Minnesota Lawyer

When Marcus Laman’s M&A practice slowed as pandemic-related shutdown orders closed many businesses last spring and summer, the partner in Taft’s Minneapolis quickly got up to speed on another acronym — PPP, as in Paycheck Protection Program.

University of Minnesota Law School professor Jill Hasday is the author of “Intimate Lies and the Law,” which she said is “the first to explore the hidden law governing deception in dating, sex, marriage and family life.”

Moss & Barnett attorney Jana Aune Deach says she went into family law because she wanted to make a difference in the lives of people going through difficult times.

John C. Redpath, who joined Winthrop & Weinstine last month as a shareholder, went from accounting to law because attorneys he saw looked like they had more fun.

Ann Jenrette-Thomas tries to make individuals aware of unconscious biases while also seeking systemic change as chief diversity and inclusion officer at Stinson.

Stinson partner Todd Phelps took the Florida bar exam a few years ago to serve high-net-worth families and private businesses that tend to own commercial real estate or multifamily developments here and in southwest Florida.

Chelsey Buck, a third-year associate at Lathrop GPM, says experience crunching numbers and creating spreadsheets as a certified public accountant is benefiting her mergers-and-acquisitions practice and legal career.

Attorney and partner Justin Jenkins has teamed with managing partner David Davenport to launch BC Davenport, a Minneapolis-based law firm focused on representing developers, nonprofits and others in low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) matters.

Maslon partner Terrance Newby, who has written plays produced in local professional theaters and is revising his first novel, says fiction writing complements his intellectual property, e-commerce and complex commercial litigation practice.

Connie Lahn, recently elected to her fourth two-year term as managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg’s Minneapolis office, pursues leadership roles because she didn’t see many women leaders earlier in her career.