Our Case for Support

OUR CASE for SUPPORT

This is a place where students do great things

Mitchell Hamline provides the skills needed to put law into practice. Our students actively take part in competitions where they’re recognized and awarded locally, nationally, and globally. They’ve helped pass laws and contributed to important court cases at all levels. And they’ve drawn national attention for their work on issues affecting people across the country. Our faculty and staff, using flexible programs and modern technologies, work with students to fulfill their professional goals in their communities. We need your support to continue and improve this important work.

Mitchell Hamline believes in removing barriers and expanding access to law school to students who haven’t traditionally had that opportunity. Your support helps fund scholarships, especially needbased aid and other resources, to provide access to legal education and meet the needs of the legal profession.

Mitchell Hamline offers innovative solutions to help students succeed. We were the first ABA-approved law school in the nation to offer a partially online, blended enrollment option. We’ve further expanded those offerings and continue to lead the way in using technology in our instruction. Your support helps us enhance technology and innovation inside physical and virtual classrooms and within the legal field.

Mitchell Hamline is a place where students do great things. Our clinics, centers, and institutes are recognized as some of the best in the country and put students into real-world legal settings under the supervision of extraordinary faculty. Students also have opportunities to participate in externships and residencies. Our students leave Mitchell Hamline

Clockwise from upper left: Angela Levasseur ’22 was elected the first female chief of her First Nation community in Canada, the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, in 2022.

Nicole van Lierop ’22 was named by National Jurist as one of 10 Law Students of the Year in March 2022, becoming the fourth Mitchell Hamline student in six years to be honored in this way.

Kiana Carlson (Ahtna Kohtaene, Taltsiine; Native Village of Cantwell, Alaska) was named in 2022 as one of 17 members of a federal advisory group that will help identify and recommend changes to derogatory names used for places throughout the country.

Anthony Walsh ’23 published a children’s book in 2022 aimed at making hockey more racially inclusive.

Hannah Burton ’23 won an Outstanding Clinic Student award in 2022 from the Clinical Legal Education Association for her work in the Child Protection Clinic.

ready to be lawyers because they did the work during law school. Your support helps enrich the student experience and prepares them to practice law.

Mitchell Hamline is connected and committed to the community. We have over 20,000 alumni with nearly 14,000 who work, serve, and lead in Minnesota— and many dedicate their resources to introduce students to the legal profession. Our faculty and staff, too, not only serve our students but are also involved with organizations throughout the world and are often sought out as legal experts by businesses and the media. We cultivate community engagement to establish lasting relationships and create pipeline programs.

Our need is great, but our supporters are greater. Thank you for everything you do for Mitchell Hamline, our students, and the legal community.

Who we are

We are Minnesota’s law school of choice for students, employees, and employers alike—whether studying or working locally on campus or taking or teaching classes online from anywhere in the world.

What we do

We live, study, and teach the law, working to make it just and accessible.

Why we do it

We believe in diversity, equity, and inclusion and that our collective efforts with students, faculty, staff, trustees, alumni, and other supporters bring justice to life.

MISSION

We live, study, and teach the law, working to make it just and accessible. We are dedicated to:

• Serving as a gateway to opportunities that enable students to further causes about which they are passionate;

• Preparing students to compete successfully for jobs that exist today while positioning them to excel in jobs yet to be created;

• Expanding access to legal knowledge throughout society, among lawyers and non-lawyers alike;

• Providing access to high-quality legal education for people from a wide variety of backgrounds; and

• Advancing the rule of law and justice for all.

VISION

Mitchell Hamline will be the nation’s leading innovator in legal education. We provide rigorous, practice-based training that equips students for the

changing realities of the legal profession. We empower students to pursue careers of meaning. We use technologies in new ways to expand access to legal services and legal knowledge.

VALUES

Courage and Independence:

• We imagine

• We take risks

• We are resilient

Inclusion and Integrity:

• We listen

• We depend on difference

• We foster transparency and trust

Commitment and Accountability:

• We speak up

• We create

• We deliver

Community and Collegiality:

• We serve together

• We celebrate together

• We connect locally, nationally, and globally

Looking to our past as we envision our future

RICH HISTORY

Mitchell Hamline has been committed to experiential, practice-based learning, shaping legal education to meet the needs of our students and the legal community for more than 120 years. Built on a long, rich history of providing innovative, forward-thinking, and accessible legal education, Mitchell Hamline School of Law was formed in 2015 by the combination of William Mitchell College of Law and Hamline University School of Law. This extraordinary union brought together two law schools that had shaped Minnesota’s legal landscape, creating the largest law school in the region and the top choice for motivated students who want to pursue a rigorous legal education in a way that fits their lives.

