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2024 North Star Honorees

We are proud to announce attorneys Anne Haaland, Lloyd Stern, Elizabeth Drotning Hartwell, Christopher Burns, Lisa Spencer, Caitlin Deal, Dylan Wallace, Sarah J. Hewitt, Scott A. Neilson and Katy Graves have been named 2024 North Star Lawyers by the Minnesota State Bar Association. This newly released list honors attorneys who each donate 50 hours or more of pro bono legal services in the past year. In total, the MSBA recognized over 800 North Star Lawyers who collectively provided more than 92,000 hours of free legal assistance – an estimated value of $28 million. This recognition…
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Clark D. Opdahl Re-Elected as Managing Partner

Clark D. Opdahl Re-Elected as Managing Partner

Business law attorney Clark D. Opdahl has been re-elected to serve as the firm’s managing partner for another three-year term, effective January 1, 2014.  He has been serving in this capacity since 2008. In addition to managing the firm’s operations, Opdahl advises and represents companies and individuals in a wide variety of transactions, including mergers and…

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Alan C. Eidsness and Jaime Driggs Discuss How to Treat Negative Equity in Real Estate

Alan C. Eidsness and Jaime Driggs Discuss How to Treat Negative Equity in Real Estate

Ever since housing prices plummeted, family law attorneys have struggled to determine how to treat real property with negative equity. Does it go on the balance sheet as a negative number or does it get valued at zero? With Middendorf v. Middendorf, the Court of Appeals issued a decision addressing how to treat real property with negative equity, an issue family law attorneys have struggled…

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Lisa T. Spencer

Lisa T. Spencer

Lisa T. Spencer represents clients in all areas of family law, with an emphasis on cases involving complex financial issues.  She also assists clients in formulating effective parenting plans with an eye toward minimizing the effects of divorce on children.  Lisa is a frequent guest speaker on family law topics, including premarital and postnuptial agreements,…

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Stuart T. Williams Elected President of the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy for 2014

Stuart T. Williams Elected President of the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy for 2014

Litigation attorney Stuart T. Williams was elected President of the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy for 2014. The Board’s seven members, made up of five pharmacists and two public members, are appointed to four-year terms by the Governor.  The Board is responsible for the licensing and regulation of more than 7,000 pharmacists, 1,800 pharmacies, and 9,000…

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Alan C. Eidsness and Jaime Driggs on Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl

Alan C. Eidsness and Jaime Driggs on Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl

In their article, “Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl,” family law attorneys Alan C. Eidsness and Jaime Driggs examined the recent United States Supreme Court decision addressing the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The case involved the difficult issues of race, fathers’ rights, adoption placement, and Indian rights. Though it had the potential to provide a meaningful…

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Alan C. Eidsness and Lisa T. Spencer Cover Retirement Benefits in Antenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements

Alan C. Eidsness and Lisa T. Spencer Cover Retirement Benefits in Antenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals recently determined that broad provisions for the waiver of retirement benefits in antenuptial and postnuptial agreements are ineffective if the terms lack strict conformity with 29 U.S.C. §1055(c)(2)(A) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Family law attorneys Alan C. Eidsness and Lisa T. Spencer discuss the Court’s decision…

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Stuart T. Williams and Jillian Pearson Featured in Minnesota Lawyer for Recent Defense Victory

Stuart T. Williams and Jillian Pearson Featured in Minnesota Lawyer for Recent Defense Victory

Litigation attorneys Stuart T. Williams and Jillian Pearson were recently featured in the Verdicts and Settlements section of Minnesota Lawyer for their defense victory in October. The client was alleged to have misappropriated trade secrets, tortiously interfered with the competitor’s agreements and unfairly competed with the competitor.  The case revolved around the accusations that a former…

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Alan C. Eidsness, Melissa J. Nilsson and Jaime Driggs Consider the Impact of Haefele v. Haefele on Child Support Litigation

