Kate M. Baxter-Kauf
Partner
Minneapolis
Practice Areas
Education
University of Minnesota Law School, 2011,
magna cum laude, Order of the Coif
Macalester College, Communications Studies B.A., magna cum laude
Court Admissions
Minnesota
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Support Staff
Overview
Ms. Baxter-Kauf’s practice is concentrated in the firm’s data breach, antitrust law, business litigation, and securities litigation practice groups. She represents individuals, consumers, financial institutions and small businesses in litigation to protect their rights and, most often, the rights of the class members they seek to represent. Ms. Baxter-Kauf is a 2011 magna cum laude and Order of the Coif graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School. In 2018, she was one of only five attorneys nationally named a Rising Star by Law360 in the area of Cybersecurity & Privacy, was recognized as an Up & Coming Attorney by Minnesota Lawyer magazine in 2016, and for each of 2015-2021, has been named one of Minnesota’s Rising Stars by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Baxter-Kauf clerked for the Honorable Alan C. Page, the Honorable Helen M. Meyer, and the Honorable Christopher J. Dietzen, Associate Justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Before law school, Ms. Baxter-Kauf was an award-winning coach of high school and college policy debate teams across the country and facilitated debate teams at Twin Cities urban middle and high schools. She coached the 2003 National Forensic League policy debate national champions.
Representative Cases
- Johnson et al. v. Cornerstone National Insurance Co., No. 22-cv-04135-WJE (W.D. Mo.) – appointed Interim Co-Lead Class Counsel
- Holmes et al. v. Elephant Insurance Co. et al., No. 3:22-cv-00487 (E.D. Va.) – appointed Interim Co-Lead Counsel
- In re: Geico Customer Data Breach Litig., No. 1:21-cv-002210-KAM-SJB (E.D.N.Y) – pre-approved member of leadership team in conjunction with co-lead counsel appointment
- Baker v. ParkMobile, LLC, No. 21-cv-2182 (N.D. Ga.) – appointed member of Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee
- Beck v. Austin, No. 19-cv-01453 (D. Minn.) – appointed settlement class counsel
- In re EpiPen ERISA Litig., No. 17-cv-1884 (D. Minn.) – appointed liaison counsel
- In re Netgain Technology, LLC, Consumer Data Breach Litigation, No. 21-cv-01210 – appointed chair of Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee
- Zimmerman v. Riverplace Counseling Center, Inc., No. 02-cv-19-6522 (Anoka Cty. Dist. Ct.) – appointed settlement class counsel
- Lutzke v. Metropolitan Council and Metro Transit, No. 27-cv-19-14453 (Henn. Cty. Dist. Ct.) – primary defense counsel
- Adkins v. Facebook, Inc., No. 18-cv-05982 (N.D. Cal.)
- Baysal v. Midvale Indemnity Company et al, No. 21-cv-00394 (W.D. Wis.)
- Park v. American Family Life Insurance Company et al., No. 22-cv-171 (W.D. Wis.)
- Greenstate Credit Union v. Hy-Vee, Inc. No. 20-cv-00621 (D. Minn)
- Greenstein et al. v. Noblr Reciprocal Exchange, No. 21-04537 (N.D. Cal.)
- Stallone v. Farmers Group, Inc. et al., No. 2:2021-cv-01659 (D. Nev.)
- In re: Capital One Consumer Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 1:19-md-2915 (E.D. Va.)
- In re Premera Blue Cross Customer Data Security Breach Litig., No. 15-2633 (D. Or.)
- Johannessohn et al v. Polaris Industries, Inc. No. 16-cv-03348 (D. Minn.)
- In re Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. Litigation, Case No. 1:17-mi-55555 (N.D. Ga.)
- IN RE: EQUIFAX, INC., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, Case No. 1:17-md-02800-TWT (N.D. Ga.)
- Veridian Credit Union v. Eddie Bauer LLC, Case 2:17-cv-00356-JLR (W.D. Wash.)
- Bellwether Community Credit Union v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Case 1:17-cv-01102-WJM-SKC (D. Colo.)
- In re: Yahoo! Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 2752 (N.D. Cal.)
