www.wmitchell.eduEngaged and Accessible Faculty
Mitchell professors are rooted in the real world of legal, judicial, and legislative practice. They’ve served on the bench as well as had careers at firms of all sizes and in public service, government, and corporations. They are pioneers in areas such as elder law, family law, and intellectual property. But what we hear most about our faculty is that they care about students. You’ll find faculty having lunch with students and meeting with students after class. They view students as their future colleagues.
» The William Mitchell Faculty Scholars, practitioners, pioneers
Writing & Representation: Advice & Persuasion
William Mitchell has always had a mission of training lawyers—not simply legal thinkers. That’s why our Writing & Representation: Advice & Persuasion (WRAP) course has attained a national reputation. WRAP teaches more than a mastery of legal research and writing.
A first-year requirement, WRAP emphasizes client interviewing and counseling, contract negotiation, and dispute mediation in addition to pretrial litigation. WRAP also includes a mentorship component in which students meet weekly in small groups of 12 with adjunct professors who are practicing attorneys. You’ll engage in writing, analysis, interviewing and counseling clients, and negotiation exercises, including role play and simulation.
» Writing & Representation: Advice & Persuasion (WRAP)
“William Mitchell gave me a real hands on, practical approach to the study and practice of law. Between taking clinics on mental health law, immigration law, and Legal Aid for Minnesota Prisoners, working full time at the Washington County Public Defender’s Office while going to Mitchell at night, and my regular classes, I felt like I was ready to practice law when I graduated.”
Jessie Nicholson ’85
CEO, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services
Real Cases. Real Clients. Real-Life Experience.
Clinics offer upper-level students the opportunity to represent clients, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations that otherwise could not afford an attorney. Our clinics are designed to encourage public service and guarantee learning through experience. Mitchell’s clinical program, ranked in the top 25 nationally, was one of the first established at a U.S. law school more than 35 years ago.
When you enroll in a clinic, you meet and advise a client, prepare documents, negotiate with an opposing attorney, or possibly argue the case in court. Whatever your area of interest, the experience you’ll gain from our clinical program will help you develop professional judgment, confidence in your advocacy and counseling skills, and an understanding of the critical role justice plays in our democracy.
» Rosalie Wahl Legal Practice Center
“Possibly the most valuable experience I had in my clinics was my interaction with clients. Clients change everything. You forget when you’re immersed in your thousand-page textbooks that each of the cases involves real people—people who may have inconvenient schedules, unreasonable demands, and unshakable opinions about the case.You forget that factual information doesn’t come in neat little packages from articulate speakers who know what the law considers relevant.
And you forget that what is for you an intriguing intellectual problem may actually be an emotional minefield for those involved. Clients will forcefully remind you of these things, in a way that might not always be enjoyable, but that will certainly be educational.”
Joy Reopelle Anderson ’07
Associate, Gray Plant Mooty, Minneapolis
2010–11 Admissions Materials
Viewbook Financial Aid Checklist