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Marni Goldstein Caputo and Kathleen Luz to be honored with The Neil Hamilton Professional Identity Formation Distinguished Scholar Award

By Felicia Bennett

The Holloran Center is pleased to recognize Marni Goldstein Caputo and Kathleen Luz as the recipients of the Best Article Relating to Professional Identity Formation by a Senior Scholar award for their article, “Boundary-Setting and Choice-Making with No ‘Adult’ in the Room: Professional Identity Formation Opportunities for 1Ls in the Transactional Context,” published in the Virginia Law & Business Review in Summer 2025.

In this article, Caputo and Luz make an important contribution to scholarship on professional identity formation by focusing on the transactional context, an area often overlooked in the first-year law school curriculum. The authors highlight that many law students will practice in transactional settings, where professional identity formation presents distinct challenges.

Their article explains that transactional lawyers often work without the structure of a courtroom or the oversight of a judge. In that environment, lawyers must rely more heavily on their own judgment, values, and sense of professional responsibility. Caputo and Luz argue that this independent setting, with no “adult” in the room, makes professional identity formation especially important for students preparing for transactional practice.

The article also offers a practical model for teaching these lessons in the 1L curriculum. Through transactional simulations, students are introduced to skills such as boundary-setting, choice-making, and reflection, and are given opportunities to practice those skills in context. In this way, the authors show how law schools can help students begin developing the internal compass needed to navigate the ethical and professional complexities of legal practice.

Caputo and Luz’s scholarship reflects the Holloran Center’s commitment to advancing thoughtful and innovative approaches to professional identity formation. Their work broadens the conversation about how law schools can better prepare students for the realities of modern practice and the responsibilities of the profession.

April 15, 2026 by hami3258

David Grenardo

Civility Under Attack: Responding With… Civility

Professor David Grenardo has published a timely new article examining the role of civility in today’s legal profession. Amid declining social cohesion, heightened political tensions, growing mental health strain, and a constant stream of negative news, uncivil behavior has become an increasingly visible challenge. In such an environment, it is easy to become discouraged and to question how to respond to attacks on human dignity and professional decorum.

In this article, Professor Grenardo argues that the answer lies in a renewed commitment to civility itself, rather than resorting to escalation or retreat. He explores what incivility looks like in practice, engages with existing scholarship that critiques civility, and analyzes the tension between the First Amendment and efforts to uphold civility within the legal profession. The article offers a thoughtful framework for responding to incivility with principled, deliberate, and sustained civility.

The abstract of the article follows below.

Civility faces attacks on several fronts. First, civil conduct in society continues to erode. Incivility appears to be increasing in the workplace, and incivility also remains prevalent in the legal profession. Second, legal scholarship has set its sights on attacking civility, calling civility in the legal profession oppressive and racist. Third, the First Amendment has been weaponized to attack civility rules and norms in the legal profession. How should supporters and believers in civility respond to these attacks? The answer is with civility.

This Article argues that the various attacks on civility require a response embedded in civility. When incivility continues to ravage the legal profession, mandatory civility remains the answer. When legal scholarship attacks civility, the response needed includes a thoughtful, respectful, and civil retort. And when the First Amendment clashes with civility in the form of personal insults and attacks against individuals, civility should tend to prevail.

Part I of this Article provides an overview of incivility in the workplace, the legal profession, and society, and discusses the necessary response in the legal profession, mandatory civility. Part II discusses and responds to scholarship that directly attacks civility in the legal profession. Part III examines the intersection of the First Amendment and the regulation of lawyer speech. This Article concludes that as attacks on civility continue to mount, responding with civility remains the best solution.

You can read the full article on SSRN here.

David Grenardo is a Professor of Law and Associate Director of the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.

April 9, 2026 by hami3258

Katya Cronin

Katya Cronin to be honored with the Neil Hamilton Professional Identity Formation Emerging Scholar Award

By Felicia Bennett

The Holloran Center is pleased to recognize Katya Cronin, Associate Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School, as the recipient of the Neil Hamilton Professional Identity Formation Emerging Scholar Award. Professor Cronin is honored for her article, “Value-Centered Lawyering: Reshaping the Law School Curriculum to Promote Well-Being, Quality Client Representation, and a Thriving Legal Field” (published 2024), which offers a thoughtful and timely contribution to the growing body of scholarship on professional identity formation.

