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- Officers
President
Steven E. Rau
President-Elect
Lora M. Friedemann
Vice President, Membership
B. Todd Jones
Vice President, Special Events
Jeanette M. Bazis
Vice President, Monthly Meetings
Dulce J. Foster/Arthur G. Boylan
Vice President, Legal Education
Peter W. Carter
Secretary
Tara Norgard
Treasurer
Rachel K. Zimmerman
National Council Delegate
Rachna B. Sullivan
Appointments
Eighth Circuit Vice Presidents
Anh Le Kramer
Lora M. Friedemann
Grant Committee
James S. Simonson, Co-Chair,
William J. Otteson,Co- Chair
Diversity Committee
Hon. Jeanne J. Graham, Co-Chair
Hassan Saffouri, Co-Chair
Law School Liaison
Alexandra B. Klass
Newer Lawyers Committee
Tammy J. Schemmel, Chair
Annual Golf Tournament Committee
Vincent D. Louwagie, Chair
Pro Se Coordinator
Jeffer Ali
Communications Committee
Patrick M. Arenz, Chair
Long-Range Planning Committee
Hon. Donovan W. Frank, Co-Chair
Catherine A. McEnroe, Co-Chair
Federal Transportation Program Committee
Patrick R. Martin, Chair
Practice Groups
Annie Huang, Co-Chair
Kimberly G. Miller, Co-Chair
Directors 2008-2009
Jeffer Ali
Patrick M. Arenz
Barbara P. Berens
Kristine Boylan
Gregory G. Brooker
W. Joseph Bruckner
Hon. Susan N. Burke
Hon. Joan N. Ericksen
Hon. Donovan W. Frank
Maureen Watz Gornik
Hon. Jeanne J. Graham
Clayton D. Halunen
Annie Huang
Alexandra B. Klass
Scott G. Knudson
Anh Le Kremer
Jeannine L. Lee
Vincent D. Louwagie
Catherine A. McEnroe
Hon. Paul A. Magnuson
Patrick R. Martin
Hon. Janie S. Mayeron
Kimberly G. Miller
Shannon M. O’Toole
William J. Otteson
Daniel Q. Poretti
Katherian D. Roe
Hassan Saffouri
Hon. Patrick J. Schiltz
Hon. John R. Tunheim
Past Presidents
Hon. Miles W. Lord
Thomas A. Steele Jr.
Robert G. Lauck
Linn J. Firestone
Hon. Hartley Nordin
Eugene P. Daly
Richard N. Flint
Harry A. Sieben Sr.
Richard C. Johnson
Clayton B. Doughty
Vernon J. Rausch
Jay B. Kelly
Hon. Robert G. Renner
John A. Murray
Hon. Jacob Dim
Frederick W. Lambrecht Jr.
Lloyd O. Shervheim
John A. Halpern
Hon. Andrew W. Danielson
Dale E. Parker
Robert E. Barnhart
Robert F. Cunningham
Gary G. Carlson
Hon. Ann D. Montgomery
Francis X. Hermann
Vance K. Opperman
Mark Arth
Hon. Mary E. Carlson
Hon. Robert J. Kressel
Linda L. Holstein
Hon. James M. Rosenbaum
Paul M. Floyd
Christine L. Meuers
Keith J. Halleland
Hon. David S. Doty
Patrick S. Williams
Barbara Jean D’Aquila
Patricia A. Bloodgood
Hon. James B. Loken
Randall E. Kahnke
Daniel E. Gustafson
Mary L. Knoblauch
Hon. Michael J. Davis
Becky R. Thorson
Douglass Elsass
Hon. Arthur J. Boylan
Contents
A Message from the Chapter
President
Membership
Information
Bar Talk, the Minnesota Chapter's newsletter
Calendar of Events
Announcements
Chapter Initiatives
Judges’
Practice Pointers and Preferences
Recent Events
CLE Information
A
Message from the Chapter President
Welcome to the web site for the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Our chapter was chartered in 1940 and has been active since 1962. Today we over 800 members from private practice, government agencies, military branches, local law schools and local courts. Our chapter is recognized as one of the most active and innovative FBA chapters in the country.
We hope that this site provides you with useful and timely information about our organization and the events and opportunities we offer for our members and our community. The Minnesota Chapter holds frequent events such as monthly luncheons, CLE seminars, Federal Practice Seminars, and social gatherings. Our members also are involved in the community through various initiatives, including the Federal Pro Se Employment Law Panel, the Page Education Foundation and the Federal Transport Project that are described on this website. In addition, we offer other opportunities such as chapter grants and awards recognizing outstanding achievement in our law students.
