A RICH TRADITION OF PUBLIC SERVICE : UND LAW FACULTY AND THE NORTH DAKOTA LEGAL COMMUNITY
MICHAEL S . MCGINNISS
Dean , University of North Dakota School of Law
As the UND School of Law and the North Dakota legal community have together continued to adapt and persevere through the challenges posed by this year ’ s COVID-19 pandemic , I have been reflecting on the importance of our UND Law faculty ’ s rich tradition of public service in our state and region . Adopted 20 years ago as we began our third century as North Dakota ’ s law school , our mission statement highlights the importance of this public service , stating :
The University of North Dakota School of Law seeks ( 1 ) to educate students for professional service in the law and lawrelated professions , ( 2 ) to explore legal issues of special significance to North Dakota and the region , ( 3 ) to attract a well-qualified and diverse student body and to assist students in making career decisions , ( 4 ) to promote improvements in the law and legal systems , the legal profession , and the administration of justice , and ( 5 ) to further the overall goals and objectives of the University of North Dakota .
( Emphasis added ). As our Dean , I am excited to take this opportunity to highlight just some of the significant ways our UND
Law faculty have been fulfilling our mission “ to promote improvements in the law and legal systems , the legal profession , and the administration of justice ” in North Dakota , as well as representing UND Law and our legal profession in other ways for the benefit of others in our state and local communities .
• Denitsa Mavrova Heinrich , Rodney & Betty Webb associate professor of law and director of Lawyering Skills and Trial Advocacy Programs , currently serves as the president of the SBAND Women Lawyers Section . This prominent role , with its important responsibilities , follows several other years in which Professor Mavrova Heinrich has held leadership positions within the Section , including as program coordinator in 2017 for “ Judicial Service : A Guide to Judicial Application , Selection , and Appointment ”; a member of the Leadership Committee in 2018 ; chair of the Programming Committee in 2017-18 ; secretary-treasurer in 2018- 19 ; and president-elect in 2019-20 . She also actively participates as a member of the editorial board for this esteemed publication , The Gavel , which provides a highly valuable platform for the North Dakota legal community to communicate a wealth of information and insights for its members .
• James Grijalva , Lloyd and Ruth Friedman professor of law and director of the Tribal Environmental Project , serves on the North Dakota Supreme Court ’ s Minority Justice Implementation ( MJI ) Committee , as he has continuously since its inception in 2013 . The MJI Committee was established to consider and implement the recommendations of the Committee ’ s predecessor , the North Dakota Commission to Study Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts . Professor Grijalva was appointed to that Commission in 2010 and served to its conclusion in 2012 , when it issued its final report covering a variety of areas and topics and making recommendations for addressing them .
• Kirsten Dauphinais , Law School Builders of the Profession professor of law and director of Bar Passage and Academic Success , has served as a member of the North Dakota Advisory Committee to the U . S . Commission on Civil Rights since 2017 . In that capacity , she has aided in publicizing Native American voting rights issues and in planning and organizing mini briefings on Hate Crimes and Housing Discrimination , and supported outreach efforts in the press . Locally , Professor Dauphinais has long contributed her time and talents to the Greater Grand Forks Community Theatre , including serving as a board member and legal adviser and , most recently , as its interim president .
• Margaret Moore Jackson , Kenneth and Frances Swensen professor of law , has served since 2012 as an appointed member
22 THE GAVEL