William Mitchell College of Law

William Mitchell College of Law was a private law school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, founded in 1900 by William Mitchell (judge). The college was named after its founder, a Minnesota Supreme Court justice, and was known for its innovative approaches to legal education, including the use of Harvard Law School-style Socratic method and clinical education programs, similar to those at Yale Law School and Stanford Law School. The college was also a member of the Association of American Law Schools and was accredited by the American Bar Association.

● History

The college was founded in 1900 by William Mitchell (judge), a Minnesota Supreme Court justice, with the goal of providing a legal education to students who could not afford to attend East Coast law schools, such as Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. The college quickly gained a reputation for its innovative approaches to legal education, including the use of Socratic method and clinical education programs, similar to those at Stanford Law School and University of Chicago Law School. During World War II, the college played an important role in training Judge Advocate General's Corps officers for the United States Army and United States Navy, alongside institutions like University of Virginia Law School and University of Michigan Law School. The college also had a strong connection to the Minnesota State Bar Association and the Hennepin County Bar Association, and many of its graduates went on to work at law firms like Dorsey & Whitney and Faegre Baker Daniels.

● Academics

The college offered a range of academic programs, including a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree, and a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) degree, similar to those offered at Columbia Law School and New York University School of Law. The college was known for its strong programs in business law, intellectual property law, and health law, and its faculty included prominent scholars like Richard Posner and Cass Sunstein, who also taught at University of Chicago Law School and Harvard Law School. The college also had a range of clinical education programs, including a civil clinic and a criminal clinic, which provided students with hands-on experience in courts like the Minnesota Court of Appeals and the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. Students also had the opportunity to participate in moot court competitions, such as the National Moot Court Competition and the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, and to publish in law journals like the Minnesota Law Review and the Harvard Law Review.

● Campus

The college was located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and its campus included a range of facilities, including a law library and a moot court room, similar to those at University of Minnesota Law School and Marquette University Law School. The college was also close to a range of courts, including the Minnesota Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and many of its students clerked for judges like John Paul Stevens and Antonin Scalia. The college also had a range of student organizations, including the Student Bar Association and the Law Review, which provided students with opportunities to get involved in the legal community and to network with lawyers and judges from firms like Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Kirkland & Ellis.

● Notable Alumni

The college had a range of notable alumni, including United States Senator Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, and United States District Court judge Ann Montgomery, who also worked at institutions like University of Minnesota and Hamline University. Other notable alumni included Minnesota Supreme Court justice Alan Page, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, and Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, who also worked with organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The college's alumni also included a range of prominent lawyers, including Faegre Baker Daniels partner Andrew Luger and Dorsey & Whitney partner Ken Cutler, who worked on cases like United States v. Nixon and Bush v. Gore.

● Accreditation and Rankings

The college was accredited by the American Bar Association and was a member of the Association of American Law Schools, alongside institutions like Yale Law School and Stanford Law School. The college was also ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top law schools in the country, and its programs in business law and intellectual property law were highly regarded, similar to those at University of Pennsylvania Law School and Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. The college's clinical education programs were also recognized as among the best in the country, and its faculty included a range of prominent scholars who had taught at institutions like Harvard Law School and University of Chicago Law School.

● Merger with Hamline University School of

Law In 2015, the college merged with Hamline University School of Law to form Mitchell Hamline School of Law, a new law school that combined the strengths of both institutions, similar to the merger between Rutgers University and Rutgers School of Law–Newark. The merger created a new law school with a range of academic programs, including a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree, and a strong focus on clinical education and experiential learning, similar to the programs at University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and University of Texas School of Law. The new law school also had a range of student organizations and a strong connection to the Minnesota State Bar Association and the Hennepin County Bar Association, and its faculty included prominent scholars who had taught at institutions like Yale Law School and Stanford Law School.