Mitchell-Hamline merger ‘A bold move’

Barbara L. Jones//February 19, 2015//

Barbara L. Jones//February 19, 2015//

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Linda Hanson, president of Hamline University, Robert Klas, Jr., chair of the Hamline University Board of Trustees, and Daniel O’Keefe, chair of the William Mitchell College of Law Board of Trustees, sign the documents that will merge the two law schools. (Submitted photo)

Decision made out of opportunity, not necessity, dean says

The announcement of a merger between two law schools last week was both a surprise and not a surprise. Very few people in the legal community expected the announcement just then, on February 13, but on the other hand, rumors of a merger or a closing had been drifting around for quite a while.

“Apparently the conversation had been going on for 16 years,” said Alex Beeby, student body president at Hamline University School of Law, which will merge with William Mitchell College of Law if the ABA approves. A second-year student, he will be in the first graduating class of the new school, which will be called Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

“This is a bold move,” Dr. Linda Hanson, president of Hamline University, said when the merger was announced. “The ABA has been pushing for changes in legal education. This is bold and transformational.”

That turned out to be an understatement. It is actually the first merger of law schools in this country, well, ever. There have been acquisitions of schools by universities but not a merger like this, said Barry Currier, managing director of the American Bar Association’s Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar.

He explained that the ABA will have to approve the merger because it is a “major change” for the institutions, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education. The ABA will have to determine that the change will not detract from or interfere with the law school’s ability to operate its legal program according to ABA standards, Currier said. The new law school must present a “reliable plan” for going forward and making sure that the accreditations of the prior law schools continue, Currier added.

Money talks

It’s old news to say that law schools have been hit hard by the economic downturn.

The former dean of Hamline, Don Lewis, was quoted as saying that declining enrollment forces the schools to offer scholarships and reduced tuition, which decreases revenue. At the same time, he said, the costs stay the same because the faculty is tenured. “It’s hard to bring things into alignment,” he said in MinnPost.

A declining enrollment at both schools certainly is not irrelevant to the merger decision, said Eric Janus, dean of William Mitchell College of Law. That said, he insists, as do his counterparts at Hamline, that the merger is the result of “conversations based on opportunity, not necessity.” Having an appropriately sized student body will allow the schools to serve their missions more fully, he said. While there may be too many law school seats for the market right now, “we can provide more options in our style of education,” he said. Dr. Linda Hanson, president of Hamline University, said that the university would have a law school whether or not the merger had occurred.

It’s no shame to say that law schools are under economic stress. It is happening all over the country and may continue for some time.

University of St. Thomas Professor Jerry Organ said in an email to Minnesota Lawyer, “The challenging enrollment situation is putting financial pressure on other law schools as well, so it is possible that this is the first of other mergers or possibly closings of law schools (if a university decides it is no longer willing to subsidize a law school that has become a financial drain).”

Dean David Wippman of the University of Minnesota Law School was reticent on the subject of the merger. He said in an email, “The merger is an innovative response to a difficult climate for legal education. Because the University of Minnesota Law School competes in a national market, the merger is unlikely to have a major impact on us.”

Organ is engaged in research about transparency in financial aspects of the decision to attend law school — addressing both scholarship programs for students and employment and salary data of graduates. He said, “I don’t know anything specific about the financial situations of these two law schools. All I know is that both Hamline and Mitchell were among the 14 law schools that had seen first-year enrollment decline 50 percent or more between 2010 and 2014.”

(See chart for ABA statistics on fall 2014 law school enrollment.)

Whither Dean Holloway?

After the merger was announced, the schools started getting some snippy press. One blog said two lower-tier law schools were merging to become one lower-tier law school. Another called it a “survival move.”

But Beeby said the move just makes sense. His is the smallest class the law school has ever seen, he said. But now he feels that the school has turned a corner. “I’m very optimistic,” he said.

The students will have access to a much wider curriculum plus attendant options, Janus said. Hamline offers full-time and part-time J.D. programs, master’s degrees, dual degrees, and several certificate programs. Its Dispute Resolution Institute and its Health Law Institute have received national recognition. William Mitchell has offered clinical programs for 30 years. It now offers 13 clinics, 17 externships, 11 simulation courses and seven advanced classes in specific areas, particularly intellectual property. The merger will create strong school for the future, Janus said.

Robert Vischer, dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law, said he is more bullish on legal education than he has been in the past. He said job numbers are picking up and the school is making inroads where the growth is, which is at the intersection of law and business.

St. Thomas is the newest law school in the state, and when it was started there was controversy over whether the state could support four law schools. Vischer said that many students come here from out of state, and it was the economic downturn in the legal market that put the stress on schools.

Training students who are practice-ready is important, Vischer said, but he wants to look at the broader picture. “Aim higher. Train for the real world and aim for a better world,” he said. “Our priorities are top faculty and an unbeatable student experience.”

There is one mystery about the merger, and that is the future of Hamline School of Law Dean Jean Holloway, who has only been at the school since Jan. 6, 2014. She said that during that time, she has focused on working with Janus and organizing the integration. At the time the merger was announced she said she hoped to stay affiliated with Hamline but it was uncertain. Hamline President Dr. Linda Hanson said “She’s done a remarkable job. We would never be here without her.” But on Feb. 18, staff at her office said she was out for the rest of the week.

The dean of Mitchell/Hamline will be Mark Gordon, who was hired by Mitchell before the merger was announced. Janus will take a sabbatical and then return to the classroom.

Beeby said that when Holloway arrived at the school he asked her very pointed questions. He said that she denied that the school was closing but “equivocated” on the merger. But, he said, “I am very confident this was not her plan coming in and she is dedicated to the student body.”

Beeby said he would be a student representative involved in the transition, which is important to the student body. He also said that he is looking forward to sharing an important Hamline custom — the Thursday night bar review.