CLINICS AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Choose one of the best clinical programs in the country.
1
CLINICS AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
10 Ways to Become a Lawyer-Leader at Minnesota Law 1 Learn how to navigate judicial processes in federal, state, immigration, bankruptcy, or tax court or before an administrative agency through 19 different litigation clinics. The work of the Ronald M. Mankoff Tax Clinic had a national impact recently when it successfully argued in U.S. Tax Court that the IRS could not deny earned-income tax credits to recipients of Medicaid waiver payments. Pictured left clinic director Professor Caleb Smith and Matthew Barron ’19, who worked on the case.
3 2 Advise clients on topics ranging from trademarks and patents to business organization and operation in two transactional clinics and in three hybrid clinics, working with employees and small businesses on transactional or policy matters. Above: Law students in the Business Law Clinic.
4
Investigate pressing scholastic and community issues and contribute to solutions through one of the Law School’s
ten cutting-edge institutes and research centers.
5
Benefit from one of the country’s leading legal writing programs, and sharpen skills through innovative writing courses or by serving on a law journal.
Learn first-hand about lawyering and judging through judicial externships, available with federal, state, and tribal courts, all easily accessible from the Law School’s location in the Twin Cities.
On the cover: Yemaya Hanna, 3L, is a student director in the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic. She has worked as a summer associate at a business litigation firm and as an intern for the Minnesota Legislature’s People of Color and Indigenous Caucus.
2
26 legal clinics offer students a chance to build skills in a practice area of their choice Bankruptcy Business Law Child Advocacy & Juvenile Justice
6
Civil Rights Enforcement Clemency Project
Explore legal doctrine and reasoning in our unique 1L Law in Practice course that includes both litigation and transactional simulations.
Community Legal Partnership for Health Community Mediation Consumer Protection
7 Earn credits while gaining valuable experience working alongside in-house counsel at one of 20 companies in the Corporate Externship Program.
8
Criminal Defense Criminal Prosecution Detainee Rights Employment Law
Engage in the Robina
Environmental & Energy
Public Interest Scholars or the Saeks Public Interest Residency Program,
Federal Defense
two transformative programs that create pathways to full-time employment for students interested in pursuing public interest careers.
Family Law
Federal Immigration Litigation Housing Law Human Rights Litigation & International Immigration & Human Rights Law Indian Child Welfare
10
Innocence Project Insurance Law Intellectual Property & Entrepreneurship Robins Kaplan Civil Practice
9 Build oral and written advocacy skills in one of our five moot court opportunities.
Ronald M. Mankoff Tax Rural Immigrant Access
Work with a team in a capstone course to solve real-world, emergent problems in areas such as environmental, labor, or health law.
58,375 hours of free legal service were provided to the public by Minnesota Law students last year.
3
CLINICS AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Paul Dimick ’19 was awarded a prestigious
Equal Justice Works Fellowship after graduation. He used his fellowship to provide advocacy and education assistance to immigrants.
Business Law Clinic director Emily Buchholz ’10 accompanies 3Ls Molly McKinsey and Edmund Pine, who advised Mademoiselle Miel, a St. Paul chocolate shop known for its honey-infused bonbons and rooftop beehives, on setting up a nonprofit organization.
Learn by Doing With 25 diverse and engaging clinics to choose from, Minnesota Law students develop critical skills while gaining hands-on experience tackling complex legal issues on behalf of clients.
Students in the
Business Law Clinic offered 36 “Brief Advice Sessions” last year, designed to offer small business owners virtual pro bono legal consultations with law students.
In our capstone policy development courses, students draft legislation in partnership with community and government organizations. Through our externship programs (including judicial, corporate, public interest, and immigration) our students work alongside leaders from the bench and bar on pending cases or ongoing legal issues.
TOP 10 LAW SCHOOL for Practical Training (PreLaw Insider)
Law in Practice, one of the first courses of its kind in the U.S., combines classroom teaching with simulation experiences to build the professional skills needed to practice law.
4
The Clemency Project Clinic is Minnesota Law’s newest clinic. Under the supervision of Professor JaneAnne Murray (center) clinic students take cases with incarcerated clients whose sentences appear out of proportion with the crime they were convicted of.
