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law.arizona.edu | Link                                                                                  September 11, 2013

Greetings!

 

This week's featured members of our community are an Alaska fisheries manager, a federal district court judge, and a fourth-generation Arizona Law student from a family with deep roots in the College of Law and in the state of Arizona. Meet student David Udall, Judge Neil Wake, and alumna Izetta Chambers, below.

 

Until the footnotes,
 

Marc

Students
David Udall (Class of 2014)

 

When asked about the many members of the extended Udall family, past and present, David Udall likes to tell this story:

 

"In the mid-1850s, my great-great grandfather, David King Udall, helped to settle the St. Johns area of what is now Arizona. Battling for water rights, he gathered his large family together and encouraged half of them to be Republicans and the other half Democrats. That way, they would always have a say in politics, thereby ensuring the survival of their rural community and their family, by keeping water on their land. From that family has sprung a legacy of lawyers, politicians, and others committed to serving the community."

David will be a fourth-generation Arizona Law alumnus when he graduates this spring. His direct ancestors and alumni of the law school include Jesse Udall ('24), his great-grandfather and former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice; his grandfather, attorney David K. Udall ('63); and his father, the Hon. David King Udall of the Arizona Superior Court, Maricopa County ('88).

David was a missionary and high school student-teacher and earned his BS from Brigham Young University before attending Arizona Law. He has loved studying at the law school and is grateful for the high-quality training he has received here.

Over the summer he worked for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer as a legal intern for her general counsel. He is now an Executive Note Editor for the Arizona Law Review. After graduation he will work as a law clerk for Judge Samuel Anderson Thumma of the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One.

David is devoted to his family. He and his wife have three children, ages 3 and under. His second child was born the night of his first law school exam, and his youngest was born this past summer. David enjoys telling his kids "Jim the Adventurer" stories, which he makes up; serving in his religion; playing sports; and making paper airplanes ("a great hobby for a law student budget.")

"My family from the past is an inspiration to me, and my family now--my wife and kids--and my religion are the source of my greatest joy," he says.

You can connect with David on LinkedIn.

Friends
Judge Neil Wake, second from right, with fellow panelists Toni Massaro, Clint Bolick, and Seth Waxman at last year's Constitution Day Program.
Judge Neil Wake

 

A Phoenix native, Judge Neil V. Wake earned his BA from Arizona State University and his JD from Harvard. He had a wide-ranging civil trial and appellate practice in Phoenix for 30 years before his appointment to the US District Court in 2004.

 

This coming Monday, September 16, he will participate in our Rehnquist Center's Annual Constitution Day Program, as he has each year since the Rehnquist Center began sponsoring the program in 2008.

"The Rehnquist Center is a fine platform for important ideas, and the programs I have attended were superb," he says.

Judge Wake's engagement with the law school goes way back.

"I first became involved with Arizona Law in a modest way, as a young lawyer in the 1970s," he says. "I believe that every lawyer in Arizona should demonstrate their involvement with the Arizona legal community by contributing to both our law schools, even if they did not attend. I began contributing to the law schools at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University then."

In 1995 Dean Joel Seligman invited Judge Wake to serve on our Board of Visitors.

"I told Dean Seligman I would, but that I would resign if I ever missed a meeting," he recalls. "So far I think I've missed only one meeting, in 2004--which was on the same day as my Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing!" Judge Wake has also participated in lunchtime programs on ethics, professionalism, and other topics with our students.

This year, alumna Darcy Elgin ('12) will join Judge Wake as a law clerk following her clerkship with Justice Scott Bales of the Arizona Supreme Court.

"Darcy will be my fourth law clerk from Arizona Law--more than I have had from any other law school," Judge Wake says. "From practicing law in Phoenix for 30 years and nine years on the District Court, I have worked with many graduates from Arizona Law. From all those dealings, I have a great admiration for and commitment to the College. It is a unique place: extremely high academic standing, located in one of the best places to live, with a supportive sense of community among the students and between the students and the faculty."

He adds, "I suspect a lot of students do not realize how remarkable that sense of community is, and how much it affects one's legal education for the better. All of the students are fortunate to be there."

We are fortunate to have friends like Judge Neil Wake.

Alumni

null Izetta Chambers ('08) null

 

Izetta Chambers (BA '02) is the manager of Naknek Family Fisheries in Alaska, where she was born and raised as a member of the Naknek Native Village.

