Minnesota Lawyer

Late nights and demanding clients may offer a different legal experience than life inside a company, but that doesn’t mean a lawyer’s work can’t have great impact on their company, their industry and their community.

As senior vice president and chief legal counsel at Fairview Health Services, Trudi Trysla has helped the organization navigate through many issues related to legal and ethical adherence to federal and state law.

As a young attorney, Kay Tuveson got used to being called a “girl lawyer” and being told that she would be best off working on wills and divorces.

Not every in-house counsel wants to serve both their organization and the larger legal profession. Jim Chosy insists on it.

As general counsel at Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos. US Inc., Mary Wawro has had what she calls a “North Star” guiding her work.

Minneapolis native Cameron Boyd was recruited by both the Metropolitan Airports Commission, where he had worked as a student legal intern, and the Minneapolis firm of Lindquist & Vennum, where he had been a clerk; he chose the latter.

Before and after graduating from the University of Minnesota Law School, Willie Hardacker worked for Native American attorney Kurt Bluedog and began learning about federal tribal law.

As in-house counsel for the St. Paul Port Authority, Eric Larson has played a significant role in shaping some of the most iconic economic development projects in Saint Paul in the last decade.

From pigeons defiling salt piles to a major RICO case, Brooke Tassoni appreciates the variety of working as senior lawyer and regional litigation team lead at Cargill Inc.

Not every in-house counsel’s first task is to keep employees from going to jail. But Fred Dawe has handled that and more.