FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 2004
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Jessica Bennett
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Mary Vasaly and Kirk Kolbo Named 2003 Attorneys of the Year
MINNEAPOLIS -- The law firm of Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand, LLP, is pleased to announce that Mary Vasaly and Kirk Kolbo have been named as two of the 15 "2003 Attorneys of the Year" in Minnesota by Minnesota Lawyer.
Kirk Kolbo, a Maslon litigation partner, was recognized for his work in taking two cases challenging racial preferences in admissions at the University of Michigan through seven years of trials and appeals, to argument before the United States Supreme Court in 2003. The cases, Gratz v. Bollinger, 123 S. Ct. 2411 (2003), and Grutter v. Bollinger, 123 S. Ct. 2325 (2003), involved two companion civil rights class actions brought against the University of Michigan Law School and the University's flagship undergraduate college. The cases received widespread national attention. The Court took the rare action of releasing the audiotape of the arguments on the day of the argument, something it has done only once before, in Bush v. Gore in 2000. Gratz and Grutter were decided in June 2003, with the Court upholding the use of race in admissions by the Law School and striking down as unconstitutional the manner in which race was used in admissions at the undergraduate school The cases are already considered landmarks-they were the first time the Supreme Court agreed to address the issue of racial preferences in admissions policies since the famous Bakke case decided in 1978.
Mary Vasaly, a Maslon litigation partner focusing her practice on appeals, was selected for her leadership and service both to the legal profession and to the general public through her work with bar groups and pro bono cases in 2003. Mary serves in numerous leadership capacities at the local, state and national level, directed at improving the administration of justice. In 2003, Mary was elected as Chair of the Council of Appellate Lawyers, part of the American Bar Association's Judicial Division's Appellate Judges Conference, and Chair-Elect of the ABA's Torts, Trial and Insurance Practice Section. She serves on the Governing Council of both the Appellate Practice Section and Civil Litigation Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association. She is the Co-Chair of the Hennepin County Bench and Bar Committee, serves on the Board of Directors for the Hennepin County Bar Association, and served on an advisory task force looking into issues of safety at the County Government Center. Mary also served as Co-Chair of the Judicial Appointments Subcommittee of the Minnesota Women Lawyers organization, where she has been pivotal in making MWL a resource for those evaluating judicial candidates in the state.
In the area of pro bono service, Mary was recognized for her pro bono service to the Children's Law Center, the MSBA unemployment appeal project, and the Minnesota State Public Defender program. Most notably, Mary handled an appeal before the Minnesota Court of Appeals where the court held for the first time that the rules of civil procedure apply to parties in conservatorship proceedings, a case that will have direct and lasting impact on many citizens in the state as they deal with the care for elderly or disabled persons, particularly those with Alzheimer's disease. In another case of first impression, Mary successfully argued that an adult adoptee stands on equal footing with a natural child for the purpose of benefiting from a testamentary trust.
Mary and Kirk will each be profiled in an upcoming issue of Minnesota Lawyer, and will receive their awards at a ceremony hosted by Minnesota Lawyer on the evening of February 10, 2004.
The Maslon law firm is a 75-attorney commercial law firm based in Minneapolis, with depth of experience in the areas of business and securities matters, commercial litigation, and financial services law.
