Law School

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Law School History

University of Minnesota Law School was established in 1888 and is a public institution. The 446-acre campus is in an urban area in Minneapolis. The primary mission of the law school is to provide high quality legal education by educating men and women in the law principally through instruction leading to a J.D. degree and through other high quality programs, by contributing to knowledge of the legal order through the publication and other dissemination of scholarship, and by providing discipline-related public service. Students have access to federal, state, county, city, and local agencies, courts, correctional facilities, law firms, and legal aid organizations in the Minneapolis area. Facilities of special interest to law students consist of the clinic law office, 2 courtrooms, 24-hour library access, a Career and Professional Development Center, a bookstore, group study rooms, student publication and organization offices, caf

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Law School Academics

In addition to the J.D., the law school offers the LL.M. Students may take relevant courses in other programs and apply credit toward the J.D.; a maximum of 6 credits may be applied. The following joint degrees may be earned: J.D./M.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Arts), J.D./M.B.A (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration), J.D./M.B.S (Juris Doctor/Master of Biological Science), J.D./M.B.T. (Juris Doctor/Master of Business Tax), J.D./M.D. (Juris Doctor/Doctor of Medicine), J.D./M.Ed. (Juris Doctor/Master of Education), J.D./M.P.A. (Juris Doctor/Master of Public Affairs), J.D./M.P.H. (Juris Doctor/Master of Public Health), J.D./M.P.P. (Juris Doctor/Master of Public Policy), J.D./M.S. (Juris Doctor/Master of Science), J.D./M.U.R.P. (Juris Doctor/Master of Urban Regional Planning), and J.D./Ph.D. (Juris Doctor/Doctor of Philosophy).

Students must take 12 credits in their area of concentration. The Law School offers concentrations in international law, labor law, litigation, health law, bioethics, human rights, and labor and employment. In addition, second-and third-year students may enroll in 19 separate clinics in such areas as bankruptcy, child advocacy, and civil practice. Through these clinics, students receive academic credit while also providing more than 18,000 hours of pro bono legal assistance to low income individuals in the Twin Cities each year. More than 60 seminars, averaging 2 credits each, are available each year to upper-level students. The Law School houses 10 research institutes: Human Rights Center, Institute on Race and Poverty, Kommerstad Center for Business Law and Entrepreneurship, Minnesota Center for Legal Studies, Institute for Law and Rationality, Institute for Law and Politics, Institute for Law and Economics, Institute for Crime and Public Policy, Institute on Intellectual Property, and Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment and Life Sciences. The Judicial Externship Program places students with local, federal and state court judges. There is a variety of endowed lecture programs that bring special speakers to the Law School each year. In addition, the Minnesota Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit preside over special hearings at the Law School each year. Study abroad is available in France, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Uruguay and Spain. A structured study group program is available to all first-year students. Student organizations include American Indian Law Student Association, Asian American Law Student Association, Black Law Student Association, Latino Law Students Alliance, and LAMBDA Law Student Association. The most widely taken electives are Business/Corporations, Tax, and Evidence.

To earn the J.D., candidates must complete 88 total credits, of which 33 are for required courses. They must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the required courses. The following first-year courses are required of all students: Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legal Research and Writing, Property, Statutory Interpretation, and Torts. Required upper-level courses consist of Professional Responsibility. Clinical courses are not required, but they are popular, with a 50% participation rate.The required orientation program for first-year students consists of 2<1/2> days in which the entering class is introduced to each other and the law school faculty and staff.

In order to graduate, candidates must have a GPA of 2.0 and have completed the upper-division writing requirement.

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Law School Unique Programs

Library

The law library contains 1,051,968 hard-copy volumes and 354,789 microform volume equivalents, and subscribes to 10,630 serial publications. Such on-line databases and networks as CALI, CIS Universe, DIALOG, Infotrac, Legal-Trac, LEXIS, LOIS, NEXIS, OCLC First Search, RLIN, WESTLAW, Wilsonline Indexes, ALEPH, an on-line library catalog of University of Minnesota libraries, and Legi-Slate are available to law students for research. Special library collections include a U.S. documents depository as well as collections on the United Nations, European Community, and human rights; American Indian Law collection; Rare Books collection (especially early English and American law), and Canon Law; papers of Clarence Darrow. Recently, the library dedicated space for legal fiction collection, purchased new chairs for library reading room, and upgraded timed lights in library stacks. The ratio of library volumes to faculty is 16,437 to 1 and to students is 1202 to 1. The ratio of seats in the library to students is 1 to 1.

Special Consideration

The law school recruits minority and disadvantaged students by means of national recruitment, CLEO, Candidate Referral Service, and the National Name Exchange. Requirements are not different for out-of-state students. Transfer students must have one year of credit, have attended an ABA-approved law school, and meet credentials to be admitted as a first-year law student, and exhibit good standing with quality work at a comparable law school.

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Law School Admissions

In the fall 2007 first-year class, 2691 applied, 667 were accepted, and 259 enrolled. Thirty-seven transfers enrolled. The median LSAT percentile of the most recent first-year class was 93; the median GPA was 3.55 on a scale of 4.0.

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and take the LSAT. The admissions committee takes all factors into consideration, especially LAST results and GPA. No specific undergraduate courses are required. Candidates are not interviewed.

The application deadline for fall entry is March 1. Applicants should submit an application form, LSAT results, transcripts, a personal statement, a nonrefundable application fee of $70, and 2 letters of recommendation. Notification of the admissions decision is on a rolling basis. The latest acceptable LSAT test date for fall entry is February. The law school uses the LSDAS.

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Law School Financial Aid

About 86% of current law students receive some form of aid. The average annual amount of aid from all sources combined, including scholarships, loans, and work contracts, is $82,981. Awards are based on need and merit. Required financial statement is the FAFSA. The aid application deadline for fall entry is March 1. Special funds for minority or disadvantaged students are available. First-year students are notified about their financial aid application some time between March and June.

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Law School Students

About 44% of the student body are women; 16%, minorities; 2%, African American; 9%, Asian American; 3%, Hispanic; and 1%, Native American. The majority of students come from the Midwest (67%). The average age of entering students is 25; age range is 21 to 53. About 34% of students enter directly from undergraduate school and 10% have a graduate degree. About 2% drop out after the first year for academic or personal reasons; 99% remain to receive a law degree.

Students edit the Minnesota Law Review, Law and Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice, Minnesota Journal of Global Trade and the Minnesota Intellectual Property Review. Moot court competitions include Jessup International Law, Giles S. Rich Intellectual Property Moot Court, and the William McGee Civil Rights Moot Court. Other competitions include National Moot Court, Wagner Labor Law Moot Court, Environmental Law Moot Court, ABA Moot Court, and Maynard Pirsig Moot Court. Law student organizations, local chapters of national associations, and campus organizations include Law Council, Black Law Students Association, Student Intellectual Property Law Association, the ABA, National Lawyers Guild, and Federalist Society.

The law school operates on a traditional semester basis. Courses for full-time students are offered days only and must be completed within 5 years. There is no part-time program. New students are admitted in the fall. There is an 8-week summer session. Transferable summer courses are offered.