Susanna Blumenthal was named a 2020-21 fellow of Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Blumenthal is one of 38 selected scholars representing 20 U.S. institutions and 11 international institutions and programs.

Benjamin Casper Sanchez ’97 was named the 2020 recipient of the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association’s Access to Justice Award. The award recognizes a Minnesota attorney who demonstrates an outstanding commitment to defending and improving access to legal services, the courts, and the broader justice system for Latinos in Minnesota and across the country.

Linus Chan was honored by the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild for outstanding contributions to the cause of immigrant justice. Chan was recognized as the group’s 2020 Member Honoree during the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Virtual Conference.

Prentiss Cox was appointed co-director of Law Clinics.

Jennie Green was promoted to the position of clinical professor of law.

Ryan Greenwood was promoted to the position of associate law librarian.

Ralph Hall was awarded the 2020 Service to FDLI Award by the Food and Drug Law Institute. The award, established in 2017, honors FDLI members who have provided exceptional volunteer services to FDLI, furthering its mission as a neutral convener to educate and spark innovative change.

Jill Hasday’s book, Intimate Lies and the Law, won a gold medal in the annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year series as well as a 2020 Scribes Book Award “for the best work of legal scholarship published during the previous year.”

Kristin Hickman was named a McKnight Presidential Professor. The University designates the McKnight Presidential Endowed Professorship program as “one  of the highest honors for faculty” and reserves the recognition for “highly distinguished, world-class scholars.

Joan S. Howland was elected to a second three-year term as a delegate-at-large to the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates, the policymaking body of the organization.

Alexandra Klass was appointed by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Climate Change. Established by Climate Change Executive Order 19-37, the advisory council will work with the Governor’s Climate Change Subcabinet to identify innovative policies and strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase climate resiliency.

Amy Monahan, Melvin Steen & Corporate Donors Professor and associate dean for research and planning at the Law School, was named a Distinguished McKnight University Professor.

Perry Moriearty was appointed co-director of Law Clinics.

JaneAnne Murray organized and hosted a “Zoomsday” celebration in June, the 2020 version of an annual Bloomsday celebration for the Irish American Bar Association of New York—an event that pays tribute to James Joyce’s masterwork, Ulysses, and Joyce’s contribution to First Amendment jurisprudence.

Francis Shen was promoted to the position of professor of law. Also, Shen will lead a unique partnership, funded by a grant from the Dana Foundation, between two leading research institutions—the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience, based at Vanderbilt Law School, and the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital—to support the curation and dissemination of research and legal cases at the intersection of law and neuroscience.

Caleb Smith was appointed co-chair of the ABA Tax Section’s Pro Bono and Tax Clinics Committee for a two-year term. The committee frequently drafts and submits comments on IRS and Treasury regulatory guidance, provides CLEs, and participates in national ABA Tax Section meetings.

Laura Thomas, formerly director of Law Clinics, was appointed a district court judge in Minnesota’s 4th Judicial District by Gov. Tim Walz. Thomas is chambered in Minneapolis in Hennepin County.

Susan Wolf will lead the ethics and public policy component of a new Engineering Research Center for Advanced Technologies for the Preservation of Biological Systems (ATP-Bio), based at the University’s Institute for Engineering in Medicine and funded by a $26 million grant from the National Science Foundation.