Breaking the Ice: Competitive drive fuels ‘New Lawyer’ honoree

Jack Edell brings a competitiveness honed by playing baseball and football to his work as a litigator at Hellmuth & Johnson.

While Edell wants to support his team — those he’s working with on a case — and he also wants to win.

“It comes back to, I want the best for my client,” Edell said. “It’s not a personal thing against opposing counsel. But having a competitive drive to win, I think a trial attorney needs that drive to go the extra mile necessary to tip the scales.”

Edell recently received the Hennepin County Bar Association‘s Outstanding New Lawyer Award. The award announcement cited Edell’s demonstration of “significant legal knowledge early in his career” through successfully trying multiple cases in construction, real estate and insurance litigation.

Edell values peer education, working with and answering questions from younger associates.

“I get a lot of value and fulfillment in taking time to walk them through how to do something, and help them be the best attorney that they can be,” he said.

Name: Jack Edell

Title: Associate, Hellmuth & Johnson

Education: B.A., biochemistry, Saint John’s University; J.D., Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Q: Best way to start a conversation with you?

A: Just say hi. Doesn’t matter how — email, text, call. Just start the conversation and I’ll respond.

Q: Why law school?

A: My grandpa, Robert Edell, was a pretty successful patent attorney at Merchant & Gould. I was young when he passed away. My dad wasn’t an attorney. But I heard from my parents and family what the legal community and legal practices were like, so I was curious. I was working at Medtronic for about a year in the regulatory sphere, and butting up against the legal side of stuff. I had this constant prodding, like, maybe you should look into this more. I took the LSAT, without studying for it. Applied to Mitchell Hamline, where my grandpa went. They had a night program, and I was working at Medtronic then. I got accepted and showed up with an open mind.

Q: What are you reading?

A: I’m working my way through basically every John Grisham book. I just read “The Firm,” and it was good.

Q: Best part of your work?

A: Some clients are extremely anxious about the litigation process. And there’s this point where they take this breath of relief, where, “We’re gonna get through this.” I can’t determine the outcome of the case, but being a part of that relief, when it sinks in for the client, that’s like, OK, this is why I’m doing this.

Q: Most challenging?

A: The pressure and expectation to succeed. It could be my own internal expectations or from the client. I do a good job of handling that stress, but sometimes it can be challenging.

Q: Favorite activity away from work?

A: Get outside any way I can. My dad ran a guide business in South Dakota doing pheasant hunting. I grew up hunting. Like to fish. Hiking. Going on walks. My mom and I walk around White Bear Lake all the time, because that’s where she is. Everything seems to slow down when you’re outside, which is good for my brain.

Q: Where would you take someone visiting your hometown?

A: The Wild Bean Coffee in downtown Mahtomedi. Maddie McMahon, a young woman who had worked there, bought it when the owner was looking to sell. It’s exciting to see what she’s done with it, and how she has engaged with the community. The coffee is great and the pastries are great.

Q: Legal figure you admire?

A: My grandpa wasn’t perfect but he’s also the reason I get to do what I love every day.

Q: Misconception about your work?

A: People expect you to be buttoned up and super proper. And when you’re goofy and just going through life like everybody else, they’re like, whoa.

Q: Favorite book, movie or TV show about lawyers?

A: “Suits.” Some lawyers, hate it, but it’s a guilty pleasure. “My Cousin Vinny,” I love. “A Few Good Men.”