Toledo Law to honor four outstanding alumni Oct. 3
October 2, 2013
The University of Toledo College of Law and the Law Alumni Affiliate will recognize four alumni and one faculty member at a reception and ceremony to be held during Homecoming Weekend on Thursday, Oct. 3.
Julia Bates ’76 and Randall Samborn ’82 will receive Distinguished Alumni Awards, Michael DiLauro ’80 will be honored with the Commitment Award, and Karl Strauss ’06 will be given the Outstanding New Exemplar Award. Professor Geoffrey Rapp will also be recognized at the event.
“This annual event is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the fascinating careers
many of our graduates have had,” said Daniel J. Steinbock, dean of the College of
Law. “Just last year the College of Law was named by a national publication as one
of the top 20 law schools to prepare for a career in criminal prosecution or defense.
It is no coincidence that three of the awardees have worked in those fields.”
Bates, of Toledo, is the Lucas County Prosecutor. Since taking office in 1996, she
has initiated many new programs, including the Senior Protection Unit, the Economic
Crime Task Force, the Child Support Prosecution Unit, and the Felony Diversion Program.
Bates has served in many leadership roles in the legal community. She is a past president
of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association and is the first woman to hold that
office. She also served as vice president of the National District Attorneys Association.
DiLauro, of Providence, is the director of training and the legislative liaison for the Rhode Island Department of the Public Defender (RIPD). In August 2011, in recognition of his lobbying work for legislation designed to safeguard against wrongful conviction, he received the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ first Champion of State Criminal Justice Reform Award. Before assuming his current role at the RIPD, DiLauro spent nearly 20 years as an assistant public defender in the office, where he tried to verdict approximately 60 cases that carried potential life sentences.
Samborn, of Chicago, is an assistant United States Attorney and the public information officer in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago. He handles all aspects of media relations and public information involving civil and criminal cases in the Northern District of Illinois handled by the U.S. Department of Justice. Early in his career, he was the Chicago bureau chief for The National Law Journal, an assistant prosecuting attorney for the Lucas County, Ohio Prosecutor’s Office, and a staff writer for The Toledo Blade.
Strauss, of Toledo, is associate general counsel at Catholic Health Partners. Before joining Catholic Health Partners, he was regional legal counsel for Mercy Health Partners. He has also practiced law with Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP and Cosme, D’Angelo & Szollosi, Co., L.P.A. He is involved in the Toledo community as a member of the ABLE/LAWO Emerging Leaders Council and the Healthcare Heroes Steering Committee, and has co-chaired the Toledo Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Committee.
Professor Rapp joined the Toledo Law faculty in 2004 and was appointed a Harold A. Anderson Professor of Law and Values in 2011. He is an expert in the areas of corporate law and torts and the author of numerous law review articles. He has also penned pieces for the popular press, including op-eds and columns for USA Today, The Washington Post, and CNN.com. Before joining the College of Law, he was law clerk to Judge Cornelia Kennedy of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and practiced at a Chicago firm. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Harvard College.
The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 3, in the Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick Lounge at the College of Law. There is no charge for the event. Individuals who wish to attend should RSVP to The University of Toledo’s Office of Alumni Relations by phone at 419.530.ALUM (2586) or by email to shirley.grzecki@utoledo.edu.
To submit a nomination for the 2014 alumni awards, email ryan.hieber@utoledo.edu.