Best of 2019: MSU Law’s Year in Review
While 2019 might be gone, it's not forgotten. Here are a few of our favorite stories and moments from the last year!
MSU Law Alumna Sworn in as Michigan Governor
At the start of the year, MSU Law grad Gretchen Whitmer, ’98, was sworn into office as the 49th Governor of Michigan.
MSU Law students win William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition
Three MSU Law students, Kelsey Knudsen (’19), Polina Hristova (’20), and Yasmeen Ebbini (’20), took the top title at the William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition in February, going undefeated over the course of competition coached by alumnus David Sheaffer.
Tom Izzo Speaks to MLI Students
MSU Law’s inaugural Michigan Leadership Initiative cohort welcomed the incoming students for the next academic year at the Breslin Center. Spartan Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tom Izzo later joined the event, offering words of wisdom to those seeking positions in another kind of court: “Your job – you can like it, you can love it, you can live it. And to be great, you gotta live it.”
In Her Own Words: An Incomplete History of Women at the Law College
The Summer 2019 issue of the Spartan Lawyer alumni magazine, In Her Own Words: An Incomplete History of Women at the Law College, put the spotlight on MSU Law’s women graduates dating back to the Law College’s beginning in Detroit as the Detroit College of Law in 1891. Through archival research and interviews, the feature story shares their fight to attend classes, the personal and professional obstacles they faced in the field, and the road they paved for the women graduates of today.
A (Brief) History of the Donald Nystrom Best Brief Award
The Best Brief Award competition at MSU Law comes around every year. 1Ls submit their work for judgement in hopes of recognition and cash prizes. But where did this annual tradition come from? How did it start, and why? The mastermind behind the idea, Donald Nystrom, ’00, shared the story.
MSU Law Brings Pop-Up Cat Café to Campus
It’s no secret: animals reduce stress levels. In 2019, the Law College hosted its first Cat Café, bringing in nine rescue cats from the Ingham County Animal Shelter during reading week ahead of exams in late April. Students took a break from their studies to enjoy a few stress-free moments in the company of new feline friends as they bounded through tunnels and chased treats and toys to the tune of chirping birds on a nearby desktop. A purr-fect day!
After 15 years of teaching at MSU Law, Professor Bruce Bean bid farewell to the Law College, retiring in December. His legacy continues with the 3,000+ students he taught during his time and via his famous “Bean’s Rules.” Professor Bean’s students expressed the impact of his teaching and the lessons learned.
Visit Day to Wedding Day: An MSU Law Love Story
The MSU Law Alumni Association’s Annual Golf Outing is an event that many Spartan Lawyers look forward to each year. In 2019, Jacob Simon, ’17, took advantage of the event’s East Lansing location, seizing the moment to propose to Stephanie Garris, ’17.