News

Arielle S. Wagner ’16 was recently elected president of the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association (MAIBA), a non-profit organization of American Indian attorneys, law students, and officers of tribal courts. An associate at Lockridge Grindal Nauen in Minneapolis, Wagner concentrates her practice in the firm’s antitrust, data breach, and tribal government representation groups. She is an enrolled member of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa in Northern Minnesota.

With the world focusing on Minneapolis after George Floyd’s killing and the calls for racial justice that it ignited across the country and around the globe, Minnesota Law has expanded its commitment to incorporate racial equity and justice issues into its curricular and clinical offerings.

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.”

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.

Rising 2L Schuyler Troy is currently working as a summer associate for Fredrikson & Byron, a Minneapolis-based firm with more than 300 attorneys internationally. Not only is Troy getting a chance to experience the litigation work he would one day like to pursue, but he has also had the opportunity to perform pro bono work in areas that he is passionate about.

Amarachi Ihejirika ’16 is a product liability defense lawyer with Blackwell Burke in Minneapolis, where she represents corporate clients of all sizes. She was recently named one of the National Black Lawyers Top 40 under 40, recognizing highly talented young Black attorneys.

Yemaya Hanna, 2L, has had the opportunity to have professional experiences in three very different types of professional environments this summer.

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.