News

Hon. John R. Tunheim, chief judge of U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, will be the keynote speaker at the Law School’s 2022 commencement exercises.

Judge Tunheim has served with the U.S. District Court since 1995. Born and raised in Newfolden, Minnesota, he graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead and worked as a staff assistant to Senator Hubert H. Humphrey before enrolling at the Law School, where he served as president of the Minnesota Law Review.

Two teams of Law School students had an impressive showing at the 2021-2022 National Energy and Sustainability Moot Court Competition. Both teams advanced to the quarterfinals and one of the Law School’s teams advanced to the final argument. 

Kendra Saathoff, 3L, has dedicated herself to supporting survivors of domestic violence. She’s now asking Minnesota lawmakers to join her by passing a bill that could reduce the sentences of victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault or sex trafficking who commit crimes as a result of their abuse.

Saathoff, a student director of the Law School’s Clemency Clinic, has spent the last year working with Professor JaneAnne Murray, who oversees the clinic, to draft the Survivors’ Justice Act.

The inaugural Joseph P. and Carol Z. Sullivan Health Law Moot Court Team had a strong showing at the National Health Law Competition, held on March 25, 2022. The team placed 4th overall, a fantastic result for the first year of the team.

The team was composed of three students with significant interest and/or background in health law. 

 A new legal clinic at Minnesota Law aims to target deeply embedded, systemic racial inequalities and discrimination while training future lawyers to make an impact on this critical work.  

The Racial Justice Law Clinic will launch in fall 2022, serving as an avenue for Minnesota Law students and faculty to tackle discriminatory practices and fight for individuals and communities facing race-based oppression.

A team of Minnesota Law students performed well at the 2021-22 Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition. The team competed in the Northeast Regional on March 11-13, 2022. The team of Minnesota Law students won best brief for the Northeast Region. The team also advanced to the regional quarterfinals for the first time since 2018. 

Thomas Ray King ‘65 died on Feb. 18 at the age of 82.

As an undergraduate at the university of Minnesota, King was a halfback for the Gopher football teams which won both a National Championship and the Rose Bowl.

After graduating from the Law School, King became a recognized securities and finance lawyer. He was known to guide and mentor lawyers, friends, and clients. He spent much of his career at Fredrikson and Byron, where he became chair of the board.

The Law School’s Immigration and Human Rights Clinic recently helped a Guinean woman who faced persecution in her native country because of her religious beliefs, women’s rights advocacy, and public health work win asylum in the United States.

Professor JaneAnne Murray was awarded the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) Champion of Justice Legal Award on February 26 during the Association’s Midwinter Meeting in Austin, Texas.

Champion of Justice Awards are bestowed upon those individuals who—through legislative, journalistic, philanthropic, or humanitarian pursuits—have staunchly preserved or defended the constitutional rights of American citizens and have endeavored to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime.

The ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition (NAAC) is one of the largest, and most challenging, moot court competitions in the country. Two teams from the Law School competed in the Boston Regional in February. Both teams performed admirably and one team progressed to the quarterfinal round at the regional competition. That is the first advancement for the Law School since 2018.