Talk:University of Minnesota Law School/Archive 1

Nice job so far
My compliments to the previous editors. I didn't realize this page had already been created, and I'm happy to see that so much of what characterizes the UMN Law School has been included. I've done my best to give the article a little bit better organization, as well as include some more details. I have added a picture of the hockey team, I have many more pictures available on my old HD which I will happily put under a creative commons atribution license for this page. A number of my old photos are actually now used by both of the official websites cited at the bottom. Bobak 01:45, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Added new pictures yesterday, added a wicked info box today (I made it from the already existing university info box, but adapted the problematic law school info box used for a few CA law schools). Bobak 01:26, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Reasons for changes (12/28/06):
Since it was asked, here is point-by-point reasoning (working from the top down on this edit I am changing): Those are the reasons for the changes here. Please make any comments/questions below. --Bobak 18:33, 28 December 2006 (UTC)
 * "Law Library" is the proper name of this library. It can be capitalized and wikilinked to a generic article.  No sufficient reasons have been offered otherwise, I have restored.
 * "Second year J.D students are required to participate in either a moot court or legal journal." is 100% accurate and not in the least bit controversial. It was re-added.
 * "established" means they have existed for more than a few years. Is this controversial?
 * "(the 14th most cited legal journal)" is a fact with citation. It was re-added.
 * Alumni related facts that are already sourced by the bottom links have been given their own in-line links.
 * Alumni list form: Since Wikipedia is about lists, I've cleaned it up --removing a lot of excessive Wikilinks.
 * The "notable faculty" section is lacking in depth and is already halved with the departure of Jim Chen to be the dean of Louisville --leaving one person.


 * Didn't mean to make the changes to the above-listed. page seems good right now.Taco325i 19:22, 28 December 2006 (UTC)
 * I figured there might have been a disconnect on the other stuff. Just wanted to make sure.  It's hard to make more than a few changes and make the notes in the tiny edit summary bar. --Bobak 19:28, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Questions about article protection
This block constitutes an abuse of administrator privileges. The personal changes at the CPDC and the general opinion of Mondale Hall in the legal community are valid items to include in wikipedia and do not constitute vandalism. Both items are more relevant than the fact that a poker champion earned a j.d from the school and should be allowed to remain in the article. You are abusing your privileges. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.231.197.118 (talk) 23:09, 19 June 2008 (UTC)
 * The minor personnel changes (the people in job placement vs. someone significant like the Dean) fall into NOT. If you feel that something in WP policy defends your position, please cite it.  The uncited goings-on of some jaded alumni and/or current students is not what Wikipedia was designed for.  I have made plenty of warnings about it and since you haven't listened or responded (and I highly doubt this is more than one person, since the various anon IPs have edited each other), I have taken the next appropriate step after plenty of polite warnings. --Bobak (talk) 23:46, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Comparison to William Mitchell
Anyone notice the following from the William Mitchell College of Law wiki page? Should this be deleated or should it be also placed on this wiki page?

"William Mitchell currently lies in the fourth tier of U.S. News and World Report’s law school rankings, having alternated between the third and fourth tier with some regularity since their inception. In spite of this, external evidence suggests that the school and its graduates perform at a higher level. Job placement[5] and employer satisfaction[6] in the region show that William Mitchell is better than another local institution, the University of Minnesota Law School, despite the fact that the latter traditionally ranks in the Top 25. One explanation for the disparity has been WMCL’s independent status and the corresponding lack of name recognition outside the Midwest. Another is the school's extensive use of adjunct faculty to assist with its legal writing and advocacy programs." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.63.235.168 (talk) 04:30, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

I added this section last week, however, I did NOT state that William Mitchell was better than the University of Minnesota. I stated that it "compares favorably." I think that another user is trolling the WMCL page and causing mischief. If you look at previous versions, you'll see what I'm talking about. I plan to revert it back to the old form right now. Adanielch (talk) 13:03, 9 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Sounds like mischief. This article isn't going to be comparing itself to other law schools, beyond noting its own rank, going beyond that never comes off right. --Bobak (talk) 17:36, 9 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Should the WMCL page start comparing these schools? This is the first I have seen a top 25 school being compared to a fourth tier school, especially on wikipedia.
 * So long as its not violating a WP like Ad or something similar, there's the wiggle room for an article to make that sort of comparison --whether that's a good idea is another question. I personally thing comparing schools rarely, if ever, works right: it often appears one institution has a chip on its shoulder.  The only example where it might not seem weird is if it were an article on a famous, notable school rivalry; in which case the two schools might be interesting to compare (e.g. UCLA–USC rivalry).  That definitely isn't the case here. --Bobak (talk) 19:19, 12 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Not to worry, everyone; I've already revised the offending language (a general statement is better than a specific one). As to the earlier poster who said it was the first time he'd seen such a comparison, I'd venture that the U of M-WMCL relationship is somewhat unique, particularly in Minnesota and the midwest.  That was all I originally wanted to convey, but can see now that it could've been interpreted the wrong way.  Believe me, I have no desire to take anything away from any academic institution.Adanielch (talk) 15:19, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

US Supreme Court Clerkships
The opening paragraphs says: "The Law School ranks 17th, tied with Cornell Law School, in graduates securing the most coveted United States Supreme Court clerkships in recent years.[8]" and but the footnote is a dead link. From 2005 to 2017, Minnesota has placed two clerks at the US Supreme Court, tied with Cornell, ranked 19th. I added a new section on Supreme Court clerks but did not connect edit the opening paragraph line.