In her work, Professor Cronin examines a central challenge within legal education and the profession: the disconnect that often develops between lawyers’ personal values and the work they are asked to perform. She argues that traditional law school messaging can unintentionally encourage students to set aside their own beliefs and measure success primarily through external markers such as prestige and financial reward. Over time, this misalignment can lead to burnout and diminished wellbeing – an issue that affects individual lawyers as well as the quality of client representation and the health of the profession as a whole.

As a response, Professor Cronin proposes a shift toward “value-centered lawyering,” an approach that integrates regular self-reflection and intentional engagement with personal values into the law school curriculum. By encouraging students to align their career paths, client choices, and professional goals with their sense of purpose, her work highlights how legal education can better support the development of whole, self-aware professionals. This approach reflects a broader understanding of professional identity formation that recognizes lawyers as individuals whose integrity and wellbeing are essential to ethical and effective practice.

Professor Cronin’s scholarship connects with the Holloran Center’s mission to advance innovative, research-based approaches to professional identity formation. Her emphasis on wellbeing, reflective practice, and values integration reflects evolving expectations in legal education, including the increasing focus on forming lawyers who are both competent and committed to the value of serving others. Through this work, she offers a vision for how law schools can help shape a more sustainable and values-driven future for the legal profession.

Katya Cronin is a Associate Professor of Fundamentals of Lawyering at the George Washington University Law School.

April 8, 2026 by hami3258

Colette Schmidt, Stephanie Kupferman

Holloran Center Professional Identity Formation Outstanding Blog Award: “Silent Struggle”

by Felicia Bennett

The Holloran Center is pleased to recognize Stephanie Kupferman (Vermont Law) and Colette Schmidt (Paul Frank + Collins, formerly Vermont Law) as recipients of the Holloran Center Professional Identity Formation Outstanding Blog Award for their blog post, “Silent Struggle: Navigating Eating Disorders in the Legal Profession.” Their work shines a light on a frequently overlooked dimension of lawyer wellbeing and addresses the personal challenges that can shape professional identity, performance, and longevity in the legal field.

Kupferman and Schmidt’s blog post reflects the Holloran Center’s commitment to highlighting the importance of wellbeing in professional identity formation and aligns with the profession’s growing recognition that effective lawyering is strengthened by self-care and personal resilience. By examining the hidden pressures within legal culture and encouraging greater awareness, compassion, and institutional support, their post reinforces the importance of forming lawyers who are not only skilled and ethical, but also supported as whole persons.

This focus resonates strongly with the Center’s mission to foster intentional, values-based development of law students and lawyers alike.

Read the award-winning post: https://blogs.stthomas.edu/holloran-center/silent-struggle-navigating-eating-disorders-in-the-legal-profession/

March 31, 2026 by hami3258

Aric Short

Holloran Center Excellence in Teaching Award to be Presented to Aric Short for Difficult Conversations Class

By Felicia Bennett

On April 25, 2026, at the First Annual Holloran Center Conference and Law Journal Symposium, Professional Identity Formation – Looking Back and Looking Ahead, Aric Short will receive the Holloran Center Professional Identity Formation Excellence in Teaching Award for his class exercise, Navigating and Excelling in Difficult Conversations. A professor of law and Director of the Professional Identity & Leadership Development Program at Texas A&M University School of Law, Professor Short has developed this learning experience within his 1L Professional Identity Formation course that aims to equip law students with an essential, and often overlooked, professional skill: the ability to engage thoughtfully and constructively across disagreement.

In his class activity, Short highlights how lawyers routinely navigate emotionally charged disputes, conflicting values, and polarized viewpoints in their work with clients, colleagues, courts, and communities. Through guided reflection, structured dialogue exercises, and small-group discussion, students learn to shift from reacting defensively to responding with curiosity and respect. The activity emphasizes practices such as empathetic listening, asking questions of understanding rather than persuasion, and recognizing how emotions and identity shape the lenses through which we communicate. By creating space for students to share experiences, examine how conflict affects their thinking, and practice respectful dialogue on complex issues, the exercise helps future lawyers develop the judgment, humility, and interpersonal awareness necessary for effective and ethical practice.

Professor Short’s work reflects the mission of the Holloran Center to advance innovative approaches that help law students develop a strong professional identity grounded in integrity, self-awareness, and service to others. At a time when the legal profession—and society more broadly—faces deep polarization, teaching future lawyers how to foster constructive, respectful dialogue is central to forming ethical leaders in their communities. By equipping students with the tools to navigate disagreement with professionalism and empathy, Professor Short’s teaching exemplifies the type of intentional professional formation the Holloran Center seeks to promote across legal education.

