News

LGN Attorney Rachel Kitze Collins Recognized by Minnesota Lawyer as One of its 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Award Honorees

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Rachel Kitze Collins

Congratulations to LGN Associate Rachel Kitze Collins who was recognized by Minnesota Lawyer as one of its 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Award honorees.  As Co-President of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter of the American Constitution Society, Rachel helped plan and organize a virtual CLE titled, “What Every Lawyer Should Know About the Future of Transgender Student Rights,” which sought to educate lawyers about the challenges that transgender students face, the laws that protect them, and steps that schools and educators can take to protect these students. Rachel and the other CLE panelists were honored at an event on October 6 at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Learn more by following this link.

News

LGN Attorneys Attend Page Education Foundation Gala

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Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P. attorneys were thrilled to participate in and attend the 2022 Justice Forward Gala supporting the Page Education Foundation, which raised over $500,000 to support 250 Page Scholars.  LGN Partners Karen Riebel and Rebecca Peterson both sit on the board of the Page Education Foundation, which provides post-secondary scholarships to Minnesota students of color and requires those students to work with younger students as mentors.  LGN Partner Kate Baxter-Kauf and Associates Arielle Wagner and Develyn Mistriotti also attended the event, which was held at U.S. Bank Stadium and attended by hundreds of Twin Cities business, legal, and education leaders.

Pictured: LGN attorneys Kate Baxter-Kauf and Arielle Wagner are pictured with LGN alumnae Elizabeth Odette and Anna Horning Nygren.

News

LGN Partners Receive Patriot Awards

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Left to Right: COL Doug Peterson, M.D., USA Retired and Virginia Peterson (Rebecca Peterson’s parents and Catherine Peterson’s aunt and uncle), Rebecca Peterson, Rob Shelquist, Catherine Peterson, John Kingrey, ESGR.

On August 24, 2022, LGN Partners Rob Shelquist and Rebecca Peterson each received Patriot Awards in recognition of their support of the National Guard and Reserve. They were nominated for this award by LGN attorney Catherine Peterson, who has served in the North Dakota National Guard since 2008. The award is given by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) program, an office of the Department of Defense established to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component Service members and their civilian employers. The award recognizes employers’ efforts to support citizen warriors by providing understanding and healthy work environments that offer flexible schedules, including time off for training and deployment.  

Cathy, who served in two deployments to the National Capital Region, in 2013-2014 and 2017-2018, is also an extremely talented lawyer and a vital member of LGN’s Product and Consumer Litigation team. During the awards ceremony, she thanked Rob and Rebecca for their support, noting that flexibility in her work schedule “is a huge stress reliever: employers take on a sacrifice when they employ members of the National Guard and Reserve who have commitments not only to their civilian job but also to the military. Employers and supporting colleagues and staff have to figure out a way to adapt when a Soldier has to leave. And Rob and Rebecca’s willingness to do this has made balancing my civilian job and military service very smooth.”

LGN is extremely proud of Cathy’s service and of Rob and Rebecca’s efforts to support her, and we wish Cathy the very best in her next deployment, which starts in October.

News

LGN Attorneys Successfully Argue Criminal Appeal in Pro Bono Matter

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LGN attorneys Arielle Wagner, Kate Baxter-Kauf, and Kristen Marttila successfully worked on and argued a criminal appeal in a pro bono matter involving a client who was unlawfully detained by police. On August 8, 2022, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the sheriff’s deputy unconstitutionally expanded the scope of a traffic stop by opening the client’s car door without an individualized, reasonable, and articulable justification, and reversed the district court’s denial of the motion to suppress evidence obtained after the car door was opened. The team considers this a victory for individual rights and hopes this decision helps clarify the boundaries of these types of traffic stops in the future. Read the full opinion here.

LGN attorneys participate in criminal appeals through the MSBA Appellate Section’s Pro Bono Project with the Appellate Public Defender.

News

Class Act Completes 2022 Lawyer League Co-Ed Softball Season

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Class Act, featuring many LGNers, recently completed the 2022 season of the Minneapolis Park Board’s Co-Ed Lawyer League softball. Class Act posted a 6-4 record, but recently lost in the playoffs. Congrats to Class Act on a great season!

