Accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), it offered full- and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor (J.D.)
][citation needed] William Mitchell's first predecessor, the St. Paul College of Law, was founded in 1900 by five attorneys in Ramsey County.
Classes were originally held in the top floor of the former Ramsey County Courthouse, which had stood at Fourth and Wabasha Streets before being torn down.
[16] That building, also long since torn down, was located in the middle of the current Kellogg Boulevard, just south of the entrance to the Minnesota History Center.
[17] Others were Minnesota Supreme Court Justices George Bunn and Oscar Hallam, both of whom served as deans of the law school while on the bench.
When the University of Minnesota began to consider discontinuing its part-time evening program in 1912, Young sensed an opportunity and stepped into the breach to provide a similar service.
"[19] Hervey intimated to the Minneapolis-Minnesota Trustees that he could ensure ABA approval so long as the school agreed to merge with the St. Paul College of Law.
[20] Conversely, Hervey hinted to the St. Paul Trustees that their school could lose ABA approval if they didn't agree to move forward with the merger.
The consolidated Board of Trustees selected the name to honor the St. Paul school's unofficial "first" dean, William B. Mitchell, who had been widely regarded as one of the finest U.S. jurists of the late nineteenth century.
The school reached an agreement with the University of St. Thomas to purchase land and construct its own building on the latter's undergraduate campus, located at 2100 Summit Avenue.
In 1990, the school completed work on its campus additions, which included a new classroom building and the Warren E. Burger Law Library.
The library houses WMCL's collection of nearly a half-million volumes, affords electronic access to thousands of additional documents, and provides extensive study space.
In 2000, to celebrate its one hundred years of legal education, Governor Jesse Ventura declared November 19–25 "William Mitchell Centennial Week" throughout the state.
Later, William Mitchell became one of two law schools in the country that refused to let military recruiters on campus in protest against the Solomon Amendment.
[26] William Mitchell's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 19.1%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 who are unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.
It focuses on legal research, reasoning, and writing, while providing a broad overview of critical skills like client interviewing and counseling, contract negotiation and drafting, dispute mediation, and pretrial litigation.
Students interview clients, conduct depositions, prepare pleadings and motions, compose memoranda, and draft various transactional documents.
The Intellectual Property Institute advances the school's IP program, which features a curriculum focused on patent, trademark, and copyright law.
The clinical programs are designed to offer hands-on experience in practicing law, as well as convey the importance of public service.
Through research, policy development and analysis, technical assistance and consulting, the center aims to help lawmakers, nonprofit organizations, advocates, and health professionals address tobacco-related legal issues.
William Mitchell's most famous alumnus is Warren E. Burger, the fifteenth Chief Justice of the United States (graduated St. Paul College of Law, LL.B.