In 1973 and at the age of 24, I walked into Sensenbrenner Hall for the first time, hoping I could transfer from Chicago Kent to Marquette. My husband had been offered a teaching position at Menomonee Falls East High School and I was happy to return to my home state. I met with Dean Bob Boden who could not have been more gracious in telling me that Marquette would be happy to let me enroll as a 2L.  So in the fall of 1973 I began classes with the 2Ls (except that I had to take Professor Aiken’s first year civil procedure year long course…an experience in and of itself).  In part, it was like starting law school all over again.

There was no orientation or introduction to anything at the law school. My first memory of meeting a student occurred when, on that first day, I was standing next to Barbara Berman. As many of you may recall, we lived, sat and interacted in alphabetical order. My last name at the time was also Berman. After Barbara found that out she said, “I hope you are smarter than me so if we get mixed up, I can benefit from it.”  That was the beginning of our life long friendship.

Shortly after that time, a study group which included Judy Drinka, Barbara Berman, Carolyn Burrell, Deb Beck, Sandra De Graw, Bill Ladewig, Tim Schoewe  (and eventually Bob Berdan) asked me to join the group.  We met every Sunday morning at the Weiss, Steuer and Berzowski law firm, where Judy worked during the week. I was very touched by my new classmates’ generosity and kindness in inviting me into this group that already had been meeting for a year.  This began my journey of discovering the wonderful people who choose to enroll at Marquette and to learn together how to become “Marquette Lawyers.”  Since many of us in the group struggled with a weight issue and we always had donuts and “schnecks” while we studied, the guys affectionately named us the “Mirth and Girth Study Group.” (Our love of food and fun continues even today as we all get together a couple of times every year to play and eat.)

As we moved through my first semester, I became more and more nervous about whether I would succeed at Marquette. I had done quite well at Chicago Kent Law School the year before, but none of the actual grades became part of my record. So it was like starting the first year of law school a second time.  Students were clearly and seriously worrying about their futures because of the grading system. 76 was a passing grade and I believe (or least think I remember) that the median grade point for the class was between 78 and 79. Obviously there was not much room for error.

Early in the semester, Barbara told us a story about having been extremely worried about her first year grade in torts from Professor Ghiardi.  The month after exams she had run into him at the State Bar Convention. She said hello and he said, “What happened during your exam? It was terrible.”  She was incredibly devastated and worried about it for some time until she received her grade. After seeing she had she had done well in the course she went to ask him about it. He told her, “I was just kidding. I had no memory of your exam when I saw you.”  He was just being funny in an academic world where fear sometimes overtook humor. One of the biggest complaints about Marquette at that time was the level of anxiety students had about “flunking out.”  I am happy to say that we have eliminated that often-unnecessary fear for almost all of our students.

One night in December of 1973 (right before exams), I was driving Judy home from our study group meeting. I told her that I was thinking about dropping out and that I just did not think I was cut out for this profession (or at least legal education).

I still remember her encouraging and supportive discussion with me, telling me that I just needed “to hang in there.”  She told me at that time, she could see me as a judge someday (something I never saw until later). Her willingness to listen, her kindness and her caring encouragement convinced me to take those exams and continue on in my studies. I obviously survived and even did well on the exams.

What I will remember most about Sensenbrenner Hall are my 1975 law classmates  (which include Professors Tom Hammer and Mike McChrystal) and the many students I have taught since 1977. When we talk about the “Marquette Lawyer” we are talking about the highly professional and skilled MULS lawyers who dedicate their lives to excellence while deeply caring about the communities in which they live. In part Marquette attracts students who demonstrate those Ignatian values (even if they do not call them that) and want to make the world a better place. Then in a variety of ways, both in and out of the classrooms, the school has encouraged and taught students how to be lawyers who will exemplify those values in ways that are truly extraordinary.

Now that members of our study group have either retired or are thinking about it, we can look back at the various professional paths that some have taken including Barbara who finished her career in high level counter-terrorism work in Washington DC, Deb who became an executive vice president at Northwestern Mutual, Judy who formed her own highly successful law firm, Carolyn who became the first woman partner at Foley & Lardner, Sandy who serves as the Associate Dean at South Texas Law School, Bill who also formed his own firm and has become a prize winning author, Tim who serves at Deputy Corporation Counsel for Milwaukee County and Bob who became general counsel at Northwestern Mutual.  And of course, as Judy predicted, my own judicial career unfolded. All of us in a myriad of ways have volunteered and worked on community and nonprofit boards and have always demonstrated our commitment to the poor and disadvantaged. Our study group’s work exemplifies the legacy of Sensenbrenner Hall.

So many wonderful people have walked through those doors and had the opportunity to get a first class legal education from the faculty, administrators and staff who have always cared deeply about the students and the school’s mission.  A significant part of that education included meeting and working with other extraordinarily committed students who share a desire to help transform the world into a better and more just place. Although the building was really the birthplace of what became for me a very exciting and gratifying career, I do not leave with any sadness. As we move our books and our file cabinets, we will also take that rich tradition over with us to Eckstein Hall to inspire many, many more students to become the next generation of “Marquette Lawyers.”