William Mitchell and Hamline Combining

Cribbing now from today's press release at the new Mitchell|Hamline School of Law website:

Two law schools that have shaped Minnesota’s legal landscape for more than a combined 154 years, Hamline University School of Law and William Mitchell College of Law, have announced plans to combine, creating the top law school in the Midwest for students seeking a rigorous, practical, and problem-solving approach to legal education.

 The combined school will be named Mitchell|Hamline School of Law and will be located primarily on William Mitchell’s existing campus in Saint Paul. Mitchell|Hamline School of Law will be an autonomous, non-profit institution governed by an independent board of trustees, with a strong, visible and long-lasting affiliation to Hamline University.

 The combination will occur following acquiescence by the American Bar Association.  Until then, the two schools will continue to operate as separate entities.  Once combined, the law school will offer expanded benefits for its students, including three nationally-ranked programs: alternative dispute resolution, clinical education, and health law; an array of dual degree programs, and an alumni network of more than 18,000, making it the largest law alumni network in Minnesota.

 The Mitchell|Hamline School of Law will offer more enrollment options than any other school in the country, including full-time, weekend, and part-time programs, as well as a hybrid, on-campus/online JD option. In addition, students will be able to earn dual degrees through the school’s affiliation with Hamline University, and they will have access to Hamline’s athletic facilities, library and cultural programs.  

 “This move brings the best of each existing school together and is a win for Hamline, for William Mitchell, for the legal community both regionally and nationally, for alumni, and most of all, for all of our students,” said Dr. Linda Hanson, president of Hamline University, “This combination is an example of the innovative leadership shown by the board chairs of both institutions, Bob Klas, Jr. and Dan O’Keefe. We expect the process to move forward as expeditiously as it can for the benefit of our students, faculty and staff.”

William Mitchell has more details here.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has the story here.

The Mitchell|Hamline School of Law website has details on the timing of the merger and the mechanics of the new school.  They report:

• Mitchell|Hamline will be primarily located on William Mitchell’s existing campus at 875 Summit Ave. in St. Paul.
• The combined law school will operate as an autonomous, non-profit institution governed by an independent board of trustees.
• Mitchell|Hamline will include faculty, staff, and programs from both William Mitchell and Hamline Law.
• It will be led by President and Dean Mark C. Gordon, who joins the school July 1, 2015.
• The official combination of the two programs will not occur until there is ABA approval for Mitchell|Hamline. In the meantime, both Hamline and Mitchell will continue unchanged as ABA-approved law schools.

There is also a guide for current students, which addresses questions like how will the merger affect course offerings, scholarships, and ABA accreditation.

Comments

[AnonProf]

Hope they can come up with a better name eventually.

[anon]

For all the resistance to the obvious we have seen here in the FL, it is now more or less beyond dispute that the vast majority of interested persons reject the views of those who view legal academia as a "knowledge generation" enterprise that embraces every subject that a traditional university has and should continue to relegate to other departments.

This press release, in the FIRST PARAGRAPH, states that the new entity will offer a "rigorous, practical, and problem-solving approach to legal education." The rest of the release is consistent.

[Anon]

I think two shorter names are leading candidates:

MitLine Law

HamHell Law

Which should we do?

[nil]

"For all the resistance to the obvious we have seen here in the FL, it is now more or less beyond dispute that the vast majority of interested persons reject the views of those who view legal academia as a "knowledge generation" enterprise that embraces every subject that a traditional university has and should continue to relegate to other departments.

This press release, in the FIRST PARAGRAPH, states that the new entity will offer a "rigorous, practical, and problem-solving approach to legal education." The rest of the release is consistent."

I don't know how much I would make of that--William Mitchell has always been a stand-alone institution that emphasizes practical training. Since Williline will also be stand-alone, one gets the impression that it is less a merger than a buyout of Hamline by WM, so makes sense that the mission would also be practical-practice oriented.

[Ted]

I certainly hope that the ABA opposed this move. Law schools exist not only for themselves but are members of a community. It is essentially that those in the community who are affected by this move have a chance to be heard. As someone who worked very hard to help the law school in our community to blossom and become an important economic engine, I would be deeply disappointed if it closed.

I think all faculty who read this blog (and especially the junior faculty who let's say it frankly will be "merged" out in this kind of merger) should resolve that they begin to market their law school and the great career that law is too as many undergraduates as possible. Administrators should resolve to develop new pathways into laws. It is not to late to turn this year around. Marketing and developing a clientele is the responsibility of everyone.

[confused by your post]

Sad news. Many good faculty members will lose their jobs due to the merger.

[[M][@][(][K]]

I think this needs to be seen as the pattern for the first round of law school closures - they will simply merge one school into extinction - while, for reasons of saving face at the parent institutions call it a merger. That this was inevitable can be gleaned from the numbers - the combined first year enrolment of both law schools was 584 in 2010, it was 259 last fall - that is a 56% drop, more than half - more than one law school of enrolment has just vanished. The schools are both in St Paul - a few miles apart.

