of care continue to rise and insurance premiums routinely increase at double digit rates. Regulators and health care managers impose policies that affect medical decisions and access to treatment. Advertising and internet research drive patient medical requests while the threat of malpractice claims impacts physician judgment and decision-making. Ultimately, fewer Americans can afford the high price of health and many feel disengaged from crucial health and life decisions.

At the same time, we hold onto important myths about our system: that doctors and patients are still in charge of our medical decisions; that the American system promotes egalitarian principles of fairness and open access to the finest care in the world; that individual citizens have real choices about the management of their health. This intractable clash between myth and reality has consumed policy-makers and fueled conflict at many levels for years.

This clash between myth and reality is even more complex in light of our rapidly changing society. Health care decisions are influenced by different and competing value systems: an increasingly diverse and aging population of patients; a growing universe of traditional and non-traditional health care providers; the ever-expanding role of third-party payors; suppliers promoting rapidly changing technologies and marketing directly to patients; policy-makers who promote increasingly divided ideologies and regulators caught in the middle. The result is an overwhelmingly complex set of challenges that provoke conflict at all levels.

How do we move forward? How can professionals from the conflict resolution field be constructive partners with health care professionals in working through these many difficult and complex conflicts? The 2007 Symposium on Advanced Issues in Dispute Resolution addresses these two questions.

Recognizing that the system cannot be easily "fixed" or the problem "solved," the Symposium will specifically focus on how health care professionals and conflict resolvers can work together to identify essential guiding principles for addressing conflicts across the health care field. The Symposium will bring nationally recognized representatives of patients, health care providers, payors and regulators together with experienced conflict resolution professionals to identify and articulate a key set of principles for responsible decision-making in health care conflicts.

Where: St. Paul, MN
When: Nov. 8, 2007 - 1:00AM
Contact: Deb Berghoff 651-523-2946 or dberghoff@hamline.edu Top

November Dean’s Dinner to Highlight Future of Legal Education

On Monday, November 12, 2007, Hamline University School of Law will present its annual Dean's Dinner in the unique surroundings of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The 2007 Dean's Dinner keynote speakers will be Pepperdine University's School of Law Dean Kenneth Starr and Dean Veryl Miles of the Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C. Starr and Miles have been icons in the development of law and politics, and each will bring quite different experience and perspective to a discussion on the future of law and legal education.

The November 12 Dean's Dinner will be preceded by a reception at 6:00 p.m. in the atrium adjacent to the Modern Galleries of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Dinner follows in Graves Hall at 7:15 p.m., with the keynote address at 8:30 p.m.

The Dean's Dinner symbolizes Hamline Law School's drive to transcend the norm by bringing visionary thinkers to stimulating venues in an annual event that is without equal. The 2007 Dean's Dinner is sure to meet the Hamline standard as a memorable and inspiring evening.

For information regarding table sponsorships for the 2007 Dean's Dinner or to purchase tickets, please contact Susan H. Stephan at 651-523-2338 or by e-mail at sstephan01@hamline.edu.

Kenneth Starr, dean and professor at Pepperdine University School of Law, is admitted to practice in California, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Supreme Court. In the 1970's, he clerked for The Honorable David W. Dyer of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, and for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.

While in private practice, he was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. In addition to working in the private sector, he has served as Counselor to U.S. Attorney General William French Smith, Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, Solicitor General of the United States, and Independent Counsel on the Whitewater matter. As Solicitor General, he argued twenty-five cases before the Supreme Court involving a wide range of governmental regulatory and constitutional issues of commercial importance.

Dean Starr is a member of numerous professional organizations and boards, including the American Law Institute, the Supreme Court Historical Society, and the American Inns of Court. Starr's areas of expertise are antitrust, federal courts and federal jurisdiction, and constitutional law. He teaches Current Constitutional Issues. He earned an M.A. from Brown University, and a J.D. from Duke University, 1973. He has served as dean of the Pepperdine School of Law since 2004.

Where: Minneapolis Art Institute
When: Nov. 12, 2007 - 7:00PM
Contact: Susan H. Stephan (651-523-2338) or Anne M. Markus (651-523-2943) Top

Law Alumni Breakfast New York City

New York City Alumni Breakfast- January 3, 2008 from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m.

Hamline University School of Law is hosting an alumni breakfast in New York City in conjunction with the annual Association of American Law Schools (AALS) conference.

Lincoln Suite, Fourth Floor, Hilton New York, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019

Where: Lincoln Suite, Fourth Floor, Hilton New York, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
When: Jan. 3, 2008 - 8:30AM
Contact: Anne M. Markus, 651-523-2943 Top

Annual Midwinter Reception

Don't forget the annual Mid-Winter Reception at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, and LLP on Thursday, Jaunary 17, 2008, from 5-7:30 p.m. Please let us know that you plan to attend by calling Anne Markus at 651-523-2943 or emailing amarkus01@hamline.edu. We look forward to seeing you there!
Where: Midwinter Reception at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, LLP.
When: Jan. 17, 2008 - 6:00PM
Contact: Anne M. Markus, 651-523-2943 Top