Vincent D. Louwagie

Top rated Business Litigation attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Anthony Ostlund Louwagie Dressen & Boylan P.A.
Vincent D. Louwagie
Anthony Ostlund Louwagie Dressen & Boylan P.A.

Practice Areas: Business Litigation, Closely Held Business

Licensed in Minnesota since: 1988

Education: University of Minnesota Law School

Selected to Super Lawyers: 2000 - 2024 Selected to Rising Stars: 1999

Anthony Ostlund Louwagie Dressen & Boylan P.A.

3600 Wells Fargo Center
90 South Seventh Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402 Phone: 612-349-6969 Email: Vincent D. Louwagie Visit website

Vincent D. Louwagie is a shareholder of Anthony Ostlund Baer & Louwagie, and a trial lawyer who practices in all areas of business litigation. He is consistently and widely recognized as one of the top business litigators in the state of Minnesota.

Vince's practice is enhanced by his previous experience as a financial auditor with KPMG. That background allows him to better understand the transactions and financial reports that form the backbone of his clients’ businesses. He has litigated disputes among business owners of all kinds and has tried cases to jury verdicts and obtained multi-million dollar settlements on behalf of owners.

Shareholder Dispute Experience

Vince has extensive experience in shareholder disputes. In 1998, Vince represented the prevailing party in the seminal Minnesota Supreme Court case of Wessin v. Archives, 581 NW2d 380, (1998), which set the standard for distinguishing between direct and derivative claims by shareholders. He has served as a board appointed Special Litigation Committee for a number of Minnesota Companies and as a court-appointed Consensual Special Magistrate. As Consensual Special Magistrate, Vince presided over an 8-day trial and his decision and order was upheld by the Minnesota Court of Appeals on all substantive grounds. ROA, Inc. v. Nicholson, No. A12-1695, 2013 WL 2460354 (Minn. Ct. App. June 10, 2013).

Broker Dealer and Securities Experience

Vince’s financial auditing experience also informs his representation of broker dealers, registered representatives and customers in securities matters. He regularly advises and represents one of the pre-eminent independent broker dealers in the country on a wide variety of planning and other issues, including regulatory, risk, employment, and customer-related issues.

Law Firm Partner Dispute Experience

Because lawyers are the most sophisticated consumers of legal services, Vince is proud to have been selected on numerous occasions to represent lawyers and law firms in connection with law firm owner disputes. Mr. Louwagie tried one such case to a successful jury verdict obtaining a multi-million dollar judgment on behalf of Brian Williams in the case of Williams v. Heins, Mills & Olson.

Referrals and Testimonials

Vince considers referrals from other lawyers (many of whom have opposed Vince in litigation) his greatest compliment. Vince has earned the respect of hundreds of referring lawyers from all over Minnesota and beyond.

"As an estate and trust lawyer who has helped many clients with business planning, I have frequently turned to Vince Louwagie when clients needed vigorous representation in complex business litigation. Vince is creative, intelligent, persistent and experienced. Both my clients and I have come to rely upon his judgment, knowledge and skill. I have no hesitation in recommending him to my clients."

