KU Law Blog

Benjamin Stringer, left, at Legal Career Options Day in 2015.

Accomplished student advocate eyes SCOTUS appearance

Benjamin Stringer’s ultimate dream is to one day argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. If his advocacy record at KU Law is any indication, that dream is well within reach.

Stringer has achieved a rare combination of success in both the Mock Trial Program and the nationally ranked Moot Court Program. He competed on the KU Law team that won the regional round of the 2018 Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) National Trial Competition. His National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court team took fifth place overall, and Stringer was named the second best oral advocate in the competition. In recognition of his promise as a trial advocate, Stringer recently received KU’s James P. Mize Trial Advocacy Award.

Benjamin Stringer, right, with TYLA National Trial Competition regional champion teammates Joe Uhlman, left, and Jordan Kane.

“My most memorable experience was winning the TYLA regionals with the mock trial team this year,” Stringer said. “Professor Alice Craig and Jean Phillips are two of the most phenomenal advocates and teachers I’ve ever met, and getting them to nationals for the first time is something I’ll always be proud of.”

Stringer has always enjoyed public speaking, researching new topics and collaborating with people. That’s what brought him to KU Law from Florida State University, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science.

“I thought a legal career was the best way to utilize my skill set,” he said.

Stringer has certainly tested that hypothesis by participating in a wide range of academic and social pursuits. He served as vice president of the KU student chapter of the Federal Bar Association and a member of the Business & Tax Law Society. As president of the Native American Law Students Association his 3L year, Stringer helped plan and execute the most successful Diversity in Law Banquet in KU Law history – resulting in more than $16,000 donated to the Diversity Scholarship Fund.

In addition to his competition team experiences, Stringer interned for Johnson County District Court Judge Paul Gurney through the Judicial Field Placement Program and served as a Senate reader for the State of Kansas. He also worked as a law clerk at Dysart Taylor Cotter McMonigle & Montemore PC and with the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation’s Office of In-House Counsel. Stringer most enjoyed the people he encountered in all of these roles.

“Over the past three years, I’ve met classmates from all over the country and world, learned from professors who are the top professionals in their fields, and worked for everyone from state senators to federally recognized Indian tribes,” he said. “Each person I’ve had the privilege of interacting with during this time has left me with something that has made me a better advocate.”

Stringer will join the litigation team at Dysart Taylor in Kansas City, Missouri, after graduation, with a long-term goal of becoming a federal appellate lawyer. He hopes his KU Law classmates remember him as outgoing, driven and light-hearted.

“Even though law school can be very intense, I’m a class clown at heart,” Stringer said. “I hope I was able to provide some levity for my classmates and professors during some of those more stressful moments.”

— By Mindie Paget

This post is the fifth in a series highlighting just a few exceptional members of KU Law’s Class of 2018. Check out stories about Maya Tsvetkova, Sam LaRoque, Joe Uhlman and Waynell Henson as we count down to the Hooding Ceremony on May 12.

Business-savvy law student learns best on the job

Every major brand has a tagline. Coca-Cola urges consumers to “Taste the Feeling.” Kraft Foods Group encourages shoppers to “Make Today Delicious.”

KU Law student Waynell Henson asks: “Are YOU Ready for Sunday School?”

It’s a question she poses as founder and president of That Sunday School Girl, a nonprofit offering video training, resources and products to ministry leaders. After nearly 20 years working for two national consumer goods companies (you guessed it: Coca-Cola and Kraft), Henson wasn’t ready to hang up her business hat during law school. So she built a personal brand and a social community that garnered more than 5,000 followers during her 1L year alone.

“I believe that no experience is wasted, and each of us is challenged to leave our imprint on the world and make it a better place,” said Henson, who earned an MBA at the University of Mississippi. “My work as a global sales and marketing leader now allows me to touch more than 10,000 people weekly around the world through my own brand with a message that is positive, building and uplifting.”

Waynell Henson, aka That Sunday School Girl.

Not surprisingly, Henson favored experiential learning opportunities during law school. She took Deposition Skills and Expert Witness Skills, and participated in the Mock Trial Program.

“Coming from a career back into an educational setting was quite a swing,” she said. “I find my best learning happens in the actual work context. I love when passion meets performance. It is truly the place where the practical application of theory is illuminated.”

