| UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
JAMES E. ROGERS COLLEGE OF LAW |
May 4, 2022 | | |
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Greetings,
Many students attend law school hoping to make a difference. What that looks like in each lawyer’s career is unique.
In Tara Sklar’s case, a serious childhood illness and the lack of power she felt over medical decisions, along with education in law and health policy, have led her to advocate for change and educate health care professionals about legal issues.
We are happy to spotlight the important work of Tara and the Health Law & Policy program at University of Arizona Law.
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On a lighter note, we recently welcomed Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat, along with alumni and other members of the law school community, to the law school for our end-of-year Law Community Celebration. | |
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Until the footnotes,
Marc
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Tara Sklar: The Law Professor Who’s Fighting for Your Health Rights |  | |
At the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, a growing alliance is forming. Healthcare workers and the legal professionals who help to design and interpret regulations in the healthcare industry are joining forces to address issues with public health policy.
Leading the collaboration is Tara Sklar, professor of health law and director of the Health Law & Policy program at University of Arizona Law. From her office at the University of Arizona Washington, D.C. Center for Outreach & Collaboration, Tara sits at a unique vantage point between the two disciplines, providing her with a clear picture of how they can work together to mitigate health disparities and improve patient care for vulnerable populations.
A Lifelong Commitment
Tara’s work is motivated by her own experience. As a young child, she dealt with a health condition that kept her in and out of the hospital for nearly two years. Through countless tests and treatments, she became acutely aware of her condition but was rarely ever directly included in her own healthcare choices.
“I can’t think of a single point during that time that I was ever asked what I wanted,” recalls Tara. “It was always ‘this is what we're going to do, and here are the side effects you can expect.’ Even speaking to me about it was almost non-existent. Instead, they would speak to the parental figure in the room, and then offer me a lollipop.” No one seemed to consider how the treatments were impacting her quality of life and development.
The experience triggered a lifelong commitment to mitigate the fear and helplessness of navigating the health system for future patients. But instead of pursuing a health professions degree, Tara attended law school, where she looked for courses that would allow her to apply her advocacy interests to healthcare, ultimately earning both her JD and a Master of Public Health.
Tara is a leader in many initiatives at the law school. Tara has developed graduate certificates in health law, including four certificates designed for those interested in seeking expertise in law, regulations, and ethics in healthcare. She also was instrumental in establishing the Graduate Certificate in Regulatory Science program offered through the law school in collaboration with the UA College of Pharmacy and the Critical Path Institute, an independent nonprofit, public-private partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Read more about Prof. Tara Sklar’s life and work.
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Students and Alumni Enjoy Law Community Celebration | |
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On April 22, we had our first Law Community Celebration (formerly known as the Scholarship Celebration). Wilma and Wilbur stopped by for a visit and to take pictures. And there was live music by Chateau Chateau.
After the live music, we had a lovely program MC’d by Dev Sethi (’97) and stories of gratitude and memories of what this law school means were told by Don Powell (’72), Jennie Pollock (’98), Gabriela Elizondo-Craig (’21), Dean Toni Massaro and Dean Miller as well as current students Tate Richardson and Tommy Caruso.
Some photo highlights from the event:
| Students and alumni enjoyed an afternoon making new connections and visiting with old friends. | Jennie Pollock (’98) shares recollections from her law school days. At the Community Celebration, Jennie recognized 1L Benjamin Como, the first recipient of the Brian J. Pollock Scholarship. The scholarship was named in honor of Jennie’s husband, alumnus Brian J. Pollock(’98), who passed away in 2020 from ALS. | Judge Stephen McNamee (’69) visits with Wilbur and Wilma. | Lessons Learned from Mike Hennigan (JD ’70, BA ’66) | |
A few weeks ago, we shared our excitement with you about alumnus J. Michael Hennigan (JD ’70, BA ’66) coming to campus to deliver this year’s Peter Chase Neumann Lecture on Civil Justice. The lecture did not disappoint.
During his talk titled “Things You Learn in the Courtroom, Not the Classroom” Mike shared experiences from his 50 years as a trial lawyer in California and Arizona, where he established himself as a leader in the litigation of nationwide consumer class actions and commercial fraud cases.
Appearing as usual in his signature bowtie, a nod to the late College of Law Dean Charles Ares (’52), Mike shared tips for relating to judges, juries, and opponents.
See the story here to learn from Mike’s lessons.
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2L Sonum Dixit Honored at AAABA Banquet | |
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Arizona Law was well-represented at the annual Arizona Asian American Bar Association Banquet, and one of our own was honored.
Second-year student Sonum Dixit was honored during the banquet among the 2021 and 2022 winners of the AAABA’s Thomas Tang Law Scholarship. The scholarship, which Sonum was awarded in 2021, was named for the late Ninth Circuit Judge Thomas Tang (’50), founder of the AAABA and the first Asian Pacific American federal judge in the continental U.S. Up to four students at law schools in Arizona receive the scholarship each year.
The college of law sponsored a table at the event, attended Sonum along with students Seong Lee, Chang Wenhao, Summer Xia, Yingjun Yan, and Yuan Yue, and Assistant Dean Leah Won.
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Mike Chiorazzi, Former Associate Dean for Information Services, Receives Law Library Association’s Highest Award
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Finally, we are pleased to hear that former Associate Dean for Information Services Mike Chiorazzi has received a well-deserved honor. He was recently awarded the American Association of Law Libraries’ Marian Gould Gallagher Distinguished Service Award.
Mike was with University of Arizona Law for more than twenty years, from 1996 to 2018, before returning to his alma mater, the University of Miami, where he is currently Associate Dean for Information Services, Dean’s Distinguished Director, and Librarian Professor at Miami School of Law.
The Mariam Gould Gallagher Award is presented to individuals at or near the end of their careers for exceptional achievement in law librarianship. It is the highest honor given by the association.
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In the cycle of our school year, we are in the midst of finals and looking towards graduation. We are still glowing from the celebration of student scholarship recipients, the people honored with those scholarships and the many generous donors, and the shared wisdom of our alumnus Mike Hennigan.
Soon we will have the results for the February bar takers, other grads will move into bar review mode, and students who are not graduating will be heading off to places near and far, physical and digital, for summer work and learning.
This time of year has a musical feel, as we hear a series of dramatic sounds in a final school year movement, reach a crescendo with graduation, and then move to a set of complex, lively and varied themes, parts like jazz, some concertos, and even some hip-hop across our community for the weeks and months ahead.
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