Our organization is strong, active, diverse and dedicated to enhancing the practice of law in the federal court s in Minnesota and providing assistance to Minnesota’s federal bench. If you have not already done so, I invite you to join the Federal Bar Association and the Minnesota Chapter by clicking on the link below.
Steven E. Rau
Minnesota Chapter President
Important Notice: Please see and review the proposed revised Minnesota Chapter Bylaws. If you have any questions or comments regarding these proposed amendments, please contact Lora Friedemann at lfriedemann@fredlaw.com.
Join the Federal Bar Association!
If you are already a member and your contact information has changed, please contact the Membership Department, records@fedbar.org, (703) 682-7000 to update your contact information to insure that you continue to receive valuable information about the FBA and the Minnesota Chapter.
Bar Talk, the Minnesota Chapter's Monthly Newsletter
Bar Talk, the newsletter of the Minnesota
Chapter of the FBA, is distributed in hard copy at our chapter’s
monthly luncheons. If you have a story idea for Bar Talk, or would like
to write an article, please contact Patrick Arenz, at pmarenz@rkmc.com, or at 612-349-8591.
Summer 2009 Bar Talk
Spring 2009 Bar Talk
Winter 2009 Bar Talk
Fall 2008 Bar Talk
Calendar
of Events
July 14, 2009
FBA Diversity Committee event hosting the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association and the Hispanic National Bar Association
Time: 5:00 pm – Appetizers and Cash Bar; 5:30 pm – Presentations by Magistrate Judge Jeanne Graham, Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association, Hispanic National Bar Association, and Second Judicial District Court Judge Hon. Salvador M. Rosas
Place: U.S. Courthouse, 316 North Robert St., St. Paul, Minn. 55101
July 16, 2009
Patent Marking: 10 Things to Remember
Featuring Theodore M. Budd, Esq.,
Timothy E. Grimsrud, Esq.,
Kevin P. Wagner, Esq.
Time: 12:00—1:00 p.m.
Location: Faegre & Benson, LLP, Wells Fargo Center, 22nd floor,
90 South Seventh St., Minneapolis, MN 55402
Cost: $25 FBA Member, $20 Judicial Clerks, $30 Nonmember
(Lunch included. Please send payment to address below. Checks payable to: Minnesota Chapter FBA)
Registration: View Flyer RSVP deadline: July 14, 2009.
Contact: Bette J. Peterson at bjpeterson@rkmc.com or (612) 349-8238.
August 31, 2009
The Annual FBA Golf Outing
Contact: Vincent D. Louwagie at VLouwagie@aoblr.com for more information
Recent
Events
Reception Honoring Chief Judge Michael J. Davis, sponsored by the Twin Cities Diversity in Practice and Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. The reception celebrated Chief Judge Davis' appointment as the first African-American Chief Judge in the District of Minnesota.
Grand Opening Reception for the Remodeled St. Paul Courthouse
Call for Papers - Eighth Circuit Split
William Mitchell Law Review, Vol. 36, Issue IV (Spring 2010)
The William Mitchell Law Review is proud to dedicate its fourth issue to Eighth Circuit Splits in its upcoming Volume 36 (Spring 2010). We are currently seeking papers that examine areas where the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided an issue differently from the other Circuit Courts of Appeals. These may be areas where the Eighth Circuit stands alone in its decision, or with a minority of other courts. Submissions may either take the form of shorter commentaries or longer law review articles. We are also accepting submission proposals at this time.
Please direct inquiries to Executive Editor Ellen M. Ahrens at ellen.ahrens@wmitchell.edu. Please send submissions to lreview@wmitchell.edu or mail them to our Editorial Office. Please note that the Law Review prefers electronic submissions.
William Mitchell Law Review
William Mitchell College of Law
875 Summit Avenue, Suite 159
St. Paul, Minnesota 55105
District Court of Minnesota Web site
The official court Web site for
the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota provides helpful
information for the federal practitioner, including the full text of the
Local Rules, ECF information, courtroom technology and general contact
information, among other features.
