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, grab a cup of coffee, and ask Michigan Law staff any other questions you have about your Reunion weekend.
Attendees can also check in Friday evening at the strolling dinner event at the Vanguard Hotel.
Remember your friends and classmates who are no longer with us. Quiet reflection space is available all day.
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. A number of classes will welcome alumni visitors for their Friday morning lecture. You don’t need to RSVP, but don’t be late! Space will be limited.
8:55–10:10 a.m.
- Introduction to Constitutional Law with Prof. Austin Nelson, Michigan Faculty Fellow (Hutchins Hall 116)
10:20–11:35 a.m.
- Contracts with Prof. Alma Diamond, Michigan Faculty Fellow (Hutchins Hall 2020)
- Criminal Law with Prof. Luis CdeBaca, ‘93, Professor from Practice (Jeffries Hall 0225)
Join current students and fellow alumni for a casual lunch. $15 per adult, $10.50 per child 12 and under; children 2 and under are free.
NOTE: The Speed Mentoring event originally scheduled from 1:15–2:30 p.m. has been canceled. In its place, we encourage current students and alumni to participate in the “Big Law, Real Talk” session which will now run from 2–3 p.m.
This event is intended to provide a confidential, candid space for Michigan Law students to ask practicing lawyers anything about the realities of Big Law while addressing its rigor, challenges, and rewards. This session will take place immediately after the speed mentoring session. Pre-registration is not required.
Critical Oral Histories captures the evolving story of Michigan Law through the stories of its alumni. As part of the University’s efforts to create a more inclusive history, this project strengthens intergenerational connections between professors, students, and alumni and celebrates the diverse experiences that have shaped the Michigan Law community. Join us for an interactive experience of Michigan Law’s Oral History archives, highlighted by a panel of alumni participants whose stories form the heart of the project. They will offer reflections on their time at Michigan Law, the impact it’s had on their careers, and guidance for today’s students. Registration is requested.
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Michele Coleman Mayes, ’74, New York Public Library (retired)
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Kimberly, D’Haene, ’03, University of Michigan Law School
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Kendall Williams, ’77, The Williams Firm
Moderated by current students Tara Abdullah-Nri, 2L, and Alexis Freeman, 3L.
This event will bring together highly qualified Michigan Law alumni with companies seeking to engage outside legal counsel. In-house counsel and outside counsel will be able to connect in a casual environment to meet and exchange information. This gathering also provides a forum to discuss opportunities and next steps for in-depth relationship building.
Registration is required. To participate, sign up during the Reunion registration process. Once registered, you will receive a form to provide information regarding your work. We also will share this information with all participants (in-house and outside counsels) following the event.
Questions? Contact the alumni organizers at MLaw-BAR[email protected].
Join alumni, current and admitted students, and members of the Law School community to kick-off the weekend. Attire is casual or spirit wear. The MDen will be onsite with Michigan Law gear for purchase. If you haven’t already done so, you can pick-up your name badge(s) here–they’ll be your admission ticket(s) to all Reunion events (with the exception of the Carpenter Gala).
This “strolling dinner” format event will include appetizers, a Southwestern buffet, and a bar with beer, wine, and nonalcoholic beverages. Registration required. $80 per adult, $25 per child 12 and under; children younger than two are free.
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 for a continental breakfast in a casual setting. Attendees are also welcome to bring their breakfast into the sessions that begin at 9 a.m. Registration required; $20 per adult, $10 per child.
This panel examines the scope and consequences of US presidential policing powers at a moment of intensified federal involvement in everyday law enforcement. The discussion will interrogate the legal authorities and limits surrounding the use of the National Guard for domestic policing and the expansion of sweeping immigration enforcement. Panelists will explore how law and policing construct race through ideas of space, territory, and jurisdiction—shaping who is deemed out of place, suspect, or removable—and how these logics travel across local, state, and federal lines.
The conversation will also address the deployment of federal agents to police local communities, including the statutory and constitutional standards governing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents’ interactions with civilian populations. Situating these practices within the longer history of mass incarceration, the panel will examine continuity and change in punitive governance, from carceral expansion to contemporary protest policing. Finally, panelists will analyze the legality and democratic implications of law enforcement officers wearing masks and engaging in force against protesters, asking how anonymity, accountability, and state power intersect. Together, the panel offers a critical, interdisciplinary assessment of presidential authority, policing, and civil liberties in the United States.
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Elise Boddie, James V. Campbell Professor of Law
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Julian Mortenson, James G. Phillipp Professor of Law
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Osahon Okyndaye, ’17 (moderator)
Session A: Defining Public Interest Work for Ourselves in Unprecedented Times
McDowell Room, Jeffries Hall 1225
Panelists will discuss their choice to pursue a public interest career and what keeps them going even in the tough times. Participants will also share their perspective regarding the present and future of what a law career in public interest and public service looks like in 2026, including why and how to stay in a community-forward legal role, and how to ensure employment and demand in an unprecedented public interest career landscape
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Amber Chandler, ’09, Community Solutions
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Nakisha Chaney, ’01, University of Michigan Law School
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Daniel S. Dena, ’15, Federal Community Defender, Eastern District of Michigan
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Kyla Moore, ‘16 (moderator), KLM Pro Bono Advocacy & Consulting
Session B: Beyond Traditional Law: Entrepreneurship & Alternative Careers
The Bickner Family Foundation Room, Jeffries Hall 1020
Remember being told you could do anything with a law degree? For some Michigan Law Black alumni, that promise has led beyond traditional practice and into entrepreneurship, innovation, and ventures shaped by personal purpose and vision.