News

LGN Proud to Announce Six Attorneys Recognized as North Star Lawyers

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LGN prides itself on our commitment to pro-bono volunteer work. We are thrilled to announce that LGN attorneys (pictured from left to right) Arielle Wagner, Rachel Kitze Collins, Kailey Mrosak, Maureen Kane Berg, Kate Baxter-Kauf, and Stephen Owen have been recognized as 2021 North Star Lawyers. The Minnesota State Bar Association designates North Star Lawyers as those who provided 50 hours or more of legal service in 2021. More information about the North Star Lawyers program is available here; the full list of 2021 North Star Lawyers can be found here.  This listing was also published in the May/June 2022 Bench & Bar Magazine.

Community

LGN Proud to Sponsor WomenWinning’s 40th Annual Luncheon

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LGN was proud to sponsor WomenWinning’s 40th Annual Luncheon, which featured U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, State Representative Kelly Morrison, former State Representative Erin Maye Quade, Dr. Sarah Traxler, and Dr. Julie Amaon. WomenWinning’s mission is to encourage, promote, support, and elect pro-choice women of all political parties to all levels of public office.

Pictured from left to right, seated: Cate Crowe, Maureen Kane Berg, Laura Matson, and Heidi Esparza.

Pictured from left to right, standing: Abby Ward, Amos Briggs, Karen Hanson Riebel, Dave Zoll, Kate Baxter-Kauf, and Rebecca Kanninen.

News

LGN Attorney Appointed to Merit Selection Panel to Aid in Selection of U.S. Magistrate Judge

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Rachel Kitze Collins

LGN congratulates Rachel Kitze Collins on her appointment to the Merit Selection Panel which will advise the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on the selection of a new U.S. Magistrate Judge.  The panel will evaluate and recommend the best candidates to the District Judges for consideration.

Rachel practices in LGN’s environmental litigation, election law, business litigation, and employment groups, representing clients in complex, high-profile litigation in state and federal court.  Rachel also serves as Co-President of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter of the American Constitution Society.  Prior to joining LGN, Rachel clerked for the Honorable James B. Loken of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

News

LGN Statement on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

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Lockridge Grindal Nauen has always advocated for equal rights and justice. We were the first law firm to publicly oppose the Minnesota same-sex marriage constitutional amendment, defeated in November 2012. And we supported Minnesota’s same-sex marriage law which went into effect in 2013. Now, ten years later, we join other law firms and businesses in expressing our opposition to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that not only overturns 50 years of precedent protecting a woman’s right to choose but also puts at risk other fundamental freedoms, including other privacy rights and marriage equality.

We recognize that individuals within our community have sincere beliefs and emotions on both sides of this issue, and we respect and encourage genuine civil conversations on this topic. We also encourage everyone to be involved in the political process, study the issues, and, most importantly, VOTE!!

News

Citizens League Capitol Pathways Spotlight: Jess Lindeen

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This article originally appeared on the Citizens League website.

As we celebrate another successful year of the Capitol Pathways Program—the only paid internship program in the state that opens a policy career pathway for BIPOC college students— we ask you to join us in investing in the next generation of civic leaders.

Leading to our celebration on June 22, we are hosting an online fundraising campaign to raise $10,000—all of which will go directly to support our student legislative and other professional development trainings in 2023. While our students are passionate about civic engagement and policy, many of them have never been exposed to the legislative process or Capitol. Through these trainings, they build career skills and gain technical knowledge of the legislative process to help them build the confidence and know-how to prepare for their policy internships.

Every gift—no matter the amount—moves us one step closer to our goal and truly makes a difference. Click here to donate today.

If you’d like to learn more about the impact of the Capitol Pathways program and students, read on to learn more about Jess Lindeen, Capitol Pathways host supervisor at Lockridge Grindal Nauen. 

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This article originally appeared on the Citizens League website.

As we celebrate another successful year of the Capitol Pathways Program—the only paid internship program in the state that opens a policy career pathway for BIPOC college students— we ask you to join us in investing in the next generation of civic leaders.

Leading to our celebration on June 22, we are hosting an online fundraising campaign to raise $10,000—all of which will go directly to support our student legislative and other professional development trainings in 2023. While our students are passionate about civic engagement and policy, many of them have never been exposed to the legislative process or Capitol. Through these trainings, they build career skills and gain technical knowledge of the legislative process to help them build the confidence and know-how to prepare for their policy internships.

Every gift—no matter the amount—moves us one step closer to our goal and truly makes a difference. Click here to donate today.

If you’d like to learn more about the impact of the Capitol Pathways program and students, read on to learn more about Jess Lindeen, Capitol Pathways host supervisor at Lockridge Grindal Nauen. 

Read more