Federal Pro Se Employment Law
Panel
The Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and Volunteer Lawyers
Network (“VLN”) operate the Federal Pro Se Employment Law
Panel. The panel provides all of the judges of the U.S. District Court
with a method of introducing volunteer attorneys who are willing to provide
pro bono legal services to pro se parties in federal civil cases. While
this program originally emphasized cases involving employment law claims,
the court has regularly referred other types of civil matters, such as
civil rights claims.
While the program focuses on providing volunteer legal services to pro
se parties who qualify to proceed in forma pauperis, eligibility is not
limited strictly to financial need. The judges may also consider other
factors, such as the issues and claims raised in the pro se complaint,
the complexity of the defenses asserted by the defendant, or the overall
benefit the volunteer legal services may provide to the court.
The Minnesota Chapter is responsible for supplying VLN with a list of
attorneys who are willing to provide volunteer legal services in cases
referred to the program by the court. If the court makes a referral, the
referral is made directly to VLN, who may then refer the case to a volunteer
attorney. Upon receiving a referral to the program, VLN will usually contact
individual attorneys identified by the chapter who have agreed to provide
volunteer legal services under the program. Attorneys who agree to provide
volunteer legal services in the program will be responsible for promptly
responding to any VLN inquiry.
If you are interested and willing to serve as a volunteer on this panel,
please contact Jeffer Ali at 612.436.9657 or JAli@ccvl.com
Minnesota Chapter Grants
Each year, the Grant Committee of the Chapter solicits and reviews applications for grants from organizations whose activities are consistent with the mission statement of the FBA and, in particular, have a focus on issues that are federal in nature. The committee recommends to the board of directors the respective grants to be awarded to the applicants. The money to fund these programs comes from member support of Minnesota Chapter events like the monthly luncheon series, the judges’ dinner-dance and the annual seminar. In 2008, the following groups were collectively awarded $20,000 in grants:
— The Advocates for Human Rights, formerly Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights (toward the funding of legal services for aslum seekers petitioning for review in the federal courts of appeal).
— Eighth Circuit Historical Society, District of Minnesota Branch (toward the funding of a project honoring the Hon. Rensselaer R. Nelson, Minnesota’s first federal judge).
— Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (toward the funding of legal representation for low-income immigrants as they work to achieve their citizenship status).
— Innocence Project of Minnesota (toward the funding of legal and investigative assistance to inmates who claim actual innocence).
— Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis (toward the funding of a work-study law clerk to work with the Housing Discrimination Law Project, which provides fair housing enforcement services under the federal Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws).
— Minnesota Justice Foundation (toward funding of MJF's Summer Clerkship Program).
— Minnesota Landmarks, Landmark Center (toward the funding of public programming and attendant staffing costs for the "Uncle Sam Worked Here" exhibition, a means to acquaint a new generation with Landmark Center’s former life as a Federal Courts Building).
— Page Foundation, which provides scholarship assistance to Minnesota young people of color in pursuit of their goals of becoming educated leaders and contributing members of our communities.
— Volunteer Lawyers Network (toward the funding of a program relating to pro se litigants in federal court cases).
— Volunteers of America of Minnesota (toward the funding of the Federal Visitation Program, which maintains familial ties between federally incarcerated mothers and their children who are living in Minnesota).
The Federal Transportation Program: Ensuring that Minnesota Women Sentenced to Pekin, Illinois Remain Connected With Their Children
There are no federal prisons for women in Minnesota, and so women sentenced for federal crimes in Minnesota serve their time in out-of-state prisons. The resulting geographic distance from Minnesota makes it difficult for those women to remain connected to their children. Recognizing the need to maintain that connection, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota and the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (“FBA”) responded with the Federal Transportation Program.
The Program began in the spring of 2004, when the Court asked the FBA to find an agency and to develop a program that facilitates dependent children visiting Minnesota inmates in federal prisons. The FBA accordingly developed a pilot project for women inmates at the federal prison located in Pekin, Illinois, which has the largest population of Minnesota women sentenced for federal crimes. The FBA also recommended that the Minnesota Chapter of Volunteers of America (“VOA”) handle the day-to-day administration of the newly-created Federal Transportation Program. The Court approved the Program proposed by the FBA.
The Program now provides quarterly bus trips to the women’s federal prison in Pekin. For each trip, children and caretakers (totaling as high as 47) board a motor coach Friday morning for the long drive to Pekin. Upon arrival in Pekin, the children and caretakers visit with the women inmates on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The time spent – playing cards, braiding hair, showing report cards, talking, laughing – helps ensure that the women and their children remain connected despite the difficulties of incarceration in Illinois. Two VOA employees chaperone and run the quarterly bus trips, with members of the Court, probation office, and FBA attending many of the trips for the purpose of establishing rapport with prison management and ensuring that the Program runs smoothly.
