News
Ra'Shya Ghee '13 Appointed Minnesota Law's Inaugural Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Ra'Shya Ghee '13 will join Minnesota Law in mid-August as its assistant dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
In this newly created role, Ghee will be part of the Law School’s senior leadership team and will be responsible for leading and aligning the Law School’s critical work in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The role will focus on:
Dean Jenkins Joins the Board of the National Women’s Law Center
Garry W. Jenkins, dean and William S. Pattee Professor of Law, has joined the board of directors of the National Women’s Law Center, a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization that fights for gender justice—in the courts, in public policy, and in our society—working across the issues that are central to the lives of women and girls.
Alumni Q&A: Lariss Maldonado '12, Board Chair of ACLU Minnesota
Lariss Maldonado '12, who last April became the board chair of the ACLU of Minnesota, recently shared her thoughts on her new leadership role, career path, and time at #MinnesotaLaw.
Minnesota Law Mourns the Passing on Mary Davidson ’75, Former Hennepin County Judge
Mary Davidson ’75, a former Hennepin County District Court judge who once served as chief judge of Family Court, passed away in Plymouth, Minnesota on June 21 at the age of 82.
Q&A: Visiting Assistant Professor Elizabeth Bentley
Elizabeth (“Betz”) Bentley recently joined Minnesota Law as a visiting assistant professor of law and the director of our new Civil Rights Appellate Clinic. Her impressive legal background includes serving as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, as well as clerking for two other federal judges. She also worked at Jones Day and served as special counsel to Senator Amy Klobuchar and the Senate Judiciary Committee during the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson.
After a Banner Year, Minnesota Law Is Now Ranked #18 in the Country for Moot Court Competition
The exceptional performance of multiple Minnesota Law moot court competition teams led to an unprecedented year at the University of Minnesota Law School.
“The Law School’s strategic investment in moot courts, combined with the hard work and dedication of students and their coaches, paid off in so many ways,” says Randall Ryder '09, assistant professor of appellate advocacy and director of Law in Practice. “Our moot court students develop advanced advocacy skills that allow them to excel as new lawyers and throughout their legal careers.”
Minnesota Law Mourns Passing of Bruce Burton ‘68, Former Mitchell Dean, Law Professor
Bruce Burton, a lawyer, law professor, and former Dean of William Mitchell College of Law, passed away on June 11 at the age of 83
Hailing from Fairmont, Minnesota, Burton graduated from Mankato State University in 1961, then taught high school English in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, and Long Beach, California, before returning to Minnesota to attend the Law School.
Minnesota Law’s New Civil Rights Appellate Clinic Files Amicus Brief with SCOTUS
Although Minnesota Law’s new Civil Rights Appellate Clinic won’t be offered to students until the spring 2023, its newly-hired faculty director has already filed the clinic’s first amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Prof. Kritzer Receives Harry J. Kalven Jr. Prize for Empirical Scholarship in Law
Professor Emeritus Herbert M. Kritzer received the Law & Society Association's Harry J. Kalven, Jr. Prize for empirical scholarship and the advancement of research in law.
Originally trained as a political scientist, Kritzer is author, coauthor or coeditor of 12 books and over 100 research articles. He also served as general editor of a remarkable resource for comparative and international study—the four-volume encyclopedia, Legal Systems of the World, which includes detailed overviews of legal topics and summaries of the diverse legal systems of the world’s countries.
Minnesota Law Mourns the Passing of Joaquin C. Arriola ’53, Former Guam Senator, Legislative Speaker, and Supreme Court Justice
Joaquin C. Arriola ’53, whose storied public service career in Guam included serving as the speaker of its legislature, a member of its senate, and an associate justice on its supreme court, passed away on May 4 at the age of 96.
Arriola served as a senator in the Guam Legislature from 1955 to 1959. From 1967 to 1971, he served as speaker of the Guam Legislature. In 1974, he ran for governor of Guam.