News

Benjamin Cooper, a current 3L at Minnesota Law, has always had a deep interest in legal policy and its impact on communities. 

After graduating from St. Olaf College, Cooper moved to Minneapolis and began work as a Legal Services Coordinator at Tubman, a nonprofit organization that helps people who have experienced relationship violence, elder abuse, addiction, sexual exploitation or other forms of trauma.  

The James Binger Center for New Americans partners closely with several nonprofit legal services organizations throughout the Twin Cities to provide pro bono legal services to individuals in immigration proceedings. One such partnership involves a Court Observer Program at Minnesota’s Federal Immigration Court in Fort Snelling which is run by the Advocates for Human Rights. In late October 2021, a volunteer Court Observer witnessed a pro se individual struggling in Immigration Court.

Lauren Graff '19 died on Oct. 30 after suffering a pulmonary embolism while pregnant. Prior to her passing, she delivered a healthy baby boy, James. Her surviving spouse is Mitchell Ness ’18. 

"Please join me in offering our heartfelt condolences to Mitchell, baby James, and Lauren’s family," said Dean Garry W. Jenkins in a message to the Minnesota Law community. "Lauren touched the lives of so many in our community and this is a heartbreaking loss."

Professor June Carbone, the Robina Chair in Law, Science and Technology, was recently elected to membership in the the American Law Institute. 

Minnesota Law boasts a top-notch LL.M. program for international law students that has hosted students from more than 80 countries over its quarter-century-plus history at the Law School. International Jurist magazine recently recognized our LL.M. program as one of the "Best Overall Experience" LL.M. programs in the United States.

Rodger D. Young ’72 of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, passed away on Sept. 30 after a brief illness. 

Three Minnesota Law students, working in the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic, produced a comprehensive and significant report shining a spotlight on the harsh and repressive conditions faced by  the LGBTIQ community in Guatemala.

As practice scholars at Minnesota Law's Business Law Clinic, 3Ls Molly McKinsey & Edmund Pine advised Mademoiselle Miel, a St. Paul chocolate shop known for its honey-infused bonbons and rooftop beehives, on setting up a nonprofit organization.

The mission of Building Bees will include supporting and training local beekeepers and educating the public on the ecological necessity of honeybees. The group plans to invest in low income and BIPOC communities to better support essential green spaces.

Gale R Mellum died on Sept. 18 at the age of 79.

Born in Duluth, Mellum was valedictorian of his class at Morgan Park High School, where he was also an athlete. He attended the University of Minnesota on scholarship, graduating summa cum laude undergraduate (1964) and magna cum laude from the Law School.

A seminar offered annually at Minnesota Law allows students the opportunity to take a deep dive into the electrifying world of energy and utility law.