Over the past year, faculty, staff, students, alumni and supporters have come together to help shape a vision for our future. The result is an ambitious roadmap that builds on our strengths while identifying new opportunities to advance teaching, scholarship, service and student success.

At the heart of that vision is a commitment to innovation and the Wisconsin Idea.

Few developments are transforming the legal profession more rapidly than artificial intelligence (AI). UW Law is preparing our students to use AI in practice, while also making sure they develop fundamental skills like analysis, research, oral and written communication, and professional judgment.

In these pages, you’ll meet Professor Desmund Wu, whose work explores the opportunities and challenges posed by emerging technologies. As AI reshapes the legal profession — and our world — UW Law faculty and students are leading important conversations about its legal, ethical and societal implications.

Speaking of shaping conversations . . .

The world’s energy landscape is evolving, and we are meeting the challenge. Launching in Fall 2027 thanks to a generous gift from Hugh ’66 and Joyce Bell, our new Energy Law Clinic will place students at the center of one of the defining legal and policy challenges of the coming decades. The clinic will expose students to the complex legal frameworks that underpin the nation’s energy future.

Rooted in UW Law’s Law-in-Action tradition, the clinic will move beyond classroom study to immerse students in the real-world legal issues driving the energy transition. Because energy law sits at the intersection of business, government, technology, environmental policy, tribal sovereignty, agriculture, utilities and economic development, students will gain the interdisciplinary skills and practical experience needed to help shape a more innovative, sustainable and economically vibrant future for Wisconsin and beyond.

Stay tuned for more on this exciting addition to our unparalleled clinic programs.

The spirit of engagement and service that defines our alumni community shines throughout these pages. From accomplished graduates making an impact across the country to those who generously mentor students and support the Law School, your contributions embody the Wisconsin Idea and extend the reach of UW Law far beyond Bascom Hill.

You’ll read about alumni reflecting on the professors who inspired them and influenced the trajectories of their careers. And you’ll meet students whose talent, determination and commitment to service are an inspiration to all of us.

While looking forward to what our current students will do in their careers and lives, we also remember departed members of our community who have shaped UW Law and the world around us.

One of those people is Professor Marc Galanter, one of the most consequential legal scholars of all time. His contributions to UW Law and to our understanding of law’s real-world impact are profound, and we celebrate his legacy in this issue.

As always, I am deeply grateful to our alumni and other friends whose generosity makes our work possible. Whether supporting scholarships, clinical education, faculty excellence or innovative research initiatives, our donors invest directly in the success of our students, the future of our legal profession and the world that our graduates and faculty help shape.

This issue features stories of individuals whose philanthropy reflects a deep belief in the mission of UW Law and the power of legal education to change lives. The support of friends like Rodney ’76 and Marsha Uphoff strengthens our ability to provide transformative experiential opportunities for all our students, ensuring that our clinical education remains second to none.

Thank you for your continued support of the Law School and for all you do for our school, our students and the communities they will serve.

On, Wisconsin!

Dean Dan Tokaji