News

Dennis “Matt” Mathisen ’66, who found success in law, banking, and real estate development and was known for his active lifestyle and wide array of philanthropic interests, passed away July 22 at his home in Vail, Colorado. He was 80 and had lived for 18 years with a rare lymphoma, after being given a life expectancy of five years at his original diagnosis.

Ben Cooper, 2L, is spending the summer working for the legal department of Land O’Lakes, one of the nation’s premier agribusinesses. Headquartered in Arden Hills, Minnesota, the 99-year-old agricultural cooperative employs around 10,000 people and is one of 16 Fortune 500 companies in the state.

After following a fairly typical career path of corporate law firms and an in-house position in the Twin Cities in her first decade of practice, Cassie Fortin ’08 packed up and moved to Gothenburg, Sweden, where she became legal counsel for Volvo Group Truck Purchasing Legal and Compliance. She says she loves life and working in Sweden, where she’s building a career in the cutting-edge legal area of electromobility, helping to redefine the transportation industry. 

Four Minnesota Law students’ work on a recently released report on the conditions faced by members of the LGBT community in Honduras may prove helpful in establishing claims for asylum.

State, religious, and social forces in Honduras, one of the most violent countries in the world, make life extremely difficult for members of the LGBT community. As a result, some flee and seek asylum in the United States.

Rising 2L Sydney Goggins last month launched a petition on Change.org “[d]emanding racial justice” from the Minnesota school district in which she attended high school. (The district serves the cities of Carver, Chanhassen, Chaska and Victoria.) In just a week, she collected 1,228 signatures.

Rising 2L Heather Chang was disappointed when Robins Kaplan, the firm where she planned to spend her 1L summer, announced that it was cancelling its summer program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with the help of the Minnesota Law Career Center’s Wendy Griak, Chang was quickly able to pivot, applying for and procuring a summer fellowship through the Diverse Attorney Pipeline Program. 

Kristin Trapp, 3L, partnered with University of Louisville alum Lauren North, to fundraise for the Innocence Project in honor of Juneteenth and to promote Black Lives Matter. The Facebook fundraiser’s initial goal was $150. As of now, they have raised more than $41,000. Trapp recently answered a few questions about the duo’s motivations behind starting the fundraiser and her reactions to its success.

Randall Ryder ’09 has been named co-director of the Law in Practice course.

Ryder takes over for Laura Thomas, who on Monday was sworn in as a member of the Hennepin County District Court Bench.

Ryder will work with Professor Mitch Zamoff, who is the other co-director of the innovative practical skills course for 1Ls.

Professor Prentiss Cox ’90 and Professor Perry Moriearty were recently appointed co-directors of Law Clinics.

The two-year appointment, which took effect on July 6, runs through the summer 2022.

Laura Thomas, who previously directed the Law Clinics, was sworn in as a Hennepin County District Court judge on Monday.

Professor Benjamin Casper Sanchez ’97 has been named the 2020 recipient of the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association’s Access to Justice Award.