Recent Graduate Spotlight: Becky Howlett advocates for Navajo Nation

Earning a certificate in tribal law was pivotal in Becky Howlett’s legal education.

“Ultimately, my experiences in KU Law’s Tribal Law and Government Center were part of the underlying reason I chose to dedicate my legal career to advocating on behalf of tribal governments and indigenous peoples,” Howlett said.

A member of the Navajo Nation Bar Association, Howlett serves as outside counsel at the tribe’s Department of Justice in Window Rock, Arizona. She assists with public safety priorities, manages a working group undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the Nation’s criminal code, and drafts tribal codes, rules and procedures.

It can be difficult, she said, coordinating with people across departments and divisions.

“Improving public safety on the Nation is a multidisciplinary effort, and getting all the necessary stakeholders together in one place on a regular basis to communicate and collaborate can be a challenge,” Howlett said. “For example, many participants may be located hundreds of miles away from the meeting location or simply be unable to attend due to a general lack of staff and resources.”

Howlett said the most rewarding part of her job is developing long-term relationships and building trust among Navajo partners.

“I have been coming out to the Navajo Reservation for a couple of years now, and there is nothing better than feeling like a member of the community when I travel into Window Rock,” she said. “It warms my heart to be recognized and greeted by not only Navajo Nation Department of Justice staff, but also local hotel and restaurant workers. This small community, seemingly out in the middle of nowhere, has truly become like my second home.”

Howlett was born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas. She graduated from the University of Kansas in 2011 with bachelor’s degrees in English and journalism. She earned a KU Law degree in 2014. During law school, Howlett worked as a summer associate at two different law firms in Seattle, as well as an intern at the Kansas Native American Affairs Office in Topeka. She was also involved in KU’s Native American Law Students Association, Women in Law and the Environmental Law Society.

Howlett maintains fond memories of participating in the National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Competition — despite almost being stranded in an ice storm on the first night of the competition.

“We somehow were able to get a ride back with some other competitors as opposed to calling Professor Elizabeth Kronk Warner at 2 a.m. to come get us,” Howlett said. “I think we would have walked rather than take the second option, to be honest.”

During her time in Green Hall, Howlett also gained practical experience through her involvement with the Kansas Law Review and the Tribal Judicial Support Clinic.

“During the clinic we drafted laws for a local tribe to enact the Tribal Law and Order Act and the Violence Against Women Act,” she said. “I have drawn upon my familiarity with these two federal laws at all of my jobs since graduation, including a nonprofit organization and a big law firm. Much of my current role is drafting tribal code amendments, so my KU Law experience is directly relevant to the work I do today.”

— By Ashley Hocking 

This post is the ninth in a series highlighting the diverse internships and jobs KU Law students and recent graduates were engaged in over the summer and early in their careers. Check out earlier posts from this series about Omar Husain, James Hampton, Malika Baker, Lindsay Strong, Arturo Garcia, Jessie Pringle, Madeline Heeren and Miranda Luster. 

Student Spotlight: Miranda Luster finds reward in helping others

This summer was a balancing act for 3L Miranda Luster.

From Monday through Wednesday, she was a legal intern at the Shawnee County Public Defender’s Office and the Capital Appeals and Conflicts Office in Topeka.

On Thursdays and Fridays, she interned for solo practitioner Betsy Mellor in Kansas City, Kansas. Mellor, L’97, practices family, criminal and municipal law in Kansas and Missouri.

At the Public Defender’s Office, Luster wrote motions and did jail intakes. She went to the jail to meet with clients and record their basic information, including health history and whether they are able to make bond.

Through this position, she found the most reward in helping others.

“I know public defenders get a bad rap, but this job is really important,” Luster said. “We help people who don’t have the money to hire an attorney get through a complicated legal system and come out with a result that’s best for rehabilitating the client and the community.”

At her internship with Mellor, she attended court, researched nuanced areas of law, attended client meetings, wrote notices of hearing and appeared in court, if necessary.

“I’m helping people through the complicated court process during a time in their life that’s normally quite a low point,” Luster said.

