2025 marked a yearlong celebration of Mitchell Hamline School of Law’s 125-year anniversary, honoring the law school’s legacy while looking forward to a bright future in 2026 and beyond. In October, a new strategic plan was approved by the Board of Trustees to lead Mitchell Hamline into its next chapter. The plan focuses on four key areas of bolstering admissions and recruiting, curriculum and student engagement, alumni communications and community engagement, and fiscal sustainability. Mitchell Hamline is proud of the accomplishments in 2025 that have already advanced these initiatives, benefited the law school community, and bettered the student experience.
The “Transforming Legal Education for the Future of Law” symposium featured legal education and AI experts, faculty members, and alumni to honor and build upon the innovative spirit that launched the blended-learning enrollment option 10 years ago in 2015.
Mitchell Hamline hosted a first-of-its-kind Virtual Law School Fair for more than 200 prospective students to learn about virtual and distance-education enrollment opportunities from 18 law schools, including Mitchell Hamline’s blended-learning enrollment option, which was the nation’s first J.D. at an ABA-approved law school that students could earn partially online and partially in-person, increasing access to legal education. Due to the success of the event, the fair will be held again on Jan. 15, 2026.
An initiative of the school’s Wellness Committee, the food pantry officially opened as a free resource for the law school community to access essential food and personal care resources and help combat food insecurity.
President and Dean Camille Davidson kicked off a series of alumni visits with a trip to San Francisco in January. She continued her travels throughout the year to meet with alumni, current and prospective students, and friends in Phoenix, San Diego, New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Alaska, Detroit, and Atlanta.
Two classes of extraordinary alumni were honored with Mitchell Hamline’s Alumni Awards. In February, Senior Judge Leslie Metzen ’79 received the Distinguished Alumni Award, Jeffry Collins ’21 received the Outstanding Alumni Award, and Jeremiah Allison ’20 received the Recent Alumni Award.
During the Alumni Reunion Weekend in October, Senior Judge John P. Smith ’75 received the Distinguished Alumni Award, Senior Judge Donovan Frank ’77 received the Outstanding Alumni Award, and Rashanda Bruce ’18 received the Recent Alumni Award.
Admitted Student Day welcomed more than 100 prospective students and family members to campus to explore the rigorous legal education Mitchell Hamline offers.
For the class of 2024 (graduates from Sept. 1, 2023 – Aug. 31, 2024), 92.8% of all known job seekers had secured employment in bar-passage-required, J.D.-advantage, or other professional positions, or were enrolled in graduate studies programs, within 10 months of graduation, prepared to thrive in their chosen careers.
Members of the Intellectual Property Institute, Student Intellectual Property Law Association (SIPLA), and alumni went on a tour of the 3M Innovation Center, hosted by Assistant Chief IP Counsel Melissa Buss ’00, to learn about IP law and the thriving IP community in the Twin Cities.
Several areas of study continue to be nationally renowned, and Mitchell Hamline was ranked no. 8 in dispute resolution and no. 26 in health law, according to U.S. News & World Report 2025.
The Mitchell Hamline Law Review celebrated 51 years of the publication at their annual banquet in May. In the fall, Vol. 52 editors hosted the Law Review Symposium focused on the intersection of health care, policy, agriculture, public service, and the law in rural communities.
The 25th annual Celebration of Women in Law Tea featured an inspirational panel of alumnae trustees about the power of grit and perseverance. The tea was created by Justice Esther M. Tomljanovich ’55, who also has a scholarship in her name that supports future generations of law students.
305 graduates joined the Mitchell Hamline network of more than 23,000, equipped with the skills and judgment to thrive in legal practice and their chosen careers and to serve their communities with distinction.
Leah Olm ’25 and Parker Vegemast ’25 received the 2025 Student Award of Merit, which recognizes graduating students who demonstrate excellent academic performance and community contributions.
Mitchell Hamline was once again among Minnesota’s Best and received a gold award for best graduate/professional education, as voted by the readers of the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Two new faculty members joined Mitchell Hamline in the 2025-26 academic year: Jessica West, who teaches Evidence and in the clinical program, and Eleanor Frisch, who teaches legal writing.
The Center for Law and Business led the first-ever U.S. law school study abroad in Kosovo, Europe’s youngest nation, offering a unique educational experience learning about transitional justice and economic development, meeting Supreme Court justices, and exploring cities rich with centuries of religious and ethnic tolerance.
Mitchell Hamline was once again recognized as Minnesota’s top law school by the readers of Minnesota Lawyer magazine.
Mitchell Hamline’s first-time bar passage rate in Minnesota for July 2025 was 88.37 percent, which is the highest since the combination of William Mitchell College of Law and Hamline University School of Law in 2015.
Campus improvements during the summer and fall improved the in-person experience for students, faculty, staff, and visitors at our St. Paul location.
An AI curriculum committee was formed to understand, discuss, and implement artificial intelligence into the legal education students receive at Mitchell Hamline to be better prepared for the realities of the legal profession.
The Dispute Resolution Institute (DRI) Skills Lab surpassed 100 skills simulations available to legal educators worldwide, and DRI Press launched its Resource Series designed to enhance skills learning across the curriculum with its first volume, “Role-Playing for Learning: Enhancing Skills in Doctrinal Courses.”
Following the largest application pool since the combination, Mitchell Hamline’s incoming class welcomed 372 students across daytime, part-time evening, and blended-learning enrollment options, enabling access to legal education to students from a wide range of geographic locations and backgrounds.
Dean Davidson, along with 16 Mitchell Hamline alumnae, were recognized for their leadership and legacy in Minnesota’s legal community and were named Top Women in Law by Minnesota Lawyer. Dean Davidson was also recognized as a Power Shift 25 leader by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Magazines and named to the 2025 Notable Women in Law list by Twin Cities Business Magazine.
Nearly 400 alumni, students, faculty, employees, and community partners joined Mitchell Hamline for an Alumni Reunion Weekend in October, which featured many opportunities for alumni to connect about their law school experiences. Highlights included CLEs hosted at Hamline University, an emeritus faculty luncheon, and a program focused on mental health and wellness hosted in collaboration with Mobilize Recovery and Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies.
A new school installation recognizing alumni who are members of the judiciary was revealed in a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce.
Dean Davidson formally signed a 3+3 partnership agreement between Mitchell Hamline and University of Alaska Fairbanks, which allows students to complete their bachelor’s and J.D. degrees in six years rather than seven, not only saving time and tuition, but also increasing access to legal education in the only state without a law school.
Members of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, including Judge Peter Reyes, Jr. ’97, heard oral arguments at Mitchell Hamline, followed by a Q&A opportunity for students to learn about the inner workings of the Court and the advantages of pursuing a judicial clerkship.
The Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute hosted their annual Native Law Conference, focused on Tribal Nations and self-determination. Mitchell Hamline continues to have the largest number of Native law students of any law school in the nation.
The fifth annual Hon. Steven E. Rau Memorial Lecture featured a keynote speech by Judge Michelle Childs of the United States Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, and a panel discussion on the critical topic of judicial independence, the rule of law, and the attorney’s oath. The lecture series and a scholarship were established in honor of Judge Steven Rau ’83 following his death in 2019.