News

Minnesota Law alum Neil Fulton '97 is the current dean of the University of South Dakota Law School. He recently took the time to answer a Q & A, where he reflects on challenges law schools are facing today and how Minnesota Law prepared him to become a lawyer-leader. 

On the national moot court stage, Minnesota Law teams have demonstrated that they are no one-act show.      

Two Minnesota Law teams advanced to the final round in two different competitions­— Gender & Sexuality and F.B.A. Thurgood Marshall —and five teams won best brief awards at five competitions (ABA, I.P., Gender & Sexuality, William McGee Civil Rights, and F.B.A. Thurgood Marshall). In addition, another student competitor was named a top ten oralist at the ABA competition.

Professor William McGeveran, Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett Professor of Law, has been named interim dean of Minnesota Law, effective July 1, 2023.

Professor Emeritus Daniel J. Gifford  died on April 8 at his home in Wimauma, Florida. 

Professor David Cleveland has been elected president-elect of the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD). With more than 400 members representing over 130 law schools, ALWD is the leading academic legal writing organization in the United States. ALWD is the ABA affiliate group for legal writing and engages with the ABA’s Council of Legal Education and Standards Review Committee on behalf of the legal writing community.

Minnesota Law is known for having one of the best public interest law programs in the country. We implement innovative models and opportunities to provide students with valuable legal training and a pipeline to employment, while providing organizations with much-needed legal assistance. Each summer, our students find summer positions in the public interest field in direct legal services or advocacy organizations in Minnesota and throughout the nation. 

The Probate, Trusts, and Estates Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) hosted an annual writing competition, inviting law students to compete for a cash prize by writing a short piece on a topic selected by and of interest to the section.

When U.S. Tax Court came to Saint Paul this spring, three students and Professor Caleb Smith, director of Minnesota Law’s Ronald M. Mankoff Tax Clinic, were on hand to provide legal support for low-income, unrepresented taxpayers who have a tax controversy. Their support paid off for one individual, whose case changed from a motion to dismiss, with her owing $348, to a settlement in which she will receive a refund of approximately $11,000.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison ’90 will be the keynote speaker at the Law School’s 135^th commencement exercises on Saturday, May 13.

Ellison was elected attorney general in 2018 and reelected in 2022. As the People’s Lawyer, his job is to help Minnesotans afford their lives and live with dignity, safety, and respect.

Simon Earle, 2L, and Dominik Ruch, 2L, argued before Justice G. Barry Anderson '79, Justice Natalie Hudson '82, and Justice Gordon Moore of the Minnesota Supreme Court, in the final round of the Maynard Pirsig Moot Court Honors Tournament. Simon Earle, won a closely contested argument, with both students receiving tremendous praise for their skills. Earle called the tournament “an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Ruch had a similar reaction, calling it “[the] coolest thing I could have imagined for my time in law school.”