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Preparing today’s students to address tomorrow’s world

For over a century, the University of Minnesota Law School has been the choice of ambitious, energetic, and public-minded students nationwide. It is easy to see why.

Our exceptional faculty ranks internationally among the most productive and influential scholars in legal education. At the same time, in true Minnesota tradition, they pride themselves on accessibility and the quality of their teaching. With a 12:1 student-faculty ratio and doors that are always open, you will know your professors well.

The faculty takes seriously their responsibility to train ethical lawyers. This Law School is unsurpassed in the integration of theoretical and practical training. We offer:

  • One of the largest clinic programs in the country, with 19 clinics.
  • The 8th largest law library in the country.
  • Ten unique faculty-run research institutes, providing research assistant positions for our students, and contributing to policy formation and national debate on issues relating to race and poverty, international human rights, health and life sciences, and business law.
  • Eight separate moot court programs and seven scholarly journals edited by both faculty and students.

Our location is another distinguishing feature. Because of the quality of life, Minneapolis/St. Paul are rated consistently as one of the best places to live in the country. Moreover, as a leading midwestern legal community -- the 8th Circuit sits here, and there is a Federal Reserve Bank downtown -- our students have ready access to federal and state courts, the state capitol, and numerous clerkship opportunities with private and public employers. We also offer ample opportunities to interview with employers for out-of-state positions.

Students who choose to attend the University of Minnesota Law School enjoy a 98 percent bar passage rate (one of the highest in the country) and a 99 percent average employment rate. Twenty-five percent accept prestigious judicial clerkships. We have practicing alumni in all 50 states, with over 275 alumni serving as federal and state court judges nationwide.

As an elite public law school, we are confident you will receive an excellent education, well grounded in theory, ethics, and practical application. We appreciate your interest, invite your questions, and encourage you to become a member of our diverse Law School community.

Guy-Uriel Charles
Co-Dean & Russell M. & Elizabeth M. Bennett Professor of Law

Fred L. Morrison
Co-Dean & Popham, Haik & Schrobrich/Lindquist & Vennum Professor of Law
 

David Wippman To Become Dean in July 2008

David Wippman will take the helm in 2008 as dean of the University of Minnesota Law School. Professor Wippman, a Minnesota native, will hold the William S. Pattee Professor of Law Chair. He is currently Vice Provost for International Relations and professor of law at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he has taught public international law, human rights, and international criminal law since 1992.

Professor Wippman took a year away from Cornell to serve as a director in the National Security Counsel’s Office of Multilateral and Humanitarian Affairs during the Clinton Administration (1998-99). In that role, he worked on war crimes issues, the International Criminal Court, economic sanctions, and U.N. political issues.

Before joining Cornell, he worked in private practice for ten years and represented several foreign governments in litigation before U.S. courts and international tribunals. He also worked in legislative lobbying and political consulting on public and private international law issues.

Professor Wippman co-authored two books released in 2006: International Law, Norms, Actors, Process: A Problem-Oriented Approach and Can Might Make Rights? Building the Rule of Law After Military Interventions.

He received his A.B. from Princeton and his M.A. and J.D. from Yale. During law school, he served as editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal.