Briefly: Passing the baton at the Court of Appeals

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On April 4, Cindy Lehr retired from her role as chief staff attorney to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, a position she had held for more than 40 years. Cindy has been succeeded as chief by seasoned Staff Attorney Liz Keating. A few weeks into Liz’s tenure as chief staff attorney, she and Cindy sat down for a conversation about this moment of transition for the court and the appellate practice community.

Katie: Liz and Cindy, thank you so much for agreeing to chat with us at this momentous time of transition. Cindy, you are a legendary leader in and pillar of the appellate courts and practice community. You are an institution within an institution. Congrats on your well-earned retirement!

Cindy: Thank you, I feel a little like a proud parent (or maybe aunt).  I have had the opportunity to watch the court grow from a wonderful, but modest, start to where it is today. I have had the privilege of working with all 66 judges who have served on the Court of Appeals, all eight chief judges, many Supreme Court justices, staff attorneys, and executive assistants, and hundreds of law clerks. I have enjoyed having a front-row seat to watch the court develop from the early days of its operations to the amazing institution it is today.

Erica: You have played an active, tireless, central role in that growth, Cindy. We have such gratitude for your service.

Liz: Indeed! And in honor of her service to our state and court system, Governor Walz issued a proclamation naming Cindy’s retirement date as “Cindy Lehr Day”! The proclamation states in part, “Ms. Lehr has provided an unwavering commitment and dedication to the success of the Court of Appeals and its mission of providing the people of Minnesota with impartial, clear, and timely appellate decisions made according to law, and her influence will be found throughout our communities for generations.”

Katie: Well said! Liz, congrats on being chosen for this position and I can imagine it is a little daunting to be inheriting this role from Cindy. Big shoes to fill.

Liz: Thank you, I’m excited and honored at the opportunity. And yes, Cindy is a tough act to follow, but I have had such wonderful opportunities to learn from her and establish relationships at the court over my past 10 years working there. I’m ready to serve.

Cindy: Liz will shine. She is the perfect fit for the role of chief staff attorney. She brings private practice experience in civil cases prior to working at the court and she knows the clerks, staff attorneys, and judges well already. That continuity of relationships will allow the court to keep serving the public seamlessly through this transition.

Erica: Liz, how have your duties changed in your new role?

Liz: The chief attorney provides input and review of all precedential decisions. I also train the court’s law clerks and frequently consult with the law clerks. And I serve as a resource to the other staff attorneys and all 19 judges. I will also now be serving on two Rules Committees, for the Appellate Rules and the Civil Rules.

Katie: Where did you work before becoming a staff attorney at the court?

Liz: After college, I worked at Messerli & Kramer in its government relations division, using my poli sci degree as a lobbying assistant. That led me to law school and civil ligation. I graduated from what was then William Mitchell College of Law and clerked for Justice Paul Anderson on the Supreme Court. Next I practiced business litigation at the Faegre firm for four years before returning to clerk for Court of Appeals Judge Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks for two years. After that, I never left the court! When I completed my clerkship I moved into a staff attorney role and here I am.

Erica: The staff attorneys tend to have subject matter areas of specialty, which add to the depth of the court’s institutional knowledge in varied substantive areas of law. What are yours?

Liz: I have broad civil law knowledge, including in the areas of real property, landlord-tenant, insurance, contracts, UCC, data practices, open meeting laws, and expungement.

Katie: Wow, that is a broad base of expertise! What are your goals for your time as chief?

Liz: Stability through this transition. Change is not high on my immediate priority list. This is a finely tuned machine and the goal is to keep the train on the tracks. Right now we are a little short-staffed, down one staff attorney until my replacement (a civil-focused staff attorney) starts, and this is a very busy time of the year at the court, with the annual class of law clerks transitioning at the end of term. However once I’ve settled in a bit, I will be asking the bench and bar for input and ideas about where they want to see the court going.

Erica and Katie: Good to know, we will set ourselves a calendar reminder a year or two out to then start bringing big institutional change ideas to you and the court. We’re kidding. (Sort of.)