You can find materials for this classroom exercise here: Short Classroom Materials

March 23, 2026 by hami3258

Felicia Bennett, Todd Peterson

Holloran Center Signature Program Award to be Presented to GW Law for their First Year PIF Experience

By Felicia Bennett

On April 25, 2026, at the First Annual Holloran Center Conference and Law Journal Symposium, the George Washington University Law School will be honored with the Holloran Center Professional Identity Formation Signature Program Award for their three-part 1L professional formation experience.

The upcoming conference will convene scholars, educators, and practitioners committed to advancing professional identity formation in legal education—and GW Law’s integrated first-year model has been selected as a leading example of that work in action.

The award recognizes GW Law’s comprehensive 1L professional identity formation programming, which is composed of three complementary initiatives:

Fundamentals of Lawyering: A required two-semester course which introduces legal analysis and writing, communication and interpersonal skills, and professionalism through the lens of PIF and using experiential learning opportunities.
The Inns of Court Program: Small, structured community groups that support connection, critical skills development, and individualized career exploration.
Foundations of Practice: A voluntary (and heavily attended) program that includes workshops, one-on-one conferences with different support areas, and informational interviews.

Together, these programs embed professional identity formation across the entire first year—placing students “in role” as client-centered advocates, surrounding them with faculty and practitioner mentors, and guiding them through structured reflection on values, professionalism, wellbeing, and career purpose. At GW Law, identity formation is woven into skills training, community building, and career development, ensuring students begin law school with a shared vocabulary and framework for ethical, intentional practice.

This work aligns closely with the Holloran Center’s mission to advance innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to forming law students and practicing lawyers into ethical leaders in their communities. As the Center continues to shape the national movement toward greater intentionality in professional formation, GW Law’s model demonstrates how a law school can take concrete, scalable steps to foster each student’s growth in competence, autonomy, integrity, and service. The April 25 conference and symposium will celebrate not only this achievement, but also the broader commitment across legal education to cultivating purposeful, reflective professionals for the future of the profession.

March 16, 2026 by hami3258

David Grenardo, Jerome Organ, Neil Hamilton

Faculty Statement and Call to Action

January 29, 2026

Dear Community,

The University of St. Thomas School of Law is inspired by justice, guided by faith, grounded in reason, committed to excellence, and devoted to advancing the common good. As faculty members of the School of Law, we write in our individual capacities to express our deep concern for our community and our country in light of the actions of some agents of DHS, ICE, and the Border Patrol that reflect a disregard for human dignity and the common good and a disregard for the Constitution and the Rule of Law.

As members of a Catholic university we are guided by our obligation to recognize in all the human dignity with which they are endowed as people made in the image of God. We are guided by Catholic Social Teaching which challenges us to live our lives in support of the common good in solidarity with our brothers and sisters and with a preferential option for the poor and marginalized.

Over the past two months, our streets have been flooded with federal agents wearing masks, holding machine guns, boxing in U.S. citizens while waving guns in their faces, demanding people to show proof of citizenship. Many of these people are people of color who are U.S. citizens but have been stopped based on the color of their skin. Additionally, people in our community shelter in their houses for fear of unlawful detainment. People are being detained without constitutionally required judicial warrants. Some members of our community, including some of our own students and faculty, travel to work or school each day in terror, many of whom now feel the need to carry their passports for fear of being stopped unlawfully and detained. Most importantly, we have suffered the profoundly unnecessary loss of life—Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

As law professors seeking to educate succeeding generations of law students to fulfill their responsibilities as lawyers with an understanding of their special responsibility to support the rule of law, we are deeply disturbed and heartbroken at the violations of the Constitution and the rule of law by some agents of DHS, ICE, and the Border Patrol. Two of the foundational principles that undergird the rule of law include equality under the law and due process. Equality demands that everyone is equal under the law and that no one, including the government, is above the law. Due Process requires that people receive robust legal processes before their rights are impaired by the government.

We applaud leaders in our community who continue to stand for justice and the rule of law. The Honorable Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz of the federal district court in Minnesota, who is also one of the founders of the University of St. Thomas School of Law, called out ICE’s brazen disregard for the law as the judiciary attempts to ensure accountability for unlawful actions by ICE here in the Twin Cities. In a recent order, Chief Judge Schiltz stated, “ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”

The School of Law’s mission calls us to search for truth. We call for a vigorous effort to find the truth and to hold accountable those who have committed crimes.

