An Update from Dean Garon

Dear Friend,

From record bar passage rates to new joint degree programs, this past year Hamline Law School has blazed new trails while continuing to take pride in the qualities that have made Hamline a unique institution for legal education throughout our 35-year history. I'm pleased to be able to share an update with you on all we've accomplished during the past 12 months and to anticipate continuing successes for Hamline Law School during the coming months --- and years.

Our Recent Advances

First, I am pleased to share some of the highlights of the past year. We anticipate offering two new Joint Degree Programs for Fall 2008 enrollment. Hamline Law School has partnered with Hamline University Graduate School of Liberal Studies to create the JD/MFA in creative writing and the Hamline University Graduate School of Management to launch a JD/MBA.

Approved last spring, the JD/MFA provides a dramatically expanded interdisciplinary approach to writing and exploration of social and political issues through fiction and creative nonfiction writing. 

Read More ... Top

Law & Leadership Speaker Emphasizes Pro Bono Responsibilities

Columbus School of Law Dean Veryl Miles gave an inspiring Law and Leadership address at Hamline on February 28. Her speech, "Pro Bono Services" A Professional Responsibility with an Abundant Yield," described the Legal Services Society Project underway at Columbus School of Law that encourages all law students at the school to participate in pro bono activities as students and, later, as full-time legal professionals.

"Law schools need to plant seeds of compassion and community commitment," she said. "This will lead to an abundant yield." Dean Miles also praised Minnesota's impressive record of pro bono activities by law students through the Minnesota Justice Society. View a recording of Dean Miles' Law & Leadership presentation.

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Law & Ethics Scholar Raises Challenging Questions of Israeli Law

Professor Daniel Sinclair, a visiting professor at Fordham Law School in New York City who also teaches Jewish Law; Comparative Bio-Medical Law, Jurisprudence and the History and Principles of the Common Law at the College of Management Law School in Rishon Lezion, Israel, gave two presentations at Hamline in late February. He discussed Jewish law as well as the ethics of warfare, euthanasia and assisted reproduction in Israel law. His presentations were sponsored by the Journal of Law and Religion, the Hamline Health Law Institute and the Cardozo Society. Both lectures were each approved for 1.0 CLE standard credit by the Minnesota CLE Board (event code: 116268 on the CLE website).

Professor Sinclair described the tension between the moral imperative to save life and respecting individual autonomy when individuals do not wish to live. "The gods give life so mortals are not permitted to take it and, indeed, there is an obligation to save life in Israeli law," he said. Later he asked, "Is it a type of cultural imperialism when courts refuse to go along with groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses?"

 

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Spring Alumni Symposium Explores Labor and Employment Issues

More than 100 attendees, mostly Hamline law alumni, gathered at Hamline University's Klas Center on March 7 for the Hamline Law Spring Alumni CLE Symposium on Current Workplace Issues in Labor and Employment Law. Topics included: The Labor and Employment Landscape in 2008: Ten Cutting-Edge Issues in Labor and Employment Law; Key Employment Practice Issues: Communications in the Workplace: Immigration and Other Hot Topics in Employment Law; Key Labor Practice Issues: The Workers' Compensation Debate and the New Law on Independent Contractor Status; An Immigration Law Primer for Labor and Employment Lawyers; Should You or May You? Ethical Implications of Pre-Employment Screening. Podcasts of all these presentations will be available soon for download at: http://law.hamline.edu/podcasts-hamline-university-school-law.html. Top

Juris Fiesta: Joyous Celebration of Hamline’s Latino/a Community

The festivities were capped with the presentation of the first Latino Law Student Association Scholarship to Hamline Law Student Luis Morales

It was standing room only on Saturday, March 8 as nearly 200 people joined to celebrate Hamline University School of Law's Latino/a community and the presentation of the first LLSA scholarship to student Luis Morales (left), whom Dean Garon described as "an example of the very best Hamline has to offer."

Dean Garon also paid tribute to former Hamline students Gloria Eden, Melissa Lopez and Lupe Perez who were pivotal in the establishment of Juris Fiesta and the LLSA scholarship fund. "It was their vision and dedication to encouraging future Latino law students that led to this important scholarship. LLSA, architects of Juris Fiesta, also is the first student group to launch a national event at Hamline. This is an impressive accomplishment the entire Hamline community is proud to support," he said. 

