Our History

Over a Century of Distinction

William Mitchell
Minnesota Supreme Court
Justice 1881-1899

William Mitchell’s history is about men and women of vision working to meet the educational needs of individuals and communities.

The law school’s five predecessors—one in St. Paul, four in Minneapolis—were organized between 1900 and 1919 by attorneys who sought to open the doors of the legal profession to dedicated, hard-working men and women, most of whom had to work full time to support themselves and often their families. The schools’ faculties were composed of distinguished judges and lawyers who taught from a sense of duty to the public and the profession.

Those early students, many of them immigrants or children of immigrants, sold insurance, worked in banks, clerked in law offices, represented manufacturers, and worked as agents for transportation companies by day. At night, they attended classes at convenient downtown locations.

Accredited by the American Bar Association in 1938, by 1940 the Minneapolis law schools had become one—the Minneapolis-Minnesota College of Law. In 1956, it united with the St. Paul College of Law. The new school was named for Justice William Mitchell of the Minnesota Supreme Court (1881–1899) whose opinions were regarded as models of brevity and sound judicial reasoning.

Despite the school’s modest beginnings, it has produced many outstanding attorneys, judges, and business and civic leaders, among them the 15th chief justice of the United States, Warren E. Burger ’31, and the first woman to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court, Rosalie E. Wahl ’67.

By 1980 William Mitchell offered daytime classes and the option of full-time enrollment. In 1990 the law school dedicated the new Warren E. Burger Library, which houses the law school’s growing collection, affords rapid electronic access to thousands of additional documents, and provides quiet, comfortable study spaces for individuals and groups.

Saint Paul College of Law
1937

As William Mitchell celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2000, then-President and Dean Harry J. Haynsworth noted that “the building blocks for effective education in the next century are in place.” Today, the college continues its tradition of academic excellence and access to legal education that combines theory, practical skills, professional ethics, and public service.