1970s
Randy Dryer BS’73 JD’76 (L) and Kimball Parker BA’09 (R) have each been recognized with a Fastcase 50 Award, which honors those who have charted a new course for the delivery of legal services. Dryer is a Presidential Honors Professor at the U and a professor in the U’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. Parker is a former lawyer with Quinn Emanuel, one of the country’s top law firms. Dryer and Parker were honored for the work they did in creating a project where students “mapped” the law on a website created by Parker called CO/COUNSEL. Parker’s crowdsourcing platform utilizes topic maps (diagrammed by law students) that are then made public and are open to community editing. The combination of the wisdom of experts and the wisdom of crowds creates new avenues for exploring and understanding the law.
D. Michael Quinn MA’73 won the 2016 Leonard J. Arrington Award, presented annually by the Mormon History Association to a scholar for distinguished and outstanding service to Mormon history. Quinn’s 1987 book Early Mormonism and the Magic World View was described by the selection committee chair as “a prize-winning, imaginative, and pathbreaking study of the relationship between traditional folk magic and early Mormonism.” Quinn’s two biographies of LDS Church President J. Reuben Clark were also praised, and three of his books on the Mormon hierarchy were noted. And although a controversy surrounded his Same Sex Dynamics among 19th Century Americans: A Mormon Example, the book was cited for breaking new ground in Mormon studies.
1980s
Akhlesh Lakhtakia MS’81 PhD’83, Charles Godfrey Binder Professor in Engineering Science and Mechanics at the Pennsylvania State University, has been admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a professional society based in the United Kingdom with more than 50,000 members worldwide. Lakhtakia’s admittance was based on his extensive and fundamental contributions to the optical response characteristics of isotropic chiral materials and to homogenization formalisms for composite materials and metamaterials. His research focuses on electromagnetic fields in complex materials, such as sculptured thin films, chiral materials, and bianisotropy. Since joining Penn State in 1983, Lakhtakia has been honored with numerous awards for his teaching and research.
C. Dane Nolan JD’86 was named 2016 Judge of the Year by the Utah State Bar. Appointed to the Third District Juvenile Court in May 2003 by Gov. Michael O. Leavitt, Nolan serves in Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele counties. Before his appointment, he spent 12 years with the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, where he handled child sexual and physical abuse cases and adult sexual assault prosecutions. He was a founding member of the Utah Minority Bar Association and served as chair of the Judicial Conduct Commission. His service has also included five years with the Juvenile Court Board of Judges, with one term as chair. In 2015, he was recognized as the Utah Board of Juvenile Justice Youth Advocate of the Year. Nolan has presided over Utah’s first Juvenile Mental Health Court since 2006.
1990s
Jill M. Pohlman BS’93 JD’96 was appointed to the Utah Court of Appeals by Gov. Gary Herbert, and her appointment was confirmed by the Utah State Senate. While attending law school at the U, Pohlman served on the Utah Law Review before graduating Order of the Coif. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable David K. Winder of the United States District Court for the District of Utah. Prior to her current appointment, Pohlman was a partner at the law firm of Stoel Rives LLP in Salt Lake City. She practiced there for 19 years, during which time she maintained a complex civil litigation practice. She was a member of the Utah Supreme Court’s Ethics and Discipline Committee, including serving as panel chair. She also served on the Utah Supreme Court’s Diversion Committee. She currently sits on the Utah Courts Committee on Judicial Outreach.
2000s
Kate Conyers BA’03 JD’08 MPA’08 has received the distinguished American Inns of Court Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Professional Service. The award recognizes excellence in public interest or pro bono activities. Conyers is a felony attorney with the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association, where she has represented hundreds of indigent defendants in all aspects of their criminal cases. She also worked there as a clerk before two stints in private practice, at Snell & Wilmer, LLP, and Lokken and Associates. She has served on the executive committee of Emerging Legal Leaders for the “And Justice for All” program, providing resources to Utah’s nonprofit civil legal aid agencies. She has also volunteered in bar-related programs including Wills for Heroes and Serving Our Seniors.
To submit alumni news for consideration, email ann.floor@utah.edu.