 

"I was lured to law school after managing our local Native Corporation," she says. "There was so much law involved with contracts, real estate, leasing, etc., that I felt a law degree would be helpful. I was fascinated by the intersection between indigenous and environmental law."

Izetta, who earned a BS in Business Management from the U of A, started her family's business in Alaska while attending Arizona Law.

"Law school helped me a lot in the business development stage, as we formed a Limited Liability Company (LLC), governed by an operating agreement, and organized under the laws of the state of Alaska," she says.

In addition to running the family business, Izetta has been an adjunct professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where she provided technical assistance and advice to fishermen, fish processing startups, tribes, and municipalities. In 2009, she won the Alaska Marketplace Competition for her latest venture, Alaska Bounty, a project she is developing to convert seafood waste to organic fertilizer.

Izetta recently returned to Tucson with her husband, fellow Wildcat Chet Chambers (BA '04); and children, Noah, 9, and Lovina, 5. She will continue to manage her family business in Alaska and to satisfy her many loyal customers from around the globe, she says.

"Now that we have moved back to Arizona, we are often asked, 'Will we still get our great salmon from Alaska?'" Izetta says. "The answer is yes! We plan on traveling north every summer for the salmon harvest."

You can read a profile of Izetta that ran in the Huffington Post here and watch a commercial video about her family's fishing operation.

You can connect with her on LinkedIn.

Footnotes
null
Movers and Shakers
 

Congratulations to Jennifer Cranston ('00), Maricopa County Bar Member of the Year

Jennifer Cranston, a shareholder at Gallagher & Kennedy and former president of the Maricopa County Bar Association, has received the Association's 2013 Robert R. Mills Member of the Year Award.

Read the press release here. 

 

Rosemary Cosgrove-Aguilar ('90, BA '86) Appointed to Bernalillo County Court  

Rosemary Cosgrove-Aguilar has been appointed to the Bernalillo County (New Mexico) Metropolitan Court, Division 7. She has served as Special Commissioner for Domestic Violence/Children's Court Hearing Officer for the Second Judicial District Court of Albuquerque for the past 10 years.   

Read the press release here.

Give to Arizona Law

 

Just a few weeks into the fall semester, our students have already heard presentations from lawyers and judges, scientists and business leaders, and a former prisoner discussing his case. Off campus, students are learning the law in a variety of clinical settings. Our students receive a legal education grounded in reality with mentoring from practitioners at the top of their game. Make a gift to the Arizona Law Fund and lend your support to this practical, relevant, and first-rate legal training. Visit www.law.arizona.edu/give.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Law Women's Association Meeting and Lunch - Thursday, Sept. 12

The guest speaker is Margaret Maxwell ('74), Commissioner of the Arizona Superior Court in Pima County. The meeting begins at noon, Room 160.

Rehnquist Center Constitution Day Program - Monday, Sept. 16

Last chance to register! From 1 to 4:30 pm, Ares Auditorium (Room 164); reception to follow. Register here.
  

CLE Program on Indian Law - Wednesday, Sept. 25

The Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy Program hosts a CLE program on Indian law, noon-1 pm, at the State Bar of Arizona office, 270 N. Church Ave., Tucson. Contact Melissa Tatum at [email protected].

Arizona Supreme Court Visit - Tuesday, Oct. 1

The Rehnquist Center hosts the Arizona Supreme Court, 2 pm, Ares Auditorium (Room 164). Contact Bernadette Wilkinson at [email protected].

Arizona Court of Appeals Visit - Wednesday, Oct. 9

The Rehnquist Center hosts the Arizona Court of Appeals (Division 2), 2 pm, Ares Auditorium. Contact [email protected].

"The Data Speaks: A Closer Look at Gun Violence" - Thursday, Oct. 17

From 5-6 pm, Ares Auditorium. Inaugural event of new QuantLaw Program. Register here.

Homecoming Alumni Weekend - Nov. 7 - 9, 2013

* Class of '73 and '63 Reunion Lunches

* All-Alumni Reception

* Soll Memorial Lecture

* Swearing-In Ceremony

* IPLP Festival

* Cats vs. Bruins Football

Learn more about Homecoming and register here.

Warmly,  

                                                                                                             
null
Kayaking in British Columbia in 1987.
        
  
 
Dean & Ralph W. Bilby Professor of Law
James E. Rogers College of Law

  
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