Two Minnesota Law Professors & Initiatives Plus 29 Alumni Are Honored for Excellence by Minnesota Lawyer

A total of 29 Minnesota Law alumni and the efforts of two Minnesota Law professors who spearhead experiential learning initiatives at the Law School were recognized by Minnesota Lawyer in its annual Attorney of the Year awards honoring the best of the legal profession in Minnesota.

Minnesota Law’s Clemency Project, and its faculty director, JaneAnne Murray, were recognized for its work throughout 2021, which included effectuating two sentence commutations on the state level and more than a dozen pardons on the federal level.

Professor Professor Perry Moriearty, along with Dan Guerrero '89 of Meshbesher & Spence, were recognized for their work in effectuating the release of Myon Burrell after 18 years in prison in a case that made headlines throughout the country. The work was done through Minnesota Law’s Child Advocacy and Juvenile Justice Clinic.

Award winners will be feted at a dinner event on Thursday, Feb. 17, at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis. (More information)

The following is the complete list of alumni and Minnesota Law professors and programs honored by Minnesota Lawyer.

Groups Category

3M N95 Mask Seizure Litigation

• Eva Mendelsohn '11, 3M
• Anna M. Tobin '13, 3M

Bair Hugger MDL Plaintiffs

• Jake Zimmerman '03, The Zimmerman Firm

Brown, Lee, and Young vs Reese Pfeiffer

• Rebecca Stillman, '16, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
• Bahram Samie, '09, U.S. Attorney’s Office (Minneapolis)

Michael Hall III Team     

• Michael Hall Sr. '69, Hall Law

Mohamed Noor appellate team

• Caitlinrose H. Fisher  '15, Forsgren Fisher
• Matthew D. Forsgren '94, Forsgren Fisher
• Peter B. Wold '94, Wold Morrison Law
• Aaron Morrison '03, Wold Morrison Law

N.H. v. Anoka Hennepin School District

• Andrew Davis '06, Stinson
• Christy Hall '11, Gender Justice

Protecting Minnesotans from Medicaid Fraud, State v. Remona Lysa Brown        

• Kristi Nielsen '03, Office of the Minnesota Attorney General

Protecting Tenants as Consumers, State v. Steven Meldahl

• Eric Maloney, '14, Office of the Minnesota Attorney General

ResCap Liquidating Trust Litigation Team

• Randi Winter, '10, Spencer Fane

RightCHOICE Managed Care, Inc. et al v. Hospital Partners, Inc. Case Team

• Jamie Kurtz '10, Robins Kaplan
• Haynes Hansen '17, Robins Kaplan
• Jaime Wing '16, Robins Kaplan

University of Minnesota Law School Clemency Project 

Individual Category

Alain Baudry '87, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr

Matthew Pelikan '12, Madel

Outstanding Service to the Profession Category

Derek Chauvin Prosecution

• Attorney General Keith Ellison '90, Office of the Minnesota Attorney General
• Erin Eldridge '08, Office of the Minnesota Attorney General

Abigail Cerra '10, Minneapolis Police Conduct Oversight Commission

Teams Category

Court Anderson '03 and Ben Hamborg '13, Henson Efron

Timothy Barnett '84 and Ryan Schildkraut '07, Winthrop & Weinstine

Dan Guerrero '89, Meshbesher & Spence, and Professor Perry Moriearty, faculty director of Minnesota Law’s Child Advocacy and Juvenile Justice Clinic

Jack Rice '97, Jack Rice Defense