Hamline University School of Law

Hamline University School of Law
Established	1972
School type	Private university
Dean	Donald Lewis
Location	St. Paul, Minnesota, US
Enrollment	650
Faculty	109
USNWR ranking	Tier 4[1]
Bar pass rate	91%
Annual tuition	33,022 (full-time) $23,776 (part-time)
Website	[1]

Hamline University School of Law is a private law school affiliated with Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The School of Law was founded in 1972 as the Midwestern School of Law by a group of legal professionals. In 1976, it was absorbed by Hamline University as its own School of Law, making Hamline one of the few smaller universities to support a full law school. The School is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Hamline has 41 full-time faculty members, including nationally recognized experts in bio-ethics, health law, intellectual property, international trade, corporate law, and critical race theory. Faculty members are committed to an "open door" policy to help students learn the practice of law. Experienced adjunct faculty complement the faculty by teaching upper division courses in specialty areas. Hamline's Career Services Office (CSO) provides informational programs, mock interviews, one-on-one counseling, networking opportunities, and an online job bank. The CSO most recently launched an innovative web-based mentoring portal, HUSLink, to connect alumni and other experienced legal practitioners with recent Hamline graduates. CSO hosts on-campus interviews for interested employers and works extensively with employers to market Hamline law students.

Programs

Hamline University School of Law (www.hamline.edu/law) offers full- and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, as well as the Master of Law (LL.M.) degree for international lawyers. Dual degrees are available in Public Administration, Business Management, Nonprofit Management, Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and Organizational Leadership.

Hamline's curriculum supports 12 organized tracks of study, including business/commercial law, child advocacy, dispute resolution, criminal law, government and regulatory affairs, health law, intellectual property, international law, labor law, litigation and oral practice, property law,and public and human rights. The school is home to two centers of excellence – the Dispute Resolution Institute and the Health Law Institute. A third center, the Business Law Institute, will be added in January 2011 when new director, Ann Graham, joins the faculty.

The school places a high priority on students becoming proficient in problem-solving, skilled in advocacy, and cognizant of global implications. Two new 1L courses, "Practice, Problem-Solving and Professionalism" and "International Law," encourage students on this path beginning in their first year at Hamline. The school also offers clinics in child advocacy, education, employment discrimination, mediation, health law, immigration law, innocence, mediation, small business/non-profit, state public defender and trial practice. A practicum program combines 114 hours of field experience with a classroom component focused on enhancing a student's lawyering skills. Pro bono legal service also is encouraged, with Hamline requiring a minimum of 24 hours of pro bono service as part of each student's J.D. education. Many Hamline students far exceed this minimum. These experiences allow Hamline students to gain practical legal experience, with 95 percent of the school's 2009 graduates (for whom information is available) employed within nine months of graduation.

Moot court and similar competitions involve legal research, brief writing and oral argument. Hamline students have a record of excelling in these competitions, including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Mediation Representation Competition in Paris and the Willem C. Vis International Arbitration Moot in Hong Kong. A video on Hamline and the Vis competition can be found on You Tube.

Hamline has an exceptionally strong Legal Research and Writing program in which students receive individualized attention in small sections. A third semester has been added to the 1L curriculum, beginning in fall 2010, to further reinforce excellent writing skills. More attention also is being focused on significant areas that include motion practice, transactional work and professionalism.

Hamline University School of Law is nationally and internationally recognized for its alternative dispute resolution program, the Dispute Resolution Institute (DRI). DRI was begun in 1991 and provides a full range of related programing, including a summer institute, January term courses, certificate programs and a bi-annual symposium. DRI offers more than 30 courses in both domestic and international dispute resolution, including certificate programs in arbitration law and practice, problem-solving and dispute resolution. DRI courses are enhanced by agreements with international institutions that bring international students to Hamline University and send U.S. students overseas. Another unique feature of DRI academic programming is the cross-disciplinary nature that has been achieved. At Hamline, law students have the opportunity to study alongside practicing lawyers and graduate students from a variety of disciplines.

The Dispute Resolution Institute launched a publication initiative, DRI Press, in 2009 and a video production initiative, DRI Productions, in 2010 to increase the availability of high-quality teaching and training materials. In May 2011, DRI will host a major international conference in Beijing, China as the culmination of a multi-year, cross-disciplinary, global initiative to critically examine how graduate schools can best prepare lawyers, business leaders and other professionals for negotiation success anywhere in the world.

Established in 2006, the Health Law Institute at Hamline University School of Law offers a comprehensive health law curriculum—including a General Health Law Certificate—and a variety of professional development opportunities to students and the health law community. Courses also are available through Hamline's part-time weekend program, summer term and January term. The January and summer term allows many students from beyond Minnesota to take health law courses that are not available at their home campus.

Students develop critical professional skills through Hamline's Health Law Clinic, which allows them to represent clients in health law-related administrative hearings, and through health law practicum externships that include a minimum of 114 hours of field work. Practicum placements have included Fairview Health Services, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Health, Mayo Clinic Legal Department, Medica Health Plans, among others.

The Health Law Institute is the 2009 recipient of the fifth annual International Compliance and Ethics Award from the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics. The award pays tribute to organizations and individuals making significant contributions to the corporate compliance and business ethics profession. Hamline's Health Law Institute includes a Health Care Compliance Certificate program, which is one of only four such programs in the nation—and the only program in the Upper Midwest—to be accredited by the Compliance Certification Board.

Rankings

US News & World Report 2009 ranks the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program second among its class across the United States, and Hamline's Health Law Institute is ranked 18th, making Hamline the only Minnesota law school to have two nationally ranked specialty programs. Hamline has been ranked in the third tier as recently as 2008, but U.S. News ranked Hamline's overall law school program within the fourth tier in 2010. U.S. News does not give numerical rankings to schools within the third and fourth tier. ^[2] The four year average of first-time bar passage rate for Hamline students is about 91%.^[3]

Journals

The school publishes three law journals. The Hamline Law Review[2] is in the top 20% of the Most Cited Law Reviews [3]. The Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy[4] provides a forum for discussions relating to public policy decisions of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches at all levels of government. The Journal of Law and Religion[5] is also supported by the school; it is an international publication that explores issues of law, religion, and ethics. Hamline law students staff the Hamline Law Review and the Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, and provide editorial assistance for The Journal of Law and Religion.

Athletics

The School of Law fields student-run sports teams under the team name Res Ipsa, particularly in ice hockey, where it competes in community leagues, intramural competition, and inter-law school competition among the Minnesota-based law schools.

Notable alumni

• Don Betzold, Minnesota State Senator
• Donovan Frank, Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
• John Lesch, Minnesota State Representative
• Paul Magers, renowned CBS – Los Angeles newscaster
• Van Tran, California Assemblyman
• Charles Wiger, Minnesota State Senator

External links

• Hamline University School of Law mainpage
• Hamline Law Review's home page
• Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy
• Hamline Journal of Law and Religion
• Hamline Health Law Institute
• Hamline Alternative Dispute Resolution Program

References

1. ^ http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings/c_final_tier+4
2. ^ http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/rankings/c_final_tier+4
3. ^ "Hamline University School of Law: Class Profile". Hamline.edu. http://law.hamline.edu/admissions/classprofile.html. Retrieved 2011-01-04.