Spring 2009 Contents

In this issue…

The Leadership Equation What qualities make for a true leader? As these four alumni have discovered, there is no single trait or answer—other than a willingness to stand up to challenges and make tough decisions.

From Boardroom to Classroom Professor Thuy-Nga Vo applies the lessons she learned in business and corporate law to her William Mitchell classes.

Professors of Practice A timeline highlighting Professors Roger Haydock’s and John Sonsteng’s pioneering contributions to practical legal education over the past 30 years.

The Best Defense William Mitchell’s new clinic gives students exposure to criminal law and a chance to connect with the local community.

Alumni Profile: The Good Fight Neil Thompson ’99 used his training as a pharmacist and lawyer to bring a major corporation’s questionable billing practices to light.

Departments

• Mitchell in FOCUS: A close-up look at Professor Mark Edwards’ Property II class
• 875 Summit: News and updates PDF, 587 Kb
• Gratitude: Paving the Way PDF, 269 Kb
• Class Notes/In Memoriam PDF, 676 Mb
• To the Point—Message from Dean Janus PDF, 139 Kb

©2009 William Mitchell College of Law

Spring 2009

The Leadership Equation

What qualities make for a true leader? As these four alumni have discovered, there is no single trait or answer—other than a willingness to stand up to challenges and make tough decisions

By Kevin Featherly

What qualities make for a true leader? As these four alumni have discovered, there is no single trait or answer—other than a willingness to stand up to challenges and make tough decisions.

From Boardroom to Classroom

Professor Thuy-Nga Vo applies the leadership lessons she learned in business and corporate law to her William Mitchell classes learning.

By Jenny Sherman

For professors of any discipline—business, economics, sociology, politics—the current economic maelstrom has an upside: It’s providing a wealth of material for classroom discussion. The Madoff scandal, the furor over AIG executive bonuses, and, closer to home in the Twin Cities area, the allegations that Petters Group Worldwide CEO Tom Petters defrauded investors out of billions have offered rich talking points and ripe illustrative examples of leadership (or the lack thereof).

The Best Defense

A new William Mitchell clinic gives students exposure to criminal law and a chance to connect with the local community

By Mary Lahr Schier

George T. Stephenson ’85 understands the demography and geography of criminal justice in St. Paul. As a former prosecutor and criminal defense and family lawyer, and now a Ramsey County judge, many of the defendants he sees are young people of color who often don’t live far from William Mitchell’s campus. Some are represented by lawyers from the Neighborhood Justice Center, a nonprofit legal aid organization located four blocks from campus.

The Good Fight

Neil Thompson ’99 used his training as a pharmacist and lawyer to bring a major corporation’s questionable billing practices to light

By Meleah Maynard

When he was growing up, Neil Thompson wanted to be a pharmacist like his dad. He followed that path and eventually took over the family business, enjoying his job immensely, particularly the closeness he shared with longtime customers. But he also harbored an ambition of becoming a lawyer. Not long after he fulfi lled that ambition, he found himself at the center of an investigation of one of the country’s top drugstore chains.

Fall 2008 Contents

In this issue…

Strength in Numbers Empirical studies bring new understanding of the day-to-day work of lawyers company.

In the Boardroom A roundtable discussion on some of the top issues and trends facing the legal profession today.

The Vanishing Trial What’s driving the trend toward negotiated settlements—and how will it affect the training of tomorrow’s lawyers?

Back to the Future: The Class of ’88 Lots of people promise to keep in touch after graduation. This group of William Mitchell grads has kept true to that vow—and kept themselves healthy and connected in the process.

Lifetime Connection Whether he’s teaching, coaching, or funding scholarships, Jim Baker ’03 relishes the chance to give back.

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Departments

• News PDF, 328 Kb
• Class Notes/In Memoriam PDF, 2.12 Mb
• To the Point—Thoughts from Dean Janus PDF, 146 Kb

©2008 William Mitchell College of Law

Fall 2008

Strength in Numbers

» Center for the Empirical Study
of Legal Practice on the Web

Empirical studies bring new understanding of the day-to-day work of lawyers

by Mary Lahr Schier

Consider the lawyer’s contingency conundrum:
How will the settlement in each case affect the relationship with his client, his reputation as a lawyer, and his bank balance?

Or, imagine this choice:
A new client calls with a small legal issue that needs attention. It’s barely worth the attorney’s time. Will she take it? If she’s a smart lawyer, she might. After decades of digging through case files, camping out in lawyers’ offices, and collecting information about what typical lawyers do and why, Bert Kritzer can paint a picture with numbers about the legal profession and the often complex calculations lawyers make about how to handle individual clients and cases.

“Numbers speak only when asked,” says Kritzer, a professor of law and the director of William Mitchell’s new Center for the Empirical Study of Legal Practice. But as Kritzer is quick to add, if you know the right questions, numbers can also reveal much about how justice works and how it isdistributed in society.