News

On April 17, a delegation from the University of Minnesota Law School’s James H. Binger Center for New Americans traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) National Day of Action, joining immigration attorneys and advocates from across the country in meetings with members of Congress and their staff.

Earlier this spring, the James H. Binger Center for New Americans welcomed Coryn Johnson ’24 as a staff attorney for the Minnesota Habeas Project (the Project), a collaborative initiative working to expand access to habeas representation for Minnesotans unlawfully detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Alan V. Vaskas passed away on March 12 at age 80. He was born in Göppingen, Germany, in 1946, and emigrated with his family to the United States in 1949. The family settled in Nashua, New Hampshire, where he grew up. He was a 1967 graduate of Brown University and soon after, joined the New Hampshire National Guard. His unit was deployed to Vietnam where he was gravely wounded. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor and the Purple Heart. Vaskas graduated from Fordham Law School in 1974 and practiced law in Pennsylvania.

In this episode of Minnesota Law Now, Professor Jill Hasday, Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Centennial Professor in Law, and Professor Charlotte Garden, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett Professor of Law, sit down with Dean William McGeveran to break down the constitutional stakes of the SAVE Act — from voting access and equal protection to its disproportionate impact on women, particularly those navig

Patricia A. “Pat” O’Gorman passed away on December 7 at age 79. She grew up in Cannon Falls and earned her bachelor’s degree from the College of St. Catherine, where she received the St. Thomas Moore Award for Leadership and Service. She went on to receive her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1971.

Georgina Tierney ’27 and Daniel Kim ’27 argued before Justice Theodora Gaïtas '94, Justice Sarah Hennesy, and retired Justice G. Barry Anderson ’79 of the Minnesota Supreme Court in the final round of the Maynard Pirsig Moot Court Honors Tournament earlier this month. Tierney took top honors, winning this year's tournament. 

The University of Minnesota Law School has named longtime faculty member Oren Gross the Everett Fraser Professor of Law, recognizing his internationally renowned scholarship, global engagement, and contributions to the Law School.

In February, Claire Albrecht ’26, a student attorney at the Gun Violence Prevention Clinic, and Professor Megan Walsh, the clinic's director, testified before the Minnesota House Education Policy Committee in support of HF 3401, which would advance school-based gun safety measures in Minnesota schools. 

The Honorable Nancy E. Brasel, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, will be the Law School’s commencement speaker for the Class of 2026. This year’s commencement will be held on May 16, 2026, at 10 a.m. at Northrop. 

On March 31, Ireland's President Catherine Connolly appointed Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin to serve as a member of the Council of State of Ireland.

The Irish Constitution provides for a Council of State to aid and counsel the President on all matters on which the President may consult them.