Remember your friends and classmates who are no longer with us. Quiet reflection space available all day.
Start your visit by picking up your name badge(s)—they’ll be your ticket(s) to all Reunion events. You also can get an attendance list for your class, pick up a printed events schedule, and ask Michigan Law staff any other questions you have about your Reunion weekend.
Nothing will make you nostalgic for law school like watching a current student sweat a cold call. Sit in on a lecture and truly relive the experience. The following classes are welcoming alumni visitors for their Friday morning lecture. You don’t need to RSVP, but don’t be late! Space is limited.
- Civil Procedure with Professor Nicholas Bagley (Jeffries Hall 1020)
- Criminal Law with Professor Daniel Fryer, ’18 (Jeffries Hall 1225)
- Environmental Law with Professor Rachel Rothschild (Hutchins Hall 132)
- Torts with Professor Scott Hershovitz (Hutchins Hall 120)
Join current students and fellow alumni for a casual lunch in the Lawyers Club dining room. Registration is required; $15 per person.
This event will match highly qualified Black Michigan Law alumni with companies seeking to engage outside legal counsel. Brief introductory sessions will allow in-house counsel to vet outside counsel prospects and determine alignment with specific needs. This gathering also provides an opportunity to discuss follow-up actions for in-depth relationship building. To participate, inside and outside counsel must complete the relevant form by March 22.
Michigan is the only US law school that has regularly surveyed its alumni about their careers. Kincaid Brown, ’96, director of the Michigan Law School Library, and Jessica Pasquale, head of scholarly publishing and intellectual access, will review survey findings and engage the audience in a lively discussion regarding the changes in alumni lives and careers.
Have you heard of speed networking? Well, this is speed mentoring! Over the course of about an hour, students will change seats and mentors every seven minutes, gathering information and advice from alumni in practice. Interested alumni and students are asked to complete a short questionnaire about their background, career experiences, interests, and aspirations prior to the event. The answers gathered from the survey will be compiled into information sheets that the alumni and students can exchange with one another. More than a business card, but shorter than a resume, these information sheets will allow you to stay connected to those you have met.
Registration is required, and participants need to complete the appropriate questionnaire by Friday, March 10.
Questions? Please email [email protected].
Gates open at 6:30 p.m. for access to the field and a self-guided tour of the locker room. A group photo will be taken at 6:45 p.m. The reception will be held in the Jack Roth Stadium Club, located on the east side of the Stadium. Attire is casual or spirit wear. MDen will be onsite with Michigan Law gear for purchase.
Hearty appetizers will be served with beer, wine, and nonalcoholic beverages. Registration required. $45 per adult, $20 per child 12 and under; children younger than two are free.
Alumni who wish to continue to socialize after the Welcome Reception are encouraged to join these casual events in town. The two events will be organized by graduation year: the “Empowering Our Future” event will bring together alumni who have graduated within the last 25 years, and the “Celebrating Our Legacy” event will host alumni who graduated 26 or more years ago. Current and prospective students are welcome to attend the events. Details will be available at registration.
If you weren’t able to pick up your name badge(s) on Friday, you can do so here.
Start the day with fellow alumni in a casual setting with a continental breakfast at Reunion registration. Attendees are also welcome to bring their breakfast into the sessions that begin at 9 a.m. Registration required; $20 per adult, $8 per child.
Session A: Health Care Disparities During the Pandemic
The Bickner Family Foundation Room, Jeffries Hall 0225
Black Americans are more likely to experience poorer quality health care and worse health outcomes than non-minority groups. This can be due to a number of factors, including differences in access to health care, cultural and linguistic barriers, and bias and discrimination within the health care system. Addressing health care disparities is an important public health issue. The event will highlight the experiences of Black Americans and how racial disparities in health may have been exacerbated during the pandemic.
Panelists:
- Christopher Burtley, ’15, Black Leadership Advisory Council, State of Michigan, and DC United
- Kya Henley, ’16, Cadwalader
- Gail Pabarue, ’85, Henry Ford Health System
- Dr. Claudia Richardson, Detroit Health Department
Session B: Current Issues in Student Debt Relief
The John F. Nickoll Family Room, Jeffries Hall 1020
Panel discussion regarding current issues surrounding student debt and loan forgiveness. Panelists will discuss the current legal and political landscape and offer pertinent information for those with student loans.
Panelists:
- Jenelle Beavers, ’05, Alvarez & Marsal
- Charles H.F. Davis, III, University of Michigan School of Education
- Daniel Zibel, ’04, National Student Legal Defense Network
Today, a number of women in large areas of the United States are without access to abortion care. The fundamental right that was embedded in Roe v. Wade and its progeny to decide when, how, and in what manner to have a family was overturned by the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, states have activated trigger bans, revived pre-Roe bans, and have been emboldened to introduce even more extreme state laws that seek to criminalize abortion providers and helpers, as well as interstate travel. At the federal level, legislation has already been introduced to ban abortion nationally.
The decision in Dobbs has not only taken away the right of women to make decisions about their bodily autonomy, lives, and families, it also has placed the heavy burden of this new legal landscape on patients who already face systemic barriers to accessing health care including Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and those working to make ends meet—reinforcing societal inequities. The new standard promulgated in this case also stands poised to threaten many other individual rights we have grown to rely on for a just and equitable society. This panel of experts will discuss the impact this decision will have on women, marginalized communities, individual rights, and the rule of law.
This program will offer 0.5 NY CLE credits in the area of Professional Practice to all those who qualify, and this continuing legal education course is appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys.
