News

Leaders of the Minneapolis NAACP and Urban League–Twin Cities had no idea that they were being surveilled online by Minneapolis police officers for as long as a decade until the Minnesota Department of Human Rights revealed the practice in its 2022 report on racially discriminatory policing in the city.

Fellow alumni,

I am honored to send this letter asking that you join me, if you are in place to do so, in giving back to Minnesota Law.  

Jasmin Hernandez DuBois ’24 was awarded first place by the American Association of Law Libraries’ annual student writing competition. Her paper, “The Intersection of Justice and Legal Education: Legal Education for America’s Prisoners,” focused on prison law library reformation and history throughout the United States. It also featured first-hand research by DuBois on the first two prisoners to receive their law degrees in Minnesota.

As part of his patent field placement, supervised by Patterson Thuente IP, Minnesota Law student Sean O’Brien ’24 traveled to Washington, D.C. for a hearing before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). O’Brien participated in the hearing through the USPTO’s Legal Experience and Advancement Program which allows patent practitioners with three or fewer substantive oral arguments in any federal tribunal to argue a case before the PTAB.

Minnesota Law’s Environmental and Energy Law Clinic provides students with hands-on, real-world experience representing clients in legal cases, at the legislature, and in regulatory proceedings. The students work on a wide range of legal issues addressing climate change, clean water, clean air, and the health of Minnesota’s communities. In a partnership with the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), supervising attorneys provide oversight and lead the Clinic’s work. 

Evan Dale ‘24 was recognized as a co-winner by Everytown Law Fund for its inaugural Law Student Writing Competition.

Please join the University of Minnesota Law School in congratulating Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin upon the successful completion of her second term as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism. Appointed to this role in 2017, Ní Aoláin worked closely with states and United Nations' entities to advance human right

Minnesota Law student Perry Keziah ’25 has been named to the honor roll of the American Association of Law School (AALS) Section on Pro Bono & Access to Justice. She was awarded a certificate signed by AALS president Mark C. Alexander in “recognition of exceptional work engaging in, expanding, and/or supporting their law school community in providing pro bono legal service.“ 

Earlier this year, Keziah was also honored with the 2023 Minnesota Justice Foundation's Law Student Award for Outstanding Service. 

On Monday, October 30, Minnesota Law, in collaboration with the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, the American Constitution Society, and the Federalist Society, held a conference on Section 3, the Insurrection, and the 2024 Election, that brought together legal and policy experts to discuss the ongoing lawsuits to disqualify Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential ballot.

Professor Barbara Welke, Distinguished McKnight University Professor of History and Professor of Law, has been elected president of the American Society for Legal History. She was installed as president at their annual meeting in Philadelphia in October. The American Society for Legal History is is an international academic society dedicated to fostering scholarship and teaching in the many fields of legal history around the world.