News

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 Francis X. Shen, who conducts empirical and interdisciplinary research at the intersection of law and the brain sciences, was part of an interdisciplinary team that just released a study concluding that current safety measures protecting soccer players from concussions are inadequate.

Sharon Sue Hale, who with her husband James Hale ’65 generously supported the Law School for many years, passed away at the age of 80 on Oct. 24.

AccessLex has awarded a $5,000 scholarship to Frances Daniels, 2L.

AccessLex is a nonprofit organization that seeks to further access, affordability, and the value of legal education through research, policy, advocacy, and direct member and student educational services.

Daniels, a frequent user of its resources, learned of her scholarship on Friday during a video conference call with AccessLex representatives and Assistant Dean of Students Erin Keyes ’00. (See video clip below.)

The Minnesota Law Review just released the first episode of season three of its podcast, Experto Crede. Currently in volume 105, MLR is planning to publish one episode each for Issues 1-5, and also potentially an interview with one of the symposium speakers who will be published in Issue 6. Two of MLR’s online editors, 3Ls Cat Ulrich (lead editor) and Zach Wright, recently answered a few questions on the podcast and their plans for the current season.

The Law School is proud to announce the launch of a new podcast series, LawTalk. The series features discussions on diverse topics at the intersection of law, policy, and education drawn from Law School events and webinars.

Current 3L student Camila Pacheco-Forés came to Minnesota Law with an impressive resume including hands-on experience in migrant rights, immigration, and family law. She has completed a Fulbright fellowship in Mexico City and worked as a paralegal for a legal aid organization in Los Angeles. Her time at Minnesota Law has strengthened her desire to use her education to make a difference for underserved communities after graduation. Pacheco-Forés cites the scholarships she received as instrumental to pursuing a career based on passion instead of paycheck.

A Mexican family that narrowly escaped cartel members who shot and pursued them is “ecstatic” after overcoming the odds—again—to win asylum in the United States with the help of Minnesota Law’s Immigration and Human Rights Clinic.