Minnesota Lawyer recently recognized 20 Minnesota Law alumni and an adjunct professor as part of its annual Attorney of the Year awards. One of the honorees, retired Court of Appeals Judge Edward J. Cleary ’77, was recognized for his lifetime service. Congratulations to all the award recipients, whose names appear below by category:
20 Day Revocable Trust Trial
Dorothy Marie Perry, who with her husband Michael Perry ’64 made significant contributions to the Law School and other programs at the University, passed away Dec. 8 at the age of 79.
Born in Starbuck, Minnesota, and raised on a farm near Donnelly, Perry became a registered nurse and had a long and distinguished career in the field, working in labor and delivery at Fairview Hospital, as a public health nurse for Morrison County, and as a health facility evaluator for the state of Minnesota.
Professor Alan Rozenshtein was a panelist at the Law Library of Congress's Human Rights Day Event 2020, held on Dec. 10, 2020. The topic was "Contact Tracing and the Right of Privacy" and addressed the legal and public-policy implications of using digital surveillance tools to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Caleb Smith and Mollie Wagoner, 2L, were quoted in a Bloomberg Tax article on the challenges that the Tax Clinic faces in representing low-income taxpayers. Professor Smith discussed the challenges of providing education and outreach to low income populations during the pandemic, and Mollie Wagoner discussed the difficulties in creating rapport with clients while working remotely.
It wasn’t long after graduating from University of Minnesota Law School in 1987 that Niel Willardson ‘87 started giving back by teaching legal writing. That inclination and commitment to helping an important institution in his life has continued for 30 years, culminating in Minnesota Law recently naming him the first fellow of its Institute for Law and Economics.
Professor Alexandra Klass was quoted in an article about opportunities for Energy Secretary Nominee Jennifer Granholm to use existing provisions of federal law to spur the growth of long-distance electric transmission lines needed to better integrate renewable energy resources into the electric grid.
Professor Perry Moriearty with two of her students, Kaitlyn Falk, 2L, and Matthew DiTullio ’20, represented Myon Burrell before the state Board of Pardons through the Law School's Child Advocacy and Juvenile Justice Clinic. Burrell was released on Dec. 15 after 18 years in prison for a crime he was convicted of when he was a juvenile. His life sentence was commuted to 20 years, with the remaining portion to be served on supervised release.
Professor Perry Moriearty, Kaitlyn Falk, 2L, and Matthew DiTullio ’20 played key roles in gaining freedom for Myon Burrell, who earlier this week was granted a commutation of a life sentence that he received as a teen.
As student attorneys in the Child Advocacy and Juvenile Justice Clinic., Falk and DiTullio worked “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Moriearty, spending hours gathering information, writing and speaking to Burrell, his family and supporters to prepare a petition seeking Burrell’s release for the Minnesota Board of Pardons.
Thad Lightfoot, a prominent Minneapolis attorney and an adjunct environmental law professor, passed away unexpectedly yesterday.
While this semester was Lightfoot’s first time teaching Environmental Law at the Law School, many members of our community have enjoyed working with him in his legal practice, and in his leadership roles in our state and local bar associations. His death is a loss to the Law School and to the entire Twin Cities legal community.
Professor JaneAnne Murray, Director of the School's Clemency Project and also a board member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), co-authored NACDL's model "Second Look" legislation and accompanying report. The legislation provides a vehicle that legislatures can use to safely reduce the number of individuals serving excessive, counter-productive sentences: guaranteeing all incarcerated individuals a “Second Look” once they have spent at least a decade in prison. As noted in the accompanying report, it essentially takes up where the dr