News

Minnesota Law’s Journal of Law & Inequality (JLI) and  Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity recently co-hosted the virtual 2020 Summit for Civil Rights with Georgetown Law’s Workers’ Rights Institute.

Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin is among the prominent academics featured in the upcoming Big 10 Law School Speaker Series “Perspectives on Race, Law, and Equality.” Spanning a wide range of topics, including abolition of the police force and mass incarceration, the series brings together -- virtually -- the nation's leading scholars in these timely and important areas of the law.

Parth Deshmukh, 2L, worked this summer at Winthrop & Weinstine, a well-established Minneapolis law firm boasting 130 attorneys working in more than 60 practice areas. It was an excellent opportunity for Deshmukh, who hopes to one day practice business law, to gain exposure to a number of different practice areas, and to connect with a number of the firm’s lawyers.

The University of Minnesota Law School, in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience based at Vanderbilt Law School, and the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior at Mass General Hospital, has been awarded a new grant from the Dana Foundation to support the curation and dissemination of research and legal cases at the intersection of law and neuroscience.

Zoe Psiakis, 2L, has a summer clerkship with Anishinabe Legal Services (ALS), which provides legal services to low-income residents of the Leech Lake, White Earth, and Red Lake Reservations (Cass, Hubbard, Beltrami, Clearwater, Mahnomen, Becker, and Itasca counties). Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Psiakis has gotten to work on-site with real-life clients, an opportunity that she has found to be invaluable.

On August 19, Dean Jenkins responded to an open letter from law students about Minnesota Law's committment to racial justice.

Dear Samia and other members of the law student community:

Richard Allyn ’69 of Robins Kaplan, Erin Osborne ’13 of Central Minnesota Legal Services (CMLS), and Marisa Tillman, 3L, have all been recognized by the Minnesota Justice Foundation with Outstanding Service Awards.

Rising 2L Schuyler Troy is currently working as a summer associate for Fredrikson & Byron, a Minneapolis-based firm with more than 300 attorneys internationally. Not only is Troy getting a chance to experience the litigation work he would one day like to pursue, but he has also had the opportunity to perform pro bono work in areas that he is passionate about.

Emily Curran, 2L, is a legal intern at the Capital Habeas Unit (CHU), Federal Public Defender, for the Western District of Missouri. Based in Kansas City, the CHU is responsible for providing federal capital habeas representation in cases throughout the state. Missouri’s last execution was in May, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a federal court’s stay.

Amarachi Ihejirika ’16 is a product liability defense lawyer with Blackwell Burke in Minneapolis, where she represents corporate clients of all sizes. She was recently named one of the National Black Lawyers Top 40 under 40, recognizing highly talented young Black attorneys.