Ten years ago, Mitchell Hamline School of Law launched the nation’s first J.D. at an ABA-approved law school that students could earn partially online and partially in person, forever changing the landscape of legal education. To honor this milestone and commitment to continual evolution, Mitchell Hamline will be hosting a symposium on January 15, “Transforming Legal Education for the Future of Law,” featuring experts in the fields of legal education and innovation.
The symposium is the first in a series of planned events marking major developments in the school’s history as Mitchell Hamline celebrates 125 years of legal education in 2025. The symposium, which will be broken into three parts, aims to share ideas about how to transform legal education and prepare new lawyers for the future of law.
The first session welcomes Logan Cornett, director of research at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS), and Zack DeMeola, senior director of strategic initiatives at the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). Cornett and DeMeola were instrumental in IAALS’ Foundations for Practice project, and they will discuss key skills and competencies needed in today’s legal profession to ensure law students are practice-ready and equipped to meet the changing needs of the profession.
The second session will explore how artificial intelligence and other technologies are reshaping the practice of law and the work of lawyers, with speaker Damien Riehl ’02. A lawyer and technologist, Riehl serves as vice president and solutions champion at vLex Group, where he helps develop various products and integrate AI-backed technologies to improve legal workflows and power legal data analytics.
A panel of law professors and lawyers will build upon the first two sessions, discussing how legal education must evolve to better prepare lawyers for the challenges and opportunities ahead. Event participants will be able to engage with all speakers in Q&A sessions.
“This is an important conversation,” said Professor Leanne Fuith ’10, who will serve as moderator for the symposium. “What’s happening in practice demands innovation, and Mitchell Hamline has long had expertise with transforming legal education to serve lawyers, their clients, and our students.”
Mitchell Hamline introduced the blended program in 2015, then called the Hybrid J.D., aiming to provide access to legal education that fits students’ lives, regardless of location or life obligations like working or taking care of a family. Since then, blended legal education has become increasingly prevalent in the U.S., with more law schools adopting hybrid models that combine online and in-person learning to offer greater flexibility and accessibility to law students. Mitchell Hamline remains a leader in the area, now entering its second decade of blended learning.
“Transforming Legal Education for the Future of Law” will take place Wednesday, January 15, from 5 to 8:30 pm Central time. The event is available in-person and online—similar to blended learning itself—and is pending three standard CLE credits in Minnesota. Those interested in attending can register for free online.
Mitchell Hamline’s commitment to access and innovation has remained unchanged since its founding as St. Paul College of Law in 1900. The day after the symposium, Mitchell Hamline will host the first-of-its-kind online law school fair for prospective students interested in J.D. virtual enrollment opportunities, with 17 law schools registered to participate.