Phi, as well as honors from the law students themselves, including
Graduation Banquet speaker in 2012 and 2019 and Commencement
Hooder from 2012 to present.
He has also remained active in the state’s law community through
SBAND as a member of the Joint Committee on Attorney
Standards, presently serving as committee chair. Since 2011, he
has coordinated and moderated the Vogel Lecture program for the
SBAND Annual Meeting, as well as presented. McGinniss has also
been involved with the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of
North Dakota and SBAND’s District Inquiry Committees through
various trainings, reviews, and discussions of the lawyer discipline
system.
Stepping into the Role of Dean
McGinniss says he believes legal education should focus on the
success and well-being of students in the short-term as well as long-
term impacts, including bar passage and preparation for professional
life. “I strongly embrace the reality that changes in our national and
regional landscape for legal education, and for higher education
generally, will require continued innovation and flexibility in both
the content and delivery of courses, yet always consistent with sound
principles of effective teaching and learning.”
His areas of focus as he steps into the role of dean include restoring
clinical education to the school’s curriculum, while also extending its
reach and service to western North Dakota. In addition, McGinniss
would like to increase support for the school’s Rural Justice Program
and expand field placements to locations across the state. “I also aim
to expand our energy law curriculum, as well as other courses that
will help meet the legal needs of our state, such as additional criminal
and family law electives.”
McGinniss says he will also work closely with the UND Alumni
Association and Foundation to increase merit-based scholarship
endowments. “This will help in recruiting and retaining students
from North Dakota and elsewhere to continue teaching and training
the next generation of North Dakota lawyers and judges.”
Facing the Challenges
While the law school faces many challenges, McGinniss says
the need to recover from the deep and consequential impacts
of significant budget cuts in recent years and a very competitive
environment for recruiting and retaining law students in the region
are at the top of his list. “I intend to approach these challenges
by being a strong and effective advocate for us among all of our
stakeholders about the critical importance of North Dakota’s Law
School to the future of our state and in providing the benefit of legal
assistance and justice for its citizens, and being a servant leader who
builds a positive and rewarding culture at the UND School of Law
that will promote the dedication of each person, student, staff, and
faculty to our common enterprise of excellence in legal education.”
The Future
McGinniss says he has great confidence in the future of the UND
School of Law because of the support the school has consistently
McGinniss joined the
faculty at the School
of Law in 2010.
received. “I have great confidence in the generous and gracious
support we have from our alumni and our bench and bar, who
love UND and are committed to helping us succeed, together, in
overcoming the challenges we face,” he says. “It will require a total
team effort from all who care about the law school and its future, and
I am fully committed to providing the best leadership I can to draw
out the very best from everyone in this worthy endeavor.”
“I am humbled and honored by this opportunity to serve and lead
our UND School of Law,” McGinniss continues. “We are proud of
our culture of caring about students and their success and our strong
bond with the North Dakota legal community. With the help of our
alumni and our bench and bar, we will continue to provide excellence
in legal education for the good of our students and our state.”
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SPRING 2019 13