Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of Q&As with incoming Minnesota Law students.
Before enrolling in Minnesota Law's class of 2021, Jacky Arness won the Miss North Dakota title in 2014, and was also named Miss Congeniality by her fellow contestants in the Miss America Pageant. She recently answered a few questions about her background and her aspirations as she embarks on her legal education here at Minnesota Law.
Professor William McGeveran, an expert in trademark law, was quoted in a Star Tribune article explaining some trademark law fundamentals. The story concerned efforts by a local policitian to register a trademark for “WedgeLive,” which is already the name of a local blog that had criticized her. “That’s not how this works,” McGeveran said.
Yu (Iris) Zhang ’19 recently completed a three-week legal internship program with Apple, an experience that provided her unique insights into her career path as well as diverse networking experiences.
Please describe the program.
Professor June Carbone was quoted by the New York Times on Aug. 4, 2018 in an article on how the age at which women have children constitutes a cultural and political divide. The article addresses issues that Professor Carbone covered at length in her 2010 book, Red Families v. Blue Families, with Naomi Cahn, which examined how differences in family formation practices correspond to growing political polarization in the United States and to legal differences at the state level in the legal regulation of the family.
When Derrin Perkins declined a plea offer of five years in a federal drug distribution case in 1992, little did he know that this decision set him on path to a life sentence without the possibility of parole. But after 27 years in custody, he is now finally preparing to go home—thanks to the dogged efforts of Professor JaneAnne Murray’s Clemency Project at the Law School and Pro Bono Partner Joshua Toll at King & Spalding.
J.J. Pristanski ’19 learned of the NFL Management Council Law Clerk Program from a guest speaker in Professor Francis Shen's seminar. He immediately applied and ultimately snagged the prestigious clerkship. Pristanski, who spent his 1L summer in a clerkship with the NHL's San Jose Sharks, hopes to one day work in the sports law field. With the summer experiences he has had as a student at Minnesota Law, it is safe to say he has a leg up on the competition. He recently answered some questions about his current clerkship.
Professor Kitrosser spoke about Justice Kennedy's retirement and the future of the Supreme Court on Minnesota Public Radio's "Politics Friday." Among other things, she discussed the potential implications of the retirement for abortion rights and presidential power, as well as the politics of the nomination and confirmation processes.
