2016 WINNERS

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1st PLACE WINNER

Nicole Mattson

University of Denver Sturm College of Law, December 2017

Nicole Mattson graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Social Work, second major Psychology from Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, and holds an MBA from the University of Denver Daniels College of Business. She is a teaching assistant for the University of Denver Sturm College of Law’s nationally-recognized Lawyering Process program, a student attorney for the civil litigation clinic, and last summer, she completed a judicial externship with Chief Judge Mark Thompson and Judge Karen Romeo of the Fifth District of Colorado. Prior to law school, Ms. Mattson spent seventeen years in senior management and human resources, within the healthcare, technology, and investment industries. She most recently served as a Vice President Human Resources for Hospital Corporation of America – HealthONE in Colorado. Ms. Mattson is interested in practicing labor and employment law after graduation, perhaps continuing within the healthcare industry. She is an avid marathoner and lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Chris Young.
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2nd PLACE WINNER

Zac Pestine

Washington University School of Law, May 2016

Zac Pestine graduated cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law in May of 2016. Zac focused his law school career on labor & employment law, externing with the EEOC and serving as the Vice President of the Labor & Employment Law Society at school. He served as the Executive Articles Editor for the Washington University Jurisprudence Review. Over the summers, Zac worked on L&E issues for Lake County, Illinois and a Chicago-area law firm, including Title VII and unlawful termination cases. Prior to law school, Zac earned degrees in Philosophy and Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he graduated with distinction.
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3rd PLACE WINNER

Ian-Paul A. Poulos

Notre Dame Law School, May 2016

Ian-Paul A. Poulos graduated from Notre Dame Law School in May of 2016. During his time at Notre Dame, he focused his studies primarily on labor and employment law. He received the “Dean’s Award” for writing the best paper in “Law & Disabilities,” was chosen by Notre Dame to represent the school at the Peggy Browning Fund Workers’ Rights Conference in Washington, D.C., and received the American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law and the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. Award for Excellence in the Study of Labor and Employment Law. In 2014, Ian graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, from Hofstra University Honors College, with a Bachelor of Arts in Labor Studies and a minor in Economics. Following graduation, Ian joined the Long Island office of Gerstman Schwartz & Malito LLP. Ian would like to thank Notre Dame Professor Barbara J. Fick for her boundless dedication, teaching, and guidance; Notre Dame Professor Kent Hull for facilitating the development of this paper; and Hofstra Professor Gregory DeFreitas for sparking his interest in labor studies.

Ian-Paul A. Poulos - Putting It Bluntly: The Controlled Substances Act Preempts Workers’ Compensation Laws That Require Insurers and Self-Insurers to Pay for Your Weed

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3rd PLACE WINNER

Ben Streckert

University of Minnesota Law School

Ben Streckert is currently a third-year student at the University of Minnesota Law School, where he is a Managing Editor of the ABA Journal of Labor and Employment Law. Ben holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, summa cum laude, from the University of Northwestern—St. Paul. Ben is especially interested in the labor and employment issues that arise in the contexts of corporate transactions and advising small businesses and startups. Following graduation, he will be joining the Business Transactions practice group at Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C. Ben would like to thank Professor Laura Cooper for her guidance in writing this article.