She is spending the summer in the Netherlands, working at the Office of the Prosecutor at the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

This judicial body was established in 2010 to wrap up residual issues related to the Bosnian War and the Rwandan Civil War, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In the 1990s, Rastoder’s father fled Bosnia during the fall of Yugoslavia. He made his way to an Italian refugee camp and eventually to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where his parents and sister later joined him. He met his wife in Bowling Green, where Rastoder was later born.

The office where she’ll be working focuses on post-litigation of Yugoslavian war criminals. Proficiency in the Bosnian language was a requirement for the position, and Rastoder had grown up with the language.

“This is the opportunity to do what I’m really interested in and also have a personal tie to it,” she said.

Rastoder has long felt a pull to international and humanitarian issues. She double majored in Arabic and international studies as an undergrad and is now a Human Rights Advocacy Fellow at the Brandeis School of Law. The Human Rights Advocacy Program works to advance the rights of immigrants, non-citizens and refugees. Rastoder had considered pursuing careers in diplomacy or international affairs, but ultimately decided to focus on international law.

“I wanted somewhere to apply my interests in languages, other cultures, humanitarianism – international law is where it all tied-in,” she said. “It hasn’t been an easy path, but I’ve never doubted that I’m on the right path.”

She is grateful to Brandeis Law professor and international law expert Sara Ochs for her encouragement and professional advice.

Ochs says the opportunity is incredible.

“She’ll be doing very unique international law work that I don’t know that she’d have the opportunity to do in the United States,” Ochs said. “Plus, she’ll have the chance to be at the Hague and among the international law elite.”

International criminal law is not often a big focus in the United States, Ochs says, but she is excited to teach a course on the topic in the 2022-23 academic year.

“Many people, especially Americans, don’t realize how vital international law is until it’s violated,” she said, pointing to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an example.

For Rastoder and her family, the importance of international law is not abstract. Her parents are “super excited” for her job, she says.

“They know this has been a dream of mine.”

With the advent of technology, the needs of legal education and practice have changed. Therefore, the law school faculty and administration are grateful to everyone who worked together to make it possible to renovate and modernize the courtroom, now dedicated as the Breit Courtroom.

“As the son of a bricklayer, I am humbled, and now honored, to have our name on the courtroom of one of the finest law schools in the country,” said Marc Breit, who attended UofL law school and practices with .

With a full-service audio/visual system, a SMART podium, new décor and seating, the courtroom will primarily serve as additional classroom space. These updates provide new function and style while maintaining the historic feel of the original courtroom. Additional updates include a renovated entrance to the law school, remodeled restrooms and an updated jury/conference room with A/V capabilities.

“This courtroom is the centerpiece of the University of Louisville School of Law,” says Lars Smith, interim dean of the law school. “Future generations of law students will benefit from this state-of-the-art space.”

The courtroom has been the scene of historic moments, such as a speech from Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1967. Dozens of immigrants have become U.S. citizens during naturalization ceremonies there. And, the courtroom has served as a courtroom — most recently, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments there, about six weeks before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Representative Lewis was awarded UofL School of Law’s highest honor, the Brandeis Medal, in 2000. He again visited campus in 2013 as part of the Kentucky Author Forum. In 2018, his civil rights work was recognized in a Law School Diversity Forum.

The Brandeis Medal honors individuals whose lives reflect Justice Brandeis’ commitment to the ideals of individual liberty, concern for the disadvantaged and public service. Representative Lewis was recognized because of his “lifelong commitment to human rights, preservation of personal dignity, and unfailing support of social justice, and one of the most courageous persons in the Civil Rights Movement.”  

“On the day of his passing, Representative John Lewis joined in a bipartisan letter to Secretary of łÉČËÖ±˛Ą Betsy DeVos asking her support for grants to support teacher preparation about civics. This letter exemplifies his tireless advocacy for social justice and civil rights. He died only hours later after a long battle with cancer,” said Professor Laura Rothstein, co-chair of the Brandeis Medal Committee.

