Top Rated Employment Litigation Attorney in Minneapolis, MN

Educational Background

• BA - Boston College, Master - Suffolk University (Boston, MA)

Bar/Professional Activity

• The National Trial Lawyers Top 100
• Minnesota Association for Justice
• National Employment Lawyers Association, Minnesota Chapter
• Federal Bar Association, Minnesota Chapter
• Minnesota State Bar Association, Labor & Employment Law Section

Pro bono/Community Service

• Innocence Project of Minnesota, Board Member

Scholarly Lectures/Writings

• Avoiding 10 Leave Mistakes Employers Make--A Plaintiffs' Attorney Perspective, Minnesota CLE, Presenter, Oct. 30, 2018, 2018
• Discussion about claims that have or will likely arise in the employment context related to COVID-19., Presenter, COVID Legal Claims - Plaintiff Attorney Analysis, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, 2020
• Discussion about best practices for training for employers and how you can tell whether it works. This also included discussions about training related to COVID-19., Presenter, Open Forum on Workplace Training Best Practices, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, 2020
• Presented strategies for overcoming and winning summary judgment in sexual harassment cases. , Panelist with Cynthia Bremer and Lawrence Schaefer, Strategies for Summary Judgment in Sexual Harassment Cases, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute , 2019
• Court Sanctioned Permission to Sexually Harass?, Minnesota Trial Magazine, Author, Winter 2019
• An article about issues to consider when determining whether to take on a plaintiff's employment case., Author, Should You Take an Employment Case?, Nevada Justice Association's Advocate Magazine, 2019
• Considerations and Strategies for Pregnancy Related Litigation, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Panelist, May 23, 2017
• Should You Take an Employment Case?, Minnesota Trial Magazine, Author, Fall 2018, 2018
• An article about issues to consider when determining whether to take on a plaintiff's employment case., Writer, Should You Take an Employment Case?, Minnesota Trial: The Journal of Minnesota Association for Justice, Trial Attorneys, 2018
• Discussed mistakes employers often make when an employee needs to take medical leave., Speaker, Taking Attendance: Workplace Leave Seminar, Minnesota State Bar Association, Employment Attorneys, 2018
• Plaintiff & Defense Perspectives and Practice Pointers for Litigating Pregnancy Discrimination Claims, Pregnancy Accommodation and Non-Discrimination Handbook Chapter, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Co-Author, 2017
• LaPoint, Sanchez, and Friedlander – Good News from the Minnesota Supreme Court… And How to Keep It That Way, Minnesota Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association, Panelist, Sept. 12, 2017
• Supremely Unique: Significant Supreme Court Opinions in 2016 – Fall 2016, University of St. Thomas, Presenter
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Update, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Panelist, 2016
• Felony Disenfranchisement: Why 5 Million Americans Can’t Vote This November, Bench & Bar of Minnesota, Co-Author, October, mnbenchbar.com/2012/10/felony-disenfranchisement/, 2012
• What’s the Harm? - Evaluating and Proving Damages, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Panelist with Sheila Engelmeier, Anna Prakash and Brian Rochel, 2018
• Non-Compete Agreements, Interview with WCCO Radio’s Jearlyn Steele, Aug. 18, 2018
• Sexual Harassment in Employment, Interview with WCCO Radio’s Esme Murphy, Dec. 2, 2017
• Sexual Harassment, Harvey Weinstein and Non-Disclosure Agreements, Interview with WCCO Radio, Oct. 21, 2017

Representative Clients

• Brooke Johnson v. Dakota County Jury Trial, 2019
• Weber v. CenturyLink, Embarq, and Robert Lundquist, 62-CV-17-499 (Dist. Ct. Minn. July 31, 2018) (denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on all of plaintiff’s claims for discrimination and retaliation because genuine issues of material fact existed as to why plaintiff’s was terminated), 2018
• Jennifer Winkelman v. Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, 27-CV-15-2015 (Dist. Ct. Minn. Dec. 7, 2015) (denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claims for disability discrimination and FMLA retaliation because genuine issues of material fact exited as to whether defendant’s reasons for termination were pretext), 2015

Verdicts/Settlements

• Won whistleblower jury trial in Dakota County., 2019
• Settled multiple employment law disputes with settlement values exceeding $1 million, including claims of sexual harassment under the Minnesota Human Rights Act and whistleblower retaliation under the Minnesota Whistleblower Act.
• Tried more than a dozen civil and criminal jury trials to verdict.