Linnea Coltvet ’25
Mitchell Hamline graduate Linnea Coltvet has won the Outstanding Clinic Student award from the Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA) for her dedicated work in the Economic Inclusion Clinic.
This clinic, directed by Professor Kim Vu-Dinh, provides transactional legal work to clients and focuses on helping historically disenfranchised communities.
Coltvet participated in the clinic for three semesters, and she took on the role of student director for her final semester in spring 2025. As a student director, she served as an intermediary and resource for her fellow students, completing new client deliverables and developing her leadership skills at the same time.
“Once I started the work in the clinic, I knew I wanted to keep doing it because it was the best practical experience on campus,” she said. “It’s not a hypothetical problem—you’re actually able to help someone.”
The CLEA Outstanding Clinic Student award recognizes those law students who demonstrate excellence in both the classroom and practical work of the clinic and whose work has contributed to the clinical, legal, or broader community.
“Linnea consistently produced top-notch client work, but what really stood out was how she led by giving,” said Professor Vu-Dinh in her nomination. “She has a rare ability to stay focused, steady, and generous even when the work gets stressful, and she made it a point to support her classmates just as much as she supported our clients.”
Prior to attending Mitchell Hamline, Coltvet earned her bachelor’s degree in geography and environmental studies at Gustavus Adolphus College. Her studies focused on how people fit into the world and how they can make it better. Combining this mindset with a lifelong attention to detail led Coltvet to pursue law school.
After graduation, Coltvet moved to Savannah, Ga., and looks forward to a future career in transactional law once she passes the Minnesota bar.
“After my experience in clinic, I know how valuable it is to use the privilege of my law school education and share it with whoever I can,” she said.
