News

Team Led by LGN Partner Wins National Moot Court Competition

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Moot Court Team led by LGN partner Rachel Kitze Collins

Congratulations to LGN partner, Rachel Kitze Collins, and the University of Minnesota Law School‘s Environmental Moot Court Competition team, who just won the Jeffrey Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Pace University in New York. Rachel coaches the team along with Emily Polachek, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota. The winning team members consist of Hanna Weil (’24), Maria Pfister (’24), and Poojan Thakrar (’24), all 3Ls at the University of Minnesota Law School.

Instituted in 1989, the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition (NELMCC) is one of the nation’s largest interschool moot court competitions. Every year law student advocates nationwide assemble to compete under one roof. More than 200 competitors and 150 attorneys participate in grading briefs and serving as judges for the three-day competition. The NELMCC tests students’ skills in appellate brief writing and oral advocacy and uses issues drawn from real cases to provide students with first-hand experience in environmental litigation in a rigorous academic experience.

Congratulations to all involved on an outstanding accomplishment!

News

LGN Invited to Speak at Humphrey School of Public Affairs

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LGN at the Humphrey School

LGN Government Relations team members, Amos Briggs and Jess Lindeen, were invited to speak with a graduate class at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota called “State Governing and Legislating: Working the Process.” The course is instructed by Briana Bierschbach who is a political reporter for the Star Tribune. 

This course aims to give students practical experience in government. Speakers visit the class each week to talk about a different aspect of working at the Capitol. LGN was invited to “lobby” day to share more about the important work we do on behalf of our clients. It was a great discussion with a class full of future leaders.

The Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota ranks among the country’s top professional public policy and planning schools, widely recognized for its success in advancing the common good through a comprehensive, world-class program. The school offers six distinctive master’s degrees, a doctoral degree, and five certificate programs that match students’ passion with the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to solve real-world challenges. We were honored to be invited as guests and are excited to see where the future leads these students.

LGN Government Relations at Humphrey School
News

Twin Cities Diversity in Practice Connect – Leftover Litigators Take First

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Twin Cities Diversity in Practice Connect

Congratulations to LGN partner, Kate Baxter-Kauf, former LGN law clerk, Madeleine Kim, and the Leftover Litigators for getting the highest score in the first round of scoring for Twin Cities Diversity in Practice Connect!

TCDIP Connect is a guided 7-month small-group mentoring program that purposefully brings together attorneys and law school students of color with the goal of developing authentic professional interconnectedness.

Over the past scoring cycle, the Leftover Litigators (one of 11 TCDIP Connect teams) bonded through team-building activities and monthly meetups. Consistent small group meetings provide a safe space for sharing experiences and building relationships. Group interactions also earn points!  By getting to know attorneys through the Leftover Litigators, law students and early career attorneys feel increasingly more confident to present themselves on bigger stages.

The Leftover Litigators intentionally choose discussion topics. Conversations during meetups cover a spectrum of topics, from discussions around linguistic profiling, which have heightened awareness regarding language’s impact in the legal field, to personal motivations like competitive drive to resilience in the face of challenges. Attorneys in the Leftover Litigators have found TCDIP Connect to be a resounding success. The diversity of perspective—in terms of race, age, gender, and practice type—makes for lively discussion. Through TCDIP Connect, the Leftover Litigators have built a space where members learn from each other.

LGN is proud to have many of our team involved with the Twin Cities Diversity in Practice organization.

  • LGN partner, Heidi Silton, is a founding member of the TCDIP Connect program.
  • LGN associate, Arielle Wagner, is the current treasurer for the TCDIP Board of Directors and sits on the executive committee.
  • LGN partner, David Asp, is LGN’s member representative.
  • LGN associate, Steve Owen, is LGN’s Emerging Leaders group representative.
  • LGN partners, Karen Hanson Riebel and Kate Baxter-Kauf, are TCDIP Connect mentors.

You can read more about TCDIP Connect by clicking below!

LEARN MORE
Twin Cities Diversity in Practice Connect - Leftover Litigators
News

Landmark Decision Recognizing Rights of Indigenous Peoples

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Rights of Indigenous Peoples

In March of 2022, LGN associates Laura Matson and Arielle Wagner spearheaded an effort to draft an amicus curiae brief on U.S. Federal Indian Law which was joined by some of the leading scholars in the field. The brief was submitted to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in support of the Comunidad Indígena Maya Q’eqchi’ Agua Caliente, an indigenous community that made land and resource rights claims against Guatemala.  (Comunidad Indígena Maya Q’eqchi’ Agua Caliente v. Guatemala, Case No. 13.082).

In a landmark decision issued in December of 2023, the court found in favor of the Maya Q’eqchi’ Agua Caliente. Among other measures, the Court ordered Guatemala to pass legislation recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples, particularly related to collective land ownership, and to establish a procedure for effective consultation with indigenous peoples prior to approving projects affecting their lands and resources.

You can read more about this decision by clicking below.

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News

Rachel Kitze Collins to Moderate Important Voting Rights Panel

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Voting Rights Panel

Lockridge Grindal Nauen partner Rachel Kitze Collins will moderate an important panel regarding voting rights on February 15, 2024. The panel will be hosted by the Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, and Washington State American Constitution Society (ACS) Lawyer Chapters. The discussion will center on the Eighth Circuit’s recent decision holding that there is no private right of action under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The distinguished panel will discuss the case, its implications, and where we go from here to protect voting rights in the courts.

Panelists:

David Lillehaug, Senior Counsel, Fredrikson & Byron; Former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice

Jeff Justman, Partner, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

David McKinney, Attorney, ACLU of Minnesota

You can learn more and register by clicking below.

