Michigan Law Announces Winners of 2026 Student Honors and Awards

Image

Madeline Guth

“Madeline was a fantastic student in the Immigrant Justice Lab. She was a leader and a fabulous teammate, and she and her group did wonderful work. She’s a credit to Michigan Law, and she’ll be a wonderful lawyer.” —Nomination Statement

Madeline Guth won the 101st Henry M. Campbell Moot Court Competition in March. She was an articles editor for the Michigan Law Review, a research assistant for Professors Richard Primus and Leah Litman, ’10, and a senior judge for Professor Margaret Cernak, ’89. She also served as co-president of the Michigan Health Law Association and programming co-chair of the Women Law Students Association. Guth came in second place in the 1L Oral Advocacy Competition, received the Lee C. Bollinger Prize for excellence in the study of the First Amendment as a 2L, is this year’s recipient of the Class of 1908 Memorial Scholarship Award, and has earned multiple certificates of merit. Following graduation, she will clerk for the Hon. Vince Chhabria on the US District Court for the Northern District of California and then for the Hon. Julie Rikelman on the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Image

Haley M. Rogers

“Haley is the strongest law student I’ve encountered in the current 3L class, and it’s not a close question. She’s smart. She’s mature. She’s a good writer and an excellent editor. She delivers quickly, and she needs no hand-holding. If I needed a lawyer, I’d take Haley in a second.” —Nomination Statement

Haley M. Rogers was a notes editor of the Michigan Law Review and the speakers and careers co-chair for the Environmental Law Society. She served as a research assistant for Professor Richard Primus in constitutional law and Professor Rachel Rothschild in environmental law. She was a First Year Information program leader and twice showcased her amateur dancing as emcee for the Student Funded Fellowships Auction. Rogers also represented the University in its delegation to the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. Following graduation, Rogers will clerk for the Hon. Steven Seeger on the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and for the Hon. Amy St. Eve on the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. 

Image

Hazel Rosenblum-Sellers

“From the very beginning of the semester, Hazel was a star: intelligent, challenging, engaged, and picking up issues that most others had missed, without grandstanding. An absolute pleasure to have in class, and someone to watch in her future career.” —Nomination Statement

Hazel Rosenblum-Sellers served as a senior editor on the Michigan Law Review, co-chair of the Student Funded Fellowships program, and co-chair of the Environmental Law Society. She was a research assistant for Professors Nicholas Bagley, Alexandra Klass, and Leah Litman, ’10, and a course assistant for Professor Daniel Halberstam. As a 2L, she served on the student planning committee for the Environmental and Energy Law Program’s biannual conference and was an extern at the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva. As a 3L, Rosenblum-Sellers finished second in the 101st Henry M. Campbell Moot Court Competition and won best oralist in the semifinal round. She received the Allan Lewis Kaufmann Memorial Award for her note on notice-and-comment rulemaking, which was published in the Michigan Law Review. After graduation, Rosenblum-Sellers will clerk for the Hon. Dana M. Douglas on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 

Image

Nithya Arun

“Nithya has an extraordinary commitment to social justice and the well-being of her fellow students. Her passion for justice is evident both in class and outside of it.” —Nomination Statement

Nithya Arun came to law school to advance racial justice. She served as co-chair of the ACLU at Michigan Law, as well as the Organization of Public Interest Students, and was a senior editor for the Michigan Law Review. She also worked on pro bono matters with the Judicial Bypass, Sentence Commutation, and Student Rights projects. Arun was a student-attorney with the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative, where she successfully argued the merits of a habeas corpus petition in federal court on behalf of four immigrants unlawfully detained by ICE. Arun received the APALSA 1L Public Interest Fellowship, the Jenny Runkles Memorial Award as a 2L, and a 2026 Craig Spangenberg Oral Advocacy Award. After graduation, she will begin a fellowship with the Bronx Defenders’ impact litigation practice, where she will use affirmative litigation to enforce and defend the civil rights of immigrants in New York City.

Image

Gabriel Jimenez

“Gabe has an innate ability to lead, but he is willing to put in the work on the ground level to see justice done. Beyond his (extensive) involvement on campus, Gabe is known to everyone as a friend and ever-respectful colleague. He has strong and principled views about the world, but he treats everyone with amazing warmth and kindness.” —Nomination Statement

Gabriel “Gabe” Jimenez has focused his Michigan Law education and pro bono work on indigent defense, labor law, and Palestinian liberation. He was an advanced student-attorney in the Juvenile Justice Clinic; Law School steward for the Graduate Employees’ Organization, the U-M grad worker union; and co-chair of Law Students for Justice in Palestine. With the Sentence Commutation Project, he helped a participant secure parole after 15 years of incarceration. As a Sugar Law Center extern, he worked on litigation for pro-Palestine student and staff activists claiming First Amendment and due process violations against U-M. He received the Outstanding 2L Pro Bono Service Award, the Michigan Difference Award for Excellence in Mentorship, and the Juan Luis Tienda Award for Public Service. Forever a zealous MDefender, Jimenez will begin his legal career as a public defender in Texas.