- First Choice Federal Credit Union et al v. The Wendy’s Company et al, Civil No. 2:16-cv-00506 (W.D. Pa.)
- In re: Target Corporate Customer Data Breach Security Litigation, MDL No. 2522 (D. Minn.)
- In re: Supervalu, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 2586 (D. Minn.)
- In re: The Home Depot, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 2583 (N.D. Ga.)
- In re: Community Health Systems, Inc., Customer Security Data Breach Litigation, MDL No. 2595 (N.D. Ala.)
- Soderstrom et al v. MSP Crossroads Apartments LLC et al, Civil No. 16-cv-02784-SHM-dkv (W.D. Tenn.)
- Khoday v. Symantec Corp., Case No. 11-cv-180-JRT-TNL (D. Minn.)
- In re Medtronic, Inc. Shareholder Litigation, A15-0858 (Minn.)
- In re Regions Morgan Keegan Open-End Mutual Fund Litigation, Master File No. 2:07-cv-02784-SHM-dkv (W.D. Tenn)
- In re Wholesale Grocery Products Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2090 (D. Minn.) – member of trial team
- Turnidge et al v. TruGreen Limited Partnership, Case No. 27-CV-14-14711 (Henn. Cty. Dist. Ct.)
- UrbanWorks Architecture LLC v. Hunt Associates et al, Nos. 27-CV-14-8415 & 27-CV-16-10241 (Henn. Cty. Dist. Ct.)
Publications
- Modern Data Breach Litigation, The Hennepin Lawyer (January/February 2020).
- Plaintiffs’ Commentary on Appropriate Attorney-Client Privilege and Work-Product Protection, Sedona Conference Working Group 11 (June 25, 2019).
- You Can Only Do What You Want to Do, The Jabot Podcast (interview with Kathryn Rubino) (May 24, 2019).
- Breaking the Ice: No Argument Over Debate’s Influence on Practice, Minnesota Lawyer (interview with Todd Nelson) (December 8, 2018).
- Rising Star: Lockridge Grindal’s Kate Baxter-Kauf, Law360 (interview with Ben Kochman) (August 10, 2018).
- Great Bites in Brief, The Hennepin Lawyer (May/June 2017)
- The Value of a Clerkship, Minn. Lawyer JDs Rising (May 2013).
- Lean In: A Review for Young Lawyers, Minn. Lawyer JDs Rising (April 2013).
- Environmental Justice and the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, 20 N.Y.U. Environmental L.J. 99 (2012) (with Hari M. Osofsky, Bradley Hammer, Ann Mailander, Brett Mares, Amy Pikovsky, Andrew Whitney, & Laura Wilson).
- Breastfeeding in Custody Proceedings, 15 Rich. J.L. Pub. Int. 627 (2012).
Professional Associations
- Sedona Working Group 11: Data Security and Privacy Liability (Steering Committee Member)
- Federal Bar Association (Class and Mass Action and MDL Committee Co-Chair)
- Minnesota State Bar Association (Appellate Practice Section and Participant, Public Defender Appellate Pro Bono Project)
- Hennepin County Bar Association
- Minnesota Women Lawyers (Community Action & Advocacy Committee Member)
- National Association of Shareholder and Consumer Attorneys
- Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society
Presentations
- Virtual Southern Wisconsin KnowledgeNet, International Association of Privacy Professionals, Panelist: The Online Tracking Era: An update on the latest compliance and litigation issues, May 25, 2023.
- Inaugural Class of Our Own Women’s Summit Summit Speaker, Challenging Assertions of Privilege, May 9, 2023.
- 16th Annual Sedona Conference Institute: Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Litigation Conference Faculty, Privilege Issues and Ethics in Privacy Litigation and Incident Response, April 13, 2023.
- 2023 Complex Litigation eDiscovery Forum Spring Conference Discussion Leader, eDiscovery 101 Session, March 22, 2023.
- Olmsted County DFL, Beyond the Pro Act: Entrenching Reproductive Freedom in Minnesota, Invited Speaker, March 4, 2023.
- 2023 The Nuts and Bolts of Mass Actions, 4th Annual Mass Arbitration and Mass Action Legal Forum, Panelist: Expanding the Horizon: Cartel Damage Litigation and Antitrust Mass Actions in the EU and US, February 23, 2023.
