How I represent clients at Schwabe
I take a personal interest in learning about our client’s unique needs as well as the industries in which they operate. When the need for litigation arises, I will work with clients to help develop a strategy that fits their goals.
I work with diverse clients throughout Alaska to resolve contracting, real estate, environmental, maritime, tort, and employment disputes. I have assisted project owners, prime contractors, and subcontractors in litigation over multi-million dollar construction contracts; Alaska Native Corporations and private individuals seeking to protect their property rights; companies facing potential liability for oil spills and the release of other pollutants; vessel owners facing maritime claims; and employers seeking to protect their trade secrets or facing wrongful termination claims. I also regularly defend local governments and school districts against personal injury claims.
After graduating law school, I clerked for Chief Justice Lorie Gildea of the Minnesota Supreme Court. During law school, I interned for two summers for Judge David Stras of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. I also worked as a summer associate at a national law firm in Minneapolis focusing on complex litigation, products liability defense, and mass torts.
Experience
Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs)
- Prepared legal opinions for an ANC Village Corporation on ownership of quasi-surface/subsurface resources.
- Represented an ANC in litigation with the State of Alaska in state and federal court regarding ownership of the bed of a navigable river adjacent to home village and related trespass claims.
Litigation
- Represented a city in Alaska against tort claims arising from its emergency response to an accident outside city limits and obtained summary judgment based on a novel statutory immunity provision.
- Assisted in litigation contesting the scope of an easement that resulted in a favorable verdict for our client at trial.
- Reviewed engineering documents and prepared discovery in contract dispute litigation involving a major Alaska infrastructure project.
- Assisted in drafting motions in limine that resulted in the exclusion of the opposing party’s expert testimony.
- Represented numerous school districts and municipalities in employment and tort litigation.
Maritime
- Represented a fishing company in litigation over liability and damages from their vessel’s allision with a dock.
- Assisted with discovery for a shipping company in litigation arising from an oil spill from an underwater pipeline.
- Prepared coverage opinions for maritime insurer.
- Assisted with multiple companies’ pre-litigation responses to maritime fatalities and significant injuries.
Pro Bono
- Assisted in overturning client’s death sentence through post-conviction relief proceedings.
- Obtained long term protective order for client in a contested domestic violence proceeding.
Education
- University of Minnesota, Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif (2021)
- Saint Olaf College, Bachelor of Arts Degree, Economics & Studio Art (2013)
Admissions
- Alaska State Courts
- Minnesota State Courts
- U.S. District Court - District of Alaska
Memberships
- Alaska Bar Association (2022-present)
- Minnesota State Bar Association (2020-2021)
- Minnesota Law Review, Lead Articles Editor (2020-2021)
- Minnesota Law Review, Staff Member (2019-2020)
Awards
- Federal Bar Association, Judge Edward J. Devitt Award for Excellence in the Study of Federal Law & Practice (2021)
- William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition, Best Brief Award (2021)
- William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition, Semifinalist (2021)
- Minnesota Justice Foundation, Recognition for Public Service (2021)
- University of Minnesota Law School, Book Award in Patents (2020)
- University of Minnesota Law School, Book Award in Business Associations & Corporations (2019)
- University of Minnesota Law School, Legal Writing Section, Best Brief Award (2019)
Services
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