News

Chloe Margulis ’20 recently had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of participating in the Google Legal Summer Institute, spending a week in California and experiencing life and law on several Google campuses.

What is the Google Legal Summer Institute?

The Google Legal Summer Institute is open to applications from 1L students around the country. The program promotes diversity and minorities in the law by providing selected students with the opportunity to grow in the industry.

What was the selection process?

Ron Meshbesher ’57, whose storied career as a defense lawyer included some of the most sensational trials in Minnesota legal history, has died.

After graduating from the Law School, Meshbesher started his legal career as a prosecutor in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. He tried 45 felony cases in his first three years, earning a 92 percent conviction rate. In 1961, he co-founded the Minneapolis law firm of Meshbesher & Spence.

With massive data breaches routinely in the news and the advent of sweeping regulatory changes such as the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR), the once obscure niche of data privacy law has suddenly gone from nerdy to sexy.

The ABA Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development has recently named Derek Waller ’19 as the winner of its 2018 Law Student Writing Competition for his article “Leveraging State and Local Antidiscrimination Laws to Prohibit Discrimination Against Recipients of Federal Rental Assistance.”

Judge Diana E. Murphy ’74, the first woman ever appointed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, has died.

Murphy joined the Eighth Circuit bench in 1994, having been nominated by President Bill Clinton. For 19 years, she was the court’s sole woman member. She had previously served 14 years as a judge in the U.S. District Court, including two years as chief judge. Her prior experience included serving as a judge on the Hennepin County Municipal Court and working as a lawyer in private practice in Minneapolis.

Dwayne N. Knutsen ’85 has been elected chief judge of Minnesota’s 8th Judicial District by his fellow district court judges. Knutsen’s term of service will begin July 1, 2018.

At the May 12 commencement ceremony, five students were honored for distinguished academic, service, and leadership achievements at the Law School.

Alexis Dutt ’18 presented the two outstanding student awards selected by members of the Class of 2018—the Excellence in Public Service Award and the Most Outstanding Contribution Award.

At the Law School’s 130th commencement exercises on May 12, Dean Garry W. Jenkins presented three Law School faculty members with Stanley V. Kinyon Teacher of the Year Awards.

The award was established by family and friends in honor of the late Professor Stanley V. Kinyon ’33, a recognized commercial law scholar and member of the Law School faculty for 40 years.

This year’s recipients are:

In a reflective and heartfelt keynote address, Arne M. Sorenson ’83, president and CEO of Marriott International, recounted how the world and profession has changed in the 35 years since he graduated. On the positive side, he noted the great strides that have been made in technology and in recognizing the importance of diversity and inclusiveness. On the negative side, he pointed to the increasing divisiveness in discussions of politics.

On an overcast, cool, and crisp Saturday morning, the Law School held its 130th commencement exercises at Northrop Auditorium on May 12.

In his opening remarks, Dean Garry W. Jenkins congratulated the students on their hard-earned success and welcomed them to their new role as legal professionals who will be entrusted with the lives and affairs of their clients.