Dean Ralph Ruebner congratulates Susan Connor on her Leadership and Dedicated Pro Bono Service Award.
Two faculty members and an adjunct faculty member were honored for their outstanding work at The John Marshall Law School during the May 22, 2011, commencement ceremonies.
Professor Susan Connor was presented with the Leadership and Dedicated Pro Bono Service Award.
Dubbed “the champion of the underdog,” Connor has set a very high standard for academic support of pro bono initiatives here and abroad.
Since joining the John Marshall faculty in 1981, Connor has served as a volunteer attorney with Pro Bono Advocates; a planning consultant to the United States Department of Justice on affordable and non-discriminatory housing; attorney for a ministry dealing with criminally convicted persons; and writer of amicus curiae briefs for the American Planning Association in land use cases before state courts and the United States Supreme Court.
She serves as president of the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs, Chicago’s premier advocate for fair and affordable housing since 1972 initiated in response to Dr. Martin Luther King’s call to join in the struggle for housing integration. For several years she has chaired Winnetka’s Police and Fire Commission.
Her outreach extends internationally. In Oaxaca, Mexico, she has worked since 2006 on an educational and career development program for young men and women, and she has offered her services at the Anglican Church of South Africa in Capetown and participated in its National Day of Reconciliation Program.
Conner volunteers with the Lawyers’ Assistance Program as a trained intervener, a program established by the Illinois Supreme Court, that provides services to lawyers, judges and law students with alcohol and drug dependency problems.
Dean Reubner with Prof Colin Miller receiving the scholarly achievement award.
Associate Professor Colin Miller was presented with the Recognition of Scholarly Achievement award.
A graduate of the William and Mary School of Law, Miller served as an appellate court attorney for the New York Supreme Court before coming to John Marshall.
Since his arrival in 2007, Miller has created and been the editor of EvidenceProf blog, focusing on recent precedent, scholarship and development in evidence law. The blog has been cited in law review articles and in court opinions. In 2009, he prepared a 100-page report comparing the Federal Rules of Evidence with Illinois Evidentiary Principles, a document that served as the basis for the creation of the Illinois Rules of Evidence
Miller is the co-editor of the 5th edition of Illinois Criminal Procedure and he is a contributing author for chapters on Confessions; Charging; Trial Rights and Procedures; Sentencing; Direct Appeals and Original Actions in the Supreme Court; and Statutory DNA Remedy. His articles on DNA
evidence; unconstitutional arrests; ATF TraceData in courts; judges’ involvement in plea agreements; and hearsay rules have been published in various law reviews including the Baylor Law Review, the Northwestern Law Review Colloquy and American Criminal Law Review. His outstanding work led to his being asked to submit an amicus curiae brief and contribute to a petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.
Miller also is one of the professors assisting students in pro bono representation of a Chicago police brutality victim in a civil rights case. He has been an expert reviewer for the National Conference of Bar Examiners, and regularly comments on issues for the media.
The Adjunct Teaching Award was presented to Howard R. Rockman who has been teaching intellectual property law since 1987.
Rockman has taught one, and often two, courses as an adjunct faculty member.
Rockman’s courses, including Patent Law Practice and Planning, Advanced Patent Claim Drafting, and IP Management courses, are at the heart of John Marshall’s training program for future patent attorneys.
He is a noted author and presenter, and his background includes service as a patent examiner with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and as an attorney with the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice. He also has held associate and partner positions with leading Chicago IP firms.
Rockman uses his experience to illustrate how students can be effective as legal specialists and aids to their clients. He teaches and inspires by example.