The festivities included recognition of outstanding members of Hamline's Latino Law Student Association (LLSA) by Professor Tom Romero (far right), including LLSA executive board members Dulce Mendoza, Pam Martin, Sophie Mills, Jess Reimer and Greta Bauer. Professor Romero wished good luck to this year's LLSA-endorsed Hispanic National Bar Association team who recently traveled to New York for the competition. Those students -- Bethany Clark, Luis Morales and Hannah Gallegos - were coached by Hamline LLSA alumnus Michael Heise.

"The Latino Law Student Association has built into this event a special recognition of its key allies and supporters over the course of their tenures here at the law school. This year, the LLSA Board has chosen to recognize Deepa Patel (above) for all of her leadership and support," Professor Romero announced.

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Friends of Color Reception Draws Many from Hamline Community

Hamline University School of Law's annual Friends of Color Reception was held on March 12 at the firm of Halleland Lewis Nilan and Johnson in Minneapolis. Many Hamline law students took part, along with faculty, staff and members of the local bench and bar.

 

 

 

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Judicial Expo Informs, Inspires Hamline Law Students

Hamline law students learned about the rigors, responsibilities and privileges inherent in serving as a judicial clerk. Hamline was honored to host a panel that included the Honorable Donovan W. Frank, District Judge, United States District Court; the Honorable Gregory F. Kishel, Bankruptcy Judge, United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Minnesota; the Honorable Paul H. Anderson, Associate Justice, Minnesota Supreme Court; the Honorable David Minge, Judge, Minnesota Court of Appeals; The Honorable Raymond R. Krause, Chief Judge, Office of Administrative Hearings, Minnesota; The Honorable Kathleen Gearin, Assistant Chief Judge, Ramsey County, Second Judicial District; and the Honorable John R. McBride, Judge, Chisago County, 10^th Judicial District. Following the panel, students met with the judges during an informal reception at the law school. Top

Diversity Week Showcases Fashion from Around the Globe

Diversity Week was observed at Hamline University School of Law in early March with a wide variety of activities, including a fashion show. Twenty student models participated, representing fashion from such countries as Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Moldova, Vietnam, Japan, Mexico, Guatemala, H'mong, India and Tahiti.

 

 

 

 

 

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"Don't Ask Don't Tell" in 2008 Available at Conversations in Law

Dr. Melissa Sheridan Embser-Herbert `04, author of The U.S. Military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy: A Reference Handbook (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007) presented our February 21, 2008, alumni CLE luncheon. Dr. Embser-Herbert, a 2004 graduate of Hamline University School of Law, is a veteran of the U.S. Army and Army Reserve and currently is Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at Hamline University. Her CLE presentation is available for download.
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Consider Support of Scholarship Opportunities

As the costs associated with legal education rise, scholarship support becomes more critical each year. At Hamline University School of Law, we would like to make sure students who are likely to make important contributions to our classroom environment can afford to accept our offer of admission and can continue their studies through graduation.

You can find a list of the scholarships that are currently available through Hamline University School of Law at http://law.hamline.edu/giving/scholarships.html. Contributions in any amount can be made to the existing endowed scholarships.

To endow a new student scholarship, total contributions of at least $50,000 are necessary. Other endowed programs, such as fellowships and professorships, can be created at various gift levels.

Feel free to contact Susan Stephan at 651-523-2338 for information on supporting and existing scholarship or creating a new endowment fund in honor of an important cause, member of your family, member of our faculty or anyone else you wish to honor.

Your financial support plays a critical role for the law school in assisting students gain access to legal education. Please be sure to make a gift this year before June 30, 2008 (the end of our fiscal year). Many of you have already done so, and we truly appreciate your generosity. If you have not yet given, please take a moment and so now by calling 651-523-2338 or clicking here to give securely online. Thank you!

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Law & Leadership Series Welcomes Justice Sam Hanson

Former Minnesota Associate Justice Sam Hanson will speak on "Guardians of the Common Law: The Fine Line Between Judicial Responsibility and Judicial Activism". He will review decisions that implicate separation of powers concerns in the expansion or contraction of the common law.

Hanson served as an Associate Justice on the state's highest court for five years when he retired from the bench on January 1, 2008. Upon leaving the court, he returned to private practice with Briggs & Morgan. Prior to his service on the court he served as a judge on the Court of Appeals for two years. Governor Jesse Ventura appointed Justice Hanson to the Court of Appeals in 2000 and to the Supreme Court in 2002.

