SUMMER 2008

Headlines:
Thank you, Alumni! Another Successful Annual Fund for 2008
Director of Alumni Relations Search Underway
New Orientation set for the week of August 18
Bar Admission Breakfast Scheduled for Class of 2008
Off-Campus Housing News
Keeping Classes Informed

Upcoming Fall Programs:
Alumni Invited to Fall 2008 Vocation Retreat
How an Attorney Can Lose Everything
An Exercise of Conscience in the Workplace:  A Collision of American Values?
Law Journal Symposium:   Human Trafficking: Global and National Responses to the Cries for Freedom
Faithful Citizenship in an Election Year
Vision of Women’s Leadership

Thank you, Alumni! Another Successful Annual Fund for 2008
Congratulations to the UST Law alumni for another successful annual fund. With 52% participation, the School of Law should remain in the top 1% of all ABA accredited law schools for percentage of participation. Under the leadership of Chris Wheaton and Karen Walquist, class of 2008 secured an outstanding 98.6% giving rate for the class gift. The previous graduating classes also demonstrated a strong commitment: 
            Class of 2004               41/107             39%
            Class of 2005               30/89               34%
            Class of 2006               43/120             36%
            Class of 2007               56/137             41%

Overall 312 alumni donated to the annual fund. For a complete list, please visit the 2008 giving page.

A special thanks goes to the Annual Fund co-chairs Chris Nelson ’07, Rhonda Skoby ’06, Michael Harralson ’06 and Mark Klos ’04 and the many committee members who spent significant time connecting with classmates: Victoria Brenner ’04, Colleen Doran ’07, Kate Hibbard ’06, Monica Kelly ’04, Mark Klos ’04, Tove Kooda-Bolin ’05, Heather McElroy ’04, Elissa Meyer ’07, Thea Porisch ’04, John Saunders ’05, Jake Schunk ’04, Jessica Slattery Karich ’06, Brooke Swenson ’07, and Loddy Tolzmann ’05. 

Director of Alumni Relations Search Underway
The University of St. Thomas School of Law is engaged in a search for its first Director of Alumni Relations. This person will work closely with Assistant Dean for External Relations and Programs Lisa Montpetit Brabbit to meet the needs of the growing alumni base. The job description can be found on the University of St. Thomas website.  Assistant Dean Brabbit hopes to have the position filled by fall.  

Changes for fall Orientation
This year’s 1L class will participate in a week-long law school orientation beginning August 18, 2008. The reformatted orientation schedule includes a 5 day Foundations of Justice course. Foundations of Justice, added to the curriculum in 2007, introduces students to the moral concepts that shape our understanding of our system of justice, inform our discussions of policy issues, and frame our appreciation for the multiple roles of the lawyer.   One week of intensive work during orientation provides the basis for regular class sessions during the spring semester. Students can also participate in what was formerly known as the Voluntary Academic Success Program (VASP). Other events during Orientation week include introductions to each full-time faculty member at a lunch program, technology and communication training, and the kick-off picnic which will be held on Thursday night.

Class of 2008 Invited to Bar Admission Breakfast
Dean Thomas M. Mengler and Assistant Dean Lisa Montpetit Brabbit will host the class of 2008 and guests for a breakfast buffet prior to the Ceremony for Admission to the Bar of the State of Minnesota on Friday, October 31, 2008 at the St. Paul RiverCentre. Invitations will be mailed to all class members. 

Off Campus Housing News
Looking for a law student to room with for the fall?  Do you have an apartment or room for rent and would like to find a law student?  Great news! The UST Commuter Center web site has added Law as a “Preferred UST Status”. Click Here to add a roommate listing or add a housing listing, you can now indicate that your preference is another law student!  We encourage you to utilize this service.  Please contact us with any questions or suggestions on how to make the site more user-friendly for our law community. Please note the UST Commuter Center maintains this site. Law Admissions will pass all suggestions on to the site’s technical team.

Vocation and the Study & Practice of Law: A Retreat Experience: 
Alumni are invited to join Associate Dean Jerry Organ and other students in a retreat experience designed to help each participant reflect on how God might be calling him or her to use his or her gifts and talents to serve others in the study and practice of law. The retreat is scheduled for August 15-17 at Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Janesville, MN. The cost of the retreat is $25.00. R.S.V.P. to Associate Dean Jerry Organ at (651-962-4919) or jmorgan@stthomas.edu.  For More Information

How an Attorney Can Lose Everything by "Borrowing" Client Funds
Alumni are invited to attend a free CLE opportunity on Wednesday, Sept. 3 from 12:30 – 1:45 p.m. in the Schulze Grand Atrium featuring Tom White, former attorney and felon; Mike Colich, White’s defense counsel; and moderator Hank Shea, UST Law Professor and White’s prosecutor. Sponsors are the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions, UST Criminal Law Association, and UST Business and Corporate Law Society. R.S.V.P. to lawrsvp@stthomas.edu.

An Exercise of Conscience in the Workplace:  A Collision of American Values?
The Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law and Public Policy will hold a public forum on the subject of the law and the exercise of conscience in the workplace on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 from 4-6 p.m. in the Frey Moot Court Room.  To R.S.V.P. or for more information email: vjmunson@stthomas.edu.

Human Trafficking: Global and National Responses to the Cries for Freedom
The focus of the fall University of St. Thomas Law Journal Symposium will be human trafficking. Panelists and keynote speakers will gather to explore this problem, study legal approaches, and discuss solutions. The symposium will be held on Thursday, Sept. 26 at the University of St. Thomas School of Law Schulze Grand Atrium. More information can be found on the Law Website.

Faithful Citizenship in an Election Year
The Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought Law and Public Policy will sponsor a public forum with Amy Oilmen, Director of Fordham Law’s Institute on Religion, Law & Lawyers’ Work on October 9, 2008 from 4-6 p.m. in the Frey Moot Court Room at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. To R.S.V.P. or for more information email: vjmunson@stthomas.edu.

Visions of Women’s Leadership
The Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions is hosting the “Visions of Women’s Leadership" conference on Friday, October 24 at the law school. The conference will include leaders in the legal and business communities with separate panels in each area. Mary Pawlenty and Jill Wine-Banks are scheduled as keynote speakers, and CLE credit is being applied for. For more information check the Holloran Center or School of Law website.

Keep the Class Updated
We are now collecting updates for the Winter issue of St. Thomas Lawyer magazine.  Do you have great news to share about a new job, a wedding, an addition to the family, an award, or an article you published?  Send the information to the Class Editor(s) so new information can be shared with all UST Law alumni.  The Editors will publish them in the Class Notes section of the magazine.

Class of 2004: Liz Odette (erodette@stthomas.edu) and Susan Beltz (sbeltz@stthomas.edu)

Class of 2005: Gina Jensen (gdjensen@stthomas.edu)

Class of 2006: Ian Dobson (idobson@stthomas.edu)