Mitchell Hamline Viewbook 2022–23

LAW SCHOOL THAT FITS YOUR LIFE

“I found that I was provided with a lot of different resources that I could tap into in order to find the balance between schoolwork and my job.”

Raya Esmaeili 2L Raya emigrated from Iran 13 years ago. She has discovered a new-found sense of purpose—and support from Mitchell Hamline—as she attends law school while working as a senior planner at the Metropolitan Council in the Twin Cities.

Welcome

TO MITCHELL HAMLINE SCHOOL OF LAW

KEY FACTS We offer both: On-campus More than a century of experience educating law students

Blended The first and longest-running online/on-campus J.D. program at an ABA-approved school Options to flex between full time, part time, on-campus, and blended Alumni network of over 20,000; more than 14,000 in Minnesota

Minnesota’s law school of choice Voted best law school in Minnesota by readers of Minnesota Lawyer and Finance & Commerce magazines Voted Minnesota’s #1 in graduate/professional education

by Star Tribune newspaper readers

Highly ranked programs in dispute resolution, health law, part time, legal writing, and clinical training

Student locations

Alum locations

National leader in blended learning

“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. Faculty and staff provided assistance to enable Fee to earn his J.D. following a life-threatening health crisis due to a rare spinal cord tumor.

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 the maximum possible opportunities to do what real lawyers do while still in law school.

From fall 2021 through summer 2022: 178 students volunteered 7,079 hours serving more than 1,233 clients through the Minnesota Justice Foundation.

160 students participated in clinics.

In clinics, students represent real clients under faculty supervision.

Students were placed in 402 externships.

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

Students were placed in 27 residencies.

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

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 on our staff and leadership team are Mitchell Hamline graduates and can relate personally to the journey you’re on.

Academic affairs Academic advising and degree planning customized for you

Legal writing Taught by full-time professors

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

Academic support and bar preparation Teaching the skills to help you succeed in classes and on the bar exam

Faculty More than 50 full-time faculty

Personal wellness and identity Offerings to create a feeling of health and belonging—a new wellness center, counseling, disability services, affinity groups, student organizations, journals and competitions, prayer/ reflection room, yoga classes, and mindfulness sessions.

Career and professional development Each first-year student is paired with a J.D.-credentialed career adviser and, through the Foundations of Practice curriculum, with an alumni mentor.

91% of 2021 graduates were seeking and found work in bar-passage-required, J.D.-advantage, or professional positions or were pursuing an advanced degree full time 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.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DEI “As a community, we have concluded that law schools and the legal profession can and must do more to end the injustices of racism that are embedded in many aspects of U.S. society, including the judicial system, the legal profession, and law schools.”

—From a faculty resolution in February 2021 committing Mitchell Hamline to work toward becoming an antiracist institution We became the first ABA-approved law school in the country to enroll currently incarcerated people in 2022.

We are a leader in the effort to reform bar licensure to reduce racial inequities.

“Words cannot describe how excited I am to have been accepted into blended learning at Mitchell Hamline. It complements my current lifestyle and the demands of my life. This is a dream come true for me and my family.”

Tenesha Shaw Mason, 1L Tenesha, a postprofessional doctor of occupational therapy, lives in New Jersey. She says it was “critically important” for her to go to law school where she could earn her J.D. and still manage being an employee, a parent, a wife, and a caretaker to her mother.

BLENDED-LEARNING BASICS

What stands out about blended learning at Mitchell Hamline?

HOW DOES IT WORK?

First and best

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 fully on-campus or fully online course options.

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

WHEN WILL I BE ON CAMPUS THE FIRST YEAR?

FALL

No ’live’ online classes The online portions are asynchronous. There are weekly, optional synchronous office hours for your courses that 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.

Flexible and customizable

SEMESTER

1

We were the first to launch a program like this, in 2015.

A total of 589 students have graduated from our blendedlearning program, and the employment rate for blendedlearning grads in the class of 2021 was 92%. This is a proven program that’s widely regarded as the industry leader.

PREPARATION WEEK

CAPSTONE WEEK

First week of semester

End of semester

After your first two years, you’ll have fully in-person and fully online course options and access to classes in the evenings and in the summer.

Case study workshop Students learn from actual cases, which have included a fatal bar fight, the 2007 I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, a sex-harassment class action, racial housing covenants, and the Watergate scandal. ,

It’s the same law school

SEMESTER

2 SPRING

PREPARATION WEEK

CAPSTONE WEEK

Beginning of semester (Long weekend)

End of semester

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.

Student successes First blended-learning student in the country elected editor in chief of a law review (2019)

Visit mitchellhamline.edu/academic-calendar for blended-learning calendar dates.

Blended-learning student teams win International Negotiation Competition twice in four years (2017 and 2021)

WHERE WE ARE CAMPUS

mitchellhamline.edu/life

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

mitchellhamline.edu/tc

Mitchell Hamline is just minutes by car or light rail from the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul, which are home to state and federal government offices, top law firms, and 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

ADMISSIONS TEAM From left to right: Melanie Bishop; Jack Her; Ann Buesgens; Meghan Donnelly; Soua Xiong; and Ann Gemmell ’12

PLEASE REACH OUT PERSONALLY CONNECT WITH US

Meet students, professors, alumni, and Admissions representatives. 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.

Envision yourself as a law student here.

JOIN US AT AN INFORMATION SESSION

We host several information sessions throughout the year with students, professors, and other special guests. Join us to learn more about how Mitchell Hamline can help you reach your goals.

A P P LI C ATI O N C H EC KLI S T All applicants Take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) Register with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Send official copies of all your college transcripts to CAS Send letters of recommendation to CAS NOTE: We prefer letters be less than two years old.

Complete an application for admission

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

LEARN MORE ABOUT MITCHELL HAMLINE P: E:

651-290-6476 admissions@mitchellhamline.edu

875 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105 MitchellHamline.edu

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Attach a personal statement Attach a values statement Attach a résumé Provide additional statements or addendums (as needed)

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

Facebook: @MitchellHamlineSchoolofLaw Twitter: @MitchellHamline

New to the law-school application process?

Instagram: @MitchellHamline

Watch our how-to-apply video at mitchellhamline.edu/how-to-apply.

LinkedIn: Mitchell Hamline School of Law

“At Mitchell Hamline you can move through the different enrollment options as they adapt to your life. If career advancement and working on your professional goals is important to you, you can maintain that while you go to law school.”

Deven Bowdry, 4L, Law Review Editor-in-Chief The part-time enrollment option was the right fit for Deven to attend law school and grow in his career as a legislative liaison at the Minnesota State Capitol.

Office of Admissions 875 Summit Avenue St. Paul, Minnesota 55105 888–962–5529

MITCHELLHAMLINE.EDU SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA © 2022 Mitchell Hamline School of Law 02003 2022-10