With heartful respect,

Brenda Arndt

Tom Berg

Jennifer Cornell

David Grenardo

Daniel Griffith

Neil Hamilton

Julie Jonas

Robert Kahn

Sarita Matheson

Dennis Monroe

Rachel Moran

Jerry Organ

Julie Oseid

Michael Paulsen

Charles Reid

Michael Robak

Hank Shea

Gregory Sisk

Susan Stabile

Carl Warren

Virgil Wiebe

Professor Elizabeth Schiltz, as the spouse of a federal judge, is unable to join public statements about matters that might come before the federal courts.

January 30, 2026 by hami3258

David Grenardo

Why Civility?

In anticipation of the Toledo Law Review 2025-26 Legal Symposium “Civility & Professionalism in a Changing Legal World,” Professor David Grenardo wrote “Why Civility?” – now published on SSRN and forthcoming in the Toledo Law Review.

In this article, Prof. Grenardo honestly and humorously recounts the life experiences which led him to become a zealous advocate of civility. He provides a broad overview of the benefits of civility in both an academic and a practice setting, laying out a compelling case for the importance of mandatory civility rules.

Please see the abstract below:

I spent the last fifteen years writing about civility, presenting on civility, and promoting civility for lawyers. Why have I devoted over a decade and a half to studying and advocating for civility in the legal profession? Why civility? Simply put: “Civility is the cornerstone of the legal profession.” This brief Essay highlights a number of my experiences as a practitioner and as a law professor that illustrate both the importance of civility and the costs of incivility to help answer the question of why civility.
Part I of this Essay provides a definition and brief overview of civility. Part II of this Essay takes a practical look at civility and how it has manifested in my experiences as a practicing lawyer for nearly a decade and as a law professor for the past fifteen years. This Essay concludes that civility is essential to the practice of law for every lawyer, and more states should adopt mandatory civility beyond the handful of states that already require civility from their lawyers.

We hope you will read the full article on SSRN!

David Grenardo is a Professor of Law and Associate Director of the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.

January 23, 2026 by hami3258

Uncategorized

Living Our Professional Values Through AI

by Luke Cheman, 2L at the University of St. Thomas School of Law

As a law student, I have started using AI here and there – drafting memos for class, testing my legal knowledge, or just seeing what it can do. At first, it felt like learning a new tech trick. But I have realized it is more than that. Each time I practice with AI, I am also practicing the values that will guide me as a lawyer: responsibility, judgment, and growth. In other words, using AI is already part of learning how to live my professional values.

The Holloran Center compares professional values to the trunk of a tree.[1] The idea is simple: values are what everything else grows from. For lawyers, one of the biggest branches on that tree is responsibility. That means serving clients zealously but fairly, respecting the legal system, helping improve the law, and making sure more people have access to justice. It also means being honest in negotiation, guided by conscience, and willing to help clients think through tough choices. When we add AI into the picture, it is not just about learning a tool – it is also about finding new ways to live out those responsibilities.

AI as a Tool for Zealous Advocacy

AI can quickly pull information, draft language, or brainstorm arguments.[2] But representing a client well is not just about speed – it also requires making sure what you deliver is correct and actually useful. Learning to supervise AI, check its work, and adjust it to fit the client’s needs all constitute ways lawyers practice responsibility. The value remains the same; there is just a new tool in the mix.

AI as a Way to Expand Access

One of the best things about AI is that it could make legal assistance more available to people who cannot usually afford it. If AI cuts down the time it takes to do routine work, then that means pro bono lawyers, clinics, and small firms could help more clients.[3] For me, that makes learning AI feel less like a “tech skill” and more like a way to live out the value of service and access to justice.

AI in Honest Negotiation

Lawyers negotiate all the time, and AI can help by giving lawyers more options or ideas or by drafting language.[4] But the value of honesty does not go away. Using AI responsibly means not just dumping whatever it produces on the other side. It means choosing what is fair and accurate, and making sure we are not misleading anyone.[5] That is part of living into our values – even in negotiation.

AI and Judgment

AI excels at finding patterns and providing information, but it cannot weigh empathy or fairness.[6] Some of the hardest choices in law are moral ones, not technical ones. When I use AI, I can compare its answer to my own reasoning and ask, what is missing? Doing that actually strengthens my judgment. It is practice for the kind of decision-making that values like conscience and responsibility demand.