Alan C. Eidsness, Melissa J. Nilsson and Jaime Driggs Consider the Impact of Haefele v. Haefele on Child Support Litigation

The Supreme Court’s decision in Haefele v. Haefele changed the landscape in child support litigation involving owners of closely-held businesses. Before Haefele, disputes in such cases frequently centered on the availability of the owner’s income. The reason for retaining earnings, degree of control, and true cash flow were always topics of inquiry and debate. After Haefele, these considerations still matter, but not with respect to calculating income and…

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Jennie A. Clarke and Mollie R. Anderson to Present “Real Estate & Landlord/Tenant Matters”

Jennie A. Clarke and Mollie R. Anderson to Present “Real Estate & Landlord/Tenant Matters”

Business law attorney Jennie A. Clarke will be joined by real estate attorney Mollie R. Anderson on November 18, 2013 to present Henson Efron’s second seminar in conjunction with WomenVenture – “Real Estate & Landlord/Tenant Matters.” The seminar will address legal issues regarding leasing of commercial real estate space and landlord/tenant negotiations, and will include…

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Alan C. Eidsness and Jaime Driggs Examine Vocational Evaluations

Alan C. Eidsness and Jaime Driggs Examine Vocational Evaluations

The importance of vocational assessments became unmistakable after Passolt v. Passolt but while some types of evaluations are provided for by statute, none exist for vocational evaluations. Read family law attorneys Alan C. Eidsness and Jaime Driggs’ analysis on requesting vocational evaluations after Graybow v. Graybow. The article is part of a series previously printed…

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David Bradley Olsen Comments on Ninth Circuit Native Voting Rights Decision

David Bradley Olsen Comments on Ninth Circuit Native Voting Rights Decision

Indian law attorney David Bradley Olsen is optimistic after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Portland, Oregon, dismissed the Native voting rights lawsuit, Wandering Medicine v. McCulloch, on October 30, 2013.  The Montana tribal members’ appeal was dismissed as moot because it applied to reservation polling places that had been denied for the 2012 election,…

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Alan C. Eidsness and Jaime Driggs Co-Author Family Law Article

Alan C. Eidsness and Jaime Driggs Co-Author Family Law Article

Family law attorneys Alan C. Eidsness and Jaime Driggs co-authored “Parenting Consultants: Lessons from the Case Law,” which covers recent court decisions that shed light on the challenging issues raised by the use of parenting consultants. The article is part of a series previously printed in Minnesota Lawyer concerning topics relevant to the area of…

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Alan C. Eidsness and Melissa J. Nilsson present “Get Ready to Deviate: Calculating Gross Income of Business Owners in light of Haefele v. Haefele”

Alan C. Eidsness and Melissa J. Nilsson present “Get Ready to Deviate: Calculating Gross Income of Business Owners in light of Haefele v. Haefele”

Family law attorneys Alan C. Eidsness and Melissa J. Nilsson presented “Get Ready to Deviate: Calculating Gross Income of Business Owners in light of Haefele v. Haefele” for a Hennepin County Bar Association – Family Law Section CLE session on October 9, 2013. The session addressed the impact of the Minnesota Supreme Court decision of…

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Henson Efron Wins Major Defense Jury Victory for Client

Henson Efron Wins Major Defense Jury Victory for Client

Henson Efron announced today a significant defense victory for its client, a provider of worldwide logistics solutions headquartered in Minnesota, in a jury trial conducted in the Dakota County District Court of Minnesota. In the lawsuit, the client was alleged to have misappropriated trade secrets of a competitor, tortiously interfered with the competitor’s agreements and…

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Stuart T. Williams Elected Chair of the Practice Act Review Task Force

Stuart T. Williams Elected Chair of the Practice Act Review Task Force

Litigation and environmental law attorney Stuart T. Williams was elected Chair of the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy’s Practice Act Review Task Force on October 11, 2013.  The task force was appointed by the Board to review and consider changes to the Pharmacy Practice Act. Williams also serves on the Minnesota Board of Nursing and the…

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