I think this pattern will be followed at a number of other schools that are a short distance apart, in cities such as Philadelphia, New York, Boston, San Francisco, etc.

The free standing law schools, like the ever egregious New England School of Law will last longer, if only to allow Dean O'Brien to continue to collect his quite astonishing paycheque and benefits package. He has no University president to say - uhh John, you know, ummm perhaps, well....

[anon]

M

Good point. This "merger" is quite obviously the closing of one of the schools. This is underlined by this "answer" to a frequently asked question: "The combined school will be located primarily on Wiliam [sic] Mitchell’s current campus in Saint Paul."

In other words, the law school will operate primarily on one campus now, and probably one campus in the future.

[Anonymouse]

These faculty members sacrificed millions of dollars by leaving private practice in order to perform the public service of teaching and research. Some of these selfless individuals never practiced law at all. At least they can now resume making their fortunes.

[anon123]

Ted, the ABA should support this move. As to law schools being an economic force in a community, to the extent that means taking money from kids with low LSATs (who have minimal chance to pass the bar) to redistribute, that is morally wrong. A merger will allow all present students to graduate, and in this case, the combined school is in the same city as both predecessor schools. I do think that ABA should ask senior professors to consider reducing hours and pay to "save" junior faculty, but is clear that there will be cuts.

[just wondering]

I would assume without knowing that those who had been tenured in their former institutions would not necessarily have tenure in this new institution, so tenured faculty might also no longer have positions at the new institution.

[AnonProf]

Wonder how many faculty members will lose their jobs. Not sure if the ABA will allow the firing of tenured faculty. If I were untenured at one of these two schools, I would be very afraid.

[ATLprof]

I sincerely doubt the ABA/Council would do anything directly about the firing of tenured faculty. First, looking like it served as a body to protect faculty interests is what got the ABA/Council in antitrust trouble with the DOJ in the first place. Second, I believe there are at least two distinct interests groups within the ABA/Council who would like to be able to fire tenured professors

[VisitingProf]

In truth, very few tenured faculty members will lose jobs. Most of the small reduction in force will result from additional retirements from both faculties. Naysaying is in vogue in the legal education world, but this combination results not from the "closure" of one school or the other but from a long-discussed set of synergies between the programs. This combination will result in a very strong and healthy school and will benefit students and the legal market in the upper midwest.

[Just saying...]

VisitingProf: "This combination will result in a very strong and healthy school and will benefit students and the legal market in the upper midwest."

A school that will still be low-ranked.

[[M][@][c][K]]

VisitingProf -

I cannot see how reconcile "very few tenured faculty members will lose jobs. Most of the small reduction in force will result from additional retirements from both faculties" and the law school will remain "strong and healthy."

In 2013-14, Hamline had 439 students, while William Mitchell had 809. Total: 1,248 - the announced student headcount at the combined schools is "around 900" which seems high since the combined 1st year enrolment of both schools was 259 in 2014 - which means (allowing for 10-15% dropout rates) around 710 students going forward (90% of 777.) The combined schools will have about 55% of the enrolled students they both had 4 years ago! And many more will be getting tuition assistance.

This leads to a basic question - if the bulk of the operating cost of a law school is tenured faculty salaries, how does the combine school operate with a tenured faculty designed for 1,250 students paying tuition, when it has only around 700? Where will the money come from (and inter alia, how will the school fund the early retirements you expect?)

It seems to me that payroll will need to be cut by half in the new law school - there really is only one way to do this (talk of administrative bloat notwithstanding.)

[[M][@][c][K]]

VisitingProf -

I cannot see how reconcile the ideas that "very few tenured faculty members will lose jobs. Most of the small reduction in force will result from additional retirements from both faculties" with the law school will remain "strong and healthy."

In 2013-14, Hamline had 439 students, while William Mitchell had 809. Total: 1,248. The announced student headcount at the combined schools is "around 900" which seems high since the combined 1st year enrolment of both schools was 259 in 2014 (but it may include less depleted earlier enrolments. 259 1st years means (allowing for 10-15% dropout rates) around 710 students going forward (90% of 777.) The combined schools will have about 55% of the enrolled students they both had 4 years ago! And many more will be getting tuition assistance.

This leads to a basic question - if the bulk of the operating cost of a law school is tenured faculty salaries, how does the combined school operate with a tenured faculty designed for 1,250 students paying tuition, when it has only around 700? Where will the money come from (and inter alia, how will the school fund the early retirements you expect?)

It seems to me that payroll will need to be cut by half in the new law school - there really is only one way to do this (talk of administrative bloat notwithstanding.)

[BradSmith]

How about "Haymitch," like in the Hunger Games? Good demographic appeal.