Join us for a dynamic panel discussion featuring alumni who have leveraged the transferable skills of a legal education to launch businesses, lead organizations, and pursue purpose-driven ventures. Panelists will share how they navigated pivotal career transitions, balanced risk with purpose, and applied their legal training to build and pursue ventures aligned with their values and vision.
Whether you’re a law student considering your path after graduation, an alumnus exploring new direction mid-career, or preparing for retirement and contemplating your next chapter, this session offers practical insight, candid reflection, and inspiration for reimagining what a fulfilling and impactful career can look like—then, now, and always. Panelists to be announced.
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Christopher Burtley, ’15, Florian East Lagers & Ales
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Megan Giles, ’19, Livelikemike Homes
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Christine Gregory, ’96, Harmony Global Foods
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Britney Littles, ’16, Family & Business Braintrust (moderator)
Session C: Lions at the Bar
The John F. Nickoll Family Room, Jeffries Hall 1025
This session will highlight prominent trial lawyers and their greatest cases. Each panelist will discuss the excitement, challenges, and lessons of their respective cases.
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Stephen Drew, ’74, Drew Cooper & Anding
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Harold Kennedy, ’77, Kennedy & Kennedy
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Jamala McFadden, ‘01, The Employment Law Solution
Join fellow alumni and other attendees for a group photo to commemorate the 2026 Black Alumni Reunion. Meet on the steps outside of the Reading Room in the Law Quad.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the legal profession, driven by advances in large language models, generative AI, and increasingly autonomous (agentic) AI systems capable of planning, reasoning, and executing complex legal tasks with limited human intervention. This panel will examine how these technologies are being integrated into legal workflows and the technical and governance challenges they introduce.
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John Gibson, ’86, DLA Piper
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Kristin Johnson, ’03, George Washington University School of Law (moderator)
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Chastity C. Murphy, Open Society Foundation, the Roosevelt Foundation, and the University of Manchester
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Salome Viljoen, Assistant Professor of Law
Panelists will explore the architecture and operation of modern AI systems—including data sourcing and training, model inference, multi-agent orchestration, and human-in-the-loop safeguards—with a focus on how autonomy changes traditional notions of responsibility and control. The discussion will emphasize mechanisms for accountability and auditability, such as model transparency, logging and traceability of AI decisions, evaluation and monitoring frameworks, and controls for bias, hallucinations, and model drift.
Registration required; $35 per adult, $15 per child.
Join Neel Sukhatme, the David A. Breach Dean of Law, for an update on the Law School and a Q&A with the audience. Aaron Lewis, ’05, will moderate the conversation.
In 2003, Grutter v. Bollinger made Michigan Law the epicenter of the national debate on educational equity. While the Supreme Court upheld the Law School’s admissions policy, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor famously suggested a 25-year “sunset” for such programs. As we approach that milestone in a vastly different legal landscape, this panel reunites the Michigan Law leaders and students (now alumni) who lived the case from the inside. This panel offers a rare, 360-degree retrospective on the intensity of the Supreme Court battle and the student activism that fueled the movement. This panel will provide behind-the-scenes insights from:
- Law school leaders’ perspective to include: Dean Emeritus Evan Caminker, former Assistant Dean of Students, Charlotte Johnson, ’88, and current Sr. Asst Dean of Admissions Sarah Zearfoss, ’92;
- A student perspective during the case from Ron Falls, ’05, and his firsthand account of the campus climate during the national spotlight; and
- A current student perspective, with Ashton Smith, 2L, who will moderate and guide the discussion while also offering a current student perspective.
The Black Law Students Association (BLSA) invites Reunion participants and their guests to join them for the 48th Annual Alden J. “Butch” Carpenter Memorial Scholarship Gala. The theme is Black Renaissance. The event begins with a reception, followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Christopher Porter, ’08, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP in Houston, will deliver the keynote address. Cocktail or formal attire is requested.
Registration is required for this event and alumni will have the option to purchase tickets during the Black Alumni Reunion registration process. Tickets for the gala are $125 per person.
Questions? Contact the Gala chairs at [email protected].
Registration required. $10 per adult, $5 per child; children under 2 are free.
This panel bridges the gap between different career stages, focusing on how “success” should be redefined to include longevity and success. It will also be an opportunity to discuss the law firm career journey, in which a majority of the Law School students begin their careers.
- Charlotte Johnson, ’88, University of San Diego
- Frederick Nance, ’78, Squire Patton Boggs
- Karissa Wallace, Mission: Mastered
- Ena Weathers, ’88, Social Security Administration
Pre-order a delicious meal from Zingerman’s to cap off your Reunion weekend. You can stay and enjoy your lunch in Hutchins Hall or grab it to go. The bagged lunch includes your choice of a sandwich or salad, chips, a dill pickle, fresh fruit, and a brownie. Kid’s meals include a choice of sandwich, milk and applesauce.
Visit this Zingerman’s menu to browse options; you will be able to place your order during the registration process. Lunch is $25 per adult, $10 for a kid’s meal. Registration is required.
This event is also a good opportunity for participants in the BLSA mentorship program to meet one another.