News

After more than a decade in financial roles, most recently in the lumber and millworker industries in the Pacific Northwest, David Johnson decided to make a change. He enrolled in Minnesota Law, where he is interested in exploring environmental law. His spouse, Kelli Johnson, is also a member of the 1L class. (A former senior financial partner at a large healthcare organization, she is interested in specializing in health care law with a focus in reproductive justice.)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have awarded a team including Professor Susan Wolf a 5-year grant on “Minnesota Precision Medicine CKD & Resilient Diabetes Recruiting Site: Engagement, Enrollment & Ethics” (Minn-KPMP). The Principal Investigators are Profs. Patrick Nachman, MD, and Luiza Caramori, MD, PhD. Profs. Wolf and Jerica Berge, PhD, are leading work on community engagement and ethics.

Meet Sangho Seog, 1L, who was born in Seoul, South Korea and immigrated to the United States in 2015, living first in Florida and later California. Seog attended the University of California, Irvine (UCI), graduating magna cum laude in 2021 with a double major in Political Science and International Studies. Among his numerous activities and interests were working as a freelance YouTube editor and directing three independent films.

Meet Laddawan Loungard of Bangkok, Thailand, who serves as vice presiding judge of Lom Sak Provincial Court. She is seeking the added legal expertise of a Minnesota Law LL.M. Judge Loungard is particularly interested in deepening her exposure to human rights law and international law at the Law School.

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A graduate of Arizona State University, 1L Anthony Alas is a former preschool teacher. He also worked for the the Arizona Department of Child Safety, where he investigated reports of abuse. His experiences working to educate and protect children sparked his desire to one day work assisting the vulnerable and the marginalized as a lawyer. 

Meet 1L  Mikaela Smith, who, after walking on as a freshman, was a member of George Washington University’s sailing team for four years. When GW cut a number of varsity sports, including sailing, Smith worked with the administration, embarked on a fundraising campaign, and led other efforts that helped secure the team’s future as a club program. She was unanimously elected president of the club’s executive board. This spring, the team was ranked 11th in the nation, higher than any other club team.

Minnesota Law's new Racial Justice Law Clinic, led by associate clinical professor Liliana Zaragoza, is highlighted today in the University of Minnesota's newly launched "Building a Better World" series. The series focuses on ways in which the University "is adapting to the needs of a rapidly changing world by creating new ways of thinking, of doing, and of being." 

Meet 1L Lauren Hamilton, who after establishing a career in food & wine photography, decided to continue her education, and enrolled in UCLA. Hamilton received her Bachelor's degree cum laude and is seeking to create an impact in the public and international sectors.
 

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Former 6th Judicial District Court Judge David P. Sullivan ’66  passed away on Sept. 6 at age 80.

Raised in Cloquet, Minnesota, Sullivan attended the University of Minnesota as an undergraduate and then went on to the Law School. He was a civil litigator for more than 30 years thirty years. His practice included family law, products liability and construction litigation. In 1988, he co-founded Sullivan & Setterlund.

Meet Samkelo Dlamini of Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland), who is a Fulbright scholar.  Dlamini, who received his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Swaziland, is a member of the Law Society of Eswatini and the South Africa Compliance Institute, He most recently served as a legal officer with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Swaziland. He is interested in pursuing banking and finance law to help alleviate poverty in Eswatini. 

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