-Alan Yanowitz, Estate and Trust Lawyer, Rochester, Minnesota

First Admitted: 1988, Minnesota

Professional Webpage: http://www.anthonyostlund.com/vincent-d-louwagie

Bar/Professional Activity:
  • Executive Committee Member at Anthony Ostlund Louwagie Dressen & Boylan P.A.
  • Member, Federal Bar Association  
  • Chair of the Development Committee (2014-2016), Hennepin County Bar Foundation (HCBF)
  • President, Board of Directors, Hennepin County Bar Foundation (HCBF), June, 2018
  • Member, Minnesota State Bar Association  
  • HCBA Representative, Minnesota State Bar Association Assembly
  • Member, Hennepin County Bar Association  
  • Member, Private Business Governance Committee, Minnesota State Bar Association's Business Law Section
  • Chair, Partners in Excellence Annual Fund for University of Minnesota Law School, 2016
  • Member, Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association  
Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):
  • Towley v. Tavernetti Served as a special litigation committee (SLC) in a business dispute between the owners of PowerBlock, Inc., a Minnesota Corporation. PowerBlock appointed Vince Louwagie to investigate, evaluate, and make a determination as to whether it was in the best interests of the corporation to pursue certain claims asserted on behalf of the corporation.
  • Markuson v. Crossroads MallSuccessfully defended mechanics lien case through trial in Dakota County District Court.
  • Confidential Settlement DisputeSuccessfully obtained confidential settlement for client in dispute with competitor and employee involving misuse of confidential information and competitive hiring.
  • Soderstrum v. Berthel Fisher Successfully defended broker dealer through Finra arbitration hearing on customer claim. Claimants sought hundreds of thousands but were awarded just $20,000.
  • Kingsboro, LLC and Ranjit Singh v. Berthel Fisher Successfully defended a claim by an individual investor against an independent broker/dealer alleging in excess of $1 million in damages. The investor alleged that several real estate related investments, which later failed, were misrepresented to him and were unsuitable. After a three-day hearing before a FINRA arbitration panel, the claims were denied in their entirety.
  • Double Black Diamond d/b/a Red Cow v. City of MinneapolisSuccessfully obtained restraining order against city in dispute and subsequent settlement relating to a parking restriction which would have had a serious impact on the restaurant business.
  • ROA Inc. et. al v. Nicholson, et al.,Served as Consensual Special Magistrate presiding over eight-day trial. Decision on the merits affirmed on appeal on all substantive grounds. ROA, Inc. v. Nicholson, No. A12-1695, 2013 WL 2460354 (Minn. Ct. App. June 10, 2013)
  • Recent Broker Dealer RepresentationVince has successfully represented broker dealers and registered representatives in defending against literally hundreds of claims since the start of the Great Recession. While many of these matters are resolved on a confidential basis, in the past several years some have gone through a hearing, and Vince’s clients have prevailed.
  • Confidential AAA Arbitration Pursued significant accounting malpractice claims against a Big Four accounting firm on behalf of a group of individual clients. After months of discovery including over a dozen depositions and two weeks of arbitration during which numerous representatives of the accounting firm were cross examined by Mr. Louwagie, Anthony Ostlund was able to negotiate a settlement for its clients.
  • Govern et. al. v. Berthel Fisher Successfully defended broker dealer through Finra arbitration hearing on customer claim. Claimants sought hundreds of thousands but were awarded zero. Panel ordered claimants to pay the vast majority of the hearing session deposits.
  • Hamelink v. HamelinkMarital Dissolution case tried to Scott County District Court verdict.
  • Employment LawSuccessfully represented Susan Thornton in dispute with certain Republican members of state legislative staff over her employment as director of Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources.
  • Tucker et. al v. Berthel Fisher Successfully defended broker dealer through Finra arbitration hearing on customer claim. Claimants sought millions but were awarded zero. Panel ordered claimants to pay the vast majority of the hearing session deposits.
Pro bono/Community Service:
  • Committee Member, drafting or amending the Minnesota Business Corporations Code, Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, and the Minnesota Public Benefits Corporation Act
Honors/Awards:
  • Selected as a Minnesota Lawyer’s “Attorney of the Year,” 2008
  • Selected to The Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of Securities / Capital Markets Law every year since 2013
  • Order of the Coif, University of Minnesota Law School
  • Chambers USA Rated Attorney, 2013 - 2017
  • Selected for inclusion in the Minnesota Best Lawyer Listings by Minnesota Monthly magazine in the area of Securities / Capital Markets Litigation, 2015 - 2018
  • Peer Reviewed as "AV® Preeminent™ 5.0" (highest possible rating), Martindale Hubbell
  • Consistently recognized as a Top 40 Business Litigator
Educational Background:
  • B.S.B., University of Minnesota  
  • J.D., cum laude, University of Minnesota
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

Office location for Vincent D. Louwagie

3600 Wells Fargo Center
90 South Seventh Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Selections

25 Years Super Lawyers
1 Year Rising Stars
  • Super Lawyers: 2000 - 2024
  • Rising Stars: 1999

Top Lists

Top 100: Minnesota Super Lawyers: 2008, 2011, 2013 - 2024

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