Volume 158, No. 57

Sweet 16 sparks lawyers’ prideand predictions for their schoolsBY PATMILHIZERLaw Bulletin staff writer

For lawyers who still have analma mater in the emotional ridethat is the NCAA basketballtournament, hopefully they findtime to put legal documentsaside and grab a remote control.Sixteen teams remain and the

hardwood battles resumetonight.We asked lawyers what they

expected from their schoolsheading into this year’s tourna-ment and how they expect theirteam to perform the rest of theway.Here are their responses:•David C. McKone of Nixon,

Peabody LLP (Michigan StateUniversity). “As a one-seed goinginto the tournament withmomentum from winning the BigTen Tournament, I expectedMichigan State to cruise to theElite Eight before encountering aserious test. … I expect theSpartans to meet Kentucky inNew Orleans for its toughest testof the year. Not willing to betagainst Coach Izzo in March, Ipredict that Michigan State willplay yet another rematch againstOhio State in the finals,prevailing for the third time thisyear over the Buckeyes.”•James C. Vlahakis of

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP(Michigan State University). “Iexpected that MSU would tomake it to the Final Four. I thinkthat with a little luck, MSU willmake it to the championshipgame. Other than that, I don’twant to jinx anything with aprediction of a national champi-onship.”•R. John Street of Edwards,

Wildman, Palmer LLP (OhioUniversity). “I didn’t expectthem to get past their first roundgame against Michigan. WhileOhio has improved consistently

throughout the year — winningthe MAC tournament this month— MAC schools overall haven’tdone well in the NCAA tourna-ment over the past decade. Itwas a great surprise to see Ohiowin and, being from Ohio,equally pleasing to see Michiganlose. I think it probably will be allover for the Bobcats on Friday.North Carolina has lost its mainplaymaker to injury, but they area deep team that has a lot ofexperience at this level. I hopeOhio can keep it close.”•Diane J. Silverberg of Kovitz,

Shifrin, Nesbit (University ofWisconsin). “As a dyed-in-the-red-wool Madisonian and two-time UW alum, my expectationsfor the UW in this year’s NCAAtournament are the same as theyare every year — that itsvaunted defense will shut downall opponents and the Badgerswill win it all. … I have the UWdefeating Syracuse on Thursday— the Orange’s luck without thefabulously named Fab Melofinally running out — with theBadgers going on to defeat OhioState on the 31st to set up achampionship game between theBadgers and the KentuckyWildcats on April 2.”

•Vincent P. Tomkiewicz ofRuberry, Stalmack & GarveyLLC (University of Wisconsin).“As last Friday’s upsets demon-strated, anything can happen inthe tournament. That being said,I felt the Badgers had a goodshot, having played well at theend of the regular season and inthe Big Ten tourney. Playing inBoston against Syracuse, theBadgers will be a virtual awayteam. Nevertheless, Bo Ryan willout-coach Jim Boeheim, who’snever beaten a Big Ten team inNCAA tournament play. If thethree-point shooting holds up,Wisconsin will beat the OhioState-Cincinnati winner, and it’son to the Final Four.”•Robert P. Pisani of McKenna,

Storer (University of Wisconsin).“I had the Badgers getting intothe Sweet 16. They have playedwell all year, but there have beensome offensive lapses at times.The Badgers are peaking at theright time. Players other thanJordan Taylor have beenstepping up. Their defense isgreat, Bo Ryan is an excellentcoach, and their style of play istough for non-Big Tenopponents. They will make it tothe Final Four.”

•Mark E. Broaddus of Chuhak& Tecson P.C. (University ofLouisville and University ofKentucky). “This is hard for me, because I have two schoolsin the tournament — myundergrad, Kentucky, and lawschool, University of Louisville. Ican support both schools inChicago, but not in Kentucky;you have to pick one and hate theother. I expect them both tocompete for the championshipthis year. I think Kentucky willwin it all.”•Alisa C. Simmons of Fitch,

Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP(Indiana University). “No matterwhat, I always root for IU whenthey make it to the NCAAtourney. I’m sure that my doingso is a direct result of havingattended IU during the playingdays of Calbert Cheaney. TheHoosiers have enjoyed a goodseason this year and theirperformance on Saturdayevening did not disappoint, especially with 100 percent freethrow shooting in the first half. I was hopeful that the Hoosierswould make it once again to theSweet 16 and they have. TheHoosiers team this year hasheart, and more than enough,

Copyright © 2012 Law Bulletin Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Publishing Company.

R. John Street Diane J. SilverbergDavid C. McKone

CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2012

I believe, to pull off another winagainst Kentucky. It’s the NCAAtourney — anything canhappen.”•Robert J. Finley of Hinshaw &

Culbertson LLP (MarquetteUniversity). “In the post-Warriorera, nothing is ever as it seems.You throw out the won-lossrecord, which is what made(Dwyane) Wade’s Final Four runaltogether remarkable and the(Kevin) O’Neill tenure so tanta-lizingly difficult to endure. … Ipicked them to lose in the firstround and yet have thoroughlyenjoyed the last week. At thisstage, other than Ohio U., MUremains a dark horse to ‘ring outahoya’ in the Big Easy. Just theway we like it.” •Christopher J. Reckamp of

Faegre, Baker, Daniels LLP(Marquette University).“Marquette had a great seasonand Coach (Buzz) Williams did aterrific job, but my expectations

were lower than many of my MUfriends given some erraticplaying by MU late in the season.… If Marquette plays at theirnormal level, I would expectMarquette to make it to the EliteEight. … I definitely think theyare that good.”

•Edward E. Clair of Fitch,Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP(Marquette University). “Havinglost Jimmy F. Butler — now aChicago Bull (and) a major factor in Marquette getting tothe Sweet 16 last year — myexpectations for Marquette

going into this season were alittle bit lower … I expect theteam to continue to play with alot of heart and determination …it would not surprise me ifMarquette went on to winanother game, let alone theentire tournament.”

Copyright © 2012 Law Bulletin Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Publishing Company.

Alisa C. Simmons Edward E. ClairMark E. Broaddus