The traditional law school model of attending full-time and during the day leaves out so many people who are just as qualified to be successful in law school but don’t see their lives reflected in the planning of courses and other activities. Law school is difficult and challenging, but when we make enrollment as flexible as possible, that reduces a significant barrier that has long kept people out who would otherwise be important additions to our legal profession. Supporting Mitchell Hamline supports the idea that our legal profession will be stronger with people who reflect the population.

PROUD PRESENT

Mitchell Hamline offers students the opportunity to attend full-time; part-time during the day or evening; or part-time in a blended format that’s both online and on-campus. We offer academic advising, legal writing, technology support, bar preparation, career and professional development, and other academic

supports. We also support students beyond the classroom with wellness activities, interest groups, counseling resources, and other programs meant to cultivate a sense of belonging.

More than 20,000 Mitchell Hamline alumni work across the globe with 14,000 working in Minnesota. They are leaders in the profession, working in the state’s largest law firms, Fortune 500 companies, judiciary, government, and nonprofit organizations. They stay connected to inspire, advise, and mentor students on their future careers.

Standing on the shoulders of its legacy schools, Mitchell Hamline continues to shape the future of legal education, while meeting the needs of our students and the legal community.

Points of pride include:

• Consistently voted Best Law School in Minnesota by readers of Minnesota Lawyer and Finance & Commerce

• Highly ranked dispute resolution, health law, clinical training, trial advocacy, intellectual property law, and legal writing programs by U.S. News & World Report

• Our 2023 entering class represents 42 states + DC, 4 foreign countries, and 13 Native American Tribes and First Nations; 31% students of color, 61% women, 18% LGBTQ+; and an age range of 20-63

• The employment rate for our 2022 class within 10 months of graduation is 93%

• Half of Minnesota’s district court judges and county attorneys are Mitchell Hamline alumni

PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

Mitchell Hamline is currently executing a strategic plan approved in 2021. The plan includes intermediate goals on a path toward completion by 2025, the 10-year anniversary of the combination that created Mitchell Hamline.

Curriculum

Integrate emerging practice-ready skills and competencies into the curriculum, track student performance in core courses, and offer courses across enrollment options

Access and Opportunity

Diversify student population, create new financing options, and develop programs for non-J.D. and post-J.D. students

Student Experience

Empower all students to see themselves as members of the legal profession throughout their enrollment, support students’ personal and professional wellbeing, and increase opportunities for students to build relationships across enrollment options and with alumni

Organizational Excellence and Culture

Implement a communication structure and plan for faculty, staff, administrators, and board; promote cross-functional collaboration; and create a workplace grounded in mutual respect and accountability

Community

Create a sense of belonging for all, create partnerships internally and externally to further the mission, and advocate for reforms in the law to reduce disparities and inequities

THIEF RIVER FALLS

Jasper Schneider ’05 is general manager of Northern Municipal Power Agency, a company that provides energy for 12 municipal utilities in Minnesota and North Dakota

RED LAKE

Michelle Pacquin ’92 is tribal legal adviser for the Red Lake Nation.

NAYTAHWAUSH

Lenor Scheffler Blaeser ’88 is chief judge of the Upper Sioux Community Tribal Court and a former Mitchell Hamline trustee.

DETROIT LAKES

Nicole Tabbut ’16 is an associate attorney at Pemberton Law. She is active in the Minnesota Lavender Bar and mentors Mitchell Hamline students.

WILLMAR

All three judges who serve in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, are Mitchell Hamline alums: Jennifer Fischer ’93, Rodney Hanson ’85, and Stephen Wentzell ’01.

WAYZATA

Dan Enebo ’97 is vice president, chief intellectual property counsel at Cargill.

