News

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down multiple landmark decisions in late June and early July 2024 on some of the most contentious issues in modern American politics and society. Minnesota Law faculty who have carefully followed cases over the past few months share their thoughts on the decisions and implications for the future.

Minnesota Law alum Dane DeKrey ’14 began his legal career at Zimmerman Reed in Minneapolis working on class action suits on behalf of plaintiffs until he felt a different calling which led to a move to Fargo, North Dakota, where he became an assistant federal public defender. From 2019-21 he led the ACLU of North Dakota. He missed practicing law, so in 2021 he co-founded the boutique law firm, Ringstrom DeKrey PLLP. Its primary focus is state and federal criminal defense, with a growing civil rights practice.

Earlier this spring, it was announced that for the first time in Law School history, Minnesota Law has been invited to participate in the Hunton Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship in early 2025. The Hunton Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship is unique among moot court competitions. An invitation-only event held at the University of Houston Law Center, the competition invites the top 16 law schools to participate based on cumulative results from the most recent moot court competition season.

Six Minnesota Law students have been selected as 2024 John Paul Stevens Foundation Fellows, which funds full-time summer internships in public interest law. Fellows are selected on the basis of a keen interest in public interest and social justice law, as well as academic achievement.

Joy Mankoff passed away on June 1 at age 89. She and her husband, the late Ronald M. Mankoff ’54, were donors to the University of Minnesota Law School that helped create the Ronald M. Mankoff Tax Clinic. She grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut, and met her future husband while on spring break in college. They married in 1959 and settled in Dallas, Texas, where they started a family and Ronald began his career as a tax attorney.

Prof. Charlotte Garden, the Julius E. Davis Professor of Law, has been elected a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers (CLEL), the CLEL Board of Governors announced. She will join other elected fellows at CLEL's annual meeting in New York City in November when the class of 2024 will be formally inducted.

What helps presidents achieve their policy agendas: presidential control or administrative capacity? 

Law firms and corporations are embracing non-lawyer patent professionals such as patent agents, technical specialists, and specialists. Gallium Law specializes in patent law and hires both, USPTO-registered JD and non-JD graduates from Minnesota Law as patent attorneys (JD) and patent agents (non-JD).

MRI has transformed neuroscience research over the past 50 years, but research participants have had to travel to the scanner. With the advent of highly portable magnetic resonance imaging (pMRI), the scanner will now come to them. This portable technology will allow for more inclusive research with new communities and will enable researchers without access to conventional MRI to study the brain.

In the legal profession, few accomplishments rival the prestige and significance of securing a judicial clerkship. It’s a pinnacle achievement that sets the stage for a promising legal career, offering invaluable experiences, mentorship, and insights into the inner workings of the judicial system. With a limited number of state and federal judgeships, securing a judicial clerkship is immensely competitive.