News

Curtis L. Roy ’50, a partner at Minneapolis-based Dorsey & Whitney for nearly 40 years and a longtime benefactor of the Law School, passed away Jan. 27 in Bloomington, Minn. He was 93.

A mock trial team from the Law School bested 22 other teams in regional competition to earn a trip to the finals of the prestigious Texas Young Lawyers Association National Trial Competition. The regional event, one of 14 held around the country, took place Feb. 9-11 in Fargo, North Dakota. The Law School’s regional champion team will next be competing April 4-8 at the TYLA Nationals in Austin, Texas, where they will face off against teams from the best trial advocacy programs in the country.

President Donald J. Trump has nominated Nancy E. Brasel ’96, a judge in Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District, and Eric Tostrud, an adjunct faculty member at the Law School, to serve as federal district court judges for the District of Minnesota.   

Brasel has served on the Minnesota District Court bench since 2011. She previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney and prior to that was a partner at Greene Espel.  

Professor of Practice JaneAnne Murray has been awarded the 2018 University of Minnesota Outstanding Community Service Award for Faculty. The award is part of a program that honors faculty, staff, students, and University-affiliated community partners who have made significant, demonstrable, and direct contributions to society’s well-being. It is the highest honor the University gives for service to the institution and the community.

The U.S. Senate today confirmed Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. Stras was a professor at the Law School from 2004-2010, where he taught and wrote on federal courts and jurisdiction, constitutional law, criminal law, and law and politics. In addition, he was co-director of the Institute for Law and Politics at the University of Minnesota.

As Minnesota prepares to host Super Bowl LII, its leaders are promoting the region as “Bold North.” At the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation at the Law School, Dean Garry Jenkins put a twist on this idea, asking those in the community—and statewide—to boldly confront racial injustice.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has appointed Karin L. McCarthy (’94) to serve as a district court judge in the state’s 10th Judicial District. In making the appointment, Dayton praised McCarthy’s breadth of experience and her “strong commitment to justice in our state.”

The 2018 Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting—being held Jan. 3-6 in San Diego—will host several expert presentations from Law School faculty and staff on various legal and legal education topics, including insurance law, employee benefit law, Internet and computer law, and more. A full list of presentation details may be found below:

The Association of American Law Schools has announced that Professor Brett McDonnell will receive a 2018 award for excellence in legal education, presented by the AALS Section on Business Associations. McDonnell will be honored with the section’s Outstanding Mentor Award, which recognizes nominated section members who have demonstrated exemplary mentoring skills.

Brennan Gaeth, a member of the Law School’s most recent J.D. class, died unexpectedly on Nov. 23 in Milwaukee. He moved to Kansas City, Mo., to take a position with the firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon after graduation, and in October he was sworn in to the Minnesota bar. As a student, Gaeth was an engaged member of the Law School community who volunteered with the Asylum Law Project and served as a Robina Summer Fellow doing housing advocacy work with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services.