UND Law Newsletter
APRIL 2024
A Message from Dean Pappas
Dear UND Law Community,
The end of the academic year is upon us. We are in the last week of final exams and the Class of 2024 will graduate this Saturday. It has been a busy and successful time for the School of Law and we are incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication of our students, not only this semester, but throughout the entire year.
I wish to offer a heartfelt thank you to our faculty and staff. Because of their dedication to our students, the profession of law, and North Dakota I am proud to say that we have had a successful semester and academic year at UND.
This month, I was honored to witness the newest lawyers admitted to the North Dakota bar in a ceremony in Bismarck. Four of the sixteen new lawyers were December 2023 graduates of the School of Law. It is always refreshing and exciting to see the new lawyers take the Oath and we, at the School of Law, are excited for the next chapter in their legal careers.
In this issue, we are happy to highlight the Lawyering Skills Annual 1L Moot Court Competition, our Distinguished Native American Speaker, Walter Echo-Hawk, the School of Law Awards ceremony, and the Family Law Clinical Practicum.
We will celebrate the achievements of our graduates in a Commencement ceremony at the Chester Fritz Auditorium this Saturday, May 4. Commencement marks the completion of our students’ law school journey and the beginning of their legal service. Congratulations to the UND School of Law Class of 2024! We are proud of your accomplishments and eager to see where your legal education takes you in life.
Thank you for your continued support, encouragement, and engagement. Please feel free to reach out at any time with your questions, comments, concerns, and ideas.
Sincerely,
Brian
Walter R. Echo-Hawk Distinguished Indian Law Speaker
Walter Echo-Hawk is one of the foremost experts in Indian law and is a distinguished author, tribal judge, law professor, and member of the Pawnee Nation. Echo-Hawk presented, “Challenges for Federal Indian Law Practitioners in the Decade Ahead”, to a full crowd in the UND School of Law VandeWalle Courtroom on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. He is the past President …
STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS
Jed Thomas wins 1L Moot Court Competition
Amy Wowchuk places runner-up The 2024 first-year Lawyering Skills class held its annual internal moot court competition April 3-4. The final round of the competition took place in the VandeWalle
Courtroom and featured Jed Thomas, representing the appellant, and Amy Wowchuk, representing the appellee. The argument, Thomas Shelby v. United States of America, presented a Fourth Amendment issue involving a …
Bridget Grathwohl awarded the 2024 North Dakota Law Review Outstanding Note Award
FEATURED DEPARTMENT
UND School of Law Family Law Clinical Practicum
In Spring 2021, with assistance from legislative funds aimed in part at providing clinical legal education opportunities, UND School of Law launched the Family Law Clinical Practicum. The practicum, founded and headed by Assistant Professor Ariana Meyers, provides much-needed legal assistance to low-income North Dakotans facing divorce, domestic violence, child custody disputes, and other Family Law-related matters (domestic violence protection order and disorderly conduct restraining order representation). All legal services provided are pro bono. Second- and third-year law students are eligible to apply for the course.
Over the course of the current academic year, the Family Law Clinical Practicum students represented clients in seven contested legal proceedings, including six juvenile guardianships and a residential responsibility case. The student attorneys drafted motions, corresponded with opposing counsel and clients, handled client meetings, advocated in mediation and settlement discussions, and prepared clients and witnesses for trial and trial representation by examining witnesses and entering exhibits. In total, the students provided 679.5 hours of pro bono work at no cost to any client. The Family Law Clinical Practicum currently has 77 potential clients on the waitlist for family law services in the Northeast Central Judicial District.
Law students are appreciative of their experience in the Family Law Clinical Practicum. Third-year law student AnneMarie Studer, a certified student attorney in the Practicum, reflects, “Over the past two years, my experience in the Practicum has been invaluable and provided me with the ability to advocate for clients in various settings, both inside and outside of the courtroom. Through the Practicum, I have gained practical skills not available elsewhere during law school, which will help me as I begin practice as an attorney.”
FACULTY NEWS
Professor Alexandra Sickler quoted as an expert: Small Business Bankruptcy Rules Offer Creditors a Boost, Too
Alexandra Sickler, Archie Unterseher Endowed Professor of Law, spent the past year as the academic reporter on a task force charged with evaluating bankruptcy relief for small businesses.
Bloomberg Law April 23, 2024, 4:00 AM CDT; Updated: April 23, 2024, 10:56 AM CDT Evan Ochsner, Reporter Congress created Subchapter V to help small businesses New law is allowing more plans to be …
Professors Jennifer Cook and Denitsa Mavrova Heinrich recently published their article, AI-Ready Attorneys: Ethical Obligations and Privacy Considerations in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, in the Kansas Law Review
What Is General Liability Insurance Coverage and Do You Need It? Professor Paul Traynor gives expert advice
Insurance 101: Defenition, Components, and Benefits – Paul Traynor, assistant professor of law, shares expert advice
Dan Lewerenz, assistant professor of law is quoted in the article – Native University of Montana student works to create missing persons database
Professor Michael McGinniss Participates in Academic Colloquium on Authority of Law and the United States Constitution
Professor Ariana D. Meyers and Alumnus Gabrielle C. Wolf recently published their article, Policing Morality: The Inconsistent Application of the Moral Fitness and Fitness Factor, in the Children’s Legal Rights Journal
ALUMNI UPDATES
New lawyers admitted to the North Dakota Bar in Supreme Court Ceremony
Sixteen new lawyers were admitted to the North Dakota Bar during a ceremony on April 18, 2024 in the House Chambers of the North Dakota State Capitol Admitted at the ceremony were Yusuf Abas, Gagandeep Bains, Cole Berry, Kathryn Bostrom, Peyton Cole, Seth Flynn, Jessica Four Bear, Gabrielle Frawley, Laura Helgeson, Dixie Holland, Vanessa Jerome, Hannah Kalka, Kaycee Link, Shelby …
Alumnus Anna Argenti Appointed to Juneau DA
Nilson Brand Law welcomes alumna Alivia Olson to its legal team
SAVE THE DATE
Contact
Beth Moe
Director of Alumni & Public Relations
701.777.2856 | beth.moe@UND.edu
Dalton Erickson
Events & Marketing Coordinator
701.777.2961 | dalton.m.erickson@UND.edu