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Greetings from the University of Kansas School of Law!
It’s white-knuckle time at Green Hall as students prepare to take final exams. If the proliferation of highlighters, index cards and outlines is any indication, though, most of them are poised to do well. I hope you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday. As the end of the year approaches, I will put on my dual dean-tax professor caps to ask that you consider making a gift to the law school before 2012. While I can’t provide you with individual tax advice, I can remind you that, for most individuals who itemize, it’s best to take a charitable deduction on your 2011 return, rather than waiting until the following year. On to the news…
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Moot court teams excel at high-profile competitions
Make it two in a row for University of Kansas School of Law moot court teams – two straight wins in high-profile competitions, and two straight years representing Region IX at the National Moot Court Competition.
This year, moot court teammates Jill Moenius and Eddie Penner captured first place out of 15 teams at the regionals of the National Moot Court Competition at the University of Missouri. Up next is a trip to New York City from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 to represent KU in the oldest and largest competition of its kind.
This is the second year in a row that a KU moot court team will compete at nationals. Last year, Lindsey Grise and Evan North advanced to nationals.
Not only did Moenius and Penner secure the overall title, but they did so in impressive fashion. Moenius earned the highest oral advocate score in the competition, and the team received the second highest brief score in the competition. Along the way, they beat out two teams from Saint Louis University and a team from the University of Arkansas, before downing Creighton in the final.
And just last month, Nathan Lindsey and Christopher Omlid captured first place at the International Moot Court Competition in Information Technology & Privacy Law. More information about that victory is available on the KU Law website.
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Professor recounts history of federal courts in KS with ‘Justice on the Prairie’
“There is something about Kansas that inspires men and women to excel,” begins a new book by a University of Kansas law professor that colorfully commemorates the state’s branch of the federal court system.
Michael H. Hoeflich, the John H. and John M. Kane Distinguished Professor of Law, will discuss his book, “Justice on the Prairie: 150 Years of the Federal District Court of Kansas,” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the National Archives at Kansas City. Hoeflich will be available to sign copies of the book after the discussion. A 6 p.m. reception will precede the talk.
Two years in the making, “Justice on the Prairie” chronicles the development of the Federal District Court of Kansas, featuring key cases and judges along the way. In 1861, the year that Kansas became a state, the court was born, and in the 150 years that followed, it maintained an impressive independent stance as judges battled everything from prohibition activists to striking unions. The most famous case came in the watershed decision of Brown v. Board of Education.
Among the notable KU Law alumni featured in this book are Judge Walter A. Huxman, one of the three judges in the Brown vs. Board case and a pioneer in racial equality; Judge Earl Eugene O’Connor, who was instrumental in creating the Sumner Academy and desegregating the entire Kansas City, Kan., school district; and current Judge Julie Robinson, the first African American and second woman to serve as a federal district judge in Kansas. On today’s Federal District Court, seven out of the 10 judges received their law degree from the University of Kansas.
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Gifts to the law school
The William T. Kemper II Charitable Trust, at the direction of Robert W. Loyd, L’62, recently contributed a significant gift to the Project for Innocence & Post-Conviction Remedies at the University of Kansas School of Law. Formerly known as the Defender Project, the Project for Innocence commits law students and faculty/staff attorneys to the task of representing state and federal prisoners in appellate and post-conviction litigation in state and federal courts. The Project has successfully overturned convictions, won new trials and achieved pardons in hundreds of cases since its founding in 1965.
For Loyd, the Project’s value speaks for itself, making the decision to support its work an easy one.
“Our system of justice is better than anybody else’s, but it has its flaws. Unfortunately, overzealous prosecutors sometimes convict innocent people,” he said. “I think as lawyers we have an obligation to right those wrongs.”
The gift will help the Project with litigation expenses and DNA testing.
Loyd is of counsel with the Elder & Disability Law Firm, an estate planning boutique in Overland Park. He has a history of generosity toward the law school. He established the Robert W. Loyd Scholarship in Law in 2001 to provide merit-based support for students, with preference given to students with demonstrated financial need. He urges fellow alumni to find an area that they’re passionate about and give what they can to support it.