AI Supporting Professional Judgment

At the end of the day, clients do not just need facts – they also need guidance. AI can highlight risks or list options, but it cannot help a client sort out what is right for them or how their decision will affect others.[7] That is where lawyers come in. Being competent with AI does not mean handing over the wheel to AI; lawyers must use AI to facilitate better conversations with clients and to make our own judgment stronger.

Values like zeal, respect, fairness, conscience, and judgment are what make lawyering a profession. Each of those values connects directly to how we use AI. If we internalize and live those values, AI does not replace professionalism – it accentuates professionalism. And as law students, the more we practice now, the better prepared we will be to use AI as a real opportunity to serve clients with excellence and positively impact the justice system.

[1] Hamilton, Neil. “The Profession Has Core Values the Students Can Explore in Guided Reflection – Holloran Center Professional Identity Implementation Blog.” Stthomas.edu. 2022. https://blogs.stthomas.edu/holloran-center/the-profession-has-core-values-the-students-can-explore-in-guided-reflection/.

[2] Frazier, Kevin. 2025. “What I Say to Lawyers about AI.” Substack.com. Appleseed AI. May 22, 2025. https://appleseedai.substack.com/p/what-i-say-to-lawyers-about-ai.

[3] ‌Kerker, Kim. 2024. “AI Ethics in Law: Emerging Considerations for pro Bono Work and Access to Justice – pro Bono Institute.” Pro Bono Institute. August 29, 2024. https://www.probonoinst.org/2024/08/29/ai-ethics-in-law-emerging-considerations-for-pro-bono-work-and-access-to-justice/?utm_source=chatgpt.com.

[4] “How AI Enhances Legal Document Review.” 2025. Americanbar.org. 2025. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_practice/resources/law-technology-today/2025/how-ai-enhances-legal-document-review/.

[5] “American.edu.” 2025. American University. 2025. https://www.american.edu/cas/news/responsible-artificial-intelligence.cfm.

[6] ‌Nosta, John. 2024. “Is Empathy the Missing Link in AI’s Cognitive Function?” Psychology Today. October 19, 2024. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-digital-self/202410/is-empathy-the-missing-link-in-ais-cognitive-function.

[7] “AI Can Support — but Not Replace — Human Counselors, according to New Recommendations.” n.d. www.newswise.com. https://www.newswise.com/articles/ai-can-support-but-not-replace-human-counselors-according-to-new-recommendations.

Luke Cheman is a 2L at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. He’s preparing for a future career in the Army JAG Corps and is interested in the intersections between AI and the Law, especially how AI can influence the values and responsibilities of law students and lawyers.

September 25, 2025 by hami3258

Neil Hamilton

Professional Identity Formation As Theory and As Practice for the Education of a Lawyer

A new article by Holloran Center Fellow Lou Bilionis and Co-Director Neil Hamilton, Professional Identity Formation As Theory and As Practice for the Education of a Lawyer, takes a deep dive Professional Identity Formation As Theory and As Practice for the Education of a Lawyer, takes a deep dive into the theory and practice of professional identity formation (PIF) in J.D. legal education. Building on nearly two decades of scholarship since Educating Lawyers, the piece argues that professional values are the driving force behind true excellence in developing legal skills. The paper examines why law schools have historically fallen short in cultivating the full range of values and skills new graduates need, and it also highlights the recent shifts prompting meaningful reform. Importantly, the article also offers practical guidance for faculty and staff on how to foster each student’s PIF, which is positioned to serve as the driving force behind the future of legal education.

Here is a link to the article: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5387750

And here is the abstract:

The past eighteen years of exploration and development regarding professional identity formation since the publication of Educating Lawyers make clear that professional identity formation is first and foremost a theory of J.D. legal education. Indeed, it may very well be the only theory of J.D. legal education standing today. Essentially, the premise of professional identity formation is that professional values are the foundation for and drive excellence at the development of professional skills. Each student should explore and understand what are the values of the profession and the skills needed to practice law, and develop the skills toward excellence.

This article explores professional identity formation as a theory of J.D. legal education and as a movement to reform J.D. legal education. The article analyzes why law schools historically have underinvested in the student development of the full range of professional values and skills a new graduate needs, and then why conditions have changed, leading some law schools to move toward an effective professional identity formation curriculum. The article provides guidance on how to engage the faculty and staff to support each student’s professional identity formation.

August 29, 2025 by hami3258

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