Alan J. Borsuk – Page 2 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Seventh Circuit Day at Eckstein Hall “Felt Like This ‘Event’” and Offered Valuable Lessons (Part 6)

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:November 18, 2025
Post category:Appellate Advocacy Judges & Judicial Process Legal Education Marquette Law School Marquette Law School History Seventh Circuit

Seventh Circuit 6 — Marquette law students at a question-and-answer session with Seventh Circuit judges, in Eckstein Hall’s Lubar Center, on September 25, 2025.

Did people walk a little taller at Marquette Law School on September 25, 2025? Was there more electricity in the air? Was there an almost tangible sense that something important was taking place? None of this was quantifiable, but it certainly seemed true during what became known within Eckstein Hall as Seventh Circuit Day.

“It felt like this event,” said Mariana Calvo Argus, a second-year student originally from El Paso, Texas. This sixth and final blog post in the Seventh Circuit Day series seeks to capture a bit of the feeling.

Kaya Dreger, a first-year student originally from Idaho, said, “I was super-excited.” The court’s visit furthered her interest in career paths involving advocacy in court. Observing arguments before three federal appellate judges underscored for Dreger how cases involve “real, tangible people” and how an aspect of the U.S. Constitution comes alive in proceedings such as these.

It was a very full day for four judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and for the Marquette Law School community as a whole. In the morning, the Law School’s Lubar Center was the setting for oral arguments in six cases before then-Chief Judge Diane S. Sykes, L’84, and Judges Frank H. Easterbrook and Michael B. Brennan. Judge Michael Y. Scudder joined his colleagues for programs for afternoon programs (see Part 1). The day came as Sykes was within days of finishing her term as chief judge and moving to senior status and as Brennan, another Milwaukeean, prepared to become chief judge of the Chicago-based circuit encompassing Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana.

Praise for an Exemplar of the Marquette Lawyer—and of a Judge (Seventh Circuit Day, Part 4)

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:November 11, 2025
Post category:Judges & Judicial Process Legal Education Marquette Law School Marquette Law School History Seventh Circuit

Seventh Court Part 4 — Judge Diane Sykes speaks at a Marquette Law School reception in Eckstein Hall’s Zilber Forum on Sept. 25, 2025.

“Bittersweet.” That was the word Judge Diane Sykes used to describe her final days as chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, including the court’s day of hearings and other events at Marquette Law School on September 25, 2025 (aspects of which were described here, here, and here).

“Sweet” was the only aspect of the word on which the 200 or so people at a reception in Eckstein Hall’s Zilber Forum at the end of the day focused. Perhaps there would have been a concluding reception in any event, but Sykes, L’84, is one of the most distinguished graduates of the Law School. She served as a circuit court judge in Milwaukee County, a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and, for 21 years (and counting), a judge of the Seventh Circuit. So the conclusion of her chief judgeship, just a few days later, merited marking, even celebration.

Sykes has kept the Law School close to her heart, taking part in programs and helping students for many years, as recently as August 22, 2025, when she administered the future attorney’s pledge to new first-year students—the Class of 2028. In every role she has had, Sykes has carried herself with intelligence, professionalism, grace, and warmth, which was why the reception honoring her was filled with good feeling.

Appellate Judges Give a Window into How They Do Their Work (Seventh Circuit Day, Part 3)

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:November 7, 2025
Post category:Appellate Advocacy Judges & Judicial Process Legal Education Marquette Law School Seventh Circuit

In two noteworthy ways, the term “dialogue” was central to an event involving four judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit at Eckstein Hall on September 25, 2025.

A daylong visit by Seventh Circuit judges to Marquette Law School had multiple components. It included a morning session in the Law School’s Lubar Center in which the court heard arguments on six cases; a midafternoon program in which the judges discussed their work with an audience of Marquette law students; and an end-of-day reception which included a recognition of the Hon. Diane S. Sykes, L’84, as she completed her term as chief judge of the Seventh Circuit and assumed senior status (the next blog post in this series will say a few words about that event).

Even beyond all of this, the day included a late-afternoon CLE panel discussion program, before about 200 lawyers in the Lubar Center. It was titled “Judges on Judging: A Window into Appellate Decision Making” and moderated by Marquette Law School Professor Chad Oldfather.

That is the first reason to use the term “dialogue.” The relatively informal program offered a chance to hear collegial conversation among Chief Judge Sykes and Judges Frank H. Easterbrook, Michael B. Brennan, and Michael Y. Scudder about how they approach cases that come before them.