Hundreds of Michigan Law alumni represent the interests of the United States and its citizens invarious levels of the government around the world. A handful, however, have risen to the highest level by being appointed as ambassadors, including Donald Blome, ’90; W. Robert Kohorst, ’78; and Kenneth Salazar, ’83.
Raphael Lotilla was appointed secretary of energy in the Philippines in July 2022—for the second time—and he reassumed the role during a period of significant challenges: righting the privatization of the energy sector, confronting climate change, and addressing poverty.
When Rossa Fanning became attorney general of Ireland in late 2022, he didn’t need to endure the confirmation process of his counterpart in the United States. Instead, in two head-spinning days, he transitioned from his successful legal practice to a seat in the cabinet of Ireland’s prime minister.
With her election as a justice on Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court in 2011, Susanne Baer made history. She became only the second nominee of the country’s Green Party and the first out and elected lesbian and radical feminist to serve as one of the court’s 16 justices.
The University of Michigan Law School is an international institution in every sense of the word. Students come from around the globe to study in the Law Quad, and they go on to represent the Law School all over the world through opportunities as students and throughout their careers. The fall 2023 issue of Law Quadrangle shares some of their stories.
Students in Michigan Law’s Community Enterprise Clinic work under faculty supervision to help revitalize and reinvigorate urban communities across Michigan, promoting community and economic development in disinvested cities by supporting organizations that have a mission beyond the bottom line.
The University’s founding statute in 1837 required the law department to hire a faculty member devoted to international law. Ever since, Michigan Law has been uniquely committed to the study of law beyond US borders.
Michigan Law inaugurated the Program on Law and the Global Economy this fall by hosting an international conference on investment arbitration.
Senior Assistant Dean Sarah Zearfoss, ’92, has led the Law School’s admissions and financial aid offices since 2001. In this essay, which originally appeared on bet.com, she weighs in on two recent Supreme Court cases, Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admission v. University of North Carolina.
Eric Lamison describes his experience at Michigan Law as nothing short of an awakening. “Being in the Law Quad, the classrooms, Hutchins Hall, the Lawyers Club, the Reading Room, and the library below truly impacted me,” he says. “I always felt grateful to be there.”