Professor Caleb Smith focuses on low-income taxpayer issues, directs the Ronald M. Mankoff Tax Clinic, and teaches Federal Tax Procedure.
Professor Perry Moriearty, co-director of the Child Advocacy and Juvenile Justice Clinic, along with Kaitlyn Falk, 3L, and Matthew DiTullio ’20, successfully represented client Myon Burrell in a commutation case in late 2020. Burrell’s sentence was commuted after serving 18 years in prison for a crime he was convicted of when he was 16. His release was covered by media outlets throughout the country, including the New York Times, CNN, and TIME magazine. Minnesota Law hosted a webinar with Mr. Burrell and his legal team in the spring to discuss the case. View it here: z.umn.edu/myonburrell
Study with World-Class Faculty Dynamic and engaged, Minnesota Law faculty are renowned scholars and committed teachers. Our faculty includes: • Professor Prentiss Cox ’90, one of the country’s leading experts in consumer protection, co-founded the 1L Law in Practice course that teaches students litigation and transactional skills through innovative simulations. • Professor Stephen Meili, who has led efforts with the Immigration & Human Rights Clinic to help immigrants and refugees from countries around the world to gain asylum in the U.S. and obtain trafficking visas. • Professor Perry Moriearty, who is one of the country’s leaders in successfully opposing mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles. The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed with this position in two separate rulings.
Professor Jennifer Green directs the Human Rights Litigation and International Advocacy Clinic and advocates before Minnesota policymakers, federal courts, and UN human rights mechanisms. She is the co-chair of Amnesty International-USA’s Business and Human Rights Group and on the Steering Committee for the International Business and Economic Relations Network.
• Professor Ben Casper Sanchez ’97, who is an internationally renowned immigration expert, faculty director of the Binger Center for New Americans, and recipient of the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association’s Access to Justice Award for 2020. 5
CLINICS AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
37%
of graduates from the class of 2020 started directly in public interest careers and judicial clerkships, serving in nonprofit, government, and international organizations.
The Twin Cities is often ranked as one of the best places to live in the country.
Live in a Community You’ll Love With a world-renowned park system, extensive bike trails and lanes, and a Forbes magazine rating as a top-10 city for millennials
30
2020 graduates were hired for judicial clerkships.
and Gen Z, the Twin Cities consistently ranks as one of the most livable urban centers in the United States. And with its thriving legal community and proximity to state and federal courts and the state capitol, this is one of the best places in the world to participate in law in action.
With easy access to the state capitol, Minnesota Law offers students the opportunity to take the classroom to the statehouse in courses such as Legislative Process.
6
Downtown Minneapolis, as seen from campus.
Prepare for Success We offer a dedicated employer relations team and lifetime alumni career counseling and professional development resources. Our unique Professional Essentials Workshops introduce law students to core concepts surrounding the development of interpersonal skills critical for career success. Students learn from staff, faculty, alumni, and professionals who are experts in career development and the legal field.
“Learning to represent clients in the Child Advocacy and Juvenile Justice Clinic and the Civil Practice Clinic motivated and shaped the way I practice law.” —Eva Rodelius ’13 Associate Attorney, Wilson Law Group and Adjunct Professor, Criminal Prosecution Clinic
2021 J.D. graduates with Dean Garry W. Jenkins at the 2021 University of Minnesota Law School commencement.
91%
EMPLOYMENT RATE (3 Year Average: FT/ LT JD Required/ JD Advantage/ Graduate School)
WHERE OUR GRADS GO CLASSES OF 2018, 2019, AND 2020
96% BAR PASSAGE (MN July 2021)
TOP MARKETS FOR 2020 GRADS:
Minnesota Law alumni are working in all
50
STATES
73
Illinois Minnesota New York Texas Washington, D.C. Wisconsin
COUNTRIES > For more information, visit LAW.UMN.EDU 7
JDADMISSIONS@UMN.EDU
University of Minnesota Law School Admissions N130 Mondale Hall 229 19th Ave. South Minneapolis, MN 55455
The University of Minnesota shall provide equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. © 2021 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
8