During Representative Lewis’s 2013 visit to the University of Louisville for the Kentucky Author Forum about his trilogy graphic novel March, he was interviewed by Rachel Maddow at the event at the Kentucky Center. For his on-campus interview, Louisville Law Professor Enid Trucios-Haynes had the honor of interviewing Congressman Lewis.Ěý  

Attendees at that event included four Law and Government Magnet students from Central High School, who were part of the partnership of the Brandeis School of Law with Central High School.  

“Congressman Lewis clearly enjoyed the presence and energy of the young people in the room, knowing that these young people were critical to the work of social justice and civil rights,” Rothstein said.

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Russell and her fellow Louisville Law classmates returned from spring break to a drastically different landscape than the one they had left. All School of Law classes are being delivered remotely. Exams have been delivered virtually. The faculty voted to move to a pass/fail grading system. Graduation has been postponed.

And for Russell, the pandemic has meant something else: as a member of the Kentucky National Guard, she has been called to state active duty.

She explains that this means a unit is “called to do whatever the Commonwealth or the governor needs you to do.”

Russell, whose role with the National Guard has been as a paralegal specialist working with JAG attorneys, was called to pack and load boxes for the Dare to Care Food Bank. Some of her fellow soldiers worked the loading docks and sorted donations.

The nature of these tasks made the call for social distancing difficult, Russell acknowledges.

“I kind of just accepted that there was going to be an increased risk for myself and others,” she says, noting that supervisors took soldiers’ temperatures and checked for symptoms of COVID-19 twice a day and placed tape on the floor to encourage safe distancing.

And she acknowledges that other essential workers — including soldiers who are helping at hospitals or transporting patients — have even more exposure.

During this mission, Russell didn’t attend her law school classes. She says her professors have been very supportive and flexible, as they have been about her role with the National Guard all during law school.Ěý

That support has been invaluable during a mentally and emotionally draining time, Russell says.

“This time is very stressful and there’s a lot of anxiety. Soldiers are not exempt from that,” she says.

And as a 3L during this pandemic, “there is always something to be worried about and grieving,” she says, noting the sadness over missing the end of the semester with classmates and uncertainty about the bar exam.Ěý

Russell, president of the School of Law’s American Constitution Society, had to return to the building to turn in her office key. While there in the empty building, she reflected on her law school experience. Law school wasn’t ending as she had planned, she realized, but in the midst of sadness, she was still confident her future would be bright.Ěý

“This has been a lesson in resilience and flexibility,” she says. “I’m optimistic for the future. That optimism just looks different now.”

When 3L Suzy Marino was an undergraduate student at San Diego State University, she signed up with ‘s donor registry. She ended up donating bone marrow to the son of Beth McMasters (Louisville Law Class of 1994), a Louisville lawyer.

One year after the transplant — Marino’s senior year of college — she received a letter from her recipient. They began corresponding, and Marino planned to come to Louisville for a visit in February 2016. Just before she was set to arrive, her recipient, Owen McMasters, died at the age of 16.

Marino made the trip to Louisville anyway — attorneys at McMasters’ firm, McMasters Keith Butler Inc., picked her up from the airport. She attended Owen’s visitation and ended up coming back to Louisville for a week at the end of her senior year. During that trip, she spent time with McMasters and her fellow attorneys, all of whom were women.

“I met all these women who were vibrant and outgoing and who were attorneys,” said Marino. She had never considered law school — or moving to Kentucky — before she met the McMasters family. But she ended up moving in with them while studying for the LSAT. Louisville Law was the only law school she applied to.

Marino’s passion for bone marrow donation has not ended now that she’s in law school. In fact, it has helped her connect with a fellow law student.

Brian Fields, a first-year student at Louisville Law, recently completed his first bone marrow donation. He was alerted that he was a preliminary match in late 2019 and underwent the procedure in early 2020. The procedure required him to travel, and the physical recovery has been draining. But Fields credits the understanding and support of his professors with minimizing disruptions to his studies.

“My professors were wonderful and really accommodating,” he said, adding that they recorded class sessions and offered extensions on assignments while he was recovering.

Fields and Marino connected after she posted about being a bone marrow donor on social media. Both have made a point to spread the word about the importance of signing up for the bone marrow donor registry. Both agree they would donate again.

“It’s a pretty small sacrifice on your end to save a life,” said Fields.

