Minnesota

Lawyer, 65, opens own solo firm, says ‘I should have done it 25 years ago, but couldn’t’

Corrected: A former dairy farm manager, Mark Breneman always wanted to be a lawyer. For decades, working as a financial planner seemed as close as he could get to his lifelong goal. But in his 50s, he found a way to begin attending classes part-time at Hamline University School of…

Aug 5, 2013 5:55 PM CDT

Despite DOMA win, some same-sex couples see a tax-related downside; others get estate tax refunds

As the dust settles after a celebration of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that a federal law restricting the rights of same-sex married couples is unconstitutional, some are now facing new tax issues. While the court’s decision to strike the Defense of Marriage Act is expected to result in hefty…

Jul 24, 2013 8:20 PM CDT

After $323,307 in federal court sanctions since 2011, lawyer now faces federal ethics investigation

William B. Butler, as a federal judge had requested, is already facing a state legal ethics probe in Minnesota. But in an unusual move the judge in charge of the federal court system in the state has also launched a federal ethics investigation of Butler, reports the Star Tribune. Last…

Jul 11, 2013 11:45 AM CDT

Hamline Law School dean to step down, return to practice

Donald Lewis, who’s been the dean at Hamline Law School for the last five years, is leaving the St. Paul-based law school and returning full time to the firm he founded. “The Minneapolis law firm that I helped build offers opportunities at this time to close my career doing what…

Jul 9, 2013 9:10 PM CDT

Appeals court disqualifies BigLaw firm in big enviro case, says it can’t simply switch sides

Agreeing with a Minnesota trial judge who found a conflict of interest with a former Covington & Burling client could not be waived, a state appeals court has upheld its disqualification of the law firm from representing the state in a big environmental case against 3M Co. Although Covington argued,…

Jul 1, 2013 7:14 PM CDT

Pig-and-gun tattoo naming cop posted on Facebook; defendant inks it over and gets probation

A Minnesota man who is a reputed gang member got probation Monday after inking over a tattoo that was thought to pose a threat to a Minneapolis police officer working in a gang-investigation unit. Antonio Fransion Jenkins Jr. had faced a felony terroristic threat charge in the Hennepin County case…

Jun 18, 2013 3:30 PM CDT

Dwight Opperman, key figure in Westlaw’s launch in 1970s, dies at age 89

Dwight Opperman, a Drake University law graduate who rose to the top job at West Publishing after starting work there as an editor and was a key figure in the company’s development of the Westlaw online legal research site in the 1970s, died Thursday at his home in Beverly Hills,…

Jun 14, 2013 6:57 PM CDT

Top tax court judge should be suspended 9 months without pay, review panel says

A review panel has recommended that the chief judge of the Minnesota Tax Court be censured and suspended without pay for nine months, because he routinely exceeded the three-month deadline for submitting his opinions and falsified dates to try to obscure his noncompliance. Nonetheless, Judge George Perez was known for…

May 14, 2013 3:00 PM CDT

Minnesota man accused of shooting teen burglars is indicted on first-degree murder charges

A retired State Department employee has been indicted on two charges of first-degree murder based on accusations he fatally shot two teens who broke into his home. Prosecutors announced the charges against Byron Smith, 64, of Little Falls, Minn., on Thursday, report the Associated Press, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and…

Apr 26, 2013 12:16 PM CDT

Booted from big enviro case, Covington blames ex-client for not protesting conflict earlier

A Minnesota judge last year agreed with 3M Co. that its longtime counsel, Covington & Burling, could not continue to represent the state in a big environmental lawsuit against the corporation. But even if a legal ethics rule would otherwise have prohibited the representation, Covington should be allowed to continue…

Apr 5, 2013 9:36 PM CDT

Despite ‘disappointing’ 2012 numbers, Dorsey & Whitney says 2013, 2014 are headed up

Revenue last year at Dorsey & Whitney was the lowest in six years. Yet the new managing partner of the Minneapolis-based law firm says he expects better things in 2013 and 2014, as the firm focuses on a financial turnaround, the Star Tribune reports. “2012 was a disappointing year,” said…

Mar 4, 2013 11:59 PM CST

Suspended lawyer is charged with impersonating dead client, in order to bilk his estate

A suspended Minnesota attorney has been criminally charged with impersonating a deceased client in order to bilk his estate. Linda Ann Brost is charged in Ramsey County District Court with identity theft, theft by swindle, aggravated forgery of a document and insurance fraud, the Star Tribune reports. Her license to…

Feb 26, 2013 8:03 PM CST

Partner pay cuts, practice diversification helped law firm bounce back from the recession

Several years before the recession hit, business was booming at Fafinski Mark & Johnson. But founding partner Robert Fafinski Jr. knew the good times weren’t going to last forever and starting thinking ahead. Expanding the firm’s bankruptcy, labor and employment and estate planning practices—as well as partner pay cuts—helped position…

Feb 25, 2013 10:41 PM CST

Riot charges may be filed after cafeteria fight involving 200-plus students

A cafeteria fight involving 200 to 300 students at a Minneapolis high school Thursday could result in riot charges, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The melee was so out of control that when 10 police officers arrived and shouted commands to disperse, the students ignored them, the…

Feb 15, 2013 8:35 PM CST

Divorced matrimonial lawyer shares ‘survival tips’ with clients in new book

When Kristi Skordahl, a matrimonial attorney, got divorced from her husband, she wound up in a apartment with a single place-setting and a litter box for her cat, she says. But she made the best of the situation, getting a retail job while she reapplied for the bar exam since…

Feb 1, 2013 4:25 PM CST