Dean William McGeveran, Prof. Mitch Zamoff, and Jack Thomas ’26 Interviewed in National Jurist about Minnesota Law’s Innovative Experiential Education Programs

Dean William McGeveran, Professor Mitch Zamoff, assistant dean of experiential education, and Jack Thomas ’26 were interviewed in National Jurist about the importance of experiential education at Minnesota Law.

Zamoff, the J. Stewart and Mario Thomas McClendon Professor in Law and Dispute Resolution, commented on the importance of bridging the gap between students’ knowledge of the law and its application. “Knowing the law in and of itself is important, but unless you know how to use it, you’re going to be an average to below average lawyer,” Zamoff says. “I would argue that the translation from theory to action is the core of professional competence. This translation is what transforms a student into a professional. It is also what many law schools historically left to the first years of practice, when new attorneys were expected to learn on the job.” He added, “That’s a difficult way to learn. We should be doing more of that translation during the law school years.” 

Dean McGeveran, William S. Pattee Professor of Law, underscored that Minnesota Law's increased experiential credit requirement provides students with more hands-on training before graduation. “Thinking like a lawyer is only half of the learning that you need to do," says McGeveran. “You can have theoretical knowledge, but not know how to put it into practice when you graduate.” 

This philosophy is reflected in the “Law in Practice” course, where first-year students engage in simulation-based exercises with trained actors playing clients and witnesses. McGeveran adds, “You’re not interviewing a classmate who’s reading a script. You’re interacting with someone who can respond realistically and give you constructive feedback.” 

Minnesota Law student Jack Thomas ’26 called the experience of taking Law in Practice transformative. He said the course is “a low-stakes but high-stress first jab at conducting client interviews, taking depositions, and participating in mediations.” He added, “Having practical training challenges your assumptions about the kind of lawyer you want to be.”