The pen may be mightier than the sword, but in today’s world of pundits and partisanism, Eric Ostermeier, ’95, says data is the most powerful of all. Since 2006, Ostermeier has authored Smart Politics, a blog he founded at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Some people spend their work commutes catching up on email or scrolling through Facebook. Others unwind by listening to their favorite podcast. Monica Tesler, ’98, spent the better part of a year on a commuter boat dreaming of space adventures, the likes of which can be found in Bounders, her debut novel for middle-grade readers.
In 22 years as a judge with the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, the Hon. Harlan VanWye, ’67, saw it all, from despair to defensiveness to questionable wardrobe choices. But learning that a claimant named her child Harlan, after him, came as a surprise.
As a corporate attorney, Robbie Friedman, ’08, was familiar with what he describes as the “opaqueness” of legal billing. So he co-founded Viewabill, a startup based in Columbus, Ohio, in 2013. A cloud-based platform, Viewabill allows clients to see in real time how much a law firm is billing for its work.
Angela Allen, ’07, whose husband serves in the Michigan Air National Guard, and Jenner & Block, known for its pro bono efforts, have helped The Military Spouse JD Network (MSJDN) advocate for licensing accommodations for military spouses, including recognizing existing bar memberships across state lines.
Michigan Law is full of iconic settings, but unless you’re Maureen Taylor, ’89, a bathroom in Legal Research probably isn’t one of them. Then again, many aspects of Taylor’s path as a lawyer have been unconventional.
From record-breaking verdicts to the Supreme Court to the Civil Rights Act, the career of Harold Kennedy III, ’77, has been transformational for North Carolina and the United States.
Denise Brogan-Kator, ‘06, fought for marriage equality, planning and editing amicus briefs that would help get section three of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) overturned in 2013, which later helped influence the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. But she soon realized that those victories unleashed a different set of problems altogether.
Capt. Joe Neely, ’09, entered law school intent on pursuing a career in Big Law, but when his 2L summer internship ended, he realized that working in a law firm wasn’t for him. As Neely researched other career options, he found himself drawn to the Marine Corps. “I knew that I wanted to do meaningful work, and I knew that I wanted to do something that challenged me physically as well as intellectually,” Neely says.
Matt Raymer, ’08, has a Jim Harbaugh bobblehead in his office. Prominent election lawyer and fellow Wolverine Charlie Spies, AB ’95, sent it to Raymer with a note encouraging him to attack the 2016 election with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind—a nod to Harbaugh’s mantra.
