Kaplan, Samuel L.

Strangis, Ralph

English

Mitchell Hamline School of Law

William Mitchell Law ReviewVolume 21 | Issue 3 Article 121996Tribute to Dean James HoggSamuel L. KaplanRalph StrangisFollow this and additional works at: http://open.mitchellhamline.edu/wmlrThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviewsand Journals at Mitchell Hamline Open Access. It has been accepted forinclusion in William Mitchell Law Review by an authorized administratorof Mitchell Hamline Open Access. For more information, please contactsean.felhofer@mitchellhamline.edu.© Mitchell Hamline School of LawRecommended CitationKaplan, Samuel L. and Strangis, Ralph (1996) "Tribute to Dean James Hogg," William Mitchell Law Review: Vol. 21: Iss. 3, Article 12.Available at: http://open.mitchellhamline.edu/wmlr/vol21/iss3/12Tribute to Dean James HoggSamuel L. Kaplan and Ralph StrangislIn machine gun-like fashion, one question followedanother. Before you could open your mouth to begin respond-ing, more questions followed. If, perchance, you were able toprovide a proposed answer to a question, there was absolutelyno confirmation from the questioner as to whether you wereright or wrong. There were only additional questions.That was our earliest recollection of James Ferguson Hogg,the rookie law professor dealing with us as rookie law students- always elegant; always charming; always talking at a dizzyingpace and, most of all, always asking questions. It was inconceiv-able to us that any law professor before or after had ever askedso many questions in such a short period of time withoutproviding a single answer.We would talk among ourselves (obviously out of ProfessorHogg's earshot) about whether his was the ultimate Socraticmethod of teaching. While there was a strong belief that it was,there was always one in the group who would quip, "If you askedProfessor Hogg if you could go to the restroom, his responsewould be, 'Why?'"In truth, those questions - those withering questions, thoserelentless questions - in due course formed the strongest basisfor our coming to understand the true meaning of law school.If, indeed, we were in law school not for the purpose of learningthe "black letter law" that anyone could read from a book, butwere rather learning how to think critically as future lawyers, JimHogg became our mentor, our teacher, and our guiding spirit.In all the classes that we took from him, we never received anyanswers. What we did learn from Jim Hogg was how to developthe answers and how to proceed in a critical and thoughtfulfashion.James Ferguson Hogg certainly had no monopoly on theSocratic method in law school; others engaged in it, some oft Founding members of the law firm of Kaplan, Strangis and Kaplan, PA, andstudents in Dean Hogg's first law school class.1Kaplan and Strangis: Tribute to Dean James HoggPublished by Mitchell Hamline Open Access, 2014W!LLIAM MITCHELL LAW REVIEWthem did it marvelously well. What made Jim Hogg unique wasthat, unlike so many who were carved out of the stereotypicalmodels of old-time law professors, his intellectual demands werealways accompanied by a genuine warmth, a graciousness, anda compelling style not to be equalled.Jim was able to be our teacher and our motivator; yet, hewas absolutely comfortable in being our friend, and indeed ourpal, outside the classroom. This was an unusual time at theUniversity of Minnesota Law School. There was little, and, insome cases, no difference in the ages of the students and the lawprofessors. Any social separation between the faculty and thestudent body would have been artificial and unrealistic. Facultyand students became friends, and we became friends most of allwith Jim Hogg. However, not once did that friendship spare anyof us his relentless questioning in the classroom.To be sure, Jim Hogg learned a thing or two from us. Thatsmooth, elegant New Zealander came to understand that it wasphysically possible to hold a drink in one hand, while shootingdice with the other. He discovered that traditional Minnesotarestraint did not preclude the having of a very good time by all.Never was there a moment during our law school experi-ence that this wonderful man exuded the slightest bit ofpomposity or arrogance. When we were both officers of theMinnesota Law Review, Jim Hogg was always the one we couldmost count on to help us, to challenge us, and to improve thequality of our work product. Truly, his office door was alwaysopen.The years have flown by and June of this year will be thethirty-fifth anniversary of our graduation from law school.During that entire period, we have continued to be the closestof friends with Jim Hogg. We witnessed his growth as an evermore powerful professor. With pleasure, we watched hisperformance as a member of the University of Minnesotaadministration, and enjoyed casting an appropriate number of"slings and arrows" at him when he entered the private sectorand had to "work like the rest of us."Finally, and perhaps most significantly, we have witnessedwith joy his immense contributions to the William MitchellCollege of Law. As University of Minnesota Law Schoolgraduates, it would be inappropriate for us to comment on theinternal contributions that Jim has made to William Mitchell.[Vol. 212William Mitchell Law Review, Vol. 21, Iss. 3 [2014], Art. 12http://open.mitchellhamline.edu/wmlr/vol21/iss3/12TRIBUTE TO DEAN HOGGWe leave that to others who have been closely allied with him inthe performance of his work. However, we are able to sayauthoritatively that the perception of William Mitchell Collegeof Law has grown in a most positive sense within this communityand nationally under Jim Hogg's guidance. His incrediblepersonality and intellect proved to be exactly that which wasrequired for the networking in which William Mitchell's Deannecessarily had to engage. Jim Hogg singlehandedly connectedWilliam Mitchell with an entire community of those who had noreal contact with the school. He made all of us understand thathaving another major law school of stature in our state was aworthwhile and meaningful purpose.To our considerable amusement and amazement, we alsodiscovered that Jim Hogg had theretofore untapped skills infundraising. Without any real prior experience in the field, hewas able, with relative ease, to ask for huge and seeminglyembarrassing sums of money. More often than not, his requestsbore fruit, and the law school and its library have benefittedmightily as a result.In the communities of law and business within which thetwo of us reside, the name Jim Hogg is honored and valued forthe splendid contributions he has made. However, to us, to ourwives, and to our other mutual friends of long standing, Jim isknown best for his warmth; for his loyalty; for his decency; and,above all else, for his capacity to ask yet another question.1996]3Kaplan and Strangis: Tribute to Dean James HoggPublished by Mitchell Hamline Open Access, 20144William Mitchell Law Review, Vol. 21, Iss. 3 [2014], Art. 12http://open.mitchellhamline.edu/wmlr/vol21/iss3/12

Tribute to Dean James Hogg

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Tribute to Dean James Hogg

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