Minnesota Lawyer
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Not many attorneys speak five languages in addition to English, but Anju Suresh is unique in a number of ways.Suresh was born and raised in Dubai. Growing up, she learned Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam and Arabic. In school, she added French to the list.
At age 16, Suresh left Dubai to come to the United States for college. She studied finance and biology at the University of Iowa, earning a Bachelor of Science in Business by age 18 and a Bachelor of Science by 19. She then started law school at the University of Minnesota, graduating in 2014.
After graduation, Suresh worked for a personal injury firm for a few years. Then in 2019, she joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP.
Today, as a member of the firm’s commercial litigation practice, Suresh handles business and employment disputes and insurance and product liability matters, from discovery to trial. “The challenges are extremely varied, so there’s always mental stimulation because you’re not doing the same thing over and over,” she said.
One case Suresh handled sticks out in her mind. A client invested her life savings with a production company and lost all her money. The matter was handled in arbitration, where Suresh and her client prevailed. But the victory was limited, because the defendant company was unlikely to have funds to collect on. “The client said that she may not get reimbursed, but she was glad her story was heard,” Suresh said. “That was really satisfying to me, because it always comes back to helping others.”
Suresh continues that practice by being a member of the Minnesota Asian Pacific American Bar Association. She’s also co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Affinity Network (APAAN), a diversity group at Hinshaw & Culbertson that promotes visibility and growth of Asian Pacific American attorneys and provides mentorship and resources for a more inclusive environment.
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