What should be the goal of a law school? Obviously, educating students to be excellent lawyers is at the core. But the life of a law school goes far beyond the walls of a building and what happens in classrooms.

The Fall 2025 issue of the Marquette Lawyer magazine gives insights into how far the reach of a law school can and should extend. From the dignified proceedings of appellate courts to the sometimes-contentious atmosphere of school board meetings, from the harsh insides of prisons to the world of water policy, from kindergarten through twelfth-grade classrooms to enjoyable vacations—they’re all part of this issue. And there’s plenty more about life inside Marquette Law School and legal education.

The cover story of the magazine, headlined “Courts or Community Conversations?,” sets the theme. In his E. Harold Hallows Lecture at Marquette Law School on March 3, 2025, the Hon. Michael Y. Scudder, a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, discussed some of the constitutional limits on bringing issues before federal courts. He expanded on this by suggesting that constitutional limits on jurisdiction protect First Amendment interests and the value of democratic self-government, ensuring that state institutions such as city councils and school boards remain at the center of debate and decision.

The magazine offers a text of Scudder’s lecture and amplifies on his theme with two companion pieces: Professor Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll, provides insights from recent Marquette Law School Poll results on the involvement of people across the nation in civic life, including participation in government, religious, and community organizations. And, in an edited transcript of their conversations in person and by email, Scudder and Franklin reflect on broad issues of involvement in civic life.

A second lecture at the Law School takes readers to a much different realm: the inside of correctional institutions. Sharon Dolovich, a law professor at UCLA and director of the UCLA Prison Law and Policy Program, described in her Barrock Lecture on Criminal Law on May 13, 2025, the difficult, often harsh, lives of the hundreds of thousands of people who work as corrections officers inside the country’s carceral institutions. While the conditions faced by prisoners receive considerable attention, the working conditions of correction officers are rarely described—and, in large numbers, these individuals, too, are harmed by what they encounter, Dolovich argues. “No Walking Away,” her vivid description of the lives of “COs,” may be read by clicking here.

“Ripple Effect” presents an article about the growth of Marquette Law School’s Water Law and Policy Initiative since its establishment a decade ago. Led by Professor David Strifling, the initiative includes classes on water law; research initiatives that have given law students and other Marquette students valuable experience in practical aspects of water policy; collaborative efforts with other parts of the university and other institutions, drawing significant funding to support research; and conferences on major water policy issues. The article may be read by clicking here.

An essay in the Fall 2024 Marquette Lawyer described the failures of many major efforts to improve the outcomes for kindergarten through twelfth-grade students nationwide. It was accompanied by responses from six education experts. One of them, Robert Pondiscio of the American Enterprise Institute, suggested that the focus of education reform should be on improving teaching practice in classrooms. That led to a conference at the Law School, on May 8, 2025, addressing what might be done to make teachers more successful, including increased use of high-quality curriculum materials. And that led to a new article, “What If K–12 Reform Efforts Focused on Making Teaching Jobs More Doable?” The article is accompanied by a piece describing the “Let Teachers Teach” initiative in Louisiana and another with ideas from William Henk, emeritus dean of Marquette’s College of Education, on how principals can help teachers be more successful. The articles may be read by clicking here.

Four pieces in the magazine appeared initially in the Faculty Blog of the Law School’s website. They are:

• “The Grapes of Roth,” by Professor Bruce E. Boyden, which describes important phases in the history of copyright law. Boyden gives examples of the challenging questions raised in major copyright cases and suggests that the way the law has changed is not sufficiently appreciated. His essay may be read by clicking here
• “The Changing Federal and Wisconsin Law of Judicial Deference to Administrative Agencies,” by James B. Speta, the Elizabeth Froehling Horner Professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, examines a U.S Supreme Court decision, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024), which overruled the Court’s 1984 Chevron precedent and gave judges more power to review actions by government administrative agencies. Speta compares that decision to one by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2018, Tetra Tech EC v. Wisconsin Department of Revenue, which had some similar impact. Speta’s article may be read by clicking here.
• In “Witnesses—and Recalling Michael Ash and Jo Kolanda,” John T. Chisholm, a senior lecturer in law at Marquette Law School and formerly Milwaukee County district attorney, describes the history of how Milwaukee and Marquette University played important roles in improving the way witnesses are treated in the course of criminal proceedings. Ash was first assistant district attorney in Milwaukee County when he wrote a law review article in 1972 criticizing the way witnesses were treated by the legal system, and Kolanda, a social worker for Milwaukee County, played a central role in forming the first victim-coordinator program in the nation. The efforts in Milwaukee led to improvements in how victims and witnesses are treated across the United States. Chisholm’s article may be read by clicking here.
• And for a change of pace in the magazine content, consider a change of pace in your own life. That’s the advice from Professor Judith G. McMullen. She cites research that many lawyers take little time off from work and that this is a big reason they suffer from the effects of stress. Leisure time is essential to both physical and mental health, McMullen writes. Her essay can be read by clicking here.

“From the Podium,” the magazine’s offerings of texts of remarks at Law School programs and other legal events, offers “Cheers to IP,” by Katrina G. Hull, an intellectual property lawyer and adjunct professor at Marquette Law School. She spoke this past spring at the annual banquet of the Marquette Intellectual Property and Innovation Law Review. And the Hon. James A. Wynn, L’78, a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, spoke at a dinner of the Federal Bar Association in Charlotte, N.C., about his experiences as a judge. Their remarks may be read by clicking here and here.

The Law School honored four Marquette lawyers at its annual alumni awards event on April 24, 2025. Mark Cameli, L’85, was recognized as the Alumnus of the Year; Joseph E. Tierney III, L’66, received the Lifetime Achievement Award; Mary L. Ferwerda. L’11, received the Howard B. Eisenberg Service Award; and Christian Bray, L’14, was honored as the Sports Law Alumna of the Year. An article on what was said about then and by them may be read by clicking here.

Class Notes, reporting news about more than 30 alumni, may be read by clicking here.

The magazine concludes with a window into the world of law school accreditation—more specifically, the text of a letter from Dean Joseph D. Kearney to the American Bar Association’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, which is considering increasing the number of “experiential learning” credits that must be part of each law student’s curriculum. While noting Marquette Law School’s commitment to—and success in—experiential-learning curriculum, Kearney calls the ABA Council’s proposal an “astonishing revision” which lacks supporting justification. An introduction to Dean Kearney’s letter and the text itself may be read by clicking here.

The Law School News pages of the magazine, which may be read by clicking here, welcome three new faculty members, Karen Sandrik, professor of law, and Jacob Hamburger and Felicia Caponigri, both assistant professors of law.

In the Page 2 column of this issue, Alan J. Borsuk, editor of the magazine, writes about two major facets of the Law School: developing students to be lawyers and conducting public policy programs. “Marquette Law School Math: Legal education + public programs = civic leadership” may be read by clicking here.

The back cover of the magazine puts a spotlight on the Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic at the Law School, which is marking its tenth anniversary. Hundreds of small businesses and entrepreneurs, many of them low-budget start-ups, have benefited from the free legal help available through the clinic. Click here to see the back cover.

And the entire magazine may be read by clicking here.