Jeffrey Hassan

Jeffrey Hassan graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1973 and entered the University of Minnesota Law School that same year. In 1973, there were only twelve Black lawyers practicing in Minnesota, none of whom he knew. While in law school, Hassan helped establish the Third World Caucus, made up of black and brown students of color.   

In 1976, Hassan started his own general practice law firm in St. Paul and was outside counsel to the Minnesota State Department of Human Rights. He litigated the landmark sexual discrimination case of State of Minnesota v. Continental Can, which established employer liability for co-worker sexual harassment.  

In 1983, Hassan was a co-founder of the Minnesota Minority Lawyers Association (MMLA),and a member of the MMLA committee organized by its president, Marvin Anderson, to promote Michael Davis and Pamela Alexander’s candidacy for the Hennepin County bench. In 1984, Hassan became MMLA’s second president and co-chaired the Minnesota State Bar Association Task Force on Minority Hiring in Private Law Firms, which exposed the hiring disparity of Black lawyers in majority law firms. Following Hassan’s leadership, minority hiring with private majority law firms went from less than 1% of Black lawyers practicing with majority law firms to over 15%.  

In 1985, Hassan and Larry Reed formed the law firm Hassan & Reed, Ltd.  Future Ramsey County District Judge James H. Clark, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison would later join the firm as Of Counsel.   Hassan and Reed litigated a number of police use of excess force cases against the Minneapolis Police Department, including the case of 72-year-old Lloyd Smalley and 73-year-old Lillian Weiss, who died in a fire caused by Minneapolis police during a botched drug raid.

In 1991, Hassan moved to the Washington, D.C., area and became a partner at the law firm of Jordan & Keys, LLP, where he represented Howard University, State Farm Insurance, and the Health Industry Manufacturers Association (HIMA), among other clients. He returned to Hassan & Reed, Ltd. in 1998, resuming his Minnesota law practice, representing Minneapolis Public Schools, Harvest Preparatory Academy, and Best Academy charter schools. 

He has written several books and publications on the African American experience in Minnesota. In 2015, he co-authored the book Best in Class, chronicling the performance of Best Academy, the high-performing charter school for African American children that exceeded Minnesota statewide standards in math and reading. That same year, he retired from active legal practice and became the executive director of the African American Leadership Forum (AALF), where he authored Crisis in Our Community on Minnesota African American educational disparities and African American Financial Capabilities on the economic condition of Black people in Minnesota.  In 2023, he co-authored the book entitled Macalester College’s Expanded Educational Opportunities (EEO) Program:  A Story of Success on the 50^th Anniversary of the First Graduates of the Program.