Term Begins, Spector Appointed

Michael J. SpectorThe Law School began its fall semester today, having welcomed through orientation the past two days both full-time (185) and part-time (34) students embarking upon their legal education. We welcomed—and welcome—as well a handful of transfer students. My beginning-of-semester letter to the community, with some information, I believe, of general interest about the Law School, is available here. Of course, in addition to our central function of helping students form themselves into Marquette lawyers, the Law School does a number of other things, in terms of both faculty scholarship and public service. In that latter regard, we have announced the appointment of Michael J. Spector as Boden Visiting Professor of Law for the next year or so, with a particular portfolio to lead the Law School in seeking to advance public-policy discussion concerning the future of the Milwaukee Public Schools (their governance, educational practices, and other matters). We have already done some related work over the past year, through the work of Mike Gousha, Distinguished Fellow in Law and Public Policy: for example, the televised discussion last spring concerning the governance of MPS, the debate between candidates for the superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction, and a discussion with Howard Fuller about the future of voucher schools. But I believe that there are ways in which the Law School can—consistently with our status as an educational institution that does not itself take positions on these sorts of issues—make a further meaningful contribution to advancing public-policy discussions concerning MPS. Mike Spector is unusually well-situated to lead this effort, with Mr. Gousha, other interested members of the Law School community, and the broader public. A noted education-law attorney and adjunct law professor, retired managing partner of Quarles & Brady LLP, and vice-president of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, Mr. Spector has begun to map out how the Law School can advance the public’s understanding of and participation in the many issues facing MPS. More information can be found in this press release. I am very grateful to Mike Spector for his commitment to the future of this region and to Marquette University Law School’s important role in helping to secure and shape that future.

Continue ReadingTerm Begins, Spector Appointed

Legacies of Lincoln

legacies-of-lincolnThis year marks both the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth and the sesquicentennial of his visit to Milwaukee to speak at the Wisconsin State Fair. (Lincoln’s Milwaukee speech, delivered September 30, 1859, is available here.) To commemorate these events, Marquette University Law School, together with the Department of History, will host a conference entitled “Legacies of Lincoln.” This conference, occurring on October 1 & 2, promises to be a very fine event.

First, on Thursday, October 1, at the Alumni Memorial Union, the History Department’s annual Klement Lecture will be delivered by Allen C. Guelzo, Professor of Civil War Era Studies and Professor of History at Gettysburg College. Professor Guelzo’s Klement Lecture will address “Colonel Utley’s Emancipation: The Strange Case of President Lincoln and His Bid to Become a Slaveowner.” The lecture will start at 7 p.m., preceded by a reception beginning at 6 p.m.

Second, on Friday, October 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Law School, the conference will feature three panels variously addressing aspects of Lincoln’s career and legacy:

  • “Lincoln and Politics”: Heather Cox Richardson, University of Massachusetts–Amherst, will be joined on the panel by Alison Clark Efford and James Marten, both of Marquette University.
  • “Lincoln and the Constitution”: Michael Les Benedict, The Ohio State University, will participate in a panel that will include Stephen Kantrowitz, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Kate Masur, Northwestern University.
  • “Lincoln as Lawyer”: Mark E. Steiner, South Texas College of Law and author of An Honest Calling: Lincoln’s Law Practice, will speak, along with Joseph A. Ranney, DeWitt Ross & Stevens, and Thomas L. Shriner, Jr., Foley & Lardner, both of whom are adjunct faculty at the Law School.

Advance registration is required for the conference, which is free except for lawyers seeking 4.5 hours of CLE credit ($40). Conference information and a link to the registration page are available here. Particular thanks to Professor Dan Blinka for his work in helping to organize this conference and to Professor Jim Marten, chair of the History Department, for making common cause with the Law School in leading the conference. I hope that many of you will register and join us.

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Judge Cannon and the Continuity of the Profession

old-courthouseEach May the Milwaukee Bar Association holds an annual Memorial Service to remember lawyers in this region who have passed away within the previous year. It occurs in the Ceremonial Courtroom of the Milwaukee County Courthouse and is attended by a variety of judges, lawyers, family of deceased lawyers, and others. When I was appointed dean in 2003, my friend, Tom Shriner, invited me to give the annual Memorial Address, in light of my association with the late Dean Howard B. Eisenberg, and I have tried to attend the event each subsequent year as well. This year, one of the “responses” to the Memorial Address (or remembrances) was delivered by Tom Cannon, director of the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee and former faculty member of the Law School (see this previous blog post by Professor Blinka). Tom remembered his father, the late Judge Robert C. Cannon, L’41.

Here is a bit of the beginning of Tom Cannon’s remembrance:

Dad was probably destined to become a lawyer. By the time he was born in 1917, his father was already emerging as an iconic figure in the legal profession. Dad’s uncle, Ed Carey, was also a lawyer. And many of Dad’s numerous cousins became practicing attorneys as well. These included the Jenningses, Foleys, Tierneys, Gillicks, and Flemings — all well-known, multi-generational legal families in Milwaukee.

One of Dad’s earliest memories was sitting in a high-ceilinged courtroom in the ornate old Milwaukee County Courthouse on what is now Cathedral Square. His father was trying a case there against a cousin, Joe Tierney, Sr. As the sun streamed in through a bank of tall, stately windows, and crept toward the jurors’ faces, Dad watched his father walk over and slowly draw the shades. Perhaps it was that early moment that influenced him to become a lawyer.

Tom’s remarks are well worth the few minutes that it will take to read them — and to remember both Judge Cannon and others of our forbears who contributed much to society through the legal profession. You can find a link to them here.

Continue ReadingJudge Cannon and the Continuity of the Profession
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