Liz: Excellent. I’m looking forward to getting more involved with the MSBA’s Appellate Practice Section, going to more events and getting to know more people in the appellate bar. There are some natural conversations about how we can help each other out and get things sorted where there are issues or barriers we are not aware of. And just as Cindy would make herself available to the bar, don’t hesitate now to reach out to me with a call if you are tussling with an appellate rules or procedure question. We can work through it together. What was Cindy’s extension now rings through to me— (651) 297-1025. The Office of the Appellate Clerk is also an excellent resource for practitioners.

Katie: Erica and I have gotten a lot from our involvement in the Appellate Practice Section and we know you will too. And that’s a great reminder of your willingness to engage as a resource.

Erica: Liz, can you please tell us a little about yourself when you’re not at the Judicial Center?

Liz: I have three kids—one in college, one in high school, and one in middle school—so I’m still busy with a lot of their activities. Both my husband and I grew up in St. Paul; we’re stalwart St. Paulites. I like keeping active and reading.

Katie: It’s hard to have many more hobbies than that with an intense and busy job as a legal professional and kids! Cindy, how about you? Your free time should be increasing now that you have passed the reins to Liz. What are you most looking forward to about retiring?

Cindy: So many things! Being able to get to the lake cabin more frequently. Traveling. There are some charitable and religious organizations that I will be willing to engage with now in a different way since I’m retired from the court that will be meaningful. And I’m an avid gardener of flowers and vegetables, so being able to visit the garden center in the middle of a weekday will be a thrill, rather than fighting the crowds on the weekends like everybody else.

Liz: Cindy is an amazing gardener. And also a skilled baker! She has already been bringing us treats since she retired.

Cindy: Strawberry cream cheese bars with pretzel crusts.

Katie: Sweet and salty? What could be better!?

Liz: Cindy’s baking even showed up in a book about the Minnesota tobacco litigation.

Cindy: That’s true! There were so many appeals in that case! Every time the tobacco industry would get an adverse ruling, we would get three separate appellate filings. A notice of appeal, a petition for discretionary review just in case the court concluded there was no appeal as of right, and a petition for mandamus or prohibition. Or sometimes a petition for both! There was a scene in the book where they made an emergency telephone petition to me on a Sunday night, just when I was putting a cake in the oven to bake. I was literally on standby for the emergency motions while I was doing my baking.

Erica: Wow. You have made history in more ways than even I realized! Cindy, do you have any parting words of wisdom for practitioners?

Cindy: Yes. My best advice appellate practitioners, whatever the question is, is to always read the rules first. The comments too. Typically they will answer your question. If not, call Liz.

Erica: Great advice, as always. Liz, thank you so much for your time chatting with us and sharing more about yourself with the appellate community. We wish you all the best in this new role and want to support you in this transition, so please do let us appellate practitioners know what we can do to help make your transition smooth.

Liz: Will do, and thank you!

Katie: And thank you, Cindy, for your service. We wish you all the best as you settle into this next new phase of life. May you find such joy in your gardens, travel, cabin, baking, all of it. You’ve made the Court of Appeals and serving Minnesota your top priority for so many years and it’s wonderful that you can now prioritize these other things that bring you joy. And we’d like you to have the last word.

Cindy: The Court of Appeals recently commemorated its 40th anniversary and it has been a privilege and an honor to be a part of that history. With the dedication and talents of our judges, law clerks and support staff, staff attorneys, and new chief attorney, I am confident that the court will continue to build on that strong foundation and will continue to “do Minnesota justice,” as the slogan for the campaign to establish the court promised, all those years ago.

Erica Holzer is a partner and co-chair of the Appellate Practice Group at Maslon LLP, where she represents clients in complex commercial disputes, products liability litigation, and insurance coverage actions.

Katie Barrett Wiik is a partner in the Minneapolis office of Saul Ewing LLP and a Vice-Chair of the firm’s national appellate practice group. Her practice focuses on appeals and commercial litigation.