Roger Haydock and Mike Steenson laid the foundations for clinical education, law review
An article in the September, 1972 issue of The Opinion, the student newspaper of William Mitchell College of Law, announcing the appointments of Professors Roger Haydock and Mike Steenson.
The 2022-23 academic year marked the 50th anniversary of professors Roger Haydock and Mike Steenson at Mitchell Hamline.
Haydock began at William Mitchell College of Law in 1970 as a part-time instructor, but it was in 1972 that he joined the faculty full time. Steenson also was hired at that time, fresh off a clerkship with U.S. District Judge Miles Lord.
In addition to teaching, the two got to work quickly on important projects. They both attended a meeting in March 1973 where the feasibility of starting a law review was discussed. Haydock and Steenson had both served on the law reviews at their law schools. But the idea for a night school with part-time students to also run a law review was controversial because it had never been done. Steenson took up the cause and became faculty adviser.
It was hard work with no roadmap. The law review’s inaugural editor in chief continued assembling the first volume after graduating, and the 1974 edition was finally printed in early 1975. One student comment in that first volume was later cited by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
In 2015, Steenson oversaw another task that had never been done – the combination of two law reviews when William Mitchell and Hamline Law combined. He has continued to serve as faculty adviser as the review approaches its own 50th anniversary this year.
This article first appeared in the Summer 2023 issue of Mitchell Hamline Law magazine.
Haydock, meanwhile, took on the task of bringing clinical education to William Mitchell. After initial efforts to create a joint program with the University of Minnesota Law School fell through, Haydock and his colleagues set out alone.
“Imagine going to law school and never taking a course in really the pragmatic parts of practice, how to be a lawyer, how to practice law,” Haydock told Minnesota Lawyer this spring.
The fall 1973 semester featured the debut of four offerings from the William Mitchell Law Clinic, in criminal law, civil practice, welfare law, and criminal appeals. It was one of the first clinics at any law school in the country, aimed at giving students experience with real-world clients, under the supervision of faculty.
Law school wasn’t just about theories anymore; it was about learning the day-to-day skills you’d need to be an attorney. The clinical program soon became nationally ranked. “We want to be fair, reasonable, and professional. But we want the client to be successful,” he added.
Professor Michael Steenson
Haydock worked extensively with Rosalie Wahl ’67 in the clinics’ early years, until her appointment to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Even then, Justice Wahl worked to reform rules around law students working in legal settings.
Both Haydock and Steenson have been prolific in their scholarship, literally writing the books that are used in firms and courtrooms across Minnesota and the country.
Steenson, who is also lauded for his willingness to adapt to new technology, was an early evangelist for the online learning part of Mitchell Hamline’s blended-learning enrollment option.
“No one works harder than Mike,” said one colleague, who marvels at one of Steenson’s abilities: reciting not just the names of important cases, but their full citations as well.
Steenson continues to teach Torts, one of the courses for which he was originally hired.
Professor Roger Haydock
Haydock, a motorcycle aficionado known for his immaculate wardrobe that includes a healthy ratio of pinks and purples, has worked extensively in arbitration and dispute resolution.
But even with his work outside the law school – he founded the Academy of Court Appointed Neutrals and co-founded another national organization that has changed how arbitration matters are handled across the country – Haydock, like Steenson, is known for his skills as a teacher.
“Roger’s teaching was always grounded in humility,” noted one former student. “He’d regale us with stories of his own embarrassing mistakes that he’s learned from.
“It’s refreshing to see that in a law professor.”
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