As the Michigan Law community closes out another eventful year, the change of the calendar offers the opportunity to reflect on a few of the highlights that helped to make 2024 notable.
Here are 24 things we’ll remember about 2024.
1. An election spurs student engagement—and sends a faculty member to the Michigan Supreme Court
In a critical swing state during a tightly contested presidential election, Michigan Law students did their part to ensure that Michigan voters were guaranteed the opportunity to cast their ballots.
Through activities that started during orientation and continued through Election Day, more than 65 students worked with the Michigan Voting Project, a nonpartisan law student organization advised by Professor Ellen Katz.
One key result of the election: Professor Kimberly Thomas won a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court.
2. Civil Rights Litigation Initiative secures landmark facial recognition settlement
The Civil Rights Litigation Initiative, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Michigan announced a settlement in a lawsuit brought on behalf of Robert Williams, who was wrongfully arrested by the Detroit Police Department in 2020 after the department relied on incorrect results from facial recognition technology.
The settlement agreement achieves the nation’s strongest police department policies and practices constraining law enforcement’s use of the technology.
3. SCOTUS cites Michigan Law faculty on a number of cases
The 2024 Supreme Court term saw a number of high-profile rulings, several of which cited Michigan Law scholars. Nicholas Bagley, Richard Friedman, Samuel Gross, Jerold Israel, Jessica Litman, Imran Syed, and Christopher Walker were cited in a variety of cases.
4. The Michigan Innocence Clinic secures two big wins
In October, a judge vacated the double murder conviction and sentence of Michigan Innocence Clinic client LaVone Hill, providing him the relief he had been seeking for more than 22 years.
Earlier, the Michigan Supreme Court had overturned the 2006 conviction of Milton “Chazlee” Lemons in the 2005 death of her infant daughter—an alleged case of shaken baby syndrome—and granted her a new trial.
5. The Lawyers Club turns 100
For generations of students, the Law Quad has been more than a collection of beautiful buildings—it has been home, a place of community that has enriched their Law School experience. The Lawyers Club welcomed its first residents in the fall of 1924.
As the building enters its second century, we took a look back at some pivotal moments from its first.
6. The solicitor general visits campus
In September, the Law School welcomed the 48th Solicitor General of the United States, Elizabeth Prelogar, who met with students and the Law School community.
Prelogar provided insights into her work representing the federal government’s interests before the US Supreme Court.
7. The Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic sues “ghost gun” seller
The Law School’s Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic partnered with the group Everytown for Gun Safety on a lawsuit. Filed on behalf of Guy Boyd against JSD Supply, an online ghost gun retailer, the suit seeks to hold JSD Supply accountable for selling a gun-building kit to a teenager who then accidentally shot Boyd in the face.
8. That time we all watched the eclipse
On April 8, the Michigan Law community joined with millions of others across the country and turned out in force to catch a glimpse of a near-total solar eclipse.
9. The Human Trafficking Clinic adds a lab component
An anonymous gift to the Human Trafficking Clinic is enabling Director Bridgette Carr, ’02, to realize a broader mandate: Beyond representing victims of labor and sex trafficking—still a core mission—now a lab component also empowers multidisciplinary student teams to find ways to reduce vulnerability to trafficking before it starts.
10. International Transactions Clinic students travel to Africa
For the first two months of the winter semester, a pair of students in Michigan Law’s International Transactions Clinic advised their client, the International Investment Fund at U-M’s Ross School of Business, on investing in startups. Then, over winter break, they headed to Kenya for face-to-face meetings with one of those startups.
Meanwhile, three other ITC students traveled to Rwanda to meet in person with management of BioMassters Limited, a client with whom they had been working all year.
11. Faculty members make headlines
Overseas delegations. Congressional testimony. Academic awards. Intellectual leadership. Throughout the year, Michigan Law faculty members were recognized for outstanding work.
Here are a few of their stories.
Arato helps lead ASIL annual meeting
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Bagley elected to membership in American Law Institute
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Bennoune testifies before House committee
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Fryer joins advisory council on reparations
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Halberstam participates in SCOTUS visit to CJEU
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MacKinnon earns British Academy fellowship
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Schaus honored by American Association of Law Schools
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Sommers recognized for law and psychology work
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12. The Fed’s Michael Barr speaks about the banking sector
Michael Barr, a Michigan Law professor currently serving as the Federal Reserve’s vice chair for supervision, spoke as part of the Transnational Law Conference: The International Law of Money, sponsored by Michigan Law’s Center for International and Comparative Law.