In 2005, the FBA and VOA received the Ilene and Michael Shaw Public Service Award for their work on this Program.
Law Student Award Program
The Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association has recognized
outstanding achievement by law students from the local law schools for
over 20 years. The program furthers our mission of encouraging and maintaining
high standards of learning and competence in the legal profession.
Every year, at each of the four law schools in the Twin Cities, a student
is selected to receive an award from the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal
Bar Association for excellence in the study of federal law and practice.
Each award is named in honor of a person who has contributed significantly
to the federal legal system in Minnesota. The Judge Edward J. Devitt Award
is given to a student at the University of Minnesota Law School; the Harry
A. Sieben Award is awarded to a student at William Mitchell College of
Law; the Judge Jacob Dim Award is given to a student at Hamline University
School of Law; and the Judge Earl R. Larson Award is presented to a student
at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. The students are selected
with the help of a faculty committee at each law school. Award recipients
receive $2,000 and an engraved wooden plaque.
The recipients of the 2008 awards are Thomas F. Berndt, William Mitchell
College of Law; Karen Seifert, University of Minnesota Law
School; Kayla M. Johnson, Hamline University School of Law; and Laura R. Hammargren,
University of St. Thomas Law School.
Improving The Diversity of the
FBA
The Diversity Committee is committed to encouraging more active participation
by women and people of color at all levels of the FBA, from membership
to participation in leadership, in an effort to benefit not only the FBA,
but the Twin Cities legal community at large. In 2007, the committee created
a new initiative to help address the diversity pipeline crisis of the
declining number of diverse students pursuing a legal education. This
initiative is a collaborative effort with the Page Education Foundation,
whose mission is to increase participation of Minnesota’s youth
of color in post-secondary education through the use of role models and
financial aid. Every Page Scholar “gives back” by agreeing
to mentor younger children of color while receiving financial aid from
the Foundation. The committee is encouraging FBA members to serve as senior
mentors to Page Scholars and believes that serving as mentors will have
a positive impact and may persuade some Page Scholars to ultimately pursue
a legal career. Further, because these Page Scholars also mentor K-8th
grade students, a positive perspective on the legal profession will trickle
down to younger students, which the committee hopes will strengthen the
pipeline of diverse students pursuing a legal education. In addition to
serving as senior mentors to Page Scholars, the Chapter will also be providing
two $2,000 scholarships to the Page Education Foundation this year. For
more information on the Page Education Foundation, please visit www.page-ed.org.
To sign up to be a senior mentor, please visit www.page-ed.org/mentor_application_form.html.
If you have any suggestions for the Diversity Committee on how it can
make all levels of the FBA more diverse, please feel free to contact one
of the committee co-chairs, Hon. Donovan W. Frank dwfrank@mnd.uscourts.gov
or Annie Huang, ahuang@rkmc.com.
Judges’
Practice Pointers and Preferences
The Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, with the generous
assistance of the district's judges, has compiled a set of "Practice
Pointers and Preferences" for federal court practitioners.
Judges participating in this project have submitted a list of practice
pointers and preferences regarding, for instance, motion practice, written
submissions to chambers, scheduling hearings, trial practice, and the
like. This information is not intended to constitute a new "local
rule" or "standing order" for each judge, but merely a
helpful resource for members of the bar. Below are links to the Practice
Pointers and Preferences provided by each participating judge.
Chief Judge Michael J. Davis
Judge James M. Rosenbaum
Judge John R. Tunheim
Judge Ann D. Montgomery
Judge Donovan W. Frank
Judge Joan N. Ericksen
Judge Paul A. Magnuson
Judge Patrick J. Schiltz
Judge Gregory K. Kishel
Chief Magistrate Judge Raymond L. Erickson
Magistrate Judge Arthur J. Boylan
Magistrate Judge Franklin Noel
Magistrate Judge Janie S. Mayeron
Magistrate Judge Jeanne J. Graham
Magistrate Judge Jeffrey J. Keyes
CLE
Information
2007-2008 CLE
2006-2007 CLE
2005-2006
CLE
2004-2005 CLE
2003-2004 CLE
2002-2003
CLE