- 2023 Midwest Legal Conference on Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Faculty, The Increasing Role of Privacy and Data Security in Antitrust Enforcement – Practical Implications for Data Collection and Retention, February 2, 2023.
- MinnCLE Antitrust Hot Spots for Business Lawyers and In-House Counsel Faculty, Practical Guidance at the Intersection of Data Protection and Antitrust, December 5, 2023.
- 2022 Sedona Conference Working Group 11 Midyear Meeting 2022 Dialogue Leader, Notice and Consent: Biometric Facial Recognition Data, November 2, 2022.
- 2022 Sedona Conference Working Group 11 Annual Meeting Dialogue Leader, Notice and Consent: Biometric Facial Recognition Data, April 26, 2022, and Moderator and Dialogue Leader, Second edition of The Sedona Conference Commentary on Application of Attorney-Client Privilege and Work-Product Protection to Documents and Communications Generated in the Cybersecurity Context, April 27, 2022.
- 2022 31st Annual Health Benefits Conference + Expo, presented by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, February 2, 2022. Kate Baxter-Kauf and Karen Hanson Riebel presented on “Health Benefits and the Value of Robust Data Security Practices.”
- 2021 Minnesota Building & Construction Trades Council Annual Conference, July 22, 2021. Kate Baxter-Kauf and Karen Riebel presented on “Fundamentals on Data Security.”
- 2021 Sedona Conference Working Group 11 Midyear Meeting Dialogue Leader and Moderator, Has the time come for a second edition of the WG11 Commentary on Application of Attorney-Client Privilege and Work-Product Protection to Documents and Communications Generated in the Cybersecurity Context?, October 28, 2021; Dialogue Leader, Notice and Consent – Biometric Facial Recognition Data, October 29, 2021.
- Class Action Money & Ethics Conference, Presented by Beard Group, Inc., Drilling in the Data Oil Fields: What’s New and Trending in Data Privacy Class Actions (June 30, 2021)
- Third Annual Western Alliance Bank Class Action Law Forum, in collaboration with University of San Diego School of Law, Privacy & Data Breach (April 22, 2021)
- 2021 Sedona Conference Working Group 11 Annual Meeting Dialogue Leader and Moderator, Has the time come for a second edition of the WG11 Commentary on Application of Attorney-Client Privilege and Work-Product Protection to Documents and Communications Generated in the Cybersecurity Context? (April 14, 2021)
- 2020 Sedona Conference Working Group 11 Midyear Meeting Dialogue Leader, Biometric Privacy Laws (September 30, 2020)
- Data Breach Class Actions, Practical Perspectives, HB Litigation Conference (May 19, 2020)
- Rising Professionals Symposium, Now That We’ve Found Standing, What Are We Gonna Do With It? What’s on the Horizon for Data Breach Litigation, 2019 Federal Bar Association (February 1, 2019)
- 2016 Cyber Security Summit, Interactive Table Top Exercise on Preparing for and Reacting to Data Breach incidents (Counsel Panelist), Cyber Security Summit Minneapolis (October 11, 2016)
- 2011 J.D. Class Commencement Address, University of Minnesota Law School (May 14, 2011)
Professional Recognition
- Named a Minnesota Super Lawyer for Class Action and Mass Torts in 2022 Super Lawyers®.
- Named a Minnesota Rising Star from 2015-2022 by Super Lawyers®.
- Named an ‘Up & Coming Attorney’ by Minnesota Lawyer for 2016.
- Named a Top Lawyer Under 40 by Law360 in the area of Cybersecurity & Privacy for 2018.
- Named a ‘North Star Lawyer’ by the Minnesota State Bar Association for 2015-2022 in recognition of pro bono work.
- Recognized for HCBA Centennial Pro Bono Challenge Completion in August 2020.
Rated by Super Lawyers
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Community Involvement
- Minnesota Urban Debate League Advisory Board
- NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota Foundation Past President and Board Member (2014-2022)
- American Constitution Society
- Randolph Heights PTA (Past President)
- Macalester-Groveland Community Council (Inclusivity Task Force)