North Dakota Lawyers Honored with University of North Dakota Alumni Awards
Three North Dakota lawyers were recently honored by the University of North Dakota ( UND ) Alumni Association & Foundation at a banquet held on Sept . 29 during UND ’ s Homecoming Week .
Jack Marcil and Sarah Vogel were awarded the Sioux Award for Distinguished Achievement and Leadership . The highest honor given by the UND Alumni Association & Foundation , the award focuses on the achievement , service , and loyalty of its recipients .
Marcil has been a supporter of the UND School of Law and its students for more than 40 years , helping to develop programs , buildings , and student scholarships through his financial gifts . He has also served as a mentor in the classroom , stepping in as a guest lecturer or judging mock jury cases . Marcil earned his bachelor of business administration in 1963 and earned his juris doctor from the UND School of Law in 1968 , after serving as a lieutenant in the Army during the Vietnam War . He currently serves as a trial lawyer , arbitrator , and mediator at Serkland Law in Fargo .
Vogel , an attorney , activist , politician , and writer , earned her bachelor of arts degree from UND . Her recent book “ The Farmer ’ s Lawyer ” documents the landmark Coleman v . Block case she took on as a young lawyer , winning the case against the USDA ’ s Farmers Home Administration during a farm economic crisis in the 1980s . In 2022 , she was selected as a featured writer at the UND Writers
Jack Marcil Sarah Vogel Meghan Compton
Conference . Vogel was also the first woman in U . S . history to be elected as a state Commissioner of Agriculture , serving North Dakota from 1989 to 1997 .
Meghan Compton was awarded the Young Alumni Achievement Award . She graduated from UND with degrees in philosophy and communications in 2006 , and earned her juris doctor from the UND School of Law in 2010 . Compton ’ s law career started at a local firm , but she soon found herself on a new path as a safety coordinator at Altru Health Systems . She challenged herself in this role , taking on new responsibilities and new titles from patient safety coordinator to risk manager , and in 2016 , she was named Altru Health System ’ s Chief Legal Counsel . She now serves as the organization ’ s Chief Clinic Operations Officer .
“ Thanks again for all your work on this case . It was one I was skeptical about , but you got it done .”
Paul Sanderson , Bismarck , ND
Uniquely qualified neutral
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