Panelists:
- Renee Chelian, Northland Family Planning Center
- Nicolas Kabat, ’17, Center for Reproductive Rights
- Lisa A. Martin, PhD ’10, University of Michigan-Dearborn
- Michele Coleman Mayes, ’74, New York Public Library
- Aracely Muñoz, Center for Reproductive Rights
- Eboni Taylor, BA ’08, MPP ’13, Michigan Executive Director, Mothering Justice
Join Dean Mark West and the alumni co-chairs of the Law School’s Advisory Board on Race and Racism for a general update on the Law School, as well as the work of the advisory board. The discussion will feature David A. Breach Dean of Law and Nippon Life Professor of Law Mark West and Clinical Professor of Law Dana Thompson, ’99.
The Normalization of Election Denialism: How Misinformation and Conspiracy Theories Undermine Democracy and Harm the Black Vote
Panelists will discuss the increase of election denialism in Michigan and other states, including the rise of misinformation concerning election results and the importance of protecting the legitimacy of voting rights, with a specific focus on the rights of Black voters during next year’s presidential election cycle.
Registration is required and lunch is $30 per person.
Panelists:
Khalilah Spencer, ’01, Honigman and Promote the Vote (moderator)
Jonathan Brater, ’11, State of Michigan Bureau of Elections
Guy-Uriel Charles, ’97, Harvard Law
Ekow N. Yankah, Thomas M. Cooley Professor of Law
Session A: Lions at the Bar
The John F. Nickoll Family Room, Jeffries Hall 1020
This session will highlight prominent trial lawyers and their greatest cases. Each panelist will discuss the excitement, challenges, and lessons of their respective cases.
Panelists:
- Harold Kennedy III, ’77, Kennedy & Kennedy
- Jamala McFadden, ’01, The Employment Law Solution
- Christopher Porter, ’08, Quinn Emanuel
Session B: Alternative Careers: The Power of Transferable Skills
The Bickner Family Foundation Room, Jeffries Hall 0225
Remember when you were told that you could do anything with a law degree, or when you observed television shows about the courage of those of who departed from tradition and started new ventures or careers? Ever wonder how you can blend your talent, determination, and experiences into new and less traveled paths to better serve humanity, to achieve a more desirable life balance, or to use your creative muscles? Well, join us for a panel discussion featuring fellow alums who have unleashed the power and transferable skills of a legal education to pursue their unique dreams and destinies.
- Jenelle Beavers, ’05, Alvarez & Marsal
- Rasheeda Creighton, ’02, Jackson Ward Collective Foundation
- Adrian Ohmer, ’13, Kresge Foundation
This panel will discuss the state of policing in the US, with a particular emphasis on the laws and policies governing those departments. Protests in 2020 highlighted the particularly harmful impact that police have on Black people and communities. Public interest in the issue has generally cooled and police departments are operating in largely the same ways as ever.
This conversation will go beyond identifying unequal treatment and discuss the laws and rules that grant officers significant discretion. At issue are use-of-force policies, phantom budgets, activist police unions and more. Over this session, the panel will try to lay out some of the less-discussed structural concerns and identify what, if anything, communities can do next.
Panelists:
- Saul Green, ’72, Miller Canfield
- Barbara McQuade, ’91, University of Michigan Law School
- Osahon Okundaye, ’17 (moderator)
- Jerika Richardson, ’07, National Urban League
The Black Law Students Association (BLSA) at the University of Michigan Law School cordially invites you to join them for the 45th Annual Butch Carpenter Memorial Scholarship Gala at the Kensington Hotel in Ann Arbor. The event will begin at 6 p.m. with a reception, followed by dinner at 7 p.m. The Honorable Roger L. Gregory, ’78, chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, will deliver the keynote address.
Alumni can register for the Gala as part of Reunion registration. Tickets are $80 each.
If you have any questions regarding the event, please contact the board at [email protected].
Join alumni and students for coffee and donuts from this local favorite. Registration required; $10 per person.
Studying and practicing law can be extremely challenging—even more daunting than other comparable degrees and professions. And practicing in a hybrid or remote environment presents additional unique challenges (and opportunities) for attorneys at all career stages. Please join us for this panel discussion, including an open conversation around how we face the challenges of the legal profession.
Panelists:
- Ron Falls Jr., ’05, Fireblocks Inc.
- Tom Grden, MA, LPC, Michigan State Bar
- Frederick Nance, ’78, Squire Patton Boggs
- Alexis Robertson,’07, Foley and Lardner
Pre-order a delicious meal from Zingerman’s to cap off your Reunion weekend. You can stay and enjoy your lunch in Aikens Commons or grab it to go. Bagged lunch includes your choice of a sandwich or salad, chips, dill pickle, fresh fruit, and brownie. Kid’s meals include a sandwich, juice box or milk, and a choice of apple sauce, chocolate pudding, or rice pudding.
You will be able to place your order after the registration process using the link provided in your confirmation email. Lunch is $25 per adult; kid’s meals are $10. Registration required.
Michigan Law’s Student-Alumni Mentorship Program is designed to get the most out of the Law School’s network of alumni by arranging mentorship pairings between students and alumni with experience in their legal practice areas and/or sectors of interest. The 2023 Black Alumni Reunion is a great time to connect accomplished Black alumni with younger members of the community, and to establish professional relationships that can help shape successful careers.
To participate, alumni and students must complete a questionnaire by March 3, 2023. Based on this information, participants will be placed into mentorship pairings and both parties will receive an email notification prior to Reunion. The Reunion schedule provides this time on Sunday morning for mentors and mentees to meet and discuss the program and next steps, but we encourage pairings to connect in advance and arrange time to chat whenever is convenient during the Reunion weekend.
Questions? Please email [email protected].
Arriving early?
The planning committee is gauging interest for a casual meet-up in Ann Arbor on Thursday evening and/or Friday morning, timing and locations to be determined. Email the committee at MLaw-BAR[email protected] if you would like to express interest and receive updates about the event.