Mondale Hall at sunset

News

Innovative Law in Practice Course Provides 1Ls With Early Exposure To Lawyering

Nearly a decade ago, the University of Minnesota Law School took a bold leap with the introduction of an innovative experiential learning course required for first-year J.D. students. Today, Law in Practice (LiP) remains the only course of its kind in the country, recognized widely for the career-advancing preparation it offers.

“The placement of the course in the first year and the way we deliver this vital learning still stand alone,” says clinical professor of law Laura Thomas, who co-designed and co-directs the course.

Katherine Nixon and Seiko Shastri, 2Ls

Food Pantry by and for Law Students to Open in Mondale Hall in January

A food pantry created by Minnesota Law students to help service the needs of their fellow students will open next month in Mondale Hall.

Mondale Kitchen, located in the N20 suite of the subplaza, will provide students with 24/7 access to shelf-stable non-perishables, single-serving ready-to-eat foods, and fresh produce. The goal is to ensure all students have the nutritious food they need in order to advance their academic, professional, and social success.

Emily Franco, 3L, a student organizer of the Mondale Kitchen initiative

Going Global: Minnesota Law Alumni Are Making a World of Difference

In this time of trade wars and shifting alliances, climate change and human rights crises, lawyers must often think and practice on a global scale. Across the country and the world, Minnesota Law alumni in a wide variety of practice areas and career fields are working on internationally important issues and making a difference. The following are just a few of their stories.

Bin Zhao ’97, senior vice president for government and legal affairs at Qualcomm China

Bringing Transparency to Taxation: Prof. Kristin Hickman’s Busy Year Included Advising Federal Policymakers and Hosting an International Conference

When the U.S. Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) agreed to review tax regulations for the first time in more than three decades, Professor Kristin Hickman was the first person they called, tapping her as special adviser. Hickman, a national authority in tax policy and administrative law, spent a year helping OIRA develop the process for reviewing federal tax regulations.

Theory at Work

Alumni Interrogatory: Bethany Owen ’95, President of ALLETE Inc.

Last February, Bethany Owen ’95 became the new president of ALLETE Inc., a Duluth-based energy company. Owen also oversees ALLETE’s five operating divisions: Minnesota Power, Superior Water Light and Power, ALLETE Clean Energy, U.S. Water Services, and BNI Energy. She is the first woman president in the company’s history.

What advantages do think your legal background gives you as the president of a major corporation?

Bethany Owen ’95, President of ALLETE Inc.

Anna Beadle ’10 Named Executive Director of Minnesota Justice Foundation

Anna Beadle ’10 was recently named executive director of the Minnesota Justice Foundation.

Housed at the Law School, the MJF is a nonprofit organization that strives for justice by creating opportunities for Minnesota law students to perform public interest and pro bono legal services.

Beadle has worked at the MJF for five years, most recently as a program director and staff attorney. Prior to joining MJF, she worked at Children’s Law Center of Minnesota. During law school, Beadle participated in the Child Advocacy Clinic as a student director.

 

Anna Beadle '10

Justice Kagan Reflects on Court, Career Journey in 2019 Stein Lecture

Before being appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Elena Kagan had always wondered what happened during the highest court’s secret deliberations, when doors are closed and others are barred from eavesdropping.

Now she knows.

For nearly a decade, Kagan has been on the inside, one of only nine people who serve as a U.S. Supreme Court justice, deciding the fate of landmark, and sometimes more mundane, cases.

“The whole thing is a pretty good gig,” Kagan said. “It’s hard not to love the job.”

Prof. Robert Stein '61 and Justice Elena Kagan

Prof. Cotter Elected to Membership in American Law Institute

Tom Cotter, Briggs and Morgan Professor of Law, has been elected to membership in the American Law Institute (ALI).

ALI is the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law.