Minnesota Law -- Anyone?

[wtracing]

I do not read much about Minnesota on this board and prior posts leave a lot to be desired as well. Any current students? I am from the midwest and I am interested in Minneapolis as a future place of employment as well as Chicago, Dallas, and DC. How is placement in these areas? Any other general info about the school? I think I am a reach for MN but definitely interested. Thanks!

[annarborite]

I won't pretend to be an expert about MN at all...but there is a ton of information on their website about the programs they offer, and life in MN in general.  They do offer a TON of clinical programs, which was my initial attraction to the school. 

I think the conventional wisdom is that Minn is an excellent school if you want to practice in Minneapolis.  You might be competitive in some of the other Midwest markets, but I'm not totally sure about D.C. 

IMO, you can be competititve anywhere if (1) you went to a good school, (2) you got good grades there, and (3) you are willing to market yourself.  I do realize, however, that it is more difficult for students coming from schools that don't have alumnus in the market. 

[remiz22]

UMN has an odd looking law school building

[Tyler]

I'm an UG at one of the surrounding private schools. From what I do know about the UMN law program compared to others is probably what you'd expect.  Top grads from any of the local law schools are competitive locally for job placement. The difference is that more opportunities for moving out of the midwest will present themselves to the top grads of UMN whereas top graduates from the other area school may have trouble carrying their degrees to other large cities throughout the country.

Other than that, The UMN campus is great. A real college feel with something for everyone.  As others have said, though, the aesthetics of the law building leave something to be desired haha. They do have an impressive law library, though.

If you value experience, the UoM can offer anything you'd want.  Hockey is king here. You could spend 500$ a ticket if you wanted to.  A new football stadium is being built currently that's right on campus in between the hockey rinks, baseball fields and basketball arena. The school attracts big name performers for students and the local music scene is on par.  Minneapolis and St. Paul are just a few minutes away with all that you'd expect.

Dorsey and Whitney is based here, I believe the have have 19 national offices. There are also several other relatively large firms that bring in plenty of money. If you want to be a defense attorney, there's always the Vikings, Twins, Wild and Timberwolves    If you want corporate, MSP is alive and well with potential employers. Target, Best Buy, 3M, Ecolab, Land-o-Lakes, General Mills, Ameriprise Financial, US Bancorp, Toro, Northwest Airlines, Medtronic, and Polaris are all based here.  Wells Fargo also has a huge presence here and there's also the world famous Mayo Clinic about an hour south of the cities.

Hope this helps although I know there isn't much about the actual law program!

[Talk Is Cheap]

Don't forget Cargill.

[hawvaad2008]

It's a top twenty school.  If you want out of Minneapolis it still leaves you with options.  In-state tuition makes it a no-brainer if you're not top 14 material. 

[Tetris]

According to statistics, slightly over 60% of UMN graduates stay in the upper midwest area. Another 10% or so end up slightly to the east (Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana area). So that means about a quarter of the graduates end up in states that are not Minnesota or immediately surrounding Minnesota.

[Tyler]

What are your numbers laker? Where did you, are you going for UG?

[vercingetorix]

It's a top twenty school.  If you want out of Minneapolis it still leaves you with options.  In-state tuition makes it a no-brainer if you're not top 14 material. 

TITCR
oh and Minneapolis is an incredible town with an amazing QOL.