Minnesota

Ogletree to Open New Office in Minneapolis, Its 39th Location in US

Continuing with a growth spurt that has already added three new offices to its roster so far this year, Ogletree Deakins has announced that it will open a fourth. Its new Minneapolis outpost, which is to open Thursday, will be its 39th United States office. The labor and employment boutique…

Mar 30, 2010 4:57 PM CDT

Discipline Urged for Faegre Partner Over Minnesota Twins Stadium Deal Conflict

Discipline has been recommended for a Faegre & Benson real estate partner over his work on a Minnesota Twins stadium deal. Mark Savin represented a then-owner of the land on which the stadium now sits at the same time that other lawyers at his firm represented Hennepin County in an…

Mar 26, 2010 4:36 PM CDT

Name Partner Says Split Over Alternative Fees Partly Prompted Decision to Leave

A former name partner at Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson says he left the Minnesota law firm partly because of a dispute over alternative fees. Keith Halleland, a co-founder of 50-lawyer Halleland Lewis, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune he advocated alternatives to billable hours, partly spurring his decision to form…

Mar 9, 2010 3:51 PM CST

Lawyer Acquitted of Charge He Raped Would-Be Client; Defense Argued Consent

A Minnesota jury deliberated only a few hours on Monday before acquitting a Minneapolis lawyer accused of raping a would-be client in a cocaine-fueled attack. The accused lawyer, Al Garcia, did not take the stand. His lawyer argued the woman who made the claim had consented to the sex, the…

Mar 9, 2010 12:37 PM CST

Would-Be Client Testifies About Lawyer’s Alleged Cocaine-Fueled Sex Attack

When an unidentified woman went to Al Garcia’s law office in downtown Minneapolis one August evening in 2008, she expected to sign a retainer agreement, she says. But instead she became the target of a cocaine-fueled sex-attack by the 50-year-old practitioner, the woman, who is now 30, testified today at…

Mar 3, 2010 8:48 PM CST

Name Partner Spins Off New Law Shop from Halleland Lewis

The co-founder of Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson is departing the 50-attorney Minneapolis/St. Paul-based legal shop, along with two other partners, to form a new business law and consulting firm. Keith Halleland’s planned spin-off is so new that it doesn’t yet have either a name or office space, according to…

Feb 26, 2010 2:17 AM CST

Could Toyota Troubles Lead to Redemption for Jailed Minn. Man?

New revelations of safety problems with Toyota automobiles have breathed new life into claims by a Minnesota man who was sentenced to eight years in prison when his 1996 Toyota Camry shot up an interstate ramp and plowed into another vehicle, killing three people. Koua Fong Lee has long insisted…

Feb 25, 2010 5:02 PM CST

Defendant Cites Prosecutor’s Facebook Comments in Bid for New Trial

A Somali man convicted of attempted murder in a Minneapolis shooting is citing a prosecutor’s Facebook comments in a bid for a new trial. The new trial motion filed on behalf of convicted defendant Ahmed Ali targets alleged anti-Somali comments by assistant Hennepin County attorney Gretchen Gray-Larson, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune…

Feb 18, 2010 12:26 PM CST

As Super Lawyers Is Sold, Minn. Law & Politics Ceases Publication

This week’s news that Super Lawyers had been sold by Key Professional Media to Thomson Reuters prompted some to wonder what this development might mean for Minnesota Law & Politics. They didn’t have to wait long for an answer. The 20-year-old magazine, which gave birth to Super Lawyers but wasn’t…

Feb 4, 2010 2:11 AM CST

Award Cut to $54K from $1.92M in Music File-Sharing Case

In a decision that is hardly music to the ears of the recording industry, a federal judge in Minnesota last week slashed a stunning $1.92 million award in a landmark file-sharing case concerning a woman found to have stolen and shared 24 songs over the Internet. Reducing the amount owed…

Jan 25, 2010 11:59 PM CST

Lawyer Who Was in Line to Be State Bar President Is Jailed in Teen Sex Case

A prominent Minnesota lawyer slated to become president of the state bar association in another two years was jailed over the weekend in a teen sex case and is reportedly now on leave from Gray Plant Mooty. Aaron Biber, 46, was co-chair of the firm’s antitrust and trade regulation practice…

Dec 15, 2009 12:13 AM CST

Judge Orders Lawyers to Stop Using Capitalization ‘With Abandon’

A federal bankruptcy judge is fed up with lawyers who use superfluous words and too much capitalization, and he has directed them to stop it. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Kressel of Minnesota took a stand against legalese in new guidelines (PDF) for lawyers preparing proposed orders in his court, Legal…

Dec 14, 2009 3:31 PM CST

Online Law Grad Petitions to Take Bar, Cites High Cost of Traditional Ed.

Valarie Wallin, a graduate of an online law school, has passed the bar in California and Wisconsin. Now she wants the Minnesota Supreme Court to allow her to take the exam there. Wallin is joining with three other petitioners to ask for a change in Minnesota rules that allow only…

Dec 3, 2009 5:51 PM CST

Mom Sues Postal Service After Letter to Son Is Returned Stamped ‘Deceased’

A Duluth, Minn., mother has filed suit against the U.S. Postal Service after a letter she wrote to her son stationed in Iraq was returned with a “DECEASED” stamp across the front. Joan Najbar, who is described in media reports as a vocal critic of U.S. military policy, claims the…

Dec 2, 2009 8:44 PM CST

Judge Slaps Railroad With $4M Penalty for ‘Staggering’ Pattern of Misconduct

A Minnesota judge has added a $4 million fine to an already hefty jury verdict against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. involving a fatal train-car crash related to a crossing gate failure. The railroad is alleged to have begun destroying evidence within minutes of the 2003 crash in Anoka, Minn.…

Oct 16, 2009 11:49 AM CDT