Minneapolis
Bar Admissions
2014, Minnesota
Education
University of Minnesota, 2019, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Kawe Gidaa-Naanaagadawendaamin Manoomin Research Collaborative University of Minnesota, 2018, PhD Geography, Environment & Society University of Minnesota Law School, 2014, magna cum laude University of London, SOAS, 2009, MS, honors Sarah Lawrence College, 2006, BA
Court Admissions
Minnesota U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota

Overview

Laura M. Matson practices in the firm’s environmentalpoliticalbusiness, antitrust, employment, mediation, government representation, and complex litigation practice groups, representing numerous public entities, businesses, tribal governments, and individual plaintiffs in complex litigation and transactional matters in state and federal court. Prior to joining the firm, she served as a law clerk for the Honorable John R. Tunheim, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Laura Matson is a 2014 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School.  She also holds a PhD in Geography, Environment, and Society from the University of Minnesota and a MS in Development Studies from the University of London. Her PhD research focused on expansions of American Indian Tribal jurisdiction over resource policy and water regulation. While in law school, Dr. Matson served as Lead Outside Articles Editor for Law & Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice and as a Clinic Director for the Human Rights Litigation and International Legal Advocacy Clinic.

Dr. Matson currently serves as a Council Member for the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Law Section. She has taught courses at the University of Minnesota Law School and College of Liberal Arts and has published in the areas of treaty law, environmental law, international law, and natural resource policy.

Publications

Professional Associations

  • Minnesota State Bar Association, Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law Section Council Member

Presentations

“The Rights of Nature: A Novel Approach to a Long-“Standing” Issue in Environmental Litigation”,  Panelist, Federal Bar Association’s 47th Annual Federal Practice Seminar, June 14, 2022

“Developing Your Deposition Process – What I Know Now That I Wish I Knew Then”, Panelist, Winning Strategies for Today’s Deposition Practice, Minnesota CLE, October 18, 2022

“Protecting Tribal Resources – Legal and Forestry Management Strategies”, Moderator, Presented by the MSBA Environment, Natural Resources and Energy Law Section and the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association, March 15, 2022

“Tribal Food and Resource Sovereignty in the Context of Climate Change”, Moderator, Presented by the MSBA Environment, Natural Resources and Energy Law Section and the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association, June 4, 2020

Community Involvement

  • Frank Theatre, Board of Directors, 2021-Present
  • University of Minnesota Law School, Adjunct Professor, International Law Moot Court, 2018-2020