Our mission stands out among American law schools, committing us to educate the whole person by integrating “faith and reason in the search for truth through a focus on morality and social justice.” This mission does not allow us to retreat from the world’s tumult and trouble; as a community, we are called to lean into the pain and align our gifts with the world’s needs.
This means that legal education at St. Thomas will be deeply relational, practical and forward-looking. Whether the subject is attorney well-being, criminal justice reform, the centrality of mentoring, organizational leadership, restorative justice practices, or professional identity formation, we do not aim to replicate what might have worked 20 years ago; we aim to develop what our world will need tomorrow.
Comparison Points
| Yale | 93.6% | |
| Harvard | 92.9% | |
| Stanford | 92.9% | |
| University of Minnesota | 92.5% | |
| St. Thomas | 92.3% | |
| Notre Dame | 89.7% | |
| Mitchell-Hamline | 60.0% |
The success of our efforts to meet the world’s needs is reflected, in part, by how eager employers are to hire our graduates. Law schools recently published their employment outcomes for the Class of 2021, and 92.3% of St. Thomas graduates secured full-time, long-term positions for which a J.D. is either required or preferred.
Our distinctive mission can never be an excuse for anything short of excellence. If we want to have a meaningful impact on our world, a St. Thomas legal education has to be as good as, or better than, the education offered by every other law school. We are making remarkable progress toward that goal. That shouldn’t be a surprise. When you prepare students to meet tomorrow’s challenges, the world notices.
Please note, when you read this, I will have transitioned to serving as interim president of our university. Joel Nichols will have stepped in as interim dean, and Lisa Schiltz as interim associate dean for academic affairs. They are both highly capable, mission-centered leaders. The future of St. Thomas Law is bright, and our path forward will continue to be marked by excellence.
This letter from School of Law Dean Robert Vischer ran in the summer 2022 issue of St. Thomas Lawyer.