In his talk, Barr argued that government actions taken in the wake of last year’s stress in the banking system have left the sector fundamentally sound.
13. Kate Masur delivers Simpson Lecture
The idea behind the Brian Simpson Lecture in Legal History is to reinforce the longstanding ties between U-M’s Law School and Department of History. So it was fitting that Kate Masur, a 2021 graduate of U-M’s doctoral program in American culture, returned to speak at the Law School.
14. Mayes, ’74, receives Distinguished Alumni Award
Distinguished Alumni Award winner Michele Coleman Mayes, ’74, is recognized as a remarkably accomplished lawyer and force for positive change in the legal profession. And she did so as a Black woman who overcame bias and other challenges and thrived in places where she was too often the first or only person who looked like her.
15. New students bring energy, perspectives, and unique stories
At the beginning of each academic year, the Law School’s Admissions Office compiles an array of statistics of the incoming class that paints an impressive picture. But those statistics are only a small part of the picture.
16. Alumni serve as SCOTUS and CJEU clerks
Two ’21 Michigan Law graduates—Jacob Altik and Guus Duindam—add to a growing list of recent alumni who have achieved the honor of serving as a clerk for a US Supreme Court justice.
In addition, four alums are clerking for international courts.
Jacob Altik, ’21
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Guus Duindam, ’21
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Mine Orer, LLM ’18
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CJEU Clerks
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17. Michigan Law hosts the annual ALEA conference
Scholars from across the country and beyond gathered at the Law School in May to share research and exchange ideas at the American Law and Economics Association annual meeting.
The 32nd annual event drew nearly 300 people to the Michigan Law campus.
18. Symposium examines confrontation clause
Twenty years ago, a Michigan Law alumnus, Jeffrey Fisher, ’97—largely drawing on the work of Michigan Law Professor Richard Friedman—successfully argued before the Supreme Court in Crawford v. Washington for a new approach to the Constitution’s confrontation clause.
A symposium at the Law School took stock of the decision and its effects after two decades.
19. Public Interest Week offers career path insights
During Public Interest Week in February, students, faculty, staff, and alumni came together to share stories, advice, and resources about navigating a complex but rewarding career path.
20. The Law School Student Senate honors faculty members
Professor Michelle Adams won the 2024 L. Hart Wright Teaching Award, and recently expanded faculty awards also honored Professors Kerry Kornblatt, Eve Primus, and Dave Moran. The Law School Student Senate chose the award winners from more than 200 student nominations.
Recipients are invited to deliver a Blue Jeans Lecture—a nod to the days when professors dressed in business attire to teach classes—on a topic of their choosing. In December, Michigan Innocence Clinic co-founder Dave Moran delivered his lecture alongside a recent exonoree.
21. New faculty and fellows join the Law School
Michigan Law welcomed four full-time professors beginning in the 2024–2025 academic year—Paulina Arnold, Jenna Cobb, Albert Pak, and Spencer Smith.
Three early career academics also joined Michigan Law as teaching fellows, including Alma Diamond and Austin Nelson as Michigan Faculty Fellows and Olivia Vigiletti as a clinical fellow in the Michigan Innocence Clinic. Matt Blaszczyk has joined as a non-teaching fellow for the Law and Mobility Program.
Paulina Arnold
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Jenna Cobb
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Albert Pak
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Spencer Smith
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22. Judge David Tatel reflects on disability and judicial restraint
The Hon. David S. Tatel, who served for nearly 30 years on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, visited Michigan Law in November to discuss coming to terms with a disability as well as the current state of the judicial system.
23. American Constitution Society wins Chapter of the Year
The American Constitution Society recognized the Michigan Law student chapter as its 2024 Student Chapter of the Year. The annual award goes to the chapter that has shown the greatest strength in meeting ACS’s mission and goals.
ACS also recognized 3L Arthur Etter as one of its Next Generation Leaders.
24. Graduates celebrate Senior Day
During the Law School’s Senior Day celebration on May 6, speakers addressed the Class of 2024 graduates with very personal messages to be true to themselves—even when faced with challenges—as they start to write the next chapter of their lives.
Part of the ceremony recognized the winners of the school’s annual student awards.