Miranda Luster and solo practitioner Betsy Mellor, L’97, attend the Wyandotte County Bar Association golf tournament.

Through both of her positions, her goal was to gain confidence in her abilities and become comfortable in court.

“I can learn how to write a motion or research at school, but getting comfortable with the real-world practice can only occur outside of school,” she said.

The most challenging part of each of her positions was time management.

“I’m still very new to this field, so I don’t always understand how long something will take,” Luster said. “As I gain more skills, I will be able to help more clients more quickly. But in the meantime, learning that balance has been important but difficult — and often frustrating — when I unknowingly take on too much.”

Luster is originally from Stillwater, Oklahoma. She stayed in her hometown to earn undergraduate degrees in political science and French from Oklahoma State University.

During her junior year of college, she visited Lawrence with a group of friends and fell in love with the community. She sat in on Professor Stephen McAllister’s Torts class.

“I can honestly say that when I walked out of the doors of the law school, I knew in my bones KU was where I was supposed to go,” Luster said. “It probably sounds cheesy, but I believe that what is meant to be will happen.”

Luster was so confident in her decision to go to KU Law that she did not apply to any other law schools.

“I knew KU was where I was meant to be,” she said. “So I rolled the dice and it worked out just fine.”

At KU Law, Luster is a Dean’s Fellow, the staff articles editor for the Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy and a student member of the Academic Affairs Committee. She also serves as chief justice of the Student Senate Court of Appeals and is a member of both the Student Conduct and the Sexual Harassment hearing panels run through the Student Affairs office.

Luster hopes to use the experience and knowledge she gained from her internships and extracurricular involvement to launch her career.

“My goal is to join a state public defender’s office in Kansas or Missouri, so I can continue fighting the good fight,” she said.

 — By Ashley Hocking 

This post is the eighth in a series highlighting the diverse internships and jobs KU Law students and recent graduates were engaged in over the summer and early in their careers. Check out earlier posts from this series about Omar Husain, James Hampton, Malika Baker, Lindsay Strong, Arturo Garcia, Jessie Pringle and Madeline Heeren.  

KU Law professor shares renewable energy law, policy expertise in India

Professors Uday Shankar and Uma Outka co-taught a two-week course about renewable energy law and policy in May at the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law in Kharagpur, India.

Climate change is a global problem. A University of Kansas energy law scholar recently traveled to India to explore solutions rooted in renewable energy law and policy with Indian students and faculty.

KU Law Professor Uma Outka co-taught a two-week course about renewable energy law and policy in May at the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law in Kharagpur, India. She taught the course alongside Professor Uday Shankar.

“Collaborating on the course deepened our understanding of the context for scaling up renewable energy in the U.S. and India,” Outka said. “Climate change is a global issue, and every country has to approach climate mitigation in ways that work for its unique circumstances.”

The course was funded by the Global Initiative for Academic Networks, an effort by the Indian government to foster international connections through its higher education system. Shankar invited Outka to provide international context for India’s renewable energy law policies and to offer comparative legal perspectives.

The Technology Guest House is designed to house visiting faculty at the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law.

“This is a really interesting time for energy law. Virtually every country in the world shares a goal to decarbonize the electricity system and shift to low-carbon sources,” Outka said. “Energy law is an emerging field in India, and Uday Shankar is one of the few professors beginning to regularly teach the subject in Indian law schools. It is exciting to see the field begin to expand in India.”

Outka and Shankar taught their course in an interdisciplinary manner to a mix of students studying law and engineering.

“Some students had never taken a class related to public policy and others were well-versed in legal concepts, so we structured the course to meet the students’ spectrum of preparation,” Outka said. “The feedback from students who had not been exposed previously to law and policy was really enthusiastic.”

One highlight of Outka’s trip was connecting with Dr. Gon Chaudhuri, an Indian expert on renewable energy. “He was instrumental in launching solar energy policy in India,” she said. “He has worked on climate change negotiations and was one of the lecturers in our course.”

Professor Uma Outka met Dr. Gon Chaudhuri, an Indian expert on renewable energy.

