News
Minnesota Law Wins 2025 National Patent Application Drafting Competition
The University of Minnesota Law School took first place in the 2025 National Patent Application Drafting Competition, hosted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). After triumphing in the Midwest Regional Competition, Minnesota Law progressed to the final national rounds, competing against the top four teams at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The regional rounds featured up to 75 teams divided into five regions.
Prof. Susanna Blumenthal Named a Princeton University Laurance S. Rockefeller Visiting Faculty Fellow for 2025-26
Professor Susanna Blumenthal, William L. Prosser in Law, professor in history, and co-director of Minnesota Law’s Program in Law and History, has been named a Laurance S. Rockefeller visiting faculty fellow for 2025-26 at Princeton University’s Center for Human Values. Blumenthal is a scholar of law and history, specializing in the modern United States. Her scholarship is concerned with the problematics of personhood, focusing on conceptions of identity, agency, and responsibility.
Professor Claire Hill and Co-Author Awarded Outstanding Senior Scholar Paper Award
Professor Claire Hill, James L. Krusemark Chair in Law and founding director of the Minnesota Law’s Institute for Law and Rationality, and co-author Yaron Nili (Duke University Law School) have won the Outstanding Senior Scholar Paper Award from ComplanceNet for their paper, “Independence Reconceived.” Hill and Nili will be recognized at the 2025 ComplianceNet conference.
Prof. Brett McDonnell Receives the University of Minnesota’s 2025 Award for Excellence in Academic Unit Service
Professor Brett McDonnell, Dorsey & Whitney Chair in Law, received the University of Minnesota’s 2025 Award for Excellence in Academic Unit Service for his outstanding contributions to the Law School. In its second year, this award is a collaborative initiative of the Provost’s Office and the Faculty Consultative Committee. It recognizes Professor McDonnell’s many contributions to the Law School.
Student News: Jaclyn Willems ’25 Wins the Federal Bar Association’s Donald C. Alexander Tax Law Writing Competition
Minnesota Law Shines at ABA Moot Court Regional Competition, Advances to National Rounds for the First Time in 20 Years
Two teams of Minnesota Law students performed exceptionally well at the ABA’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC), held in Los Angeles, California, from February 20 to 23, 2025. Both teams advanced past the preliminary rounds for the first time in over a decade, with one team reaching the final round and the other advancing to the national competition. This marks the first time Minnesota Law sent a team to the national rounds of the ABA's NAAC in nearly twenty years.
Tribute: Minnesota Law Mourns the Passing of Jonathan Daniel Eoloff ’04
Jonathan Daniel Eoloff ’04, passed away on October 21, 2024, at his home in Atlanta, at age 55. A native of St. Paul, Eoloff was active in international human rights beginning after college with his work in Guatemala. His passion for human rights began there when he taught in a village school while working on development projects and caring for orphans whose parents had disappeared. Throughout his career, Eoloff had an unwavering commitment to justice, compassion, and the pursuit of equality for all.
Minnesota Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument at Minnesota Law
At the invitation of Minnesota Law's Legal Research and Writing Program, the Minnesota Supreme Court visited the Law School on March 5. The Court graciously continued its annual tradition of hearing an oral argument each spring at Mondale Hall. This year's argument was Hoskin v. Krsnak et al., which addressed the requirements of Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure Rules 8 and 12 and the meaning of economic duress in contract law.
Minnesota Law Wins Regionals and Advances to Quarterfinals of National Moot Court Competition
Last November, the National Moot Court team excelled at the regional competition in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The team representing the Petitioner advanced to the national rounds held in New York City this past January, reaching the quarterfinals of the national round.
The Power of Giving: How Donor Support Transformed Kate Riggers’ Law School Journey
For Kate Riggers, a 3L student at the University of Minnesota Law School, the decision to pursue a law degree stemmed from a passion for working with people. Originally from rural Idaho, Riggers’ academic journey began with a degree in business finance from Montana State University. She quickly pivoted away from a traditional career in finance after discovering her passion for working with people. “I didn’t want to be stuck behind an Excel spreadsheet all day,” she said.
