News

Nine Minnesota Law alumni were among a select group of lawyers recognized with Up & Coming Attorney award by Minnesota Lawyer newspaper.

The award recognizes “new attorneys off to a fast start in their legal careers and the legal professionals who work to make sure the job gets done.” All honorees are in their first decade of practice.

The following Minnesota Law alumni were among the honorees:

President Biden has nominated Jessica Looman '01 to serve as administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Looman has served as the principal deputy administrator of the Division since Jan. 20, 2021. She previously served as the executive director of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council, representing 70,000 union construction professionals working in 15 construction trades.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.”

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.

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.