Outka appreciated the opportunity to experience higher education in a different county. She stayed in the institute’s guesthouse for visiting faculty during her visit. “I enjoyed being part of university life,” she said. “There, the faculty and staff all live on campus.”

Outka urges students and faculty alike to pursue international exchanges because they enhance understanding of others’ experiences in an increasingly globalized world.

“I think it’s important, whenever anyone has a chance, to visit a country like India,” she said. “It is a strong emerging economy with over a billion people. I plan to maintain these connections and hope to return. Engaging in this kind of cross-cultural work is a great opportunity.”

The University of Kansas School of Law has strong and growing ties to India.

  • KU Law Professors Raj Bhala, Uma Outka and John Peck have visited India, delivering major presentations and offering their scholarship and teaching expertise.
  • KU Law has hosted several Overseas Visiting Scholars from India, and a number of Indian students have graduated from KU Law’s S.J.D. and Two-Year J.D. programs.
  • KU Law has memoranda of understanding (MOU) with four Indian universities. These partnerships encourage interaction, program development and cross-marketing of degree programs:
    • National Academy of Legal Studies and Research, Hyderabad.
    • Government Law College, Mumbai.
    • Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat.
    • Indian Law Institute, New Delhi.
  • During recent Indian Society of International Law elections, several friends of KU Law won senior leadership positions. The following new officers are now or have been law professors at schools with which KU Law has an MOU or have visited KU Law as scholars:
    • Anupam Jha, professor of law, University of Delhi, former KU Law Visiting Scholar, elected executive council member.
    • J.L. Kaul, professor of law, University of Delhi, elected executive council member.
    • Y.S.R. Murthy, professor of law, Jindal Global Law School, elected vice president.
    • Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik, professor, Jindal Global Law School, elected treasurer.
    • Manoj Kumar Sinha, director, Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, elected vice president.
  • KU Law Professor Raj Bhala authors “On Point,” a monthly column in India’s BloombergQuint focusing on international legal and economic affairs.

— By Ashley Hocking

Recent Graduate Spotlight: Madeline Heeren makes a worldwide impact

As an international trade compliance specialist for the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., Madeline Heeren uses the knowledge she gained in Professor Raj Bhala’s international trade and finance classes every day.

In fact, KU Law’s strong international trade law program and distinguished professors are what drew the Lenexa native to Green Hall. During her time as a law student, she set out to gain as much international law experience as possible and to set herself apart from others.

Heeren, L’15, studied abroad in Istanbul, worked as a summer associate at law firms in both Bangladesh and India, and co-founded a nonprofit organization to help people in the least developed countries obtain basic needs. She also served as president of the Student Bar Association, worked as a research assistant for Bhala and earned the International Trade and Finance Certificate.

In addition to her academic achievements, Heeren made lifelong connections during her time at KU Law.

“KU Law has had a huge impact on my life,” she said. “I met my husband in my summer starter class, and the judge I clerked for, Judge Robert Berger, officiated our wedding.”

Her spouse, Aqmar Rahman, also graduated in 2015. He is an international trade attorney in Washington, D.C.

At the Department of Commerce, Heeren leads and manages antidumping cases against large multinational organizations, trains new employees and represents the U.S. government abroad in interactions with foreign governments and multinational organizations.

One of the things Heeren enjoys most about her job is giving American businesses the opportunity to thrive through tariffs put in place by the Commerce Department.

“There has been a lot of news about steel and aluminum produced and sold by various countries at unfair values, either through dumping or subsidies, that are saturating the U.S. market and putting domestic companies out of business,” she said. “It is incredibly rewarding to know that I am helping create an even playing field for American companies to compete.”

One challenge the international trade community faces is a high volume of antidumping and countervailing duty cases by the international trade administration. Heeren said the caseload is higher than it has been in the last several decades.

“The decisions that we make have a huge impact on business abroad and locally, so it is important that even though the work has increased that these decisions are made carefully and correctly,” she said.

Heeren encourages students be as active as possible in law school.

