Mitchell Hamline Viewbook 2024–25

MINNESOTA’S LAW SCHOOL OF CHOICE

“Mitchell Hamline has prepared me to be a lawyer through the practical experience I received from the clinics, specifically the Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners Clinic. I had the opportunity to be a part of four different cases and even had three clients of my own.”

Dylan Larson ’23 Dylan’s fellow alums include his mom, Melissa Crawford Kestner ’01, and his stepdad, Pete Kestner ’01.

Welcome

TO MITCHELL HAMLINE SCHOOL OF LAW KEY FACTS We offer both on-campus and blended-learning enrollment options Started in 1900 as a night school set up by five notable St. Paul attorneys to train working people in the law, Mitchell Hamline is celebrating 125 years of making legal education accessible to talented students from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences.

Our part-time blended-learning program is the first and longest-running online/on-campus J.D. program at an ABA-approved law school.

Options to flex between full time, part time, on-campus, and blended after your 1L year.

Highly ranked programs in dispute resolution, health law, trial advocacy, legal writing, clinical training, and intellectual property law.

A nationwide alumni network of over 23,000 using their J.D. to transform their lives and make a difference in their communities

National leader in blended learning

Seventeen clinics, allowing students to work with clients in areas such as child protection, immigration, wrongful conviction, intellectual property, health law, and more.

Academic centers and institutes focusing on dispute resolution, health law, law and business, intellectual property, child protection, and Native American law and sovereignty.

Learn more about our clinics and centers and institutes.

Blended-learning student locations

Blended-learning alum locations

“Kev vam meej yog ib txoj kev ua roob ua hav.

Txawm yuav nyuaj npaum li cas los yuav tsum hla kom dhau, thiab ntseeg yus tus kheej.”

Hmong-English translation: “Success is a non-linear journey.

Be perseverant and believe in yourself.”

Fee Moua ’22 A first generation college graduate, Fee specialized in Health Law and Compliance with the goal of helping underserved communities.

KEY COMMITMENTS REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE

Mitchell Hamline provides a demanding legal education so engaged with the profession that our graduates have an enduring advantage as they meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world. Students get extensive opportunities to do what real lawyers do while still in law school.

From fall 2023 through summer 2024: 167 students volunteered 4,501 hours serving more than 2,075 clients through the Minnesota Justice Foundation.

191 students participated in clinics.

In clinics, students represent real clients under faculty supervision.

526 students completed externships.

Through externships, students earn law school credit working off campus in legal settings under supervision of faculty and attorneys.

32 students completed residencies.

Students in residencies earn law school credit working off campus full time for a semester in legal settings under faculty and attorney supervision.

Academic support and bar preparation Enriching each student’s learning experience by ensuring a smooth transition to law school and equipping students with the skills they need to perform well in their courses and on the bar exam.

Faculty 55 full-time faculty, 35% of whom are Indigenous or people of color (of faculty reporting), and 55% of whom are women.

Personal wellness and identity Multiple offerings help foster health and a sense of belonging— a wellness center, mental health counseling, disability services, affinity groups, student organizations, journals and competitions, prayer/reflection room, and wellness activities such as therapy dogs, dance breaks, and mindfulness sessions.

Career and professional development Every student is paired with a career adviser to help them explore career options, make connections, and gain experience.

For the class of 2023 (graduates from Sept. 1, 2022–Aug. 31, 2023), 91.6% of all known job seekers had secured employment in bar-passage-required, J.D.-advantage, or other professional positions, or were enrolled in graduate studies programs, within 10 months of graduation. We include this wide array of positions in our employment rate because it recognizes the diversity of interests, backgrounds, and long-term career goals held by Mitchell Hamline graduates.

CARE AND SUPPORT

Because we are a freestanding, independent law school, all departments here are dedicated solely to serving law students.

That extends beyond academics to include emotional, social, physical, and spiritual well-being. Many of our staff are Mitchell Hamline graduates and can relate personally to the journey you’re on.

Academic affairs Academic advising and degree planning customized for you.

Technology In-house instructional design and technology support centered on the student experience.

Learn more about our faculty

“A lot of people might think that going to law school means you have to give up everything— that you have to give up your social life, that you have to give up your family time, and that you have to give up your job. That’s not the case at Mitchell Hamline.”

Ameena Langford, 3L Tax-accounting business owner, mother, grandmother, and blended-learning student.

BLENDED-LEARNING BASICS

What stands out about blended learning at Mitchell Hamline?

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The first and a proven success

Blended learning is a part-time program that is offered partly online and partly on-campus. During the first two years, you come to campus twice each semester. Usually it’s for a week, but twice it’s a long weekend.The rest of the time you are studying online, with no set schedule but with weekly deadlines.

After the first two years, you can continue on a similar schedule but with one campus visit per semester instead of two. You can also choose courses that are fully online— synchronous or asynchronous—as well as fully on-campus options.

The degree is typically completed in four years but can be finished earlier.

WHEN WILL I BE ON CAMPUS THE FIRST YEAR?

No required ‘live’ online classes The online portions are asynchronous. There are weekly, optional, synchronous office hours for your courses, to allow you to connect with your professors and colleagues.

