Margaret Hair recently joined KU Law as director of external affairs. She works with the school’s communications team to tell the KU Law story through its digital channels and publications. Hair started in mid-March, filling the position previously held by Mindie Paget.
Hair comes to KU Law with a background in journalism and marketing. She graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Out of school, she worked as a newspaper reporter in Colorado, writing stories about everything from music to ranching.
After moving to Lawrence in 2011, Hair served as a program coordinator for the KU Memorial Unions. She advised student groups including KJHK 90.7 FM, Student Union Activities and The Big Event in event planning and marketing. During that time, she earned a master’s degree in marketing communications from KU’s journalism school. Most recently, she oversaw event marketing for the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City.
“I’m excited for the chance to share all that’s happening at KU Law with students, alumni and the Lawrence community,” Hair said.
Hair lives in Lawrence with her husband, Zach Fridell – a KU Law alumnus (L’16) – and their two energetic border collie mixes.
As a 2L, I like to think that I’ve learned from my mistakes last year. One of those mistakes was being overly ambitious about how much studying I was going to get done over spring break. Before I knew it, it was the Wednesday of break and I was watching The Office for the third time. My class notes were closed and forgotten on my desk. Ah, procrastination.
This year, I’ve got a new spring break game plan, and it still includes my beloved Netflix.
Get caught up in classes
You’ve heard the saying: 1L year: they scare you to death. 2L year: they work you to death. 3L year: they bore you to death. Is it true? Maybe a little. With classes, Law Review, job interviews and club activities, it can be difficult to stay on top of everything. That’s why I’m using some of my week off to catch up on everything I’ve had to push to the side this semester. Miss a day of class? Time to borrow a classmate’s notes from that day! Left some things out of my class outlines? Better get them updated! Making sure I’m up-to-date in my classwork is a realistic goal that will keep me productive without making me feel overwhelmed with work.
Visit my loved ones
Speaking of getting caught up, spring break will be a great opportunity for me to spend some time with my family and friends. As fascinating as the legal field is, I’m excited to hear about things that aren’t law-related! But, will someone please remind me not to bore my friends from undergrad (again) by telling them about the Fourth Amendment?
Relaaaax
I’ve only got a couple of spring breaks left before I become a Real Working Adult, so I definitely want to enjoy them as much as I can. This is where Netflix comes in. I’m happiest when I’ve got coffee in one hand and the TV remote in the other. Since I’m getting caught up in school and with loved ones, I might as well get caught up on some TV!
With all of the stress and hard work from the first half of the semester, I think everyone deserves an actual break. That’s why I’ve made plans to have some fun this week. It may not be a full week of productivity, nor will it be a full week of nonstop fun, but I know it’s going to be just enough to get me rejuvenated for the rest of my 2L year!
The Medical-Legal Partnership Field Placement Program was a truly invaluable experience that allowed me to work with clients as well as enhance my research and writing skills. One of the best parts about the MLP was that I never knew what type of cases would come across my desk each day. From preparing advanced directive documents and working with landlord tenant cases, to helping with guardianship and disability cases, I had the opportunity to learn about a range of various legal issues.
By far the most rewarding part of my experience at the MLP was working with the wonderful clients. It also happened to be the most challenging aspect. Oftentimes, I would be working with clients who were at their most vulnerable and needing immediate legal help. I learned from my supervising attorney how to balance being respectful, understanding and professional at the same time when working with our clients.
Another aspect about the MLP that I appreciated was seeing a client’s relief and sometimes even happiness when we completed their legal work for them. It was incredibly rewarding to help clients who otherwise may have never had the ability to address their legal issues. The best memory I have from my time at the MLP was working with an elderly client who needed a power of attorney document. After days of going back and forth with the client, the client’s family, and the social workers, we were able to successfully execute a power of attorney document. To celebrate, the client played us his favorite country song and we had a mini sing-along.
— Kelci Weber was a legal intern during the summer of 2018 as part of the Medical-Legal Partnership Field Placement.
Before coming to law school, I spent several years as a firefighter and paramedic. Teamwork was very important to everything we did. We trained as a team, worked as a team and ate as a team. Just about everything that we did was a group effort. Within my first few weeks in law school, I realized how different this experience would be. Those first few weeks, I felt a little lost. My classmates and I were all having the same struggles, yet we were all going at them alone. Quickly, I figured that law school was made easier through teamwork as well. I soon figured that there were three obvious areas in which building a team helps in law school: academics, fitness and social life.
Academics
Academics is largely something that you do own your own. There is no substitute for reading your material and paying attention in class. I did find that building a small study group was a tremendous help in order to understand the material, and getting over that extra hump. My group and I meet a couple of times a week and create our outlines together. We would bounce ideas off each other, help explain concepts to each other and talk to professors together if we get stuck. I found that creating these academic teams were a vital part of being able to attack the material 1L year.