“Participate in student organizations, clerkships and internships,” she said. “Look for opportunities that set you apart from other applicants. Sometimes the best opportunities are not the ones advertised, but ones that you find yourself.”

Even though she is hundreds of miles away from Lawrence, Heeren finds plenty of opportunities to connect with the Jayhawk network.

“KU Law continues to have a great impact on my life in Washington, D.C., where I get to work with fellow Jayhawks,” she said. “During basketball season, all the Jayhawks in the area get together at a local bar to watch all the games.”

— By Ashley Hocking

This post is the seventh in a series highlighting the diverse internships and jobs KU Law students and recent graduates are engaged in over the summer and early in their careers. Check out earlier posts from this series about Omar Husain, James Hampton, Malika Baker, Lindsay Strong, Arturo Garcia and Jessie Pringle.  

Recent Graduate Spotlight: Arturo Garcia aims to help immigrants

Arturo Garcia has many reasons to be passionate about immigration law, and he plans to utilize his law degree to help immigrants.

“As a dual citizen of Mexico and the United States, a border-town native and a son of two immigrants, immigration has always been a part of my life,” Garcia said.

Garcia graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in May 2018 and took the bar exam in July. He will soon start his new role as an associate attorney at Escamilla & Poneck LLP in San Antonio, Texas, focusing on business immigration law.

“I hope to better assist members of the immigrant community in obtaining or maintaining their legal status within the United States by serving as an effective counsel and leader in the San Antonio immigrant community,” Garcia said.

Arturo Garcia attends KU Law’s Diversity Banquet in March 2017.

Garcia said he is most looking forward to helping immigrants stay in the United States and pursue the American dream.

“My work will allow immigrant families to stay together and prosper within the country,” Garcia said. “It will give me great satisfaction to know that I was a part of that.”

He anticipates that his job will be challenging because he will be monitoring constant changes in immigration law. He also acknowledged that it will be trying to accept that not all of his cases will yield positive results.

Garcia said many immigrants from the Northern Triangle of Central America are arriving at the southern border through Texas, trying to gain lawful status in various ways.

“With this influx, there is a greater demand and need for immigration lawyers to be serving this population,” Garcia said. “Therefore, I intend to be an asset to alleviate this issue.”

Arturo Garcia visited the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C. while he was a legal intern at the UNHCR during the summer of 2017.

Garcia is originally from El Paso, Texas. He received undergraduate degrees in government and sociology from the University of the Incarnate Word. He chose to go to law school in Kansas to get out of his comfort zone and move to a place where he did not know anyone. His favorite part about KU Law was the companionship among students.

“Whether it was hanging out at one of the law school social events or in the informal commons before class, I learned from and enjoyed interacting with these people,” Garcia said. “I am confident that our friendship will persist in future years.”

Garcia is thankful for the time he spent at KU Law and said the experience pushed him to lengths he did not think he could reach.

“Throughout the past three years, I learned more than I learned in my entire undergraduate career,” Garcia said. “Additionally, KU Law has taught me to be a better writer and researcher, which prepared me for my previous summer jobs and externships and will certainly prepare me for my upcoming job.”

— By Ashley Hocking 

This post is the fifth in a series highlighting the diverse internships and jobs KU Law students and recent graduates are engaged in over the summer and early in their careers. Check out earlier posts from this series about Omar Husain, James Hampton, Malika Baker and Lindsay Strong. 

Green Hall gleams after spring cleaning

Green Hall is looking sharp after a spring cleaning that restored the exterior to its original 1978 luster.

Perched on rigging and lifts, crews from Mid-Continental Restoration out of Fort Scott replaced old caulking around joints and windows, power washed the concrete and glass inch by inch and applied a waterproof sealer designed to help the building withstand the elements and continue aging gracefully.

The $175,000 project took eight weeks, wrapping up in June after breaks for final exams and graduation. KU Law applied a portion of the gifts it received on Feb. 20 during One Day. One KU. – KU’s first 24-hour giving campaign – toward the cost of Green Hall’s facelift. The university also provided financial support for the project.

Thank you to everyone who contributed!

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