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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.

The Law School welcomed graduates and their families for the 2018 Student Awards and Recognition Ceremony, held at 2 p.m. on May 11 in Lockhart Hall. The event acknowledged outstanding student achievement among those in the Class of 2018, prior to the May 12 commencement.

The Board of Regents yesterday approved the promotions of Steve Meili and Perry Moriearty to the rank of associate professor with tenure and Chris Soper, who will become associate clinical professor and director of legal writing.

Lily Fu Claffee ’93 has been appointed general counsel of FOX News.

In making the announcement, FOX News Co-President Jack Abernethy said, “Lily has a distinguished legal career in both the private sector and in public service. We are pleased to add her extensive experience to our legal affairs team.”

Claffee added, “I look forward to embarking on this new and exciting role at an iconic network like FOX News, especially as the media landscape continues to undergo historic growth and change.”

The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) has inducted Joan S. Howland, associate dean for information and technology and Roger F. Noreen Professor of Law, into its Hall of Fame.

Professors Susanna Blumenthal and Heidi Kitrosser have been appointed prestigious named professorships at the Law School.

Susanna Blumenthal will be the William L. Prosser Professor of Law and Heidi Kitrosser will assume the title of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Professor of Law on May 4.

Most attorneys are proud to serve as judges, but Mohammed Al Mulhim wasn’t.

The native of Al-Hofuf, Saudi Arabia, was just 23 years old and a recent graduate of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University when he began working as a Grievances Court judge in Riyadh.

“I realized I wasn’t qualified to decide cases between people,” he says. “I didn’t have sufficient training. I did not see myself as a judge.”

So he quit.

The Ramsey County Bar Foundation recently named 1L Elvis Kim and 2L Khansaa Nadeem as 2018 Diversity Scholarship recipients.

The Ramsey County Bar Association Diversity Committee reviews applications and recommends scholarships for law students based on their academic or professional achievement and leadership potential. Kim and Nadeem were among a group of eight students who received the scholarships this year.

On April 26, Professor John Bessler, a visiting researcher at the Human Rights Center, gave a book talk on his latest book, The Celebrated Marquis: An Italian Noble and the Making of the Modern World (2018). The book provides a fascinating account of the Italian criminologist and economist Cesare Beccaria (1734-94), and his landmark work that inveighed against judicial torture, the death penalty, and religious intolerance.

The University of Minnesota Law School on April 27-28 hosted the North American Regional Conference of the International Society of Family Law (ISFL).

The two-day conference, co-sponsored by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, featured more than 60 speakers and panelists. The theme of the gathering focused on “Inequality and the Future of Family Law.” Faculty from the Law School who presented at the conference included Professors Brian Bix, June Carbone, Barry Feld ’69, Jill Hasday, Perry Moriearty, and Laura Thomas.