Hanson received his B.A. from St. Olaf College, and attained his LL.B. (cum laude) from William Mitchell College of Law. He was a law clerk for the Honorable Douglas K. Amdahl, then on the Hennepin County District Court, in 1964-65, and for the Honorable Robert S. Sheran on the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1965-66. Justice Hanson began the practice of law with the firm of Briggs and Morgan in 1966 and continued there for 34 years, serving at various times as the chairman of the litigation department and president of the firm.

1 MN Standard CLE credit has been approved

Where: Hamline University School of Law Annette K. Levine Moot Court Room
When: Mar. 27, 2008 - 11:00AM
Contact: Questions can be directed to Deb Lange at 651-523-2122 Top

Race, Genetics, Indian Identity & the Law

Race, Genetics, Indian Identity & the Law - What Role Should Race & Genetics Play in Defining Indianness?

This symposium will explore a controversial and contested area of Indian law: the roles that race and genetics play in defining who is an Indian. The panel will consists of academics, practitioners, and legal scholars addressing various dimensions of this conflict including race, genetics, bioethics, tribal membership, and cultural identity. The presentations will culminate in a case study of Lucy Allen v. Cherokee National (Freedmen disenrollment case).

Guest Speakers Include:

Jonathan Kahn, JD, PhD
Associate Professor, Hamline University School of Law
Professor Kahn will discuss the diverse areas where race, genetics, and law intersect, including drug development, diagnostic testing, forensic DNA, and ancestry.

Kimberly TallBear, MCP, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkley
Ms. Tallbear will discuss the DNA testing phenomenon and how it affects India tribes. She will compare DNA tests, blood quantum rules, and the implications for Native American identify and governance.

John Borrows, MA, JD, LLM, PhD
Visiting Professor, University of Minnesota Law School; Professor of Law, University of Victoria, Canada
Professor Borrows will discuss legal and political ramifications surroundsing a designation of "Indianness", along with tribal approaches to defining rce in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand when determining enrollment and jurisdictional issues.

John Jacobson, JD
Of Counsel, Jacobson Buffalo
Mr. Jacobson will present a practitioner's illuminate perspective on tribal membership litigation. He will illuminate his experiences with a case study of Lucy Allen v. Cherokee Nation (Freedmen Disenrollment) case.

Where: Hamline University University Conference Center, Law/Grad 106
When: Mar. 27, 2008 - 2:30PM
Contact: Jody Tallbear at jtallbear01@hamline.edu Top

"Water, Catalyst of Life and Strife: A Threat to Security or a Vital Opportunity to Foster Cooperation?"

As an area with vast freshwater resources, Minnesota has a particular concern with any power struggle for these resources and consequently provides a natural setting to facilitate a discourse concerning freshwater. This symposium will explore the water crisis including conflicts arising in the freshwater context and the impact that such a relationship has, and will continue to have, on global and national security. It will then endeavor to highlight and expand upon the current framework for addressing these issues through international and intrastate cooperation.

This event is sponsored by the Hamline Law Review. More information will be made available at their website http://watercatalyst.org as it becomes available.

CLE credits will be applied for.

 

Where: Hamline University, Klas Center, Kay Fredericks Room - 3rd Floor
When: Apr. 4, 2008 - 9:00AM
Contact: Deb Lange, 651-523-2122 or dlange@hamline.edu or lawreview@hamline.edu Top

12th Annual Alumni Golf Tournament

Please join us at the 12th Annual Alumni Golf Tournament at Prestwick Golf Course.

Schedule:

1:00 p.m. Shotgun Start/Scramble Format

6:00 p.m. Dinner, prizes, and raffle drawings

Where: Prestwick Golf Course (www.prestwick.com)
When: Jun. 3, 2008 - 1:00PM
Contact: Anne Markus, 651-523-2943 Top

An Update from Dean Garon

Dear Friend,

From record bar passage rates to new joint degree programs, this past year Hamline Law School has blazed new trails while continuing to take pride in the qualities that have made Hamline a unique institution for legal education throughout our 35-year history. I'm pleased to be able to share an update with you on all we've accomplished during the past 12 months and to anticipate continuing successes for Hamline Law School during the coming months --- and years.

Our Recent Advances

First, I am pleased to share some of the highlights of the past year. We anticipate offering two new Joint Degree Programs for Fall 2008 enrollment. Hamline Law School has partnered with Hamline University Graduate School of Liberal Studies to create the JD/MFA in creative writing and the Hamline University Graduate School of Management to launch a JD/MBA.

