Mondale Hall at sunset

News

Meet the Class of 2026: Sarah Chaoui

Incoming 1L Sarah Chaoui ’26 is from Charlotte, North Carolina. Her family is originally from Morocco. She received her undergraduate degree from Duke University where she majored in public policy and minored in visual media studies. Before law school, Sarah worked as a direct services professional, providing respite and community living support services for people with disabilities for two years. 


Welcome to Minnesota Law! Can you tell us why you chose the University of Minnesota Law School? 

Sarah Chaoui

Meet the Class of 2026: Noah Miller

Incoming 1L Noah Miller ’26 is from Pine City, Minnesota. He is a graduate of Bethel University in St. Paul. Prior to coming to law school, he held positions in court administration and at the Minnesota Appellate Defender’s Office.


Welcome to Minnesota Law! Can you tell us why you chose the University of Minnesota Law School? 

Noah Miller

James H. Binger Center for New Americans Prevails in Landmark Habeas Corpus Case

After years of work, the Binger Center for New Americans has achieved key objectives to protect the rights of noncitizens subject to immigration custody. The Binger Center’s work—spearheaded by the Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic (FILC), the Detainee Rights Clinic (DRC), and some of the Center’s nonprofit and law firm partners—has focused on noncitizens with criminal histories who are spending years in mandatory civil immigration detention in Minnesota with little opportunity to meaningfully challenge their custody.

The federal immigration law clinic team in one of Mondale Halls court rooms

Meet the Class of 2026: Alejandra Arboleda

Incoming 1L Alejandra Arboleda ’26 was born and raised in New Jersey, but her family is from Ecuador. She attended Rutgers University where she received her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and minored in politics, philosophy, and economics. Prior to law school, Alejandra dedicated her time to multiple organizations that championed human, minority, and immigrant rights, and co-founded an organization, Esperanza, which allocates vital resources to support undocumented immigrants and their families within the tri-state area. 

Alejandra Arboleda

Alumni News: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Taps Minnesota Law Alumn Lee Sheehy '77 as Interim Community Safety Commissioner

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has named Minnesota Law alum Lee Sheehy '77 to replace outgoing Community Safety Commissioner Cedric Alexander on an interim basis.

"Lee has a long history of navigating complex challenges," Frey said in an interview Friday.

Sheehy will take helm of the office that oversees police and four other city departments on Sept. 1, when Alexander will leave after serving a just over a year as the city's inaugural commissioner.

Lee Sheehy '77

Detainee Rights Clinic Client Wins Asylum Case One of the Detainee Rights Clinic’s Very First Clients Has Been Granted Asylum

Students in the Detainee Rights Clinic (DRC) recently scored a major victory for a client formerly from El Salvador who has been seeking asylum for nearly a decade.

The clinic began representing the person in 2014, one of its first clients. Clinic leaders secured the person’s release from detention to stay deportation. Over the next few years, students worked with faculty to win an appeal at the Board of Immigration that opened a pathway for asylum.

Detainee Rights Clinic students Nicole Carter '24, Haley Wallace '23, and Anna Schlendl '24

Prof. Kristin Hickman Appointed Senior Fellow by the Administrative Conference of the United States

Professor Kristin Hickman was appointed as a Senior Fellow by the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), to serve a two-year term. The Administrative Conference of the United States is an independent, non-partisan federal agency within the executive branch dedicated to improving administrative law and federal regulatory processes. It conducts applied research, and provides expert recommendations and other advice, to improve federal agency procedures. Its membership is composed of senior federal officials, academics, and other experts from the private sector.

Professor Kristin Hickman

Alumni News: Four Minnesota Law Alumni Judges Sworn In at the State of Minnesota's Office of Administrative Hearings

On June 9, the Minnesota's Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) held a judicial investiture ceremony to formally swear in the 11 newest judges who have joined OAH since 2019. Four of those judges are University of Minnesota Law School alumni. Around 400 guests attended the ceremony, which was open to the public. Minnesota Law alumni sworn in, include: Chief Judge Jenny Starr '03; Workers' Compensation Judge David M.

Judges Starr, Bateson, Walther, and Surges

Tribute: William R. Pearce '52, Accomplished Alumnus and Generous Donor 

University of Minnesota Law School alumni William Rinehart Pearce '52 passed away on July 19, 2023, at the age of 95. Bill and his wife Barbara Pearce supported the Mondale Hall building campaign and also have a named scholarship at the Law School, the William R. & Barbara A.
William R. Pearce