Claire H. Topp, Dorsey & Whitney LLP

After graduating from college more than 30 years ago, Claire Topp attempted to get into medical school and later worked for United Way and taught at a high school.

The Dorsey & Whitney LLP Partner said she wanted a career where she could “connect with people and figure out a way to help them.” Topp found what she needed in the legal field and has created a thriving nonprofit practice at Dorsey, where she has worked for nearly 33 years.

Topp’s expertise is representing nonprofit and other health care clients on joint ventures, conflicts of interest, Medicare/Medicaid fraud and abuse, and other related issues. Last year, she represented the University of Minnesota in its lawsuit with the health plan UCare over their shared governance. 

UCare agreed to pay the university a $100 million settlement in exchange for relinquishing its majority on UCare’s board of directors. “UCare got to go off and do its work independently of the university, and the University of Minnesota was able to reinvest the money it received in various health care programs to improve health equity and access,” she said. 

Topp’s work led the Best Lawyers in America to select her as “Lawyer of the Year” in Minneapolis in this year’s Nonprofits/Charity category. The organization has listed her as one of the country’s best lawyers since 2019.

At Dorsey, Topp has served on the Policy Committee and once led an evaluation of the firm’s compensation system. Outside Dorsey, she teaches a nonprofit law class at the University of Minnesota Law School. She does pro bono work for Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos International (NHPI), a child welfare agency in Central and South America and the Caribbean. 

Her legal and pro bono clients share a common goal. “My clients are trying to make a difference in the world, which makes it a different focus than other kinds of law,” she said.