Minnesota Lawyer

For this edition of POWER 30, we've focused on employment lawyers whose mere presence on a case signifies the stakes, who have influenced the direction of the law, whose leadership in the community is pervasive and whose respect within the bar is undeniable.

For two years now the pandemic has had the collateral effect of creating new ways for employers to run afoul of the law and, in turn, creating new whistleblower suits by employees.

Federal employment law took a sharp turn in 2020 when the U.S. Supreme Court decided Bostock v. Clayton County.

Working for the underdog has been Beth Bertelson’s calling for a long time. But when she had a family member experience adverse employment action, she became committed.

Litigation is not always the best way. A process of discussion may produce a solution that suits both sides and satisfies clients sensitive to price and publicity, said Minneapolis attorney Cynthia Bremer.

About a year ago, Minneapolis lawyer Douglas Christensen said that President Joe Biden’s administration would be the most pro-union administration in American history.

Extraordinarily strange facts led to an extraordinary verdict for Michelle Jacobson, a client of law partners Leslie Lienemann and Celeste Culberth.

Employment law in Minnesota has been marked recently by more robust federal agency enforcement, including the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board.

Living in Florida where the public schools are predominantly minority-based was a lesson in the effects of discrimination for Emma Denny, HKM Employment Attorneys’ managing partner in Minneapolis.

Dyan Ebert represents public and some private entities in employment litigation, but like many lawyers right now, she is spending a lot of time counseling clients through the daily challenges of operating a workplace during a pandemic.