Articles

The official publication of the Minnesota State Bar Association

Feature Articles

Public access, private lives

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Michael P. Boulette, Seungwon R. Chung, and Abby N. Sunberg

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Aug 02, 2023

In Minnesota most divorce records are public documents, accessible to anyone with an internet connection. That’s a problem.

Full story

Divorce
Courts

Minnesota reforms law to ban (almost) all noncompete agreements

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George H. Singer

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Aug 02, 2023

This year Minnesota became the first state in 100 years to ban the widely used but controversial agreements.

Full story

Employment Law

Minnesota endorses nonsolicitation agreements

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V. John Ella

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Aug 02, 2023

With noncompetes a thing of the past, time to get familiar with nonsolicitation agreements.

Full story

Employment Law

MEPA at 50

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MICHAEL DAMASCO

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Aug 02, 2023

Refocusing the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act through an environmental justice lens

Full story

Environment and Natural Resources Law

Prosecuting War Crimes in Ukraine

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ELLEN J. KENNEDY

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Aug 02, 2023

The worst crimes in the world are known as the four core international crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression. Although these terms are used widely in the news, especially in reference to crimes occurring in today’s war in Ukraine, distinctions between them are not widely known.

Full story

Online Only

Paul Floyd: The artful lawyer

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Jul 05, 2023

As a rule, clients want their attorneys to be competent, learned, persistent—but artistic? For Paul Floyd, practicing art as a discipline has been a part of his life since around 2009, or about a third of the time he’s been a practicing lawyer.

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Art
Profiles
President

MSBA President 2023-24: Paul Floyd, bridge builder

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Amy Lindgren

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Jul 05, 2023

If you ask Paul Floyd how he sees himself, the response won’t be glib or simple.

Full story

Profiles
President

Federal courts open the gates to Minnesota punitive-damages claims

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Nick Bullard and Luke Wetterstrom

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Jul 05, 2023

The threat of punitive damages is a game-changer in civil litigation. It ratchets up the financial stakes and imperils the defendant’s reputation—often creating intense pressure to settle. Get ready for more of this game-changer in federal court, thanks to a recent shift in case law.

Full story

Civil Litigation

2023 MN Legislative Session Review

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Bryan Lake

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Jul 05, 2023

Partisan divisions, few compromises, limited accomplishments: These were the essential elements of every Minnesota legislative session recap from 2015 through 2022. During those years neither major political party had simultaneous control of the House, Senate, and governor’s office—the trifecta, as it is known—and, predictably, the divisions in government caused constant gridlock.

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Legislation

Exchange: Letter to the editor from MN County Attorneys Association regarding “Getting Serious About Prosecutorial Misconduct” by Barry Edwards and Stacy Bettison

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Robert M. Small

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May 30, 2023

Full story

Letters to the Editor

We need to talk about ChatGPT

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Damien Riehl

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May 24, 2023

The ascendence of advanced large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 and ChatGPT have sparked conversations about the future of the legal profession and how these AI-driven systems might help remedy some of the profession’s less-favorable aspects.

Full story

Legal Writing
Technology

Textbooks and Toddlers: Returning to law school as a parent

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OLIVIA LIZ-FONTS

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May 24, 2023

Most would say that the perfect time to pursue law school is straight after graduating college. For me, it was after having my two children.

Full story

Law School

Watch your abbreviations

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IAN LEWENSTEIN

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May 24, 2023

Used without limits, abbreviations reveal their secret life as an insidious form of jargon, serving as insider shorthand to the detriment of readers unfamiliar with this ABC lingo. Certain abbreviations—specifically, initialisms—are also confusing, distracting, and, as you’ll see, usually unnecessary.

Full story

Legal Writing

U.S. immigration strategies for employers in a tight labor market

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Calleigh M. McRaith, Misti A. Binsfeld, and Robert P. Webber

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May 24, 2023

In what seems to be an effort to facilitate options for foreign nationals and employers, the Biden administration has quietly rolled out some relatively obscure policy changes. Employers, however, may be unaware of immigration options (including these relatively new options) that can help address labor shortages. The purpose of this article is to highlight a few strategies.

Full story

Immigration Law

Minnesota’s racially biased jury pools and how to fix them

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Bethany O’Neill, Cresston Gackle, and David Schultz

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Apr 01, 2023

Changing racial demographics in the state, coupled with the practices currently used to determine jury pools, are empaneling juries that are not racially representative. The result is that trials often fail to produce justice and perhaps even violate the Sixth Amendment.

Full story

Diversity
Courts

SCOTUS: Bankruptcy doesn’t erase debts incurred by the fraud of another

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George H. Singer

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Apr 01, 2023

The United States Supreme Court recently answered the question of whether a debtor in bankruptcy can discharge a debt resulting from another person’s fraud, even if the debtor is not aware of the fraud.

Full story

Bankruptcy

What the Respect for Marriage Act does and doesn’t mean

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Connor Burton and Matt Yost

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Apr 01, 2023

Many observers have heralded the Respect for Marriage Act as enshrining the right to same-sex marriage in federal law. But a review of the text of the Respect for Marriage Act and the legal precedent that it is built upon reveals its limitations.

Full story

Federal Law

Caregiver beware: Spotting scams that target seniors and other vulnerable adults

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Noah Lewellen

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Apr 01, 2023

Scams targeting senior citizens and other vulnerable adults are all too common. They typically focus on emotional pressure points: asking people to make snap decisions, ostensibly to help loved ones; preying on social isolation; and taking advantage of lack of familiarity with technology or changing methods of communication.

