Jeff H. Eckland

As the President of, and partner at, Eckland & Blando LLP, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with satellite offices located in Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C., Jeff H. Eckland devotes his practice primarily to general business litigation and cases involving state and federal government contracts. During a distinguished legal career spanning four decades, Mr. Eckland has enjoyed a national practice with the vast majority of his cases being litigated outside his home state of Minnesota in over a dozen different states and the District of Columbia, obtained tens of millions of dollars in first chair jury verdicts on behalf of plaintiff clients, successfully obtained defense verdicts on behalf of defendant clients in first chair trials where plaintiffs' counsel unsuccessfully requested tens of millions of dollars from juries, and obtained settlements as the Attorney of Record and first chair in other cases venued in the United States Court of Federal Claims ("COFC") in Washington, D.C., litigated against the United States Government, approaching a total of $1 Billion. In addition to advocating on behalf of his clients in matters ranging from alleged False Claims Act violations to intellectual property disputes to oil spill litigation to agency breaches of government contracts to mass torts, to name several, Mr. Eckland assists private and government contractors and subcontractors in avoiding legal problems by counseling them on compliance and transactional issues. 

After earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota in 1979, Mr. Eckland attended the University of Chicago Law School. He earned his Juris Doctor in 1982, and he is licensed to practice law before the state courts of Minnesota, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 8th, 9th, 10th and Federal Circuits and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Eckland is a member of the American Bar Association’s Public Contract Law and Science and Technology Sections, has served as the Co-Chair of the State Law Database Subcommittee, and has authored summaries of the Procurement Rules and Regulations for the States of Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin published in the ABA publication entitled "Guide to State Procurement:  A 50-State Primer on Purchasing Laws, Processes, and Procedures (Third Edition)". He also authored the Chapter entitled "The Franconia Associates Line of 'That Was The Deal Cases'" appearing in "Litigation Strategies for Government Contracts" published by Aspatore Books, a Thomson Reuters business.

Mr. Eckland also has served as President of the Twin Cities Chapter of the National Contract Management Association ("NCMA"), as a National Director of the NCMA, and on the NCMA’s Board of Advisors. He is a long-time member of the Planning Committee for the Annual National Seminar on Government Contracts co-sponsored by the University of Minnesota and served on the Board of Directors of the University of Minnesota Alumni Society.  He also has served on other community boards including the Board of Directors for the Volunteer Lawyers Network ("VLN") and the Executive Board of the Fund for Legal Aid.

In a case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 2002, Mr. Eckland successfully argued that the federal government should be treated the same as any other party in a breach of contract dispute and that an Act of Congress can constitute a breach of contract. The ensuing ruling ultimately has resulted in aggregate settlements for Mr. Eckland's clients approaching nearly $900 Million to date, $42 Million of which were paid out by the U.S. Treasury on December 20, 2023. During the last year in the 3M Combat Arms Earplug Products Liability Litigation, he has enabled settlements totaling well over $12 Million on behalf of his plaintiff service member clients. A strict adherence to ethical standards and a track record of success in the courtroom and during negotiations has helped Mr. Eckland earn a rating of AV Preeminent* from his peers through Martindale-Hubbell. This is the most prestigious rating possible, and it is reserved for attorneys who maintain the very highest standards of professional conduct. He also has been recognized by The National Top 100 Trial Lawyers. 

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.