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.

What we hope you saw: An exciting early-semester announcement that oral arguments before the Seventh Circuit would take place in Eckstein Hall on September 25; a smooth registration process; and on the day of, insightful lines of questioning during argument and various post-argument programs designed for students and attorneys to learn directly from the judges whose decisions fill our casebooks and support our federal filings.

But, in the nearly four months preceding, here is what was happening: Emails, meetings, more meetings, drafts upon drafts, games of phone tag, some mistakes, more emails, brisk walks, smiles, notes, and, at the end of the day, a sigh of happiness and, yes, relief.

It goes without saying that putting together a day like September 25 takes work. This is true for all of our big events at the Law School, from orientation to the National Sports Law Institute’s annual conference to PILSgiving to our annual lectures to the Jenkins Moot Court Competition to graduation. Staff and faculty work together to provide a seamless experience for students and guests. In some cases, it starts with a spreadsheet or a checklist from the previous year. The September 25th Seventh Circuit visit, without recent precedent, started with an email.