News for alumni and friends of Indiana Law
September 2021
In this issue:
- From the Dean
- Law School launches alumni podcast series
- Nominations open for Academy of Law Alumni Fellows
- Estate gifts to establish endowed chair
- Tax program continues to receive national acclaim
- Testy to serve as visiting faculty next semester
- Family Office program builds momentum
- Mech joins Law School from IU Foundation
- Faculty news
- Coming events, reunions
- Class notes
From the Dean
As we head toward the halfway point of the semester, the Law School is operating more-or-less as normal, with practically all classes in person, along with the usual array of extracurricular lectures and student activities. Despite rising COVID-19 cases in Indiana as a whole, the IU community is a relatively safe place to be: Vaccination rates are high, infection rates are low, and students, faculty, and staff are taking sensible precautions. We are optimistic that we'll be able to complete the semester in a similar vein.
I have been meeting with alumni in online receptions this fall, and I hope you'll plan to join us for an upcoming session. One of the questions alumni ask most often is, "How can I help?" There are many ways, but they fall into three basic categories: Volunteer, engage, and support.
- Volunteer to serve as a moot court or trial court competition judge or to assist our Career Services Office as a networking resource for students.
- Engage with the school by attending receptions and reunions, keeping us up-to-date on news about you, or hosting a prospective student meeting in your city. Consider following us on social media and spreading the good news about the school and our alumni as it happens.
- Support the school financially—Our current priorities are the Fund for Excellence, the Robel Scholars program, and the Fromm Emergency Fund. We have an ambitious goal to fund a significant portion of our 1L class in summer positions, to refurbish facilities, and to expand support of faculty and programs, and we are always happy to speak with alumni about these broader initiatives too.
We have included below a survey asking whether you work with a family office or in family office services. We’d love to hear from you as we continue to enhance our Family Office Program. I'll be glad to chat further with you. We have tremendous alumni, and I am grateful for all the continued support.
Best,
Austen Parrish
Dean and James H. Rudy Professor of Law
Law School launches alumni podcast series
One More Cold Call, a new podcast series featuring alumni from around the world and from all walks of life, begins this week. In each episode, Dean Parrish chats informally with accomplished alumni who have unique stories to tell about their professional lives and legal careers, and the lessons they've learned along the way.
The first four episodes of Season One are live on the Law School's website or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Episode 1: Cans and Joint Degrees: Making a Difference in Sustainability
Scott Breen, JD/MPA '15, the vice president of sustainability at the Can Manufacturers Institute, describes his work and career path, how he became involved with sustainability and aluminum can recycling, his work with his Sustainability Defined podcast, and the benefits of earning a joint degree.
Episode 2: Let's Play Ball: Sports, Entertainment, and the Law
Milt Thompson, '79, president and CEO of Grand Slam, talks about turning down a professional baseball career to attend law school, what it was like to graduate in 1979, how he co-founded Play Ball Indiana, his work with the Pan American Games (including a trip to Cuba where he met with Fidel Castro), and his long-standing work with nonprofits and community organizations in Indianapolis.
Episode 3: Trailblazing in Utah: Managing the State's Only Certified Majority Woman-Owned Law Firm
Heidi Goebel, '97, founder and managing partner of Goebel Anderson PC, describes her path from Indianapolis to Salt Lake City, the importance of mentorship, and how she co-founded what is currently the only certified majority woman-owned and operated law firm in Utah.
Episode 4: Super-Engaged: From Presidential Task Forces to the NFALA
Kaelyne Yumul Wietelman, '19, an associate at Kelley Drye in Washington DC, provides advice on how to balance a practice at a highly respected firm with active community and volunteer engagement. In this episode we hear about Kaelyne’s work with the American Bar Foundation and the National Filipino American Lawyers Association.
Nominations open for Academy of Law Alumni Fellows
Nominations are open for the Academy of Law Alumni Fellows. Established in 1985, ALAF recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves in their careers through personal achievements and dedication to the highest standards of the profession. It is the highest honor the Law School bestows.
To nominate an alumnus, complete and return the attached form. Nominations are due November 15.
Estate gifts to establish endowed chair
The Law School has been named beneficiary of two trusts from an alumnus and his wife that will establish an endowed chair for a professor.