Fitness
Going from a job where I was active the majority of the day to the sedentary lifestyle of a law student was a shock for me. This coupled with all of the free pizza really can affect your fitness and health levels. Countless studies have said that working out is crucial to academic success. A healthy fitness level helps with focus and actually increases your energy levels once you develop a routine. I quickly found that one of the best ways to continuously go to the gym was basketball. I have a core team of law students that play together 2-3 times a week. I realized that It really helps to keep you honest about going to the gym when other people are relying on you to show up.
Social life
I was given sound advice by a former law student regarding the importance of your social life during law school. Very few people understand what it is like to go to law school. Venting with a team of law school peers was especially helpful to have. While these opportunities could range from a happy hour, pancakes at Perkins, to playing board games; it is always great to have that opportunity to decompress with people who know exactly what you’re going through.
Finding my team in law school has been essential to my success, but it is different for everyone. My advice to you is to be open to advice. Watch what successful students and lawyers have done that works. Watch what they have done that doesn’t work and find your own thing. At the end of the day, you have to do what works for you.
We all know the struggle is real when it comes
to maintaining motivation to plow through the week in Green. Especially now
that the days are longer, the mornings are darker, and the make-up classes are
piling up. However, I’ve found that focusing on the little joys in life makes
the sometimes daunting tasks of law school seem much more manageable and, dare
I say it, even fun (Yes, I had fun reading my property book. Judge me).
So, here’s a few of the little joys in my life
that get me through the week:
Photo by Justin Sullivan of Getty Images
Starbucks
– As a very wise woman once said, “buy myself all of
my favorite things” – Ariana Grande. My small section knows as well as anyone
how much I enjoy my morning Starbucks. What
makes it even better is most of the time I can get a free drink thanks to
Westlaw research quizzes or Lexis Nexis points!
Bria’s golden retriever, Mellie. Photo by Jenna Lambertz.
My dog
(and all dogs) – My favorite part of my day is coming
home to my golden retriever, Mellie. She’s a constant reminder that things are
never as bad as they may seem. She can bring a smile to anyone’s face and I’ve
never met anyone as excited to see me after a long day.
Photo from fox.com
Brooklyn
Nine-Nine – One of my favorite ways to relieve stress
and just unwind at the end of the day is to watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine. This show
never fails to make me laugh (even though I’ve seen it in its entirety at least
five times!)
KU Law students load donations from the Black Law Students Association’s annual Thanksgiving Food Drive onto a truck. Photo by Ashley Hocking/KU Law.
Student
Organization Activities – One of my favorite parts of
law school sometimes has nothing to do with the law. Last semester the Black
Law Students Association hosted our annual Thanksgiving donation fundraiser for
local shelters in the Lawrence/Kansas City area. It was fun watching my peers
race to the deadline and contribute to such an amazing cause.
1Ls Bria Nelson (left) and Alissa Greenwald at a KU basketball game.
KU
Basketball – ‘Tis the season for KU Basketball!
Although I now, and forever, will bleed Cardinal and Gold (Go Cyclones!) one of
the most exciting moments of my Fall semester was attending a KU basketball
game in Allen Fieldhouse. It’s no Hilton Coliseum but let’s just say there’s a
reason they say, “Beware of the Phog!” Regardless of my alliance to Iowa State,
attending a basketball game the night before my 9-hour Civil Procedure final
was a great way to de-stress and relieve anxiety!
We all have our own little things that make our days brighter, and maybe Brooklyn Nine-Nine doesn’t make your list. That’s fine! All that matters is you know what yours are and keep them in mind when your backpack is dragging you down a little too much. Now, excuse me, because I’ve got a Twitter thread of golden retrievers to scroll though.
Matthew Richards — a KU Law
graduate, former transactional attorney and business owner — recently joined KU
Endowment as a development professional for the University of Kansas School of
Law. Under the direction of Assistant Vice President of Development, Kristen
Toner (L’06), Matt will work alongside Lauren Luhrs (L’13) in meeting with KU
Law alumni and friends across the country.
Matt graduated magna cum laude from Texas Tech University in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting. He graduated from KU Law in 1999. While at KU Law, Matt focused on transactional law courses, his favorites being tax courses taught by Martin Dickinson and secured transaction courses taught by Keith Meyer. Matt has a long association with KU Law, as his father David graduated in 1972.
After graduating from law school,
Matt practiced for 12 years in Dallas, Kansas City and Lawrence, including with
Shughart Thomson & Kilroy, P.C. (now Polsinelli) in Kansas City and as a
partner with the Lawrence firm of Barber Emerson, L.C. His practice focused on
corporate transactions, business organizations, real estate and tax. From 2011
to 2018, Matt owned and operated a retail store on Massachusetts Street in
Lawrence.
“I am excited to be working in
support of the law school,” Richards said. “KU, and the law school in
particular, have played a big role in my professional life, and also in the
lives of many people in my family.”
Matt has lived in Lawrence for
the past 14 years with his wife Jennifer (a financial analyst at KU) and their
two teenaged children.