Image

David A. Seaman

“David has represented clients who faced racial harassment and intimidation by a neighbor, individuals filing habeas petitions to be freed from immigration detention, and the Invisible Institute in a lawsuit against state police for refusing to disclose public records.” —Nomination Statement

David A. Seaman was deputy editor-in-chief of the Michigan Law Review and a consulting editor for the Michigan Journal of Health Law. As a student-attorney in the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative, he worked on matters involving free speech, civil detention, disability rights, police misconduct, and government transparency. Seaman also served as a teaching assistant in the first-year Contracts course and Legal Practice program, co-president of the Michigan Health Law Organization, and outreach chair for the Michigan Voting Project. Before law school, Seaman earned a master’s degree in addiction policy and practice from Georgetown University, where he co-founded a program to support students in recovery from substance use disorder. He currently serves on the board of trustees for a nonprofit drug and alcohol treatment center. Following graduation, Seaman will clerk for the Hon. Terrence G. Berg on the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Image

Heather Jane Foster

“Heather is a remarkable leader and an even better person. As editor-in-chief of the Law Review, she represented the journal through an extraordinarily tough year. She is intelligent, humble, and kind; the Law School is better for her having studied here.” —Nomination Statement

Heather Jane Foster was the editor-in-chief of the Michigan Law Review and vice president of the Law School Student Senate. She served as a co-chair for the 1L Oral Advocacy Competition and was a semifinalist in the Henry M. Campbell Moot Court Competition in her 2L and 3L years. She was a research assistant for Professors William J. Novak and Gil Seinfeld and a senior judge for Professor Ted Becker in the first-year Legal Practice program. Foster also played middle linebacker for Michigan Law’s women’s flag football team, which won the University’s intramural championship this past season. Following graduation, she will clerk for Chief Judge Richard Seeborg on the US District Court for the Northern District of California and for the Hon. Michelle Friedland on the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Image

Nathaniel B. Magrath

“When the Law Review faced a production schedule that had fallen behind, Nathaniel helped guide the journal back on track. Through his leadership, he strengthened the functioning of one of the Law School’s most important scholarly institutions while building a culture of mutual respect and care among his peers.” —Nomination Statement

Nathaniel B. Magrath served as the managing editor for publication of the Michigan Law Review. He was a problem chair on the executive board of the 100th Henry M. Campbell Moot Court Competition, a research assistant for Professor Jeffery Zhang, and a course assistant for Professor Alexandra Klass. In his first year at Michigan, Magrath was a student guardian ad litem in the 1L Advocacy Clinic. Following graduation, he will clerk for the Hon. Jill N. Parrish on the US District Court for the District of Utah and then for the Hon. Pamela A. Harris on the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Image

Jasmine Neosh

“Jasmine has established herself as a pivotal leader and advocate at the intersection of law, environment, and Indigenous sovereignty. She has substantially increased the visibility of Indigenous issues through her prolific presence in media and scholarship. She is a born leader, passionate, and brilliant.” 
—Nomination Statement

Jasmine Neosh is a proud member of the Menominee Nation and a tribal college graduate. While in law school, she served as vice president of the Michigan Law chapter of the Native American Law Students Association and as the public relations director, area representative, and advocacy chair of the National Native American Law Students Association from 2023 to 2025—among many other roles and leadership positions both on campus and beyond. Her leadership and advocacy are rooted in a relentless commitment to community-building, education, and justice. After graduation, Neosh will work for a law firm in Washington, DC, representing tribal nations. 

Image

Victoria Pedri

“Victoria has made an extraordinary contribution to the Michigan Law community through her leadership, service, and genuine care for the people around her. She has taken on major leadership roles, but what stands out most is the way she has used those roles to make this institution a better, more supportive place for everyone in it.” —Nomination Statement

Victoria Pedri blends strategic leadership with hands-on service to create inclusive, empowering programs that will leave a lasting impact on the Michigan Law community. She served as the elected student body president and editor-in-chief of the Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, and she represented wrongfully incarcerated clients in the Michigan Innocence Clinic. Her published scholarship includes an article on civil rights and racism in maternal health care and a digital project on the history of school integration in Detroit. She was also a graduate student instructor in the University’s psychology department. Pedri received the Excellence in Pro Bono Service Award as a 1L, the Student Leader of the Year Award as a 2L, the Outstanding Student Scholarship Award, the General Motors Scholarship, Sidley’s Built to Lead Scholarship, and a certificate of merit. Pedri is the proud mom of two children—Teddy (8) and Liliana (5). After graduation, she will join Sidley Austin in its New York office.

Banner Photo: The recipients of this year’s most prestigious honors include, in front, from left to right: Victoria Pedri, Nithya Arun, Heather Jane Foster, and Hazel Rosenblum-Sellers, and, in back, from left to right: Nathaniel B. Magrath, David A. Seaman, Haley M. Rogers, Madeline Guth, and Jasmine Neosh. (Gabriel Jimenez not pictured)