People & Practices: May 10, 2021

Listen to this article

Fish & Richardson announced Betsy Flanagan has been named the managing principal of the Twin Cities office. She succeeds J. Patrick Finn III, Ph.D., who served in the role since 2015. The Twin Cities office houses over 30 IP attorneys and technology specialists, as well as the firm’s administrative hub for support staff.

Flanagan’s practice focuses on complex patent litigation, with an emphasis on life sciences, biotechnology and pharmaceutical litigation, including Hatch-Waxman litigation. She has worked on a variety of technologies, including pharmaceutical formulations, glaucoma drugs, hair growth agents, dermal fillers, nucleosides, antibodies, biologics, and sleep apnea devices.

Flanagan has been widely recognized in Minnesota and nationally for her patent litigation work. Most recently, she was named the Litigation Practitioner of the Year for Minnesota by Managing Intellectual Property. For the last three years, Flanagan has been named one of the “Top 250 Women in Litigation” by Benchmark Litigation. In 2018, she was named an “Up & Coming Attorney” by Minnesota Lawyer and a “Women Worth Watching” award winner by Profiles in Diversity Journal. She has also been consistently named an “IP Star” by Managing Intellectual Property, a “Life Science Star” by LMG Life Sciences, and a Rising Star by Law360.

***

The Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA) recognizes nine attorney members with its 2021 HCBA Excellence Awards. The awards honor members for their service to the local legal profession, the community, and the association. The HCBA selected eight members for their work from among six different categories, and one member, who passed away in December 2020, for career contributions to the profession. These members will be recognized in the September issue of the Hennepin Lawyer. The awards will be presented at an HCBA member event during the 2021-2022 Bar Year.

• Alexander Kim (Greenberg Traurig) for Mentoring in the Profession: Through his leadership in numerous affinity bars and boards, Kim has been an advocate to diversify the IP field by meeting with and mentoring attorneys who are traditionally underrepresented in the practice.
• Inti Martinez-Alemán (Ceiba Forte Law Firm) for Advancing Innovation in the Profession: Martinez-Alemán’s firm, Ceiba Forte, works to ease anxiety and remove barriers to justice for their Hispanic clients by leveraging technology. The firm uses a VR courtroom experience, a gamification intake process, mobile document upload service, and YouTube videos for Spanish-speaking clients to put them at ease throughout their case.
• James Jacobson (Medica) for Mentoring in the Profession: Throughout his decades-long career, Jacobson has always made mentoring law students, advocating for new attorneys, and connecting individuals a priority. He is well-known at Medica for always being willing to meet for coffee and be a resource for those looking for guidance.
• Lica Tomizuka (Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath) for Advancing Diversity and Inclusion: Tomizuka has been a tireless advocate for diversity in her own firm, the bar, and the greater community overall. Serving on committees at Faegre, advancing initiatives through organizations like the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and taking on leadership roles with community organizations like YMCA demonstrate Tomizuka’s passion for diversity and inclusion work.
• Sonja Beddow (Ballard Spahr) for Providing Pro Bono Service: With the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, Beddow stepped up and expanded her pro bono service. Already a dedicated volunteer for the Children’s Law Center, she took on additional cases after the pandemic made it difficult to train new volunteers. She also learned immigration law to assist people with various immigration matters.
• Timothy Griffin & Andrew Davis (Stinson) for Advancing Diversity and Inclusion: Griffin and Davis led a team that won a ruling from the Minnesota Court of Appeals that gave a transgender student the right to use a locker room that aligned with his gender identity. Called a “landmark ruling” from the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, this case affirmed rights for transgender and gender nonconforming students across the state.
• Veena Iyer (Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota) for Improving Access to Justice: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Iyer’s leadership allowed ILCM to continue to serve clients in desperate situations. She’s also worked to provide more accessible and timely information on immigration court rulings via issuing fact sheets and conducting livestreamed social media sessions.
• Thad Lightfoot for Career Contributions to the Profession: Lightfoot, who passed away last December, served as HCBA president from 2017-18, and was a champion of the bar and always made sure it was a welcoming place. He was a beloved adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline, and he made sure to connect with the New Lawyers Section. His contributions, leadership, and support of the Hennepin County legal community will be sorely missed.

***

Heimerl & Lammers LLC of Minnetonka recently added two new lawyers to the firm. Both will be working in family law.

Angela Streit is an associate in the firm’s family law department. With her combined 11 years of experience in the legal field, Angela is very knowledgeable in multiple areas of law including family law, appellate litigation, railroad law, motor vehicle accident law, and premises liability. She has settled into her newfound passion for family law.

Georgie K. Brattland is an associate in the firm’s family law department. Georgie was initially hired as a law clerk for the family law group and handled a variety of research and drafting needs. Georgie recently passed the Minnesota Bar Exam, where she was hired as an attorney. She hopes to build a diverse and well-regarded practice in family law, including juvenile, CHIPS, and adoption matters.

***

Melchert Hubert Sjodin PLLP, with offices in Waconia and Chaska has recently added 2 new associate attorneys.

Clarissa Volpe joins the firm and will focus in the areas of municipal law and real estate law. Drawing from a wide range of practice experiences in government, corporate, and law firm settings, Clarissa provides her clients with legal advice designed to mesh with the practical and policy matters her clients face on a day-to-day basis.

Born and raised in Minnesota, Volpe has spent time living in other parts of the country and through those experiences has developed the ability to collaborate smoothly with others regardless of their workstyle.

Jacob Saufley joins the firm’s real estate, business & corporate, and municipal practice groups. He comes to MHS from a nationally recognized law firm.  His broad experience with local governments, real estate, business transactions, and litigation makes him a versatile addition to the firm.  Jacob enjoys helping his clients solve problems and achieve their goals.

***

Meritas, a global alliance of independent business law firms, announced that it has named Brett Krantz of Kohrman Jackson & Krantz (KJK) law firm in Cleveland, Ohio, as the organization’s new chairperson. Krantz assumed the role at the 2021 Meritas Business Update & Town Hall. He was elected by unanimous vote of the Meritas Board of Directors and will serve a two-year term. Krantz’s law firm has been a Meritas member since 2010.

“Brett brings extensive experience leading various initiatives for Meritas and is highly regarded by our members worldwide,” said Meritas President Sona Pancholy.

Krantz has years of leadership experience within Meritas, including on the executive committee, as chair of the Meritas Quality Assurance Committee (QAC), and as a board member. He led the development of new quality assurance policies, including championing Meritas’ Global Cybersecurity Standards for member firms, which give clients peace of mind that information security is consistently strong across the network.

“It’s a critical time for the legal industry, with corporate counsel seeking efficiency, effectiveness, and assurance that their information is kept safe, and that the law firms they choose to work with live up to those standards,” said Krantz.

Krantz is co-owner of KJK, member of its executive committee, and chair of the firm’s litigation department. With more than three decades of experience, Krantz has counseled a diverse client base including individuals, owners of regulated and non-regulated companies, small entrepreneurial entities, and large public corporations. He has litigated business-to-business commercial disputes and securities issues involving Federal Courts, FINRA, the SEC, and state securities regulators.

Meritas is a global alliance of independent, market-leading law firms that provide legal services to companies looking to effectively capture opportunities and solve issues anywhere in the world. Founded in 1990, Meritas has member firms in 253 markets worldwide with more than 7,300 dedicated, collaborative lawyers.

Minnesota Lawyer welcomes news about hires, promotions and other activities in the legal profession. Send releases (and photos if desired) to [email protected].

Like this article? Gain access to all of our great content with a month-to-month subscription. Start your subscription.