6th Semester in D.C. experience was ‘invaluable’ to professional career

Marissa Hotujac, L’20, poses for a picture in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Marissa Hotujac.

Participating in the 6th Semester in D.C. program turned out to be the best part of law school, and I hadn’t even considered doing it until my 3L year. Going into my final year at Green Hall, I wanted real-world experience in environmental law, but I wasn’t sure exactly how to do that. A short conversation with Professor Jennifer Schmidt pointed me in the direction of the Equal Justice Works (EJW) Conference and the 6th Semester program, which ultimately led to an amazing environmental law clerkship in Washington, D.C. 

Every fall (at least prior to COVID-19), KU Law sends a few lucky students to the EJW Conference in D.C. for a weekend of networking and interviewing with employers in public interest law. It is a great professional opportunity to interview with employers from all over the country, but it also allows those attending the opportunity to explore our nation’s capital (which for me was a glorious first full of museums and monuments).

Marissa Hotujac, L’20, participated in KU Law’s 6th Semester in Washington, D.C. Program in the spring of 2020. Photo courtesy of Marissa Hotujac.

I interviewed with several NGOs and government agencies in the environmental law field during the EJW Conference and secured a spring semester clerkship with the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division (DOJ ENRD).

After landing a stellar opportunity, the only thing really holding me back from D.C. was the cost. Like many large cities, Washington, D.C. is notorious for its high rent, which had me feeling apprehensive. As it turned out, an extremely generous alum offered to help me with housing. And the location was about as good as it gets – in beautiful DuPont circle, just steps away from the metro.

Once I got to D.C., I began my clerkship with the DOJ ENRD where I was placed in the Environmental Enforcement Section with about 20 other clerks. This section enforces the federal environmental laws of the U.S. by bringing civil actions against individuals and entities who are not in compliance with federal laws like the Clean Air Act.

My experience working in the ENRD can only be described as invaluable, and I gained skills there that I will carry with me throughout my professional career. There, I worked on complex environmental law issues with a team of knowledgeable DOJ attorneys. I participated in meetings with DOJ and EPA attorneys from all over the country (including the Kansas office), and I was able to present my legal research to them. I also gained practical experience drafting motions, memos, and briefs, all while receiving mentorship and guidance from DOJ attorneys along the way.

Marissa Hotujac, L’20, poses for a picture in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Marissa Hotujac.

My clerkship and the experience I gained were certainly highlights of my semester in D.C., but it didn’t end there. Outside of work, I attended two Supreme Court oral arguments and spent my weekends exploring the city with other DOJ ENRD law clerks from the East Coast and West Coast law schools. Our adventures included day-long walks in Georgetown, museums and gallery marathons, relaxing under the monuments, picnics on the National Mall, and even hosting our own “law clerk prom” in D.C. since none of us could attend our schools’ law proms.

Spending my 6th semester in D.C. was one of the best decisions I made in law school. I would never have anticipated the professional and personal growth that I would experience during my time in D.C., and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity and the memories made. It was well worth taking the leap out of my comfort zone.

— By Marissa Hotujac, L’20

Melanie DeRousse takes on leadership role at Best Practices for Legal Education blog

Clinical Associate Professor Melanie DeRousse

Melanie DeRousse recently became editor of the Best Practices for Legal Education blog. DeRousse has been a blog author and commentator for several years. She is also a clinical associate professor and the director of the Legal Aid Clinic at KU Law.

Since 2007, the Best Practices for Legal Education blog has discussed, documented and recorded reforms in legal education. The blog, which is updated twice a week, serves as gathering place for discussion of ideas about how to best educate lawyers.

“I’ve always been interested in the recent energy around reforming legal education and bringing new ideas to the table,” DeRousse said. “I am continually intrugued by how we teach and train lawyers for the market they are now entering and the clients that they need to serve.”

DeRousse began her new role in July. She co-edits the blog with Davida Finger, a clinical professor and associate dean at Loyola New Orleans College of Law. DeRousse and Finger took over leadership of the blog from former editor and founder, Mary Lynch.

The blog grew out of the work of the Clinical Legal Education Association’s (CLEA) Best Practices Committee. DeRousse has served as co-chair of CLEA’s Best Practices Committee since 2018.

As an editor, DeRousse takes an active role with the blog’s 39 contributing authors by organizing a posting schedule, soliciting topics, communicating with authors, publishing blog posts, moderating comments, and ensuring deadlines are met.

“It gave me a chance to have a platform to encourage authors to think more deeply about issues and start writing about them as they relate to legal education,” DeRousse said.

DeRousse and Finger plan to highlight three content areas on the blog: teaching justice by doing justice work, pedagogical evolution and large-scale policy changes affecting teaching.

“As we move forward into this new era of leadership, Davida and I have talked about continuing to develop that robust discussion. Keeping it as an experimental space where we can discuss new ideas and vet them among colleagues who are also interested in those ideas,” DeRousse said. “We also want to push the blog in a direction where we talk about equity and inclusion in legal education.”