Learn more about giving opportunities
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Join the KU Law Alumni Group on Facebook
Are you looking for a place to reconnect with your former classmates? Now there’s a KU Law Alumni Group on Facebook just for you.
We hope you’re already a fan of the KU Law Facebook Page, which serves all of our audiences – from prospective students to current students, alumni to news media and the general public. The KU Law Alumni Group is different. It’s a closed group, open only to KU Law alumni, and it focuses exclusively on information of interest to you. So far you can check out a fun video from this year’s Homecoming Reception and a photo gallery from the Class of 1971 Reunion, among other things.
We want to hear from you, too. The more you contribute to the group, the more robust and interesting it will be for you and your friends. Tell us what you’re up to, share your recent professional successes, and reminisce about your law school experiences. And let us know what we can do to make the group better.
Join the KU Law Alumni Group
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Alumni news
Roger Walter, L’75, of the Law Offices of Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock & Kennedy, Chtd., Topeka, was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in the field of securities/capital markets law.
Michael Seck, L’82, was named by Best Lawyers as Overland Park’s “Lawyer of the Year” in employment law-management for 2012. He co-authored the 2011-12 supplement to his text, “Determining Economic Loss in Injury and Death Cases,” published by West Publications. He is a partner in the Overland Park office of Fisher, Patterson, Sayler and Smith.
Harry Herington, L’93, is chairman of the board and CEO of the Olathe-based company NIC Inc., the premier provider of official eGovernment services, which ranked No. 20 on the 2011 Forbes magazine list of the “100 Best Small Companies in America.” This is the third consecutive year the company has made the list. It is the only company headquartered in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area, as well as the state of Kansas, to make the list.
Virginia (Ginny) Murray, L’97, was appointed associate general counsel for the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department in August 2011. This appointment follows 14 years working as an assistant attorney general for the state of Missouri.
Patrick Smith, L’97, has accepted a position as corporate counsel for Westar Energy in Topeka. He is in charge of federal reliability compliance with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as well as legal duties involving Westar’s membership in the Southwest Power Pool electric transmission grid system. He previously worked as litigation counsel with the Kansas Corporation Commission doing primarily electric utility regulation and federal regulatory work with the FERC on behalf of the state of Kansas.
Molly Aspan, L’03, was selected to receive this year’s Oklahoma Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award because of her professionalism, skills and commitment to the profession and her community. Aspan is a shareholder with the law firm of Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson PC in its Tulsa office. Her primary practice area is employment and labor defense litigation and counseling. Aspan is also admitted to practice in Kansas. Her nomination for the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award states that she has inspired and challenged others to be more effective leaders in the bar and in their communities.
Raymundo Eli Rojas, L’05, is president of the El Paso Immigrant Defense Bar. In 2010 he founded the El Paso Chicano(a) History & Preservation Project. In private practice, Rojas still finds time to do community and low-income worker organizing. He serves on the alumni board of the National Latino(a) Law Student Association and teaches Chicano Legal History in the Chicano Studies Program at the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP), where he also serves as faculty adviser to the UTEP Chicano(a) Pre-Law Society. In 2011, Rojas founded the Border Jayhawks, the recognized KU alumni club in El Paso, Texas.
Have a story of interest to fellow alumni? Contact Mindie Paget at mpaget@ku.edu or (785) 864-9205.
More alumni news
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Help us keep you up to speed
Please take a moment to make sure your alumni record reflects your current email, mailing address and employment information. KU Law relies on this record to keep you informed about reunions, CLE opportunities and other law school happenings, as well as to ensure you receive publications such as this newsletter and your free copy of the biannual KU Law Magazine, which should arrive in your mailbox in December.
Update your record or submit alumni news
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The University of Kansas School of Law, 1535 W. 15th Street, Lawrence, KS 66045
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