News

Benjamin Wetzel was a professional ballet dancer for nine years prior to enrolling at Minnesota Law. Wetzel’s impressive career includes major parts in numerous productions while dancing for ballets in Louisville and Nashville. A Swiss-American dual citizen, he is fluent in German and enjoys cooking and keeping fit.

Governor Tim Walz has appointed three Minnesota Law alumni—Julie Allyn '95, Maximillia Utley '08, and Terri Yellowhammer '95—to serve on Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District bench.

Jennifer Melton, 1L, has nearly a decade of experience in aiding the survivors of human trafficking. She spent seven years in China helping trafficking survivors, and another year and half with the Global Center for Women and Justice working on trafficking education and outreach. Minnesota Law’s commitment to social justice was a strong factor in her decision to enroll.

1L Samia Osman says her choice of Minnesota Law for her legal education was an easy one as the Law School was “already home” to her. As an undergraduate, Osman interned at the James H. Binger Center for New Americans, where she got to work shoulder-to-shoulder with faculty and staff. A Somali refugee herself, she is looking to use her law degree to help those “in whose shoes [she has] been.”

Assistant Professor Sanjukta Paul of Wayne State University Law School joined Minnesota Law this semester as a visiting faculty member. She is currently teaching two courses virtually—Employment Law and Labor & Antitrust in the Gig Economy and Beyond. Professor Paul’s current work is at the intersection of antitrust and labor, broadly speaking, and she is currently completing a book project in this area, under contract with Cambridge University Press.

The Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) has selected Professor Ralph F. Hall as the 2020 recipient of its Service to FDLI Award.

The award, established in 2017, honors FDLI members who have provided exceptional volunteer services to FDLI, furthering FDLI’s mission as a neutral convener to educate and spark innovative change.

Dustin Loosbrock, 1L, comes from a family of union laborers, taking his first job as a construction worker when he was 13. His prior life experiences include a stint in the U.S. Navy and working as a contractor on an oil pipeline in Nigeria. He hails from Champlin, Minnesota, and is a graduate of Metropolitan State University.

World Without Genocide, a St. Paul-based human rights organization, has awarded a Benjamin B. Ferencz Fellowship in Human Rights to Sharie Cassioppi, 2L.

The fellowships provide financial support through World Without Genocide for work on core areas of human rights including research, policy development, and action at local, state, national, and international levels.

At Florida State University (FSU), Tony Sanchez participated in Air Force ROTC and plans to one day serve in the JAG Corps. While an FSU student, he had internships at the State Legislature and in the Office of the Public Defender, both excellent preparation to pursue a career in the law. He is also a first-generation student in his family.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has appointed Professor Alexandra Klass to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Climate Change.

The Advisory Council, established by the Climate Change Executive Order 19-37, will work together with the governor’s Climate Change Subcabinet to identify innovative policies and strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase climate resiliency.