News

William J. Lockhart ’61, passed away on April 16, at age 90. Lockhart was born in Los Altos, Calif., and later moved to Minneapolis. His father was William B. Lockhart, who was dean of the Law School from 1958 to 1972. He graduated from the University of Minnesota before serving three years in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, with two of those years as supply officer on a destroyer in Asia. He earned his J.D.

In the fall of her 2L year, Amy Cohen ’24 took Professor JaneAnne Murray’s evidence class. At the time, Cohen was weighing her clinical choices and Murray encouraged her to consider the Clemency Project Clinic, which advocates for individuals serving disproportionately long prison sentences.

“JaneAnne said to me, ‘There are many people are serving longer-than-needed sentences,’” recalls Cohen. “That stuck with me and drew me to the clinic.”

Professor Kristin Hickman has been named Minnesota Law's Associate Dean for Faculty and Intellectual Life, beginning this summer. Hickman is the McKnight Presidential Professor of Law, a Distinguished McKnight University Professor, and the Harlan Albert Rogers Professor of Law. She is a leading authority in the fields of tax administration, administrative law, and statutory interpretation.

Minnesota Law Students Brianna Attamante ’25, Yessenia Gutierrez ’26, Noah Madoff ’26, and Caleb Waugh ’26 have been awarded 2024 Peggy Browning Fellowships in workplace justice advocacy. Over 3,950 law students nationwide applied for the fellowships with 117 students receiving the awards.

Three 2024 Minnesota Law graduates capped their law school experience with a first-place finish in a prestigious national moot-court competition.

Maria Pfister ’24, Poojan Thakrar ’24, and Hanna Weil ’24 were members of the Minnesota Law team that took away top honors at the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Pace University in New York. The team competed against 53 other teams in the largest event of its type in the U.S.

Minnesota Law alumni Ben Gleekel '23 and Lucy Chin '24 have been named Equal Justice Works (EJW) fellows for 2024. Both Gleekel and Chin are part of EJW’s "Design-Your-Own-Fellowship” program.

The University of Minnesota Law School’s Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic, part of the James H. Binger Center for New Americans, received an honorable mention for the Clinical Legal Education Association’s (CLEA) Award for Excellence in a Public Interest Case or Project at the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) 2024 Conference on Clinical Legal Education in St. Louis earlier this month.

The University of Minnesota Law School celebrated its 136th commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 11 at Northrop.

More than 1,500 family, friends, loved ones, faculty, and staff joined the graduating Class of 2024 on a sunny Saturday morning to cheer on the 230 J.D. candidates, 30 LL.M. candidates, three S.J.D. candidates, and four Masters of Patent Law candidates, who crossed the stage and were awarded their degrees.

During Minnesota Law’s 136th commencement ceremony this past Saturday, Interim Dean William McGeveran announced the 2024 recipients of the Stanley V. Kinyon Teacher of the Year Awards.

After a University-wide search committee conducted a national search that resulted in extensive screenings and three finalist candidates, the University of Minnesota Law School is thrilled to announce the appointment of William McGeveran, Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett Professor of Law, as the next dean of Minnesota Law, effective June 17, 2024. Executive Vice President and Provost Rachel T.A.