Alumni
Life after Law School
Where are Mizzou Law Alumni?
The Mizzou Law alumni network stretches throughout Missouri, the Midwest, all 50 states and 38 countries.
Alumni Resources
Update Info and Submit Notes
Keep in touch
To promote the accomplishments and activities of our alumni, Mizzou Law publishes Alumni Notes on an ongoing basis on our website. To submit Alumni Notes, or to update your contact information, please use the Alumni Update Form or send an email to mulawdean@missouri.edu.
Mizzou Alumni in the Courts
Shaping History
Throughout the more than 150-year history of the University of Missouri School of Law, countless alumni have made an incredible impact on the law school, the justice system, and the world at large.
At present, Mizzou Law alumni make up:
- Six of seven judges on the Missouri Supreme Court
- All four women on the Supreme Court, making it the first female-majority bench in Missouri history.
Alumni News
April 6, 2026
Harbingers of Peace: 25 Years of the LL.M. in Dispute Resolution
by Tanner O’Neal Riley In 1999, the University of Missouri School of Law established the first LL.M. in dispute resolution program in the United States. At a time when most graduate law degrees focused on tax, finance or intellectual property, Missouri charted a different path: training lawyers not just to litigate disputes, but to resolve them. The choice was radical. The program grew out of intellectual groundwork laid years earlier at the Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution, founded in 1984. Under leaders such as Len Riskin and later Professor John Lande, the center pushed legal education to confront…
Feb. 19, 2026
Mizzou Law alumnus nominated by president for Eighth Circuit judge seat
Mizzou Law alumnus Justin Smith, ’10, has been nominated to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Smith has served as Deputy Counsel for the Missouri Governor’s Office, General Counsel for the Missouri Department of Agriculture and currently works for Justin Otis Law Group in St. Louis. Smith graduated from Mizzou Law as a member of the Order of the Coif, Order of the Barristers and Order of the Scribes. Smith’s appointment comes on the heels of two other federal appointments of Mizzou Law alumni: Judge Cristian Stevens was appointed as…
June 10, 2025
Melissa Cullman Cosgrove ,’13, named U.S. Supreme Court Fellow
Melissa Cullman Cosgrove, ’13, was named a 2025-2026 U.S. Supreme Court Fellow assigned to the Federal Judicial Center, the education and research agency for the federal courts. Cosgrove joins the Supreme Court Fellows Program from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, where she was a career law clerk for the Honorable Stephen R. Welby. She previously clerked for the Honorable Stephen R. Clark and the Honorable E. Richard Webber of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. She was also an Assistant Attorney General in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. Cosgrove…
Contact Us!
Do you have any questions about how to stay connected with Mizzou Law or how to support our students and programs? Please reach out to our Advancement team with any questions you may have.