Mock Trial, Real Life

Both of the mock trial teams from Ypsilanti High School have spent the morning in the Oakland County Courthouse sparring with other teams in a case involving cyberbullying. Inside the courthouse, the coaches-all of them Michigan Law students, members of an organization founded her three years ago called Future Advocates in Training, or FAIT - await the room assignments for the afternoon round. After training for several months, the two teams from Ypsi High will face each other in the courtroom. Sure, it\u27s only a mock trial, but it feels intensely real to these students. They have sacrificed social activities to make it to practice.They have stayed up late to learn rules of evidence. They have become friends with people on both teams, and now only one team will emerge as the winner

Sisters in Law

The Honorable Cornelia Kennedy, \u2747, and The Honorable Margaret Schaeffer, \u2745, reminisce about their early years as lawyers. Kennedy, \u2747 has been called the First Lady of Michigan Judiciary for being the first woman appointed to the federal bench in Michigan, and just the fourth woman in the nation to be appointed a federal district court judge, 1979. Her sister, Schaeffer, \u2745, was sworn in as a judge five years later in the 47th Judicial District in Farmington Hills

Feature: Anatomy of an Alumnus

50 years later, remembring Anatomy of a Murder and the fly-fishing, U.P.-loving, mushroom-hunting state Supreme Court justice who wrote it

The Right Dean at the Right Time

Caminker began his 10 years in the job as dean ready to focus on other goals and ambitions. Now, he is completing a tenure that has been filled with a string of accomplishments, many of which were completed under difficult economic and societal circumstances. Through it all, Caminker has built a reputation as a fair-minded, thoughtful, and unflappable leader who also has the tenacity to push forward on difficult projects in spite of numerous obstacles

The State of Legal Education

In Michigan Law\u27s first year, 1859-60, students could choose from a total of 13 courses, including Criminal Law, Easements, Domestic Relations, and Contracts. The Law Department, as it was called then, did not have its own building. Three part-time faculty members taught 90 students who pursued the two-year degree. A college degree was not required for admission. A century and a half later, the state of legal education at Michigan Law and at institutions around the country has changed in nearly every way: a far greater variety of classes, many more faculty, the requirement of a degree for admission, three years to earn a JD rather than two. Beyond that, what can be said about the sate of legal education, both at Michigan Law and at law schools around the country, from the top tier on down? What is a degree worth? Are students well prepared to practice law when they leave the safe confines of the classroom? What are schools doing well, and what could they do better? Here, we explore these questions, with insights from experts on legal education

Life in Legal Purgatory

Victor Caminata was convicted of arson. The Michigan Innocence Clinic and its experts say he didn\u27t commit arson-in fact, that the fire in question wasn\u27t arson at all, and that Caminata was convicted based on junk science. The Clinic\u27s attorneys won him a new trial, so now, he awaits his fate once more

A World of Difference

People who pursue environmental law as a career have their reasons, many of which we will highlight in the alumni profiles that follow. No matter the reasons, this is an exciting-some would say unsettled-time in the field of environmental law