Partner Kristen Marttila represented LGN at a celebration of the investiture of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson hosted by Twin Cities Diversity In Practice and the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers. The event included a fantastic panel discussion with three Minnesota trailblazers, Justices Alan Page (ret.) and Natalie Hudson and Judge Pamela Alexander (ret.).
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.
Lockridge Grindal Nauen Attorneys were pleased to attend the Minnesota Urban Debate League Mayors Challenge 10th Anniversary Fundraiser: The Great NATO Debate on September 22. LGN Partner Gregg Fishbein recently finished up a decades-long run as a founding member of the Board of Advisors, for which he was thanked during the event, and LGN Partner Kate Baxter-Kauf is a current member of the Board of Advisors. The event featured a keynote from Governor Walz and First Lady Gwen Walz, a student debate and conversations with Mayor Melvin Carter of St. Paul and Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis, and a panel of ambassadors with attendance from Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The MNUDL serves over 1000 students in the Twin Cities to provide and enhance debate programming and public schools for underserved communities. LGN has sponsored the event each year since its founding.
Pictured: Lockridge Grindal Nauen attorneys Gregg Fishbein and Kate Baxter-Kauf pose with the sign announcing LGN sponsorship and Kiernan Baxter-Kauf, current St. Paul Central debater.
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.
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.
Lockridge Grindal Nauen, headquartered in Minneapolis, MN representing clients in federal courts in all 50 states, is proud to announce that five of the firm’s attorneys were named by Best Lawyers® as part of their Best Lawyers in America® list. Congratulations to Susan Ellingstad, Yvonne Flaherty, Dick Lockridge, Charlie Nauen, and Karen Hanson Riebel.
Recognition by Best Lawyers® is based entirely on peer review and is based on an analysis of peer nominations which are divided by geographic region and practice areas before evaluation on the basis of professional expertise. Those who receive high peer reviews undergo an authentication process to make sure they are currently practicing and in good standing.
Congratulations to LGN Partners Karen Hanson Riebel and Susan Ellingstad who were named as two of the Top 50 Women Super Lawyers in Minnesota. Lockridge Grindal Nauen is proud that this is the eighth year in a row in which at least two of LGN’s partners have been recognized in this category.
Karen and Susan were also named as two of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Minnesota.
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.
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!
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.