Last Wednesday afternoon was sunny and mild and a perfect day to wander the concrete slab of the ground floor of the Eckstein Hall construction site, below the steel beams that hint at this great building, and imagine the spaces where Marquette law teachers and students will read and write, discuss, dine and generally enjoy one another’s intellect and company. For some reason, the construction site reminded me of years ago being on the playing field at a totally deserted Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor; on that day, an awesome silence permitted the perfect imagining of the awesome roar of the packed stadium.

I should be embarrassed to admit that much of my imagination has been dedicated in the last couple of years to imagining Eckstein Hall. I have driven every ramp of the Marquette Interchange in an effort to envision how it will appear to the hundreds of thousands of people who will pass by it daily (yes, literally hundreds of thousands daily). When and how will drivers see its complex sweep of brick, metal, and (mostly) glass? Will they note the substantial columns behind the glass curtain wall, meant to show that Eckstein Hall soars as well as sweeps? Will the building be bold, maybe even heroic, and beautiful?

Congratulations again go out to Stephen Boyett, Carrie Devitt, and Jessica Franklin for their outstanding finish at the National Appellate Advocacy Competition finals this past weekend.  The team placed among the final 16 in the nation.  The competition is hosted by the American Bar Association.

Both of Marquette’s teams, including the team composed of Elizabeth Champeau and Thomas Worsfold, distinguished themselves at the competition this year.  Both teams did well because they maintained a consistent effort throughout the competition.  They worked diligently on their briefs, and both teams achieved high scores on their briefs.  They also met numerous times with practices judges to hone their arguments.  The teams and I would like to thank the following practice round judges for all of their assistance this year:

Michael Aiken, Katie Bender, Rebecca Blemberg, Jesse Blocher, Bruce Boyden, Christopher Brunson, Kristina Cerjak, Michael Cerjak, Elizabeth Champeau, Wade DeArmond, Teague Devitt, Christopher Eisold, Rick Esenberg, Andrew Finn, Michael Fischer, Janine Geske, Kathleen Goodrich, Jeff Greipp, Jay Grenig, Nadelle Grossman, Martha Hamilton, Sam Hamilton, Thomas Hruz, Joseph Kearney, Jennifer Kreil, Mark Leitner, Alan Madry, Lisa Mazzie Hatlen, Natalia Minkel-Dumit, Brent Nistler, Julie Norton, Michael O’Hear, Joseph Peltz, Janice Rhodes, Peter Rofes, Paul Secunda, Bonnie Thomson, Michael Tuchalski, Carey Villeneuve, and Michael Waxman.

Please join me in congratulating Jon Fritz and Dale Johnson, who represented Marquette at the August A. Rendigs, Jr. National Products Liability Moot Court Competition this weekend.  Jon and Dale not only advanced to the semi-final round of the competition, they also received an award for writing the best brief on behalf of the petitioner.

Jon, Dale, and I would like to thank the many people who helped the team prepare for the competition.   Specifically, we would like to thank Marquette lawyers Jane Appleby and Sean Finnigan, 3L Maura Battersby, and Professors Rebecca Blemberg, Patricia Bradford, Rick Esenberg, Melissa Greipp, Nadelle Grossman, Lisa Hatlen, Jill Hayford, Jack Kircher, Julie Norton, Chad Oldfather, Elana Olson, and Andrea Schneider for their help in judging the practice arguments.