![Mondale Hall at sunset](/sites/law.umn.edu/files/styles/folwell_full/public/2021-10/news-section-header-short.jpg?itok=1suNr7bP)
News
Minnesota Law Faculty Respond to Recent U.S. Supreme Court Decisions
The U.S. Supreme Court handed down multiple landmark decisions in late June and early July 2024 on some of the most contentious issues in modern American politics and society. Minnesota Law faculty who have carefully followed cases over the past few months share their thoughts on the decisions and implications for the future.
![Nine different professor headshots in a collage](/sites/law.umn.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2024-07/faculty-scotus-story-web_1.jpg?itok=0l0Yu4OI)
Alumni Q & A: Dane DeKrey ’14, Criminal Defense Attorney
Minnesota Law alum Dane DeKrey ’14 began his legal career at Zimmerman Reed in Minneapolis working on class action suits on behalf of plaintiffs until he felt a different calling which led to a move to Fargo, North Dakota, where he became an assistant federal public defender. From 2019-21 he led the ACLU of North Dakota. He missed practicing law, so in 2021 he co-founded the boutique law firm, Ringstrom DeKrey PLLP. Its primary focus is state and federal criminal defense, with a growing civil rights practice.
![Dane DeKrey ’14](/sites/law.umn.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2024-07/dane_dekrey_14.jpg?itok=NIUkzFM_)
Minnesota Law to Participate in Hunton Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship
Earlier this spring, it was announced that for the first time in Law School history, Minnesota Law has been invited to participate in the Hunton Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship in early 2025. The Hunton Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship is unique among moot court competitions. An invitation-only event held at the University of Houston Law Center, the competition invites the top 16 law schools to participate based on cumulative results from the most recent moot court competition season.
![Leah Kanihan '25, Madeleine Kim '25, and David Lindgren '25](/sites/law.umn.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2024-06/gender-moot-court-3.jpg?itok=LKAvARao)
Six Minnesota Law Students Selected as Stevens Foundation Fellows
Six Minnesota Law students have been selected as 2024 John Paul Stevens Foundation Fellows, which funds full-time summer internships in public interest law. Fellows are selected on the basis of a keen interest in public interest and social justice law, as well as academic achievement.
![Daniel Barnes ’25, Anthony Benz ’25, Cole Edick ’25, Hannah Greer ’25, Lauren Hamilton ’25, Kaz Lane ’25](/sites/law.umn.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2024-06/stevens-fellows-2024-web.jpg?itok=s6GswthG)
Tribute: Minnesota Law Mourns the Passing of Joy Mankoff
Joy Mankoff passed away on June 1 at age 89. She and her husband, the late Ronald M. Mankoff ’54, were donors to the University of Minnesota Law School that helped create the Ronald M. Mankoff Tax Clinic. She grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut, and met her future husband while on spring break in college. They married in 1959 and settled in Dallas, Texas, where they started a family and Ronald began his career as a tax attorney.
![Joy Mankoff](/sites/law.umn.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2024-06/joy_mankoff.jpeg?itok=S3KKJHOD)
Professor Nicholas Bednar ’16 researches the need for investment in the capacity of federal agencies
What helps presidents achieve their policy agendas: presidential control or administrative capacity?
![Nick Bednar 600](/sites/law.umn.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2023-07/nick_bednar_600.png?itok=P6lgsOIQ)
Prof. Charlotte Garden Elected a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
Prof. Charlotte Garden, the Julius E. Davis Professor of Law, has been elected a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers (CLEL), the CLEL Board of Governors announced. She will join other elected fellows at CLEL's annual meeting in New York City in November when the class of 2024 will be formally inducted.
![Charlotte Garden](/sites/law.umn.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2024-04/Charlotte%20Garden%20600.jpg?itok=zvzMGXGI)
Minnesota Law Patent Students Find Careers at Gallium Law
Law firms and corporations are embracing non-lawyer patent professionals such as patent agents, technical specialists, and specialists. Gallium Law specializes in patent law and hires both, USPTO-registered JD and non-JD graduates from Minnesota Law as patent attorneys (JD) and patent agents (non-JD).
![Wes Schwei standing at Gallium Law](/sites/law.umn.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2024-07/gallium_law.png?itok=Txq-HVJK)
Prof. Francis Shen and Prof. Susan Wolf Lead a National Working Group that Released Landmark Ethical Guidance for New Portable MRI Brain Research
MRI has transformed neuroscience research over the past 50 years, but research participants have had to travel to the scanner. With the advent of highly portable magnetic resonance imaging (pMRI), the scanner will now come to them. This portable technology will allow for more inclusive research with new communities and will enable researchers without access to conventional MRI to study the brain.
![An doctor assessing a patient with an MRI machine](/sites/law.umn.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2024-06/portable_mri_w_credit_line.jpg?itok=ST9LYg9H)
Alumni News: Luis Rangel Morales '13 Appointed to First Judicial District Court
Governor Tim Walz announced the appointment of Minnesota Law alum Luis Rangel Morales '13 as District Court Judge in Minnesota’s First Judicial District. Rangel Morales will replace the Honorable Shawn M. Moynihan and will be chambered in Hastings in Dakota County.
![Luis Rangel Morales '13](/sites/law.umn.edu/files/styles/medium/public/2024-05/luis_rangel_morales_13.jpg?itok=VQZrbQls)