Statistical Long-Shots

By: Sean Smallwood & Robert Rohloff*

In 1999, eleven law professors varying in background and experiences came together to create something new that had rarely been done before—a law school. By all accounts, this was a statistical long-shot from the beginning. We mean this in the best way possible. Attempting to attract young legal talent in a local market of respected schools was a feat few expected these faculty members to accomplish. Yet these faculty knew that this community had the potential to be something special, and they were right. 

Through good favor, exceptional faculty, and a little luck, we write this inaugural blog post to signify another step (although microscopic in comparison to many who came before us) in establishing the University of St. Thomas Law School as a force in the legal community. 

A special thank you to those original faculty and leaders of the St. Thomas Law School listed below. The first four remain at the law school to this day. 

• Thomas Berg
• Jerome Organ
• Elizabeth Schiltz
• Neil Hamilton
• Ed Edmonds
• Patrick Schiltz
• Dave Link 
• Michael O’Connor
• Celia Rumann
• Ursula Weigold
• Reginald Whitt 

Since its humble beginnings, the law school has grown from a “long-shot” to now providing a community for other statistical long-shots. It was through the University’s investment in its students that the St. Thomas Law Journal is now led by two students who embody the stories of those who “traditionally” would have struggled to attend law school. 

It is no secret that law school was traditionally made for a certain group of people. However, this has begun to change. Since 2011, the percentages of women and students of color in law schools have increased significantly.^[1] And while we recognize that this is a positive change, we also know that law schools have a long way to go in terms of making sure that students from diverse backgrounds feel that they belong and are valued in our community.

Getting to law school, in and of itself, is a statistical long-shot. This rings true for both of us as well. We are both from small towns, neither of which are bigger than the size of the University of St. Thomas student population. Neither of us had lawyers in our family. In some cases, our own personal identities may have been an obstacle for us to see ourselves in the legal profession. Even then, we decided to attend law school in the middle of a global pandemic. Our experiences are filled with themes of grit and resilience, but also growth and compassion. And we know we only represent two of a myriad of stories that can relate to these experiences. Many others at this institution have experienced significant hardships, some much more than us. They represent different perspectives and come from several traditionally marginalized communities. Our diverse experiences make the St. Thomas Law, and broader legal community, better and more adept to meet the challenges of our time. 

So it seems fitting that we—as the current Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor—should help welcome the St. Thomas Law community and others to the launch of this Journal’s blog series. These blog posts are intended to (1) continue the many academic, legal, and personal conversations we all experience as members of this community; (2) bring together the diverse perspectives of our faculty and students on emerging legal issues; and (3) make writing “about the law” accessible, and maybe a little fun for our authors. And, eventually, we hope that others—students and faculty alike—will feel compelled to submit their blog posts for consideration to our Journal to contribute to the conversation, challenge the legal profession, and wrestle with hard questions. It is up to us to ensure that the idea of a “statistical long-shot” is a thing of the past. 

As a final note—we would also like to honor our current faculty who have shown us the impact we can have by living out the Simple Gospel in our legal careers. May this only be the beginning of the impact St. Thomas School of Law has on the world.

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* Sean Smallwood, J.D. Candidate, University of St. Thomas School of Law Class of 2023, Editor-in-Chief of the St. Thomas Law Journal; Robert Rohloff, J.D. Candidate, University of St. Thomas School of Law Class of 2023, Managing Editor of the St. Thomas Law Journal.

^[1] See, e.g., Miranda Li, Phillip Yao & Goodwin Liu, Who’s Going to Law School? Trends in Law School Enrollment Since the Great Recession, 54 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 613, 617 (2020), https://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/54/2/articles/files/54-2_Li_Yao_Liu.pdf.