Henson put that practical experience to work during a Judicial Field Placement with Judge Stephanie Mitchell in the 291st District Court in Dallas. She also interned with the Dallas County Prosecutor’s Office and the Dallas County Defender’s Office. During her final year at KU Law, she participated in the Elder Law Field Placement with Kansas Legal Services in Kansas City, Kansas.

If Henson sounds like a go-getter, that’s because she is. But that might not have been apparent to someone who met her on her first day in Green Hall.

“When I arrived, I had determined in my mind that I was going to lay low,” she said. “Connecting with the Black Law Students Association created a sense of community and a conduit to positively and productively raise social issues and give back.”

As BLSA president for 2017-2018, Henson oversaw the 27th annual Thanksgiving Food Drive, which generated 3,044 pounds of food and more than $2,500 for charities in Lawrence, Topeka and Kansas City, Kansas. Her marketing prowess shone brightly with daily promotions like “Mash It Up,” which awarded 4x points for items such as instant mashed potatoes and canned yams.

Henson hopes her classmates would describe her as kind, effective and results-oriented – someone who has their back.

“I bring calm and reason to chaotic moments and situations,” she said. “I bring the ability to keep people focused on what is really important. I am not perfect, but I hope it is said that I strive daily to reflect the values consistent with my faith.”

After graduation, Henson hopes to reconnect with the corporate world, this time working in the legal department.

“Ultimately I aspire to a senior leadership role in an organization that represents a great brand and cares about the community it serves,” she said. “I also hope to be a benefit in some way to my church.”

— By Mindie Paget

This post is the fourth in a series highlighting just a few exceptional members of KU Law’s Class of 2018. Check out stories about Maya Tsvetkova, Sam LaRoque and Joe Uhlman as we count down to the Hooding Ceremony on May 12.

Former firefighter earns law degree to help ensure justice

In his previous career as a firefighter and medic, Joe Uhlman witnessed the lasting damage that some people inflicted on others. He picked up the pieces the best he could in the brief time he spent with people during emergencies.

“I wanted the opportunity to be more proactive – to do what I could to ensure that the people who caused that damage were held accountable for their actions,” Uhlman said. “Law provides the best opportunity to do that.”

So with an eye toward working in a rural prosecutor’s office, Uhlman enrolled at KU Law and embraced every opportunity to hone his courtroom skills. He served as chief justice of KU’s Traffic Court and a justice on the KU Student Senate Court of Appeals.

Joe Uhlman and his wife, Misti.

He also participated with great success in both mock trial and moot court. Uhlman competed on teams that took first place in the regional rounds of the Texas Young Lawyers Association National Trial Competition and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Herbert Wechsler National Criminal Law Moot Court Competition, winning the Ryan J. Mullins Award for best professionalism, civility and sportsmanship.

All this while also serving on the staff of the Kansas Law Review and as treasurer of the Jewish Legal Society. His drive and personality made an impression on classmates.

“When Joe Uhlman took part in any organization, event or dialogue at KU, you could tell immediately,” said John Truong, fellow 2018 graduate. “He left his unique brand of style, humor and intelligence on every project he participated in or authored. Although unconventional – perhaps even contentious – his constant drive to push himself, and the many accomplishments that resulted from that drive, makes him an outstanding student of KU.”

Uhlman published articles in the Kansas Prosecutor, Kansas Law Review and Journal of the Kansas Bar Association, and he won first prize in the Center for Alcohol Policy’s 2018 national essay contest.

But his most memorable law school experience came this spring when Traffic Court hosted Chief Justice Lawton Nuss for the awarding of the inaugural Chief Justice Lawton R. Nuss Award for Excellence in Advocacy.

“It was wonderful to hear Chief Justice Nuss share stories about his time as a law student and a justice on Traffic Court,” Uhlman said. “It’s pretty incredible that KU Law has such an impact on its alumni that even the Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court is willing to give up an evening to spend time with its students.”

As he reflects on his time in Green Hall, Uhlman knows one thing for sure: He couldn’t have made it through law school without the unwavering love and support of his wife, Misti.

“I think sometimes we present people’s accomplishments as though they were earned alone, and I’m not sure how true that is – but I know it isn’t true for me,” Uhlman said. “Any accomplishments I can claim are as much hers as mine. Her strength has kept me going through all the times I thought I couldn’t – and there were several of those times during the last three years.”

— By Mindie Paget

This post is the third in a series highlighting just a few exceptional members of KU Law’s Class of 2018. Check out stories about Maya Tsvetkova and Sam LaRoque as we count down to the Hooding Ceremony on May 12.