Education:
St. John's University, Collegeville, MN - B.A. cum laude, 1977
William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, MN - J.D. cum laude, 1981
Admitted to Practice:
Minnesota State Courts - 1981
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota - 1983
U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals - 1997
U.S. Supreme Court - 1998
Legal Employment:
Minnesota District Court Judge Jan. 2, 2003 - Present. Elected in 2004, 2010, and 2016. Appointed and assigned to serve statewide as Senior Judge from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2025.
Rajkowski Hansmeier Ltd. 1981 - 2002
Law Clerk, O'Neill, Burke & O'Neill, Ltd. 1979 - 1981
Primary Areas of Practice When in Private Practice:
Insurance Defense, Commercial/Financial, Municipal Law, Court Approved ADR Neutral.
Law Related Organizations When in Private Practice:
Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association
- President, 1999 - 2000
- Officer, 1996 - 2001
- Director, 1993 - 1996
Stearns-Benton County Bar Association
Minnesota Seventh Judicial District Bar Association
Minnesota State Bar Association
Articles:
The Learned Treatise Exception Revisited: The Defense Perspective", Minnesota Defense, Col. 13, Issue 2. (Co-author)
"Ending Gender Inequity", Minnesota Defense, Vol. 14, Issue 1, Winter 1993.
Seminars:
"Review of the Bad Faith Law in Minnesota Both for First-Party Benefits and Excess Claims", Insurance Law Seminar - Sponsored by the Minnesota Institute of Legal Education, October 8 and 9, 1992
"Bad Faith Litigation" - Sponsored by the National Business Institue, Inc., February 3, 1993
"Wage and Hour Law Update" - Sponsored by Lorman Education Services, march 19, 1998
Alternative Dispute Resolution Experience:
- AAA Panel of No-Fault Arbitrators
- Served as a party selected mediator, 1996 - 2002
- Civil Mediation Skills Training - 1998
- Qualified ADR Neutral - 1998
- Approved by the Board of Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association and Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association as a member of the Creative Dispute Resolution Neutral Panel
Honors:
Life Member of the National Registry of Who's Who for Lawyers