MENDOTA HEIGHTS

Former state legislator, Ruth Richardson ’06 worked in the wake of George Floyd’s murder to get the Minnesota House in 2020 to declare racism a public health crisis. In 2021, she passed legislation to create the first state-level task force in the nation to study and address the disproportionately high rates of violence against Black women. In 2022, she was named CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States.

DULUTH

Roger Reinert ’18 has served his hometown of Duluth in several ways, from being a city council member and member of the Minnesota Legislature to interim director of the city’s convention center in the aftermath of COVID-19. Reinert also deployed to Italy as part of the Navy Reserve in early 2020 to work on pandemic response there.

DULUTH

Daniel Lew ’95 is the chief public defender for Minnesota’s 6th Judicial District. When he was appointed in 2014, he was the first Asian Pacific American chief public defender in Minnesota.

MINNEAPOLIS

Chris Montana ’13 opened the nation‘s first Blackowned distillery. It was damaged in the unrest after George Floyd’s murder, and Montana and his wife raised money to support other minority-owned businesses in Minneapolis that were damaged or destroyed. He is also a Mitchell Hamline trustee.

ST. PAUL

In 2016, Anne McKeig ’92 became the first Native American appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court. In 2022, she was elected to the American Law Institute.

ST. PAUL

In 2021, Lyndsey Olson ’03 became the first woman judge advocate to be promoted to colonel in the Minnesota National Guard. She’s also the St. Paul city attorney.

ST. PAUL

Sothea Phea Poch ’99, the first Cambodian graduate of a Minnesota law school, works at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, where he has helped hundreds of people apply for permanent resident status and become citizens.

PRAIRIE ISLAND INDIAN COMMUNITY

Jessie Stomski ’08 is general counsel for the Prairie Island Indian Community and a former star college basketball player at the University of Wisconsin.

MITCHELL HAMLINE ALUMS ACCOUNT FOR:

50% of district court judges in Minnesota

51% of Minnesota’s county attorneys

11 members of Minnesota Legislature

More than 14,000 alumni working, serving, and leading in Minnesota

From private practice to various forms of public service, our alumni are serving their communities throughout Minnesota, and our reputation for preparing the region’s lawyers is second to none. We’ve been voted Best Law School by readers of Minnesota Lawyer and Finance & Commerce, as well as Best Graduate/Professional Education by readers of Star Tribune.

MITCHELL HAMLINE BLENDED-LEARNING STUDENTS AND ALUMNI

SEATTLE, WA

Bob Whitsitt ’21 is a well-known NBA and NFL executive, having served as president of the Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trail Blazers, and Seattle Seahawks. He’s now a consultant and earned his law degree at age 65, proclaiming “it’s never too late!”

STUDENT LOCATIONS ALUM LOCATIONS

COLUMBIA, SC

J. Rex Tolliver ’20 is vice president for student affairs and academic support at the University of South Carolina.

EL PASO, TX

In June 2021, Taylor Levy ’18 an immigration attorney who has long worked with asylum seekers, was one of eight humanitarian and legal experts to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris during a trip by Harris to El Paso to discuss immigration reform.

1,757 blended-learning students have enrolled since 2015

HOUSTON, TX

TOMBALL, TX

Clint Fagan ’20 is a former Major League Baseball umpire. He’s also an attorney for a title and escrow company.

Amber Goodwin ’21 founded a gun violence prevention organization called Community Justice Action Fund. She has testified before Congress on the issue and attended a Rose Garden ceremony in 2021 where President Biden announced new steps his administration was taking to curb gun violence.

769 blended-learning students have graduated

Scan to see notable alumni in Minnesota, other states, and throughout the world:

mitchellhamline.edu/giving

DOVER, DE

Tomasz Smolinski ’21 is an associate professor of physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science at Delaware State University. He’s also the lead investigator at a lab that uses artificial and computational intelligence to solve problems in the fields of biology and the law. When he was at Mitchell Hamline, Smolinski followed the Indian law concentration and was an officer for the Native American Law Student Association.

92% employment rate for blended-learning graduates in the class of 2022

We need you

Mitchell Hamline is uniquely positioned to educate a new generation of leaders on how to practice the law, think critically about the law, and create and administer laws to serve their communities.

You can help keep Mitchell Hamline a premier, independent law school at the forefront of a fast-changing legal profession. Your gifts ensure Mitchell Hamline remains an outstanding source of legal talent, while continuing to innovate in legal education and contribute to the legal profession and the community.

