Michigan Law alum elected Ann Arbor mayor  |  NYT best-selling author alum  |  Michigan Law at a glance  |  and more…

The 2015 class of Fiske Fellows was selected in the spring and had the opportunity to meet Robert Fiske, ’55, during an April event at the Law School. 

As nearly anyone who works in entertainment law will tell you, there is no such thing as “entertainment law.” Or, rather, many legal fields comprise entertainment law, and a diverse skillset is needed to achieve success. 

Some of the biggest names in the Hollywood legal universe attended Michigan Law. Two of the most well-known and well-connected are Michael Kump, ’81, who represents major stars, and Marty Katz, ’83, who represents top studios, producers, and other content providers.

Joan Larsen, special counsel to the dean and adjunct professor at the Law School, has been appointed a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court by Gov. Rick Snyder for a term ending January 1, 2017. 

The Law School honored two outstanding alumni with the 2015 Distinguished Alumni Awards, presented at a September 25 ceremony. This year’s recipients are Professor Emeritus Thomas E. Kauper, ’60, and Yoichiro Yamakawa, MCL ’69.

A new project called the Civil Rights Litigation Schoolhouse is helping high school students understand civil rights and the litigation process, and their importance in a democratic society. The Schoolhouse is an extension of the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, an online repository of court documents and information related to more than 7,000 civil rights cases dating back to the 1960s.

When a mini-seminar on marijuana law is offered at the Law School, you can bet that a showing of the campy cautionary tale Reefer Madness will be used as a learning tool. What you might not expect is a syllabus that includes both marijuana court cases and a ranking of the top 25 pot songs of all time.

They’ve risked their lives, incurred long separations from loved ones, and suffered injuries to serve their country. When they return home, military veterans often face legal barriers to basic needs. A new clinic at Michigan Law is committed to reversing that troubling pattern. 

The Michigan Law faculty has adopted a set of changes to the Law School’s curriculum that will address new American Bar Association regulations and increase flexibility for students in a way that will better prepare them for an ever-evolving legal industry.