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About Leondra Hanson

Leondra Hanson joined the Hamline faculty in 2008 after several years teaching and practicing law in the Twin Cities. She earned her BA from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and her JD from the University of Minnesota. Professor Hanson’s scholarly and professional work focuses on access to justice, expansion of legal services, the role of jurors and juries, and legal education and assessment.
Professor Hanson directed the paralegal program at Hamline for several years and has been an active member of the American Association for Paralegal Education. From 2010-2012, she served as the Hamline University Director of Learning Outcomes Assessment, overseeing the curriculum assessment strategies across all schools and disciplines.

Currently, Professor Hanson is the Director of Hamline University’s Center for Justice and Law which works to advance justice by developing creative, concrete, and equitable solutions to legal issues and policy concerns through teaching, research, and active collaboration with community partners and policy makers. Professor Hanson also serves on the Minnesota State Bar Association Alternative Legal Models Task Force.

In her law practice, Professor Hanson has represented plaintiffs and defendants in civil litigation in a wide range of legal matters including sexual assault and harassment, premises liability, professional liability, and housing and employment discrimination. Her work as a trial attorney led to her interest in the role of juries in the legal system and the expectations of jurors.

Positions

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Present Director, Center for Justice and Law, Hamline University
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2016 Member, Minnesota State Bar Association ‐ Alternative Legal Models Task Force
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2010 - 2014 Affiliate Professor, Women's Studies Department, Hamline University ‐ College of Liberal Arts
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2009 - 2014 Paralegal Program Director, Hamline University
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2011 - 2013 University Director of Assessment, Hamline University
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2006 - 2008 Faculty/Legal Program Coordinator, Minnesota School of Business - Plymouth
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2004 - 2008 Attorney and Training Consultant, Leondra M. Hanson, Esq.
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1999 - 2004 Attorney, Rider Bennett, LLP
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2000 Admitted to Federal Court, District of Minnesota
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1998 - 1999 Law Clerk, Rider Bennett, LLP
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1999 Admitted to Practice Law, State of Minnesota
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1999 Admitted to Practice Law (Inactive Status), State of Montana
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1997 - 1998 Law Clerk, Hennepin County Attorney's Office ‐ Adult Services Division
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1994 - 1996 Paralegal, Miller, Norman and Associate, Ltd.
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Disciplines

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Courses

  • Legal Systems in American Society, Hamline University
  • Legal Research and Writing, Hamline University
  • Real Property, Hamline University
  • Legal Studies Senior Seminar, Hamline University
  • Legal Studies Senior Seminar: Access to Justice, Hamline University
  • Post-Baccalaureate Introduction to Law, Hamline University
  • Law in the Lives of Women, Hamline University
  • First Year Seminar: Fluke or System Failure? American Law and the West Memphis Three, Hamline University
  • First Year Seminar: Juries and the Jury System: You Be the Judge, Hamline University
  • Real Estate, Law Office Procedures and Technology, Litigation, Legal Research, Legal Writing, Family Law, Introduction to Law, Torts, Administrative Law, Ethics, American Legal Systems, Health Care Law and Ethics, University of Phoenix
  • Criminal Justice Policy, University of Phoenix
  • Interpersonal Communication in Criminal Justice, University of Phoenix

Education

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1999 J.D., University of Minnesota Law School
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1995 B.A. Political Science, Concordia College - Moorhead
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