Saint Paul College of Law, 1900-1904

Born in Vermont, Hiram Stevens studied law in a New York City law office and at Columbia University. He returned to Vermont and practiced there for several years. He was a founding member of the American Bar Association. After opening a practice in St. Paul in 1879, Stevens served several terms in the Minnesota legislature, taught part-time at the University …

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Saint Paul College of Law, 1904-1918

After receiving his law degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1888, George L. Bunn set up a practice in St. Paul. During his deanship, St. Paul College of Law moved from the Ramsey County Courthouse to two different office buildings in downtown St. Paul before settling in the McColl Building, at Sixth and Jackson streets, in 1917. …

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Northwestern College of Law, 1912-1923

George E. Young was born in 1864 in Watseka, Illinois and moved to Minneapolis as a young man. He attended Archibald’s Business College in Minneapolis, and spent three years at Hamline University. He graduated from the University of Minnesota’s law program in 1891. Along with his law practice, Young managed a fur business and laundry. Young Incorporated the Northwestern College …

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Minnesota College of Law; Minneapolis College of Law, 1913-1918; 1925-1935

Born in Pennsylvania in 1858, Elmer C. Patterson moved to Iowa as a boy. After graduating from Lenox College in Hopkinton, Iowa, in 1882, he spent eight years as a school-teacher and principal in Iowa. He then went to South Dakota, where he owned and edited the Pierre Daily Capital. Admitted to the bar in 1892, Patterson practiced law in …

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Saint Paul College of Law, 1917-1942; 1942-1946

Oscar Hallam’s tenure as a dean is the longest in the history of William Mitchell College of Law and its predecessor schools. A faculty member when St. Paul College of Law was established in 1900, he became dean after George L. Bunn’s death in 1918. Soon after, the college moved from downtown St. Paul to the Berkey mansion at Sixth …

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Minnesota College of Law, 1918-1926

George T. Simpson was rare among Minnesota’s night law school deans-he was born in the state. After attending the State Normal School in Winona, Minn., he completed his education at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He was admitted to the bar in 1894 in Wisconsin and, the following year, in Minnesota. Simpson practiced in Winona until 1905; he also served …

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YMCA College of Law, 1919-1921

Born in Vermont in 1855, Chelsea J. Rockwood settled with his family as a boy near Mankato, Minn. He attended Carleton College in Northfield, MN, and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1879. While serving as superintendent of public schools in LeSueur, MN, he prepared for his life’s work by studying in a law office. After being admitted to …

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YMCA College of Law, 1922-1932

Little is known about Lee B. Byard. After graduating from Harvard University Law School in 1909, he spent his entire professional career in Minneapolis. He was president of the Hennepin County Bar Association in 1932 and the Minnesota State Bar Association in 1936. He was dean of the YMCA College of Law from 1922 to 1932.

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Northwestern College of Law, 1925-1926

William J. Wright was born in Brockville, Ontario in 1857, and was an apprentice to a carpenter there before attending the University of Toronto. Following graduation from Osgoode Hall, he was admitted to the bar. In 1919, Wright moved to Minneapolis with his family, where he practiced until his death. Wright was the British vice-consul in Minneapolis from 1922 to …

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Minnesota College of Law, 1926-1934

Lars O. Rue grew up in Iowa and graduated from Iowa State University, receiving his bachelor’s degree and law degree at the same time. It is said that he attended undergraduate and law school classes simultaneously, without official approval. When he finished both programs and faculty members learned of his accomplishment, they demanded an apology. Rue refused but received both …

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YMCA College of Law, 1932-1934

Born in Superior, Wis., in 1895, Leo P. McNally completed his bachelor’s and law degrees at the University of Minnesota. Admitted to the bar in 1922, he practiced with a Minneapolis law firm until 1940 and on his own for a short time thereafter. He was dean of the YMCA College of Law from 1932 to 1934.

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Minnesota College of Law, 1934-1940

Born on Long Island, N.Y., in 1871, Arthur W. Selover came to Lake City, MN as a boy. After receiving his law degree from the University of Minnesota in 1894, he joined the editorial staff of West Publishing Company in St. Paul. While there he continued his legal education, earning an LL.M. from the University of Minnesota Law School in …

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Saint Paul College of Law, 1942-1952

Born in North Dakota in 1894, Sigurd B. Severson attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., and received his law degree from the University of Minnesota in 1925. He spent most of his professional career as a law teacher, first at the University of North Dakota, from 1933 to 1937, and then at St. Paul College of Law. As the …

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Minneapolis College of Law, 1935-1940 ; Minneapolis-Minnesota College of Law, 1940-1956 ; William Mitchell College of Law, President, 1956-1958

Andrew N. Johnson’s service to Minneapolis’s night law schools and William Mitchell College of Law spanned more than 60 years. Born on a farm in Wisconsin, he worked his way through Northwestern University in Chicago. He graduated with honors from that university’s law school in 1915. After graduation Johnson entered private practice in Minneapolis, and in 1917 he began teaching …

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Saint Paul College of Law, Dean, 1952-1956 ; William Mitchell College of Law, Dean, 1956-1958

An alumnus of St. Paul College of Law, class of 1904, John A. Burns became the school’s last dean following the death of Sigurd B. Severson. Before assuming its deanship, Burns taught for many years at St. Paul College of Law and was a member of its board of trustees. He was named the first dean of William Mitchell College …

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