Richard T. Ostlund

Rich Ostlund is an experienced and successful senior business trial lawyer and an accomplished shareholder rights/corporate governance advocate.  Rich has tried complex cases in over 30 states, spanning a 33-year career. 

As a professional advisor and trial advocate, Rich possesses a rare combination of business judgment, strategic leadership and crisis management skills; personal experience as a board member of multiple national and multi-national companies; and, ultimately, a deep reservoir of success in litigating major, often bet the company cases across the United States.

Professional Accolades

Rich has long been recognized as one of the leading trial lawyers in Minnesota, and has for many years been named a “Best Lawyer in America” by Minnesota Monthly Magazine and has been selected to the Minnesota “Super Lawyer” list.  In 2009, Rich was selected by Minnesota Lawyer as 2009 Minnesota Lawyer of the Year based on his recovery of $73 and $62 million for clients and in 2014, Rich was selected as Business Litigation Attorney of the Year by Corporate INTL Magazine, based in London, England.  

Success in Trial

Rich has an unusually broad range of major business trial success as lead trial counsel on business cases for companies, private equity firms and individuals in State and Federal Courts and arbitrations across the United States since 1982.  He has received awards, decisions, verdicts and recoveries in just the past few years of his career of $24 million, $73 million, $62 million, $23 million, $18 million, $15 million and $7.5 million in breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, business governance and share buy-out, banking, employment, insurance coverage, ERISA fraud and intellectual property rights in Minnesota, California, Texas, and Arizona.  Rich has received multiple complete defense resolutions/summary dismissals in complex business disputes involving hundreds of millions in claimed losses as well in the past several years, again in cases in a variety of states, including Minnesota, Texas, California, Colorado, Arizona, Florida and Hawaii. 

Assessments based on Personal Experience

Clients, judges, and referral sources nationwide offer the following assessments of Rich based on personal experiences:

"I served as the chairman of the board of directors for three different companies that have engaged the services of Rich Ostlund at Anthony Ostlund for six various litigation cases.  Each case was won on summary judgment, by satisfactory settlement, by trial or arbitration.  Rich Ostlund’s case preparation, intellect and aggressiveness is unparalleled."  

-- Mark W. Sheffert, Chairman and CEO, Manchester Companies, Inc.; Minnesota Corporate Director Hall of Fame

"As a former Delaware Superior Court judge for 21 years, the Delaware Attorney General and senior counsel for Bifferato LLC I’ve had the opportunity to observe the best in action.  In my role as senior counsel to Bifferato LLC I represented the stockholders’ of a Delaware corporation who were sued in a complex issue involving stock options.  I asked several judges from Minnesota who would be the best litigators for this type of corporate matter.  I received Rich Ostlund’s name.  We were extremely pleased with the representation. He developed a successful motion strategy that ended the litigation with a minimum amount of expense and then successfully defended the result through two levels of appeal.  Clearly, Rich and his firm deserve their reputations as top corporate litigators."

-- Honorable Richard Gebelein, Delaware Judge and Attorney General of the State of Delaware

"Business executives never enjoy litigation.  When that is your only course of action you need the best.  Rich Ostlund fits that description.  Both public and private companies that I have been affiliated with as an owner and director over the past fifteen years have had numerous situations where litigating was our only avenue of choice.  Rich was very successful in getting a favorable ruling for us because he developed a superior litigation strategy, was better prepared, and was extremely convincing in court."

-- Kevin Roberg, CEO Kelsey Capital Management and board member of multiple private and public companies

"Since 2001, Rich Ostlund has led three complex litigation cases for entities for which I am general counsel. Each of the cases were exceptionally complex and, in each instance, the opposing parties were represented by extremely competent and exceptionally litigious counsel. From formulation of cases strategies, discovery, witness examination and cross-examination, motion practice and eventual hearing/trial I witnessed Rich's personal commitment to the case, the client and the profession. Rich has been blessed with extraordinary skill, diligence, analytical awareness and compassion."

-- Richard M. Barney, Jr., General Counsel, West Coast Beauty Supply

Strategist and Lawyer

Rich's business judgment and strategic thinking has led to his leadership being sought out beyond the legal arena, where he has been a director of over 15 national and multi-national companies, a Trustee of the University of Minnesota Foundation, a Trustee of St. John’s University, Chair of the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital and a Trustee of the Minnesota Medical Foundation, while also serving eight years on the Minnesota Governor’s Judicial Selection Committee to nominate and screen Minnesota judicial candidates for appointment by the Governor. 

If your legal and business needs require an aggressive and widely respected strategist and senior, lead trial attorney with a 30-year track record of success nationwide, Rich Ostlund is on the short list of those to interview and trust with your most important business and personal legal needs.