Diversity in Patent Law

Patent Law Program

Mitchell Hamline’s Patent Law Program has a decades-long history of producing successful graduates. It offers a broad array of courses, directed first to providing students with the theory, concepts, and connections of the law, and then to exploring increasingly specialized topics and practice areas. The Patent Law Program has strong connections with law firms, corporations, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), providing educational enrichment, networking, and employment opportunities. The program’s patent law clinic was one of the first in the nation to be certified by the USPTO, and a program professor played an integral role in the creation of the USPTO’s Patent Pro Bono Program. Program faculty come from rich and varied practice experiences, and they are committed to teaching both the theory and the day-to-day details of practice—and how each shapes and drives the other.

Diversity and Inclusion

Mitchell Hamline believes firmly that diversity and inclusion are essential components of successful law school learning. In keeping with that conviction, Mitchell Hamline has committed to increasing the diversity of its patent law student body. It strongly encourages members of underrepresented groups who are interested in pursuing careers in patent law to apply to Mitchell Hamline for admission.

Mitchell Hamline will provide qualified patent law students with:

• Assistance in navigating the application process, including LSAT preparation

• Financial assistance while in law school

• A well-supervised mentorship program and other opportunities to gain varied practical experience

• Assistance in obtaining meaningful employment upon graduation and in applying the skills learned at Mitchell Hamline

Mitchell Hamline is the first school to partner with the Foundation for Advancement of Diversity in IP Law, a scholarship and mentoring organization whose mission is to advance racial and ethnic diversity in IP law and practice. Students interested in applying to Mitchell Hamline should consult the website to see what additional opportunities the foundation may provide. The foundation’s website is https://diversityiniplaw.org/.

Access through Blended Learning

In January 2015, Mitchell Hamline became the first ABA-approved law school in the nation to offer students the chance to earn a law degree through a blend of online and on-campus instruction. By January 2018, the earliest graduates were finishing the program. Since 2015, over 1,100 students have enrolled, hundreds have graduated, and blended-learning alums from Mitchell Hamline have passed numerous state bar exams and are working as licensed attorneys around the country.

In the blended-learning enrollment option, students come to campus twice each semester in semesters one through four, and once in semesters five through eight. The rest of the time the coursework is completed online, which means students can earn a Mitchell Hamline law degree from anywhere in the nation—or the world. We designed the program so that students with full-time jobs and family and other commitments do not have to put those on hold to earn a law degree.

During the first four semesters, the online portion of each course is asynchronous. In other words, students have weekly deadlines but decide on their own when to do the work. After the first four semesters, there is even more flexibility. Students can continue to take courses in the blended format as well as on-campus and fully online. Information about our blended-learning enrollment option can be found at https://mitchellhamline.edu/blended.