The Best Practices for Legal Education Blog is recognized as a voice in the national dialogue about legal education. The blog was named to the ABA Journal‘s Blawg 100 Hall of Fame in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018. It was ranked as the #1 legal education blog by FeedSpot in 2020.

“This blog is such a great opportunity for KU to be a national voice in the conversation about changes in legal education,” DeRousse said. “It’s a good fit for what KU is as an institution.”

DeRousse joined the KU Law faculty in 2015. The lawyering program at KU Law emphasizes experiential teaching methodologies, which piqued DeRousse’s interest in teaching at the university.

“KU has a really strong position on teaching and legal pedagogy,” DeRousse said. “We have really diverse methods of teaching, and my colleagues here strive for a level of inclusivity and engagement in their teaching.”

Prior to entering academia, DeRousse was an attorney at Legal Services of Eastern Missouri Inc., where she focused her civil practice on the legal needs of survivors of intimate partner violence. She also clerked for Hon. Kathianne Knaup Crane at the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.

— By Ashley Golledge

How to stay connected with your classmates in the era of social distancing

Photo by Ashley Golledge

Stephen King may have been an undercover law student at some point, and was talking about law students when he exclaimed, “If we don’t have each other, we go crazy with loneliness. When we do, we go crazy with togetherness.”

Before COVID-19, most of us law students spent the better part of our time together. Even on the weekends, we would get together to study. All this togetherness did make us cherished our brief moments alone. However, it has now been over seven months since many of us have seen each other in Green Hall. I know I miss you all! You understand what I’m going through as a law student. My husband just doesn’t seem to care or participate in the grumbling when I randomly and frustratingly blurt out “BLUEBOOK.” A fellow classmate in the library would not need any explanation and just join in with his own protest. I miss that!

With many of us only taking classes online and group meetings being held virtually, we have to be purposeful to connect with one another. It’s not just important for us as students (we all need that person we can text during class to ask a “stupid” question), but these peer relationships are meaningful as we embark on our careers. Our peers will be people we call on for references, advice and support for years to come.

To help combat the isolation and loneliness, as well as help facilitate the meaningful building of relationships, the various student groups have worked hard to create opportunities for us to interact together outside of our classes. If you have yet to get involved with a student group, I highly recommend checking some of them out soon. Many are just now having their first meetings and even if you’re not an official member, they will all welcome you to join their events.

I am honored to be president of KU Women in Law. We have already had deep meaningful discussions about our role as women in racial reconciliation, in politics and voting as we commemorate 100 years of the 19th Amendment. Our meetings do not look like they have in the past, but that’s OK. Even with being completely online, the group has been able to think outside the box with various activities, including teaming up with the Association of Women Lawyers of Kansas City to help match our members with a legal mentor in the KC area! I’m thankful that I have personally gotten to know some of my peers on a deeper and more meaningful level.

If you are not sure what groups or events are available, make sure to check your class’s Facebook page, Dean Crystal Mai’s announcements, or ask those in your section what they are involved in. You can also reach out to Dean Leah Terranova. There really is a student group that fit every kind of interest waiting for you! Because if we’re going through this crazy time, we should at least do so together!

— By Kendra Stacey, a 2L from Kansas City, Kansas and a KU Law Student Ambassador

KU Law welcomes largest class of LEAD students this fall

A group of LEAD students tour the Kansas Supreme Court building in April 2019.

The University of Kansas School of Law welcomed 15 students from the LEAD Program this fall, making it the largest class of LEAD students since the program launched in 2013.

The Legal Education Accelerated Degree (LEAD) Program gives students an expedited opportunity to earn both a B.A. and a J.D. degree in six years, instead of seven.

“We believe KU Law to have the largest, or second largest, 3+3 program in the country,” said Lumen Mulligan, LEAD program director and professor of law. “LEAD students accounted for nearly 15% of our 1L enrollment in fall 2020.”

The program is designed to prepare students for law school and a legal career. As undergraduates, LEAD students have the opportunity to learn about law school, law-related internships and legal practice; build relationships with law professors and practicing attorneys; and participate in off-campus activities, such as a tour of the Kansas Supreme Court building and discussion with a justice of the court.

Sixty percent of the 15-person class of LEAD students are Kansas residents. The remaining 40% arrive at KU Law from five states across the country.

The LEAD program at KU started in 2013. The University of Kansas School of Law and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences collaborated on the degree track to provide an opportunity for high-ability students to maximize their coursework at KU.

The size of the program has grown over time. There are 125 undergraduate students at KU currently enrolled in the LEAD program. The program is offered at the University of Kansas and Kansas State University.

Sarah Wood, a first-year law student from Tulsa, Oklahoma, said she was grateful to be a part of the LEAD Program because it helped guide her goals from the very beginning of her college experience.

“Choosing to go to law school and all that comes with it can be an extremely stressful time, but with the guidance I received from KU, I felt fully supported each step of the way,” Wood said. “After my first full month of law school, I am more appreciative than ever to the LEAD Program and all that it offers.”

— By Ashley Golledge

Alumna strives for change

Sarah Deer, L’99, aims to end gender-based violence in Native American communities through legislative change, legal scholarship and advocacy

Photo by Ashley Golledge.

