Congratulations to the 75 new lawyers granted admission to the Minnesota bar during a series of swearing-in ceremonies held in the Supreme Court Chambers at the Minnesota State Capitol Building on May 10. Chief Justice Lorie Gildea presided over the four morning sessions and was joined on the bench by Justice G. Barry Anderson, Justice David Lillehaug, Justice Natalie Hudson, Justice Anne McKeig, and Justice Paul Thissen.
The ceremony featured an address by Justice Hudson, who recounted her own experience as a newly admitted lawyer helping a pro se petitioner, and the gravity she felt with that new responsibility. John Koneck, board member of the Minnesota Board of Law Examiners (MBLE), and Emily Eschweiler, director of MBLE, introduced the new lawyers to the Court, Chief Justice Gildea administered the oath, and MSBA President Paul Godfrey welcomed them to the Minnesota legal community.
Chief Justice Gildea—who initiated a return of the admissions ceremony to the Supreme Court Chambers in a trial run last spring—welcomed the new admittees to “one of the most beautiful rooms, in one of the most beautiful buildings, in the country.” (For many years, the swearing-in ceremonies had been held at St. Paul’s RiverCentre.) Chief Justice Gildea also reinstated the signing of the Minnesota attorneys roll book as a part of the new lawyers’ admission experience. This practice dates back to 1858, the year that Minnesota gained statehood.