2022 Up & Coming Attorneys: Amy Erickson

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Lathrop GPM LLP Amy Erickson practices in two similar fields: They’re both about who gets what and when, and they can be highly emotional.

Erickson is an associate in Lathrop GPM LLP’s litigation and dispute resolution group. Most of her work includes matters involving wills and trusts, trust and estate administration, and contested matters of guardianship and conservatorship. Because of the situations that give rise to these matters — death, incapacity and disagreements with family members — the work can get emotional.

“Helping clients, who may not have any experience with the legal process, to navigate the most challenging and emotional times of their lives is the most rewarding aspect,” Erickson said.

But Erickson also represents clients in matters of politics, often pro bono. When Erickson was policy director for the Colorado State Senate Majority Office and a field coordinator for a congressional campaign, she gained policy and political experience and familiarity with campaign finance and other election laws. Now, Erickson helps clients of Lathrop’s nonprofit practice, especially voting rights organizations, with political and lobbying matters, campaign finance compliance and election-related litigation.

Erickson does most of her pro bono work in election matters. For instance, Erickson and colleague Brian Dillon represented Common Cause Minnesota, One Minnesota.org, and Voices for Racial Justice in Minnesota’s special judicial redistricting proceedings in 2021 and 2022. “Our clients undertook a grassroots effort with the 2020 census to seek input from communities of color across the state, and that information was used — through briefing and oral arguments — to advocate for a map that elevated Minnesota’s minority communities.”

While the voting rights organizations didn’t get everything they advocated for before the Minnesota Special Redistricting Panel, Erickson explained, it was a historic effort. “This is really the first time that Minnesotans of color have had a direct seat at the table,” she said.

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