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UPCOMING EVENTS


Greetings,

Our great NYC gathering included, from left to right: Sean Estrada ('14), Professor Barbara Bergman, me, Jed Mullens ('98), admitted student Cory Rodas (who will be in the class of '21!),
Deb Kessler of the UA Foundation,
and fellow Wildcat Michael Bloom.
Our summer travels are off to an exciting start. We connected with alumni and friends yesterday evening in New York City. 

Tomorrow evening we'll gather with two dozen members of our vibrant and growing Washington, DC, community.

Our 2013 alumna Jonay Foster Holkins, featured below, is one of over 130 Arizona Law alumni (and around 2,000 UA alumni) who call DC their home.

Back on campus, we prepare to welcome seven outstanding new faculty members! Meet them in this issue of Letter of the Law.

And, if you're in the area, join us at one these upcoming receptions:
 
Washington, DC
Thursday, May 31 
 
Seattle, WA
Wednesday, June 6 
 
Portland, OR
Thursday, June 7 
 

Until the footnotes,

Marc

Spotlight on DC Alumna Jonay Foster Holkins ('13)


Jonay Foster Holkins ('13)  says that she has always been drawn to work that focuses on empowering minority and low-income populations, and that she set her sights on living and working in Washington, DC, early on

Jonay is originally from Chicago, IL, and went to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore for her undergraduate degree. Next, she spent a year living in DC and working extensively on health care reform policies that informed the Affordable Care Act at a non-profit advocacy organization, Families USA.

Turning her focus toward law school, Jonay met with the Arizona Law admissions team at a Law School Admission Council forum in DC.  She eventually chose Arizona Law, looking forward experiencing a new part of the country. Jonay says she was drawn to Arizona Law's small class size, sense of community, competitive (but not cut-throat) environment, and mountain landscape.
 
Jonay relates a memory that stands out from her coursework at Arizona Law:

"My ride-along assignment with the Tucson Police Department for Criminal Procedure with Professor Jack Chin was an experience that I will never forget. The day started off quietly, shooting the police officer's speed gun at cars driving through a major intersection. Things quickly changed when the officer received a call that there was an armed robbery underway at the Safeway on Oracle. We ended up in a high-speed car chase around Tucson, which ended abruptly when the suspect ran his car into a light post and the car burst into flames. The suspect got out of the car, and the police officer invited me to join in the foot chase. I politely declined and waited near the car. The officer eventually caught the driver and arrested him."

Jonay and Patrick, both Class of 2013.
Knowing that she eventually wanted to return to Washington, DC, during law school Jonay made it a point to pursue internships there, including internships with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and the Office of the White House Counsel.

After law school, she clerked for two years at the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, with Chief Judge Raner Collins ('75).
 
"That clerkship along with my experience with health care policy led me to my current position as a litigation associate at Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP, where I represent federally-qualified health centers across the country."
 
Some of Jonay's cases have included: challenging a local government's termination of a health center's lease agreement by bringing claims on behalf of the health center under the United States Constitution; assisting providers of health centers with securing absolute immunity from civil claims, including allegations of malpractice; and defending community health centers that are accused of violating the False Claims Act. She says,
 
"I enjoy arguing on behalf health centers because health centers are essential for ensuring access to affordable, quality health care options for low-income populations."
 
Jonay recalls a number of favorite Tucson outings, including brunch at the Cup Café at Hotel Congress (and happy hours with live music), concerts at the Rialto Theatre, and biking along the Rillito River Park Trail path. Now in DC, she says,

"My husband, Patrick Holkins (also a 2013 Arizona Law grad), and I just moved to the H Street corridor in DC, so we spend a lot of time exploring our new neighborhood. In addition, a few of my favorite spots include Al Tiramisu (for special occasions), Tabard Inn (also a hotel that has a great brunch), the Portrait Gallery, and Capital One Arena, home to the Washington Wizards."

Jonay and Patrick at their wedding rehearsal dinner flanked by 2013  Arizona Law classmates.

Jonay agrees that her Arizona Law degree helped her forge lasting connections with classmates and faculty along with meeting her longstanding goals, propelling her to an exciting position doing meaningful work in the nation's capital.

Welcome New UA Law Faculty

The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law is pleased to welcome seven new faculty members. Their scholarship, teaching and advocacy span a wide range of areas, from the psychology behind legal decision-making to civil justice reform, from the management of natural resources to changing family law, and from the regulation of health care research and innovation to cybersecurity.
 
