HealthPartners CEO Andrea Walsh ’88 Delivers Matheson Lecture

More than 100 people were on hand September 19 for a conversation with HealthPartners President and CEO Andrea Walsh ’88 at the 2nd annual Matheson Lecture in Corporate Governance. 

The topic of Walsh’s lecture was “Emerging Stronger: Lessons Learned Since 2020 and Implications for Leadership and Governance.” 

The Matheson lecture series was created with a gift from Dean Matheson ’08 and his spouse Dianato honor Dean’s father, Minnesota Law professor John Matheson, and to highlight the valuable work being done within the Corporate Institute. 

Minnesota Law Again #1 in State for Bar Passage 

On the July 2022 Minnesota bar exam, first-time takers from Minnesota Law achieved a 97% passage rate, the highest of any law school in the state and well above the 88% statewide passage rate on the exam.

Minnesota Law Ranked #18 in the Nation for Moot Court Success 

At the conclusion of this auspicious moot court competition year—which included winning for the first time the Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition—the Law School was ranked 18th overall in a collective ranking system that measures the school’s overall performance at competitions. This is the first time the Law School has cracked the top 20. 

“The Law School’s strategic investment in moot courts, combined with the hard work and dedication of students and their coaches, paid off in so many ways,” says Randall Ryder ’09, assistant professor of appellate advocacy and director of Law in Practice. “Our moot court students develop advanced advocacy skills that allow them to excel as new lawyers and throughout their legal careers.” 

Professor Mitch Zamoff, assistant dean of experiential education, says These accomplishments exemplify our emphasis on students’ developing practical legal skills that will serve them well in practice.” 

Minnesota Law Faculty Preview 2022-23 SCOTUS Term 

To coincide with the first day of the U.S. Supreme Court term, Minnesota Law faculty held a program preview- ing the Court’s docket on Monday, October 3. The expert faculty panelists were Visiting Assistant Professor Elizabeth Bentley (who doubled as moderator), Associate Professor Alan Rozenshtein, Visiting Professor David Schultz ’98, and Associate Clinical Professor Liliana Zaragoza. 

The closely watched cases discussed included potential gamechangers in the areas of affirmative action, election law, federal criminal law, Indian Child Welfare Law, and LGBTQ+ rights. The discussion also included a reflection on the changing make-up of the court with the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer and the addition of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Watch the video of Minnesota Law's U.S. Supreme Court Preview program.)