To support our strategic plan and mission to provide the best legal education to students from all walks of life, our fundraising efforts will focus on the following needs:

ACCESS TO LEGAL EDUCATION THROUGH STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS

Student scholarships are a vital part of Mitchell Hamline’s legacy of making legal education accessible. Scholarships are supported through our annual fund, and major and planned gifts. Specialized scholarship programs include:

• Native Justice scholars

• Newly named scholarships for continuing students

• North Star scholarships for blended-learning students

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

For more than 120 years, Mitchell Hamline has been at the forefront of providing legal education in innovative ways and will continue implementing the latest technologies that keep our enrollment options flexible for students, such as:

• Law school preparation program additions

• Blended-learning expansions and enhancements

• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) and student information system (SIS) upgrades

STUDENT EXPERIENCE THROUGH CENTERS AND INSTITUTES

Our distinguished centers and institutes offer students specialized instruction and experience in essential areas of the law:

• Center for Law and Business

• Center for the Study of Black Life and the Law

• Dispute Resolution Institute

• Health Law Institute

• Institute to Transform Child Protection

• Intellectual Property Institute

• Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute

• Public Health Law Center

STUDENT EXPERIENCE THROUGH CLINICS

Our nationally renowned clinics provide students real-world legal experience under the supervision of faculty. This gives students an advantage when they enter the legal profession. Our clinics are:

• Business Law

• Child Protection

• Civil Advocacy

• Economic Inclusion

• Employment Discrimination Mediation Representation

• Health Law

• Immigration

• Innocence

• Intellectual Property: Patents

• Intellectual Property: Trademark

• Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners

• Mediation

• Native Law: Tribal Code Drafting

• Nonprofit Tax Planning

• Reentry

• State Public Defender Postconviction

• Wrongful Conviction and Sentencing

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

We are aiming to create a sense of belonging for the entire Mitchell Hamline community; build internal and external partnerships to further our mission, vision, and strategy; and influence law reform to reduce disparities and inequities. A few examples of our engagement work include:

• Medical-Legal Partnership between our Health Law Institute (HLI) and United Family Medicine, provides primary care to low-income and medically underserved patients and addresses legal issues impacting their health through a community-based clinic

• Prison to Law Pipeline, in partnership with All Square and the Legal Revolution, is the first program in the nation to enroll incarcerated individuals as J.D. students at an ABA-approved law school and is 100% virtual

• Self-Help Clinic, a group of Mitchell Hamline students, alumni, and reference librarians who volunteer to help individuals complete criminal expungement and various family law court forms

• Truth and Action, a project led by our Dispute Resolution Institute (DRI) to advance systemic change toward a more just and equitable criminal justice system by first collecting stories to learn the truth, analyzing patterns of racial disparities, and identif ying specific reforms needed

• LegalCORPS, in coordination with our Intellectual Property (IP) Institute, connects low-income inventors seeking U.S. patents with volunteer attorneys

Giving to continue a legacy of learning the law

WAYS TO GIVE

• Charitable Trusts

• Donor Advised Fund

• Employer Match

• IRA Distribution

• Outright Gifts

• Personal Property

• Planned Giving

• Private or Family Foundation

• Recurring Gifts

• Securities (stock transfer or mutual fund transfer)

GIVING SOCIETIES

Annual Giving:

• Justice Society members are donors who have given $1,000+ to the annual fund in the previous fiscal year

• Cornerstone Society members are donors who have given to the annual fund in five or more consecutive years

Lifetime Giving:

• Founder’s Society members are donors who have given $25,000-$99,999

• Partner’s Society members are donors who have given $100,000-$400,000

• President’s Society members are donors who have given $500,000 and above

Planned Giving:

Heritage Society members are donors who have notified us that Mitchell Hamline is included in their estate plans Scan to go to our giving page:

Thank you

Mitchell Hamline appreciates your generosity and ongoing support. We also recognize the members of our giving societies who have made significant contributions.

Thank you for helping us provide better access to legal education, enhanced technology and innovation, an enriched student experience, and stronger community engagement.

CONNECT WITH US

If you would like to make a gift or have any questions, please call us at 651-290-6375, email giving@mitchellhamline.edu, or visit mitchellhamline.edu/giving.