Full story

Consumer Protection

Getting serious about prosecutorial misconduct

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Barry S. Edwards and Stacy L. Bettison

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Mar 02, 2023

Over the past several years, increased attention has come to those wrongfully convicted because of prosecutorial misconduct, particularly with such high-profile cases as those of Curtis Flowers, Walter “Johnny D.” McMillian (the subject of the Hollywood-produced feature film Just Mercy), the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer, and the podcast Serial, featuring the case of the recently released Adnan Sayed.

Full story

Criminal Justice
Courts

I thought I loved family law. Practicing it almost wrecked my life.

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CARRIE OSOWSKI

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Mar 02, 2023

After 14 years of being exposed to every detail of my parents’ divorce and subsequent custody battles, practicing family law seemed to be the obvious choice, since I knew I wanted to be an attorney. When asked “why family law?”, I would say it was so that I could “use my trauma for good.” In theory, it was a great idea; in practice, it nearly destroyed my mental health.

Full story

Family Law

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Articles

The official publication of the Minnesota State Bar Association

Feature Articles

Public access, private lives (?)

Michael P. Boulette, Seungwon R. Chung, and Abby N. Sunberg (?)

Aug 02, 2023

Minnesota reforms law to ban (almost) all noncompete agreements (?)

George H. Singer (?)

Aug 02, 2023

Minnesota endorses nonsolicitation agreements (?)

V. John Ella (?)

Aug 02, 2023

MEPA at 50 (?)

MICHAEL DAMASCO (?)

Aug 02, 2023

Prosecuting War Crimes in Ukraine (?)

ELLEN J. KENNEDY (?)

Aug 02, 2023

Paul Floyd: The artful lawyer (?)

(?)

Jul 05, 2023

MSBA President 2023-24: Paul Floyd, bridge builder (?)

Amy Lindgren (?)

Jul 05, 2023

Federal courts open the gates to Minnesota punitive-damages claims (?)

Nick Bullard and Luke Wetterstrom (?)

Jul 05, 2023

2023 MN Legislative Session Review (?)

Bryan Lake (?)

Jul 05, 2023

Exchange: Letter to the editor from MN County Attorneys Association regarding “Getting Serious About Prosecutorial Misconduct” by Barry Edwards and Stacy Bettison (?)

Robert M. Small (?)

May 30, 2023

We need to talk about ChatGPT (?)

Damien Riehl (?)

May 24, 2023

Textbooks and Toddlers: Returning to law school as a parent (?)

OLIVIA LIZ-FONTS (?)

May 24, 2023

Watch your abbreviations (?)

IAN LEWENSTEIN (?)

May 24, 2023

U.S. immigration strategies for employers in a tight labor market (?)

Calleigh M. McRaith, Misti A. Binsfeld, and Robert P. Webber (?)

May 24, 2023

Minnesota’s racially biased jury pools and how to fix them (?)

Bethany O’Neill, Cresston Gackle, and David Schultz (?)

Apr 01, 2023

SCOTUS: Bankruptcy doesn’t erase debts incurred by the fraud of another (?)

George H. Singer (?)

Apr 01, 2023

What the Respect for Marriage Act does and doesn’t mean (?)

Connor Burton and Matt Yost (?)

Apr 01, 2023

Caregiver beware: Spotting scams that target seniors and other vulnerable adults (?)

Noah Lewellen (?)

Apr 01, 2023

Getting serious about prosecutorial misconduct (?)

Barry S. Edwards and Stacy L. Bettison (?)

Mar 02, 2023

I thought I loved family law. Practicing it almost wrecked my life. (?)

CARRIE OSOWSKI (?)

Mar 02, 2023

Bench & Bar of Minnesota

Recent Issues

Public access, private lives

(?)

Michael P. Boulette, Seungwon R. Chung, and Abby N. Sunberg

(?)

Minnesota reforms law to ban (almost) all noncompete agreements

(?)

George H. Singer

(?)

Minnesota endorses nonsolicitation agreements

(?)

V. John Ella

(?)

MEPA at 50

(?)

MICHAEL DAMASCO

(?)

Prosecuting War Crimes in Ukraine

(?)

ELLEN J. KENNEDY

(?)

Paul Floyd: The artful lawyer

(?)

MSBA President 2023-24: Paul Floyd, bridge builder

(?)

Amy Lindgren

(?)

Federal courts open the gates to Minnesota punitive-damages claims

(?)

Nick Bullard and Luke Wetterstrom

(?)

2023 MN Legislative Session Review

(?)

Bryan Lake

(?)

Exchange: Letter to the editor from MN County Attorneys Association regarding “Getting Serious About Prosecutorial Misconduct” by Barry Edwards and Stacy Bettison

(?)

Robert M. Small

(?)

We need to talk about ChatGPT

(?)

Damien Riehl

(?)

Textbooks and Toddlers: Returning to law school as a parent

(?)

OLIVIA LIZ-FONTS

(?)

Watch your abbreviations

(?)

IAN LEWENSTEIN

(?)

U.S. immigration strategies for employers in a tight labor market

(?)

Calleigh M. McRaith, Misti A. Binsfeld, and Robert P. Webber

(?)

Minnesota’s racially biased jury pools and how to fix them

(?)

Bethany O’Neill, Cresston Gackle, and David Schultz

(?)

SCOTUS: Bankruptcy doesn’t erase debts incurred by the fraud of another

(?)

George H. Singer

(?)

What the Respect for Marriage Act does and doesn’t mean

(?)

Connor Burton and Matt Yost

(?)

Caregiver beware: Spotting scams that target seniors and other vulnerable adults

(?)

Noah Lewellen

(?)

Getting serious about prosecutorial misconduct

(?)

Barry S. Edwards and Stacy L. Bettison

(?)

I thought I loved family law. Practicing it almost wrecked my life.

(?)

CARRIE OSOWSKI

(?)