{"id":27281,"date":"2024-01-11T14:58:28","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T20:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/?p=27281"},"modified":"2024-02-01T11:17:50","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T17:17:50","slug":"mitchell-hamline-professor-and-alums-honored-with-attorney-of-the-year-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/2024\/01\/11\/mitchell-hamline-professor-and-alums-honored-with-attorney-of-the-year-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitchell Hamline professor and alums honored with Attorney of the Year awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mitchell Hamline Professor Ana Pottratz Acosta was part of a team of immigration attorneys that worked to pass legislation to allow Minnesotans to obtain drivers licenses, regardless of their immigration status. The effort was 20 years in the making and was one of the groups recently recognized by Minnesota Lawyer’s 2023 Attorneys of the Year<\/a> awards.<\/p>\n

Pottratz Acosta, who teaches the Health Law Clinic at Mitchell Hamline, oversaw the work of several students who provided technical and research assistance as part of the effort to pass the Driver’s Licenses for All legislation. She said the students’ research was used by legislators to prepare for the final floor debate and included materials given to lawmakers ahead of votes in the Minnesota House and Senate.<\/p>\n

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Professor Ana Pottratz Acosta<\/p><\/div>\n

“The experience of working behind the scenes in a supporting role to the community organizers who led the effort to pass Driver’s License for All for 20 years really allowed our students to appreciate how lawyers working within larger social justice movements should strive to center the communities leading the movement and be ‘best actress in a supporting role,'” said Pottratz Acosta. “I’m thrilled the legislation is now law and so proud of our students for their work.”<\/p>\n

Several additional members of the Mitchell Hamline community were also honored and will be recognized at an event next month in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

Along with Pottratz Acosta and two staff attorneys at the Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline–Tom Pryor and Marisa Katz–27 alums made the list for Attorneys of the Year, accounting for nearly one in five of all attorneys who were recognized. The list includes Paul Peterson ’89, who served last year<\/a> as president of the Minnesota State Bar Association. Teresa Nelson ’96, with the ACLU of Minnesota, was honored twice for separate projects.<\/p>\n

2023 Attorneys of the Year<\/h2>\n

Groups<\/h4>\n