Donald W. Buttrey, '61, died April 24 in Indianapolis at the age of 86. A distinguished practitioner for 50 years, he spent most of his career at the former McHale Cook & Welch firm. He also served as president of the Indianapolis Bar Association and as a trustee of Indiana State University. (See the July 2021 issue of ergo for a complete obituary.) Buttrey's wife, Karen Lake Buttrey, a philanthropist and community leader in Indianapolis, died in 2010, and a gift to the school from a trust she had established matured upon her husband's death. The two gifts will be used, at their direction, to establish the Karen Lake Buttrey and Donald W. Buttrey Chair, the recipient of which will be announced later.
"We are honored and delighted that the Buttreys chose to remember the Law School in their estate planning," said Lisa Hosey, assistant dean for advancement. "Their gift will help us develop and sustain outstanding faculty who are dedicated to both research and teaching."
“Don and Karen were wonderful people," said Dean Parrish. "In addition to being a fabulous lawyer, Don was very generous to both Indiana University and the Law School throughout his life. He supported several endowed scholarships, the Indiana Law Journal, and the Fund for Excellence.
"The Law School is grateful to Don and his family and to his beloved second wife and widow, Ann Hyer Buttrey," Parrish continued. “We’re proud that one of our faculty will hold the Karen Lake Buttrey and Donald Buttrey Chair.”
The establishment of the trust and naming of the holder of the endowed chair will be finalized sometime in 2022.
Tax program continues to receive national acclaim
Indiana Law's tax program—ranked 16th in the nation by US News & World Report—continues to receive national acclaim. Leandra Lederman, William W. Oliver Professor of Tax Law and Director of the Tax Program, has convened her popular Tax Policy Colloquium again this year, featuring scholars from throughout the country. Last summer, she organized the school's co-sponorship of the Indiana/Leeds Summer Tax Workshop, an online speaker series focusing on tax working papers of international interest.
This fall, Lederman and Prof. Allison Christians of McGill University launched the second season of Break into Tax, an innovative YouTube series intended for anyone learning about tax anywhere in the world. Lederman's creativity and diligence have paid off: She has appeared on Prof. Brian Leiter's list of top ten most cited US law school scholars every year from 2016–2020—the only woman on the top-ten list.
Lederman's colleague Prof. David Gamage has achieved recognition of his own. He has written extensively on tax and budget policy at both the state and federal levels, as well as on tax theory, fiscal federalism, and the intersections between taxation and health care. Gamage ranks in the top five of the SSRN U.S. tax law professor rankings. He is also ranked as the ninth most-cited US tax law scholar and is the youngest scholar on that top ten list.
Many alumni who took tax courses in the late 20th century will recall Prof. William Popkin, now an emeritus member of the faculty, but still involved in research and teaching. His course in Legislation is still a popular choice every year. In addition, several adjunct faculty—Jamie Andree, Ben Blair, '10, Kevin Halloran, '92, Steve Paul, '72, Pat Price, Rodney Retzner, and Tim Riffle, '83—round out the tax curriculum with a variety of specialized courses, from state and local tax to estate planning. Given the talent and breadth of the faculty, the programs high national ranking comes as no surprise.
Testy to serve as visiting faculty next semester
Kellye Y. Testy, '91, joins the Law School in the spring 2022 semester as a distinguished visiting professor, teaching a course in Corporations. Since 2017 Testy has served as president and chief executive officer of the Law School Admission Council. Under her leadership, LSAC, a 350-employee, not-for-profit organization, has advanced law and justice by innovating to encourage diverse, talented individuals to study law and by supporting their learning journey from prelaw through practice.
Previously Testy served for eight years as dean of the University of Washington School of Law, the first woman to do so. Accomplishments during her tenure as dean included the establishment of the endowed Toni Rembe deanship, launching both the Barer and Gregoire Fellows programs as well as the Tech Policy Lab, and the largest gift in the school’s history: a $56 million bequest from alumnus Jack McDonald for student scholarships and faculty and program support. Testy also served as a professor and dean of Seattle University School of Law, where she helped found the Access to Justice Institute, the Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, and other key programs.
Family Office program builds momentum
The school's family office program is building momentum. Established in 2019 by a gift from Michael Flannery, '83 (see ergo, December 2019), the program provides training for students interested in working for family offices and firms with family office service practices. The Law School is the first in the United States with a program focused specifically on this growing phenomenon.
