News
TORT Receives the the 2026 Tony Diggs Excellence Award
Congratulations to Minnesota Law's Theatre of the Relatively Talentless (TORT) for receiving the 2026 Tony Diggs Excellence Award for "Excellence in Recreation and Entertainment" from the University of Minnesota's Student Union & Activities!
Student News: Emily Bingham ’26 Wins the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel Writing Competition
Last fall, Emily Bingham ’26 was awarded the 2025 Sidney M. Perlstadt Memorial Award from the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel for her paper, "States Shouldn’t Bank on the Savings Clause: An Analysis of the Department of Labor’s Savings and Deemer Clause Arguments in PCMA v. Mulready."
Minnesota Law Wins Mardi Gras Sports Law Moot Court & Receives Numerous Awards
Minnesota Law excelled at the Mardi Gras Sports Law Moot Court Competition held in New Orleans from February 6 - February 7. Minnesota won the competition outright and also obtained multiple individual and team awards.
Prof. Myron Orfield Named Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute
Professor Myron Orfield, Earl R. Larson Professor of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law, and director of the Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity, has been named a senior fellow at the Urban Institute. As a senior fellow, he will advise on fair housing issues and the opportunities and challenges of growing racial diversity in the suburbs of large metropolitan areas.
Tribute: Minnesota Law Mourns the Passing of Elliot Kaplan ’61
The University of Minnesota Law School mourns the passing of Elliot Kaplan ’61, who died on January 14 at age 89. He was a resident of Naples, Florida, and Edina, Minnesota. He was an accomplished attorney and named partner at Robins Kaplan where he practiced law for more than six decades. He served as chairman of the firm for many years, and appeared before the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Tribute: Minnesota Law Mourns the Passing of Hon. Spencer J. Sokolowski ’62
The Honorable Spencer J. Sokolowski ’62 passed away on January 10 at age 94. Sokolowski was born and raised in northeast Minneapolis, attending Holy Cross grade school, Edison High School, and the University of Minnesota. While in college, he enlisted in the U.S Navy and served his country around the world for four years. He returned to the University to finish his studies and graduated in 1957 with a business degree.
Minnesota Law's National Moot Court Team Excels in Regional Competition, Petitioner Team Headed to Nationals
Last November, the National Moot Court team excelled at the regional competition in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Both teams advanced past the preliminary rounds. The Respondent team won best overall brief and the Petitioner team finished in first place and advanced to the national rounds, to be held in New York City later this month.
Tribute: Minnesota Law Mourns the Passing of Hon. William A. Knox ’68
The Honorable William A. Knox ’68 passed away on December 16 at age 80. Knox was raised in Fargo, N.D., and was a 1968 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School where both his father and grandfather attended. At the Law School, he was a member of the Minnesota Law Review and earned membership in the Order of the Coif.
Tribute: Minnesota Law Mourns the Passing of Hon. John W. Harrigan ’59
The Honorable John W. Harrigan ’59 passed away on November 15 at age 93. He was born in Waterloo, Iowa, and graduated from Stillwater High School in 1950. He graduated from the University of St. Thomas in 1954, served in the U.S. Army from 1954-1956, and then enrolled at the University of Minnesota Law School, where he graduated from in 1959.
Alumni News: Governor Tim Walz Appoints Lisa Beane ’13 and Anne M. Rasmusson ’99 to the Minnesota Court of Appeals
In December, Governor Tim Walz announced the appointment of Lisa Beane ’13 and the Honorable Anne M. Rasmusson ’99 to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Beane and Rasmusson will fill the vacancies that will occur upon the retirement of the Honorable Louise Dovre Bjorkman and the Honorable Randall J. Slieter. Beane will replace the Honorable Louise Dovre Bjorkman, who serves in an at-large capacity. Rasmusson will replace the Honorable Randall J.