Sarah Deer, L’99, has dedicated her career to ending violence against women in Native American communities. For nearly 30 years, she has advocated for the protection of Native women and worked with survivors. Her scholarship and advocacy focus on the intersection of federal Indian law and victims’ rights.

Deer is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma. She was instrumental in the development and passage of landmark legislation that protects Native American women from gender-based violence, including The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, and the 2013 and 2019 reauthorizations of the Violence Against Women Act.

She has also testified before Congress on four occasions and filed five amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court. Deer is also the chief justice of the Prairie Island Indian Community Supreme Court.

“My testimony to Congress about violence against Native women and my Supreme Court briefs advocating for the interests of Native women and children are two notable examples where I have used my legal education to ameliorate the status of underprivileged communities,” Deer said.

Deer, who grew up in Wichita, is a two-time alumna of the University of Kansas. She earned undergraduate degrees with honors in women’s studies and philosophy in 1996. Deer also earned a J.D. and a Tribal Lawyering Certificate from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1999.

“The law school at the University of Kansas is also a great value,” Deer said. “It’s an excellent education at a reasonable cost.”

Deciding where to pursue her education was an easy choice for Deer because she is a second-generation Jayhawk. Her mother, Jan Deer, graduated from KU in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in science education. Her father, Montie Deer, also went to KU.

“I already had an affinity to KU because I studied here as an undergrad,” Deer said. “Both of my parents attended KU.”

After law school, Deer worked at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. and at the Tribal Law and Policy Institute in Los Angeles as a victim-advocacy legal specialist and staff attorney. She also co-directed the Indian Law Clinic at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Sarah Deer presents “Sovereignty of the Soul: Centering the Voices of Native Women” on October 1, 2019 as part of the Hall Center for the Humanities Lecture Series. Photo by Ashley Golledge.

In 2016, she served as the Langston Hughes Visiting Professor at KU.

“In the Fall of 2016, I returned to Lawrence as a visiting faculty member as part of the Langston Hughes program,” Deer said. “I enjoyed my time in Lawrence and working with other KU faculty. I was fortunate enough to be offered a permanent position at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. My positive experience with students made it an easy decision to return to KU.”

Deer is now a University Distinguished Professor in KU’s Department of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies. She has a joint appointment in the School of Public Affairs & Administration and is a courtesy professor at KU Law.

“I like sharing my own experiences as a graduate of KU, and I encourage students to dream big,” Deer said.

Deer was awarded a “Genius Grant” from the MacArthur Fellows Program in 2014. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2019. She was the first woman from KU and the fifth Kansan to receive the honor. Earlier this year, she was selected to be in the 2020 class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows. Through the fellowship, Deer will author a book, Indigenous Democracies: Native Women and the Future of Tribal Nations in the United States, about the basis of indigenous democracies in Native women’s political activism.

Deer has co-authored four tribal law textbooks. She also published a book, The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America, in 2015. Deer has published articles in law journals, including the Harvard Journal of Law and Gender, the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, and the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law.

In addition to her scholarly work, Deer serves the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma as a formal consultant on legal reform efforts.

— By Ashley Golledge

How to manage stress in law school

Photo by Ashley Golledge

Law school can be frightening because of all the unknowns, especially in these strange times. The material is challenging — and it can be hard or nearly impossible — to fully understand everything in the course of a semester, or even just in the course of a week. This can lead to a feeling that you don’t belong or are somehow not understanding the material as well as others. The good news is, as I’ve found it, you’re almost never alone in finding material hard to grasp. The even better news is that at KU Law, the professors are eager to ensure that you have a full grasp of the material. The open-door (or open-Zoom chat) policy at KU is real! 

That feeling of not knowing can follow some people throughout their entire career in the law. I know that at my job with a firm over the summer, it being my first legal job, I felt like I had no idea what was going on. Supreme Court Justice Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her memoir that even with all her success, she has dealt with what’s called “imposter syndrome” throughout her career. Imposter syndrome is essentially the feeling of not being smart enough and being worried about every little mistake you may make. It’s something that a lot of law students deal with. I find that discussing difficult topics from the day with a few of my classmates can really help. It can be difficult not to follow the urge to compare everything you do with other law students. The reality is that every person studies and learns differently. Above all, the fact that you’ve gotten good grades in undergraduate, done well on the LSAT, and gotten into law school is on its own enough to show that you belong at law school. 

What’s helped me deal with that stress is making sure that law school doesn’t consume my life. For me, a way to escape the stress of law school life has been with friends, both from the law school and elsewhere. Working and worrying yourself to death every day isn’t a recipe for success in law school. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your law school success is to take a day off from studying and go out for dinner with some friends. On a day-to-day basis, I typically try and cut myself off from studying at 9 p.m. Then I have the remainder of the evening (I stay up late) to myself, either to watch a movie or to just relax. KU Law’s atmosphere also helps take the stress out of things, as everyone is eager to help you in any way they can.  

— By James Schmidt, a 2L from Houston, Texas and a KU Law Student Ambassador.