Jeremy Hsiao, JD/MBA '22, was the inaugural Michael and Lori Flannery Business and Law Fellow this past summer, working for Duchossois Capital Management, where Flannery is CEO, and 5th Century Partners in Chicago, a purpose-driven private-equity firm co-founded by Bruce Hampton BS ’09, who serves with Flannery on the Law School’s Family Office Advisory Board. In 2020, Jeremy had the privilege of serving as a Segal Fellow working with the Elmore Companies, headed by a three-generation Indiana Law alumni family. You can read more about Jeremy's experiences here, in a story written by guest columnist Savannah Price, a second-year undergraduate student in the Wells Scholars Program.
We are interested in finding out who among our alumni works in the family office arena. Will you help by answering the attached brief survey? We'd also appreciate your updating your contact information via the survey. The survey will take less than three minutes. Thank you in advance for your help.
Mech joins development staff from IU Foundation
Rebekah (Beka) Mech will join the Law School as director of development, major gifts, on October 1. She joins the Law School from the Indiana University Foundation, where she served most recently as senior associate director for regional development. Susan Yoon, '96, major gifts officer, has been promoted to senior director of development, retaining her current portfolio and acquiring responsibility for the school's major gift strategy.
The school's advancement team is now fully staffed and can be reached as follows:
Lisa Hosey, assistant dean, advancement
lhosey@indiana.edu
(812) 855-9953
Stephanie Coffey, director of annual giving and alumni relations
stcoffey@indiana.edu
(812) 856-2793
Susan Yoon, senior director of development
susyoon@iu.edu
(812) 856-1246
Beka Mech, director of development, major gifts
rmech@iu.edu
(812) 855-9993
Sarah Benson, advancement coordinator
spickel@indiana.edu
(812) 855-9700
Ashland Zimmerman, office coordinator
atheodor@indiana.edu
(812) 855-9700
Jessica Weisner, advancement assistant
jmwesine@indiana.edu
(812) 855-9700
Faculty news
Prof. João Marinotti convened a Workshop on Private Law and Emerging Technology, a series of three sessions in September co-hosted by the Yale Law School Information Society Project, the Harvard Law School Project on the Foundations of Private Law, and the Yale Law School Center for Private Law.
Prof. Kevin Brown spoke on September 10 at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs inaugural Diversity Critical Conversation event. His topic: “A Look at Critical Race Theory.”
On September 10, Prof. Marshall Leaffer presented “IP at the Supreme Court in 2021” at a webinar hosted by the Indianapolis Bar Association.
Dean Parrish co-hosted a three-day conference in September on Extraterritoriality in International Law. It featured 38 scholars from over a dozen countries and more than 400 webinar registrants from 60 countries.
On September 13, HUMA, the Institute for Humanities in Africa, hosted a book launch for Prof. I. India Thusi’s newest work, Policing Bodies: Law, Sex Work, and Desire in Johannesburg.
As part of the school’s Constitution Day activities on September 15, Profs. Dan Conkle, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, Steve Sanders, and India Thusi spoke before the Law School community on “What’s Next for the Constitution and the Supreme Court.” In addition, the school’s Federalist Society hosted a panel on “The Forgotten Constitution(s): The Role of States in the Development of American Constitutional Law,” featuring Indiana Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey G. Slaughter, ’89, and Indiana Solicitor General Thomas M. Fisher, ’94.
IU Women’s Basketball Coach joined Profs. Kevin Brown, Don Knebel, and Shana Wallace on September 16 for a panel discussion covering NCAA antitrust and NIL licensing issues for college athletes.
Prof. Luis Fuentes-Rohwer spoke on September 16 at a Community Conversation webinar focused on the Hispanic/Latino experience at Indiana University–Kokomo.
On September 21, Prof. Jody Lyneé Madeira spoke at the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis’s 2021–22 Seminar Series, where she presented her work "Protecting a Potential Child's Well-Being Before Conception: The Strange Case of Fertility Fraud.”
Jerome Hall Law Library Director Prof. Susan DeMaine and Assistant Director for Public Services Ashley Ahlbrand authored chapters for an open access textbook, Introduction to Law Librarianship.
Coming events, reunions
Members of the Classes of 1970 and 1971: Plan to attend reunions on Friday, October 1 and Saturday October 2.
For details, reservations, and any pandemic-related updates, visit the Alumni Weekend website.
Class notes
Be sure to follow the Law School on Facebook and Twitter for the most up-to-date news on the Law School community. For more information about your classmates, and to submit your own news, visit our class notes page.
Read In the media for faculty quotes and op-eds in state and national media.