The winning team, composed of third-year student Connor Cafferty and second-year student Paige Ezell, advanced through six rounds to triumph over teams from Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

“The experience was a thrill, and to hear our team called as the champion made all the hard work and months of preparation worth it,” said Cafferty.

Ezell said the experience has been an important learning opportunity.

“It solidified how passionate I am about litigation and trial advocacy. It makes me feel so much more comfortable with the idea of walking into a courtroom after graduation,” she said.Ěý

In April, Cafferty and Ezell will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete in nationals, where they will face 30 teams from across the country.

The other members of the team are Brit McClure and Katie Davidson. Local attorneys Scott Drabenstadt and Madison Shoffner (Class of 2016) served as coaches.

“Seeing the dedication of local attorneys like Madison and Scott give up hundreds of hours of their time reaffirms the value of our law school to the community at large,” said Cafferty.

“The idea behind that is that I can inspire other young girls and boys to go to law school and become a judge,” Kerstetter told .

Kerstetter was sworn into Jefferson County Family Court by another Louisville Law alumna: Denise Clayton, chief judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals (Class of 1976).

Kerstetter was appointed by Gov. Andy Beshear and replaces Judge Deborah Deweese, who retired before the end of her term. She will run for election in November 2020.

Knowing of her job search, a family friend and fellow Central High graduate connected Fields with another Central High alumna: Jennifer Green, director, corporate counsel of Yum! Brands. Fields and Green met for lunch and Green encouraged Fields to submit her resume for a legal internship.

Louisville Law has a ‘s Law and Government Magnet Program, of which Fields is a graduate.

“It was pretty cool to have somebody that cares like that. She turned into a great mentor for me,” says Fields of Green.

At Yum!, Fields reviewed and edited contracts and conducted legal research on IP holding companies. At KFC, which is part of Yum!, she was involved with marketing efforts and franchisee compliance.

“It was a good experience,” says Fields, who is interested in a career in corporate law. “To be able to do that kind of legal work as a 1L was great for me. I was in a place that was amazing and large, but they still gave me the amount of time that I needed and the attention that I needed to teach me things and help me learn things that I can use in the future.”

Fields continues to have a mentor in Green even though the internship has ended. Green has helped review her resume and has provided job-searching advice, Because of this experience, Fields is a strong advocate of networking and finding mentors.

“It’s important to network and out yourself out there,” she says. “You could be missing out on opportunities by not speaking to somebody or by not knowing somebody. That’s how I’ve gotten in to many doors — who I know. After who I know, it’s what I know and what I can do.”

Rising 3L Anita Zipfel won the 2019 competition with her article, “Courts v. Clinicians: The Civil Commitment Standard for Substance Use Disorder.”

The second- and third-place awards also went to Louisville Law students:

• 2nd Place: Kelly Clan, “Measuring the Meter: The Current and Future State of the Solar Industry in Kentucky”

•  3rd Place: John Stocking, “Buprenorphine Medication Assisted Treatment (B-MAT) as the Test Case for Modern Informed Consent”

A former student-athlete himself — he played basketball for IUPUI from 2010-2014 — Gibbs says that he was already familiar with most of the NCAA regulations he has encountered this summer.

But he was surprised to learn that the NCAA doesn’t create the laws its member institutions abide by; rather, it collects, maintains, interprets and enforces the laws voted on by the institutions.

Most of his work at the NCAA has involved legislative research, he says.

“A lot of my job has been reviewing proposals that have become amended laws to determine if older interpretations have been affected by this new amendment and if they need to be revised,” he says.

While this externship hasn’t been the typical law student summer job, Gibbs says he has appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the world of sports and entertainment law.

That’s a big change from the experience he has gained as a intern in Hilliard Lyons’ trusts and estates department. He has worked there throughout law school.

Wherever his career takes him, Gibbs says he knows law is the right path for him

“I didn’t know any lawyers growing up as a kid. I didn’t know much about law school up until the day I got here. But it was just something that I always wanted. It was a goal of mine. I didn’t understand what it was at the time, but now that I’ve done it and I’m going in to my third year, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” he says. “I really enjoy it. I’m confident that I made the right decision in going to law school.