Approved last spring, the JD/MFA provides a dramatically expanded interdisciplinary approach to writing and exploration of social and political issues through fiction and creative nonfiction writing. 

Read More ... Top

Class Notes March 2008

Dustin Bower '07 joined the Minneapolis-based law firm of Purdue & Awsumb, PA. He will focus he practice on commercial litigation and construction law.

Meghan Gaspar '07 has joined the Minneapolis office of Gislason & Hunter LLP. Gaspar will be practicing in the areas of medical malpractice defense, insurance defense and civil litigation.

Stephen Largent '07 was hired as an Associate on the Worker's Compensation team at Whyte Hirschboek Dudek S.C. in Milwaukee, WI.

Susan Tegt '07 joined Barna, Guzy, & Steffen, Ltd. as an associate in the firm's employment litigation and business law practice section.

Stephen Ringquist '06 joined the firm Jensen Anderson Sondrall, P.A. located in Brooklyn Park, MN.

Stephanie Haedt '03 has joined the law firm of Peterson, Savelkoul, & Benda Ltd. as a shareholder.

Heather Toft '02 is an attorney placement director for the Esquire Group, A Special Counsel Company. She will specialize in attorney job searches.

Todd Anlauf '00 has become a partner at Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly, LLP. He works in the commercial finance department.

Jason Kohlmeyer '00 joined Farrish Johnson Law Office, Chtd., he will practice in the fields of criminal defense, family law, and civil litigation.

Angela Beranek Brandt '99 was named as a partner at the Larson King law firm. Brandt is a trial lawyer and focuses her civil litigation practice in the areas of products liability, commercial, and employment litigation.

Livia Babcock '99 was elected partner by Meagher & Geer P.L.L.P. She practices in the areas of commercial litigation, employment practices, and professional liability.

Eric Gonzaga '99 recently was named Managing Director & Practice Leader of the Compensation & Benefits Consulting Group (CBC) at Grant Thornton, an international accounting and management consultancy. Gonzaga will continue to focus his practice on design, governance, and tax compliance of management and staff total compensation programs.

Michael Jacobs '98 was elected as shareholder for the Minneapolis firm of Leonard, Street and Deinard.

Julie Callsen '93 was elected as a partner to the firm Tucker Ellis & West LLP. Callsen is a member of the Trial Department and focuses her practice on pharmaceutical, medical malpractice, and product liability litigation.

Robert Bauer '92 was elected to the Severson, Sheldon, Dougherty & Molenda, P.A. firm's board of directors.

Janet Barke Cain '89 was appointed by Governor Pawlenty to a new 1^st Judicial District trial court bench judgeship in Carver County.

Roger Kramer '89 was elected to the board of the Academy of Certified Trial Lawyers of Minnesota (ACTLM). Kramer's trial practice focuses on the areas of personal injury insurance law and alternative dispute resolution.

Loren Solfest '86 was elected to the board of directors at Severson, Sheldon, Dougherty & Molenda, P.A.

Debra Yerigan '85 was named shareholder of the Minneapolis firm Messerli & Kramer P.A. Yerigan practices exclusively in divorce and family law. She has extensive experience representing clients in marriage dissolution, child custody, child support, parenting time, spousal maintenance, property division, post-dissolution, paternity, domestic abuse and antenuptial matters.

Michael G. Dougherty '81 was re-elected president of Severson, Sheldon, Dougherty & Molenda, P.A. He also has been elected to the firm's board of directors.

Jeffrey Baill '80 has been awarded the 2007 Don Kramer Award from the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (NARCA). Baill was honored for his longstanding impact on the legal profession as the founder of the National Association of Subrogation Professionals.

Family

Nathan Hansen '07 and Heather (Rain) Hansen'07 were married on October 6, 2007 in Lincolnshire, IL.

Kevin Melvin ('06) and his wife, Sara Smith ('04), announce the birth of their first child, Nicholas Patrick Melvin, born on December 10, 2007.

Emmerson Ward '02 and wife Susan Ward welcomed the birth of Talbot James Ward on January 21, 2008. Talbot is adored by his two older sisters, Louisa (4) and Lily (2 1/2).

Faculty Notes March 2008

Health Law Institute Director, Lucinda Jesson spoke to the Health Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association on Friday, March 14th. Many of us have been listening to the pundits try to explain the candidates' positions on health care and how they propose to address these issues in their administrations. This analysis provided the details needed to understand the candidates' health care proposals.