Contributed by Lorene Schaefer Hooi

Greetings from Lake Lanier, Georgia!  Hard to believe it’s been 30 years since we all started law school.

First the professional update:  My law practice is focused primarily on mediation and conducting impartial investigations into allegations of harassment, discrimination and retaliation.   I also provide advice and counsel to executives who are negotiating exit and severance packages.*

Now to the more fun part:  My three kids are all doing well.  Kate is married and living in Batavia, OH working as a school psychologist at West Clermont and pursuing an EdD at Miami University.  Her twin, Alex, is in D.C. lobbying for The Trust for Public Land and coaching women’s rugby at Catholic University (shout out as her team took second in the nation last season).  Mattie is finishing up her senior year at Guildford.  

I remarried three years ago, and we have been renovating a house on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia.  I love living on the lake and we invite you to come visit if you ever find yourself in Georgia.  There’s plenty of room and Fall is the perfect time as the leaves are changing and it’s no longer horridly hot.

Even more fun though is I have an art studio that looks out on the lake.  I’ve been working in encaustic (which is melted beeswax and tree resin mixed with pigment).  My paintings have between 30 and 50 layers of wax and each layer is melted into the one before with an open-flame blow torch (yes, I have a number of fire extinguishers in the studio – luckily, I’ve not yet had to use one).  The photos are some of my recent work inspired by life on the lake.

Can’t wait to see everyone!

*Editor’s note: Lorene was one of the advisors to Dean Jennifer Bard of UC Law during her contract dispute with our alma mater two years ago.