These are recorded and posted to view if you can’t attend synchronously. You get maximum flexibility to work around job and family commitments.

Bar eligibility You can meet the requirements in every state, including New York.

SEMESTER

PREPARATION WEEK

CAPSTONE WEEK

1

First week of semester

End of semester

(August)

(November)

FALL

Flexible and customizable After your first two years, you’ll have fully online options including synchronous or asynchronous courses, as well as in-person options. Students also have the option to take classes over J-term and in the summer. ,

It’s the same law school

SEMESTER

PREPARATION SESSION

CAPSTONE WEEK

2

Beginning of semester

End of semester

Long weekend

(March/April)

SPRING

We were the first to launch a program like this, in 2015. A total of 951 students have graduated from our blended-learning program, and for the blended-learning class of 2023 (graduates from Sept. 1, 2022–Aug. 31, 2023), 93.5% of all known job seekers had secured employment in bar-passage-required, J.D.-advantage, or other professional positions, or were enrolled in graduate studies programs, within 10 months of graduation. This is a proven program that’s widely regarded as the industry leader, offering an exceptional breadth of classes, extracurricular opportunities, and connections with alumni and fellow students.

(January)

Blended-learning students are taught by the same full-time, tenured professors who teach in the on-campus program, and they have access to a range of clinics, externships, specialized academic certificates, seminars, law journals, competitions, student groups, and activities just as on-campus students do.

Eleven of Mitchell Hamline’s clinics are available to blendedlearning students, including two specially designed for blended-learning students.

Student successes Scan for blended-learning calendar dates from the current school year.

First blended-learning student in the country elected editor in chief of a law review (2019) Blended-learning student teams win International Negotiation Competition twice in four years (2017 and 2021)

WHERE WE ARE CAMPUS We’re on six acres of traditional Dakota land in the capital city of St. Paul, Minnesota. To our south is Summit Avenue, St. Paul’s stateliest boulevard. It has the longest stretch of preserved Victorian architecture in the country and has been ranked as one of the best places in the state to view fall foliage. One street beyond Summit is Grand Avenue, a destination for dining, shopping, and living and a popular gathering spot for law students.

To the north is the Summit-University neighborhood, onetime stomping grounds of Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright August Wilson, home to the state’s oldest high school, a place where aviator Amelia Earhart once sang in the church choir, and former site of the Rondo neighborhood—the heart of St. Paul’s Black community for decades before it was broken up by interstate construction in the 1950s and ’60s.

TWIN CITIES Mitchell Hamline is just minutes by car or light rail from the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The metro area is home to to state and federal government offices, top law firms, and 15 Fortune 500 companies.

Roughly 3.5 million people call the Twin Cities home, drawn to world-class attractions including professional teams in football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer; thriving nightlife; an extensive craft beer community; plentiful theater offerings; and nationally ranked park systems.

M I N N E AP O LI S

S T. PAU L

AMONG OUR RECENT ACCOLADES

PLEASE REACH OUT PERSONALLY CONNECT WITH US

A P P LI C ATI O N C H EC KLI S T All applicants

Meet students, professors, alumni, and staff. Talk with an Admissions counselor, current student, or faculty member to learn more about the application process and all that Mitchell Hamline has to offer. Sit in on a class or tour the campus. Envision yourself as a law student here.

Take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

JOIN US AT AN INFORMATION SESSION OR ON THE ROAD

Send letters of recommendation to CAS

We host several information sessions throughout the year with students, professors, and staff. We also attend law fairs and recruitment events throughout North America. Join us to learn more about how Mitchell Hamline can help you reach your goals.

Go to mitchellhamline.edu/admission/visiting for details about opportunities to connect in person and online.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MITCHELL HAMLINE P : 651-290-6476 E : admissions@mitchellhamline.edu

875 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105

mitchellhamline.edu

Register with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Send official copies of all your post-secondary transcripts to CAS

NOTE: We prefer letters be less than two years old.

Complete an application for admission Attach a personal statement Attach a résumé Provide additional statements or addenda (as needed)

For additional information about transfer, visiting, and international applications visit mitchellhamline.edu/admission/applying

New to the law school application process?

Watch our how-to-apply video.

ADMISSIONS TEAM From left to right: Jack Her, Soua Xiong, Bekah Sommerfeld, Ann Gemmell ’12, Ann Buesgens, and Julie Olmsted ’08.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook: @MitchellHamlineSchoolofLaw X: @MitchellHamline Instagram: @MitchellHamline LinkedIn: Mitchell Hamline School of Law

“It’s great that students at Mitchell Hamline are positioned to work with professors that are still working and still heavily involved in significant legal work outside of school. It shows the school’s commitment to creating strong legal practitioners and to continue to work on places in the criminal justice system that need reform.”

Tacota LeMuel ’24 Tacota is a distinguished Air Force veteran. As a student, working under supervising attorneys, she argued three times before the Minnesota Court of Appeals and once before the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Office of Admissions 875 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota 55105 888–962–5529 mitchellhamline.edu © 2024 Mitchell Hamline School of Law 2024-09