We're thrilled to add these exceptional teachers, scholars and practitioners to our faculty ranks. They will further enrich the college's intellectual core and animate the impact and importance of law and policy for our students.



Albertina Antognini joins as an associate professor of law and will teach courses in Family Law, Property, Trusts and Estates as well as a seminar on the regulation of the modern family. Antognini's research focuses on the regulation of nonmarital relationships. Her recent piece, "The Law of Nonmarriage," was selected for the 2016 Harvard/Yale/Stanford Junior Faculty Forum. Prior to joining University of Arizona Law, she was an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Antognini received her JD from Harvard Law School.

Stacy Butler has been hired as director of innovation for justice, a new position that will focus on improving access to justice with the use of design theory, technology, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Butler has two decades of experience in community advocacy and expanding the reach of civil legal services for under-served populations. In 2017, she launched Step Up to Justice, a pro bono civil legal center that delivers free legal services to low-income families in Pima County. Butler created an Access to Justice course at University of Arizona Law in 2017, which provided students with an opportunity to design and launch real-world access to justice solutions. She is a 2002 University of Arizona Law JD alumna.

 
Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (IPLP) program alumna Akilah Kinnison returns to University of Arizona Law as an assistant professor and IPLP program graduate advisor. She will teach Critical Race Theory to our graduate students and Public International Law to our BA in Law and MLS students. Kinnison joins the college from Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker, LLP, a national law firm based in Washington D.C., dedicated to the practice of federal Indian law. Her practice areas include cultural and natural resource protection, health care and education, international repatriation, tribal gaming and government relations. Kinnison received both her JD and LLM from University of Arizona Law.


Tara Sklar joins as a director of graduate health sciences programs. She will be based in the DC area, and will teach online courses in Clinical Research Ethics for Regulatory Science and Regulatory Aspects for Health Care Delivery. Sklar will also oversee development and administration of regulatory science and health law programs. She comes to University of Arizona Law from the University of Melbourne's School of Population and Global Health, where she served as a fellow in the law and public health group and previously as director of aging programs. Sklar received her JD from the University of Houston Law Center and a master of public health degree from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center.


Bethany Sullivan, a 2011 University of Arizona Law JD graduate, returns to the college as the Lohse clinical director for the new Natural Resource Use and Management Clinic. Sullivan formerly served as an attorney-advisor at the Department of Interior, where she counseled the assistant secretary of Indian affairs on tribal lands and natural resources. She has worked on issues pertaining to tribal trust lands, reservation boundaries, leasing and rights-of-way, taxation and tribal jurisdiction, and environmental compliance in both the regulatory and federal civil litigation settings.

 

Tammi Walker is a new associate professor of law with a joint appointment as an associate professor in the Department of Psychology in the College of Science. She will be teaching courses in Juvenile Law. Walker was previously a visiting assistant professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, where she taught courses in Juvenile Law and Civil Procedure. She is an experienced litigator and a trained research psychologist with an interest in procedural fairness and the administration of justice. Walker uses psychological theory and empirical research methods to challenge the validity of commonly held beliefs that often support legal decision-making. Her research is designed to improve outcomes by combating bias in treatment and punishment decisions. Walker received a PhD from the University of Virginia and a JD from Columbia Law School.


Andrew Woods joins as associate professor of law. He will teach courses in Contracts and Technology Policy. Woods' research interests include cybersecurity and the regulation of technology. He comes to University of Arizona Law after serving as an assistant professor of law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. He holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Around the College
New Arizona Law Website!

We are excited to share that today you will find a new law.arizona.edu

The goal of the redesign was to create a more modern site that is easier to use, embodies what Arizona Law is all about, and is unmistakably part of the University of Arizona. We hope the site is useful to you, especially the  Alumni and Careers sections, which feature lots of resources about events and opportunities for alumni and friends, employers and students to connect.  


Arizona Law in the News

"Few Rules Govern Police Use of Facial Recognition Technology"
Wired, commentary by professor Jane Bambauer



Our alums around the country and the world are passionate in their work and lives, and think warmly of their time in Tucson. It is a great, engaged, supportive network, and visits and gatherings help to reinforce this deep community. As I write this ... I'm on the way to Penn Station to catch a train to DC for the next two days.

Warmly,

 

 

 
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