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News

LGN Partner Karen Hanson Riebel named as Co-Lead Counsel in MOVEit Data Breach Case

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Data Breach

Lockridge Grindal Nauen is proud to announce that LGN Partner Karen Hanson Riebel was appointed as co-lead counsel by the Honorable Allison D. Burroughs of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in the In Re: MOVEit Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, along with four other lawyers.

The multidistrict litigation involves hundreds of class actions from around the country regarding a massive data breach conducted by a Russian cybergang. The group exploited a vulnerability in the file transfer software MOVEit that impacted more than 2,500 organizations and more than 67 million individuals worldwide. This data breach is widely considered to be the largest hack of 2023. Karen was selected over dozens of other applicants from top firms.

Karen has previously served in multiple leadership roles, including co-lead counsel, in data breach, cybersecurity, and privacy class actions across the country.

Congratulations to Karen and the data breach team, which includes partner Kate Baxter-Kauf,  senior counsel Maureen Kane Berg,  and associates Arielle S. Wagner, Eura Chang, and Emma Ritter Gordon, along with Carey R. Johnson, Amber M. Raak, and Accomplish T. Ajagbusi.

News

LGN Participates in Voting Rights Symposium

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Voting Rights - FairVote Minnesota

Our Government Relations team attended FairVote Minnesota’s Symposium on Voting Rights: Our Past, Our Present, Our Future at the University of St. Thomas this week. The event brought together a diverse and influential gathering of thought leaders, students, community members, and political figures including Governor Tim Walz, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, and Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Participants engaged in meaningful conversations that looked back at our history and the evolution of voting rights, tackled the challenges our democracy currently faces, explored critical reforms and opportunities, and discussed how we can work together to build a more representative and inclusive future for our state and our country.

It was a great event to start Black History Month as we work towards building a more inclusive, multi-racial democracy in our state and for our future.

Pictured is LGN State Government Relations team member Jess Lindeen with House Majority Whip Representative Athena Hollins.

News

Legal Aid Campaign Surpasses Goal

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Legal Aid

LGN is proud to announce that for the eighth consecutive year, the firm’s associates achieved 100% participation in the 2023 Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid Associates’ Campaign – surpassing our total giving goal by over $300. LGN has raised $2,860 and a total of $92,680 has been raised by all participating firms thus far.

The soaring costs of food and housing, rampant medical debt, and wage theft continue to disproportionately harm our low-income neighbors. This campaign supports Legal Aid‘s crucial work of helping families struggling to make ends meet, working to secure their basic needs and foster economic stability. Every year, the Associates’ Campaign plays a big role in funding Legal Aid’s work. Together we can help more of our neighbors in need and build a stronger community. 

You can learn more about Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid and make your own donation on their website: https://mylegalaid.org/

News

Joe Bourne Announced as LGN Partner

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Joe Bourne

Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP is pleased to announce the promotion of Joe Bourne to the position of Partner, effective January 1, 2024. This well-deserved promotion reflects Joe’s outstanding contributions in the fields of antitrust, consumer protection, and business litigation.

Joe joined Lockridge Grindal Nauen in 2021 and has quickly distinguished himself. During the past decade in private practice, Joe has litigated antitrust, class action, and other complex civil litigation matters involving the technology, logistics, food product, and healthcare industries, among others.

Notably, Joe represented the plaintiffs in Wood Mountain Fish v. Mowi ASA, who alleged that Norwegian and other foreign producers of farm-raised Atlantic salmon conspired to fix the prices of the salmon they produced and sold into the United States. Joe took a leading role in the litigation, including discovery, briefing, and oral argument, and helped obtain a significant $33 million recovery on behalf of indirect purchasers of farmed salmon, such as restaurants, caterers, and grocery stores.

In 2022, the American Antitrust Institute awarded Joe the Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement by a Young Lawyer recognition for his work on the In re Pork Antitrust Litigation. He has also been named a Minnesota Rising Star from 2014-2023 by Super Lawyers®.

“The Partners of LGN are proud and delighted to add Joe to the partnership ranks. In addition to the breadth and depth of Joe’s litigation skills, his demonstrated commitment to clients and to his colleagues both within and outside the firm are some of his strengths. Joe is a valuable member of the Antitrust Department, and the firm looks forward to his continued contributions to clients and to firm culture,” said Lockridge Grindal Nauen Partner Heidi Silton.

“I am excited to be joining the LGN partnership with some of Minnesota’s most well-respected attorneys, who have been amazing mentors to me in my career to date. Many of my partners at LGN are national practice leaders in the antitrust bar, and I look forward to continuing to work together to enforce the antitrust laws, promote fair competition across industries, and achieve economic justice for our clients,” said Joe.

Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP is confident that Joe’s elevation to Partner will further enhance the firm’s ability to meet the evolving needs of our clients and reinforce our commitment to excellence in legal services.

News

LGN PARTNER PARTICIPATES IN AMERICAN ANTITRUST INSTITUTE PANEL DISCUSSION

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LGN Partner Heidi Silton participated in an American Antitrust Institute panel discussion this week titled I Won the Motion to Dismiss – Now How Do I Get the Discovery Train Down the Tracks? The discussion, geared towards new practitioners, focused on building a strong career foundation. It allowed participants to learn from expert panelists and was tailored for both new and experienced lawyers seeking to enhance their fundamental skills.

The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) is an independent, nonprofit organization devoted to promoting competition that protects consumers, businesses, and society. They serve the public through research, education, and advocacy on the benefits of competition and the use of antitrust enforcement as a vital component of national and international competition policy.

https://www.antitrustinstitute.org/event/virtual-cle-lunch-learn-i-won-the-motion-to-dismiss-now-how-do-i-get-the-discovery-train-down-the-tracks/