Trusted Employment Counsel for Executives + Employers
For more than 35 years, I’ve helped clients navigate the full spectrum of employment law—from negotiating complex executive agreements to guiding companies through internal investigations and high-risk employment disputes. I work with C-suite executives, business owners, HR leaders, and legal departments to find pragmatic, results-driven solutions that protect careers and businesses alike.
My practice spans executive employment agreements, equity and incentive plans, severance and transition packages, non-compete and non-solicitation enforcement, and employment litigation strategy. Whether representing an employer or an individual leader, I bring a seasoned perspective informed by decades of experience on both sides of the table.
Strategic Representation for Senior Executives
I’ve advised hundreds of executives—CEOs, CMOs, financial advisors, and professionals across sectors like healthcare, life sciences, engineering, and financial services—as they negotiate high-stakes transitions, onboard with new companies, or push back on overreaching restrictions.
My role is to ensure my clients understand their options, mitigate risk, and secure terms that reflect their true value. I frequently support executives through:
- Offer negotiations and compensation reviews
- Non-compete and non-solicitation concerns
- Equity agreements and long-term incentive plans
- Severance and change-in-control protections
- M&A transitions and private equity acquisitions
I offer straightforward, practical guidance that helps executives make confident decisions and avoid career-limiting missteps.
Employment Law Support for Growing Businesses
I also serve as a long-term advisor to employers, including emerging companies, private practices, and mid-sized businesses, offering legal counsel on day-to-day employment issues and larger HR challenges. That includes employee discipline, whistleblower response, discrimination defense, and policy design.
One way I support companies is through my Outsourced Employment Law Counsel offering—a monthly flat-fee arrangement that gives clients timely, hands-on legal support without the unpredictability of hourly billing. For many clients, this has become a cost-effective way to get immediate advice when they need it most.
Practical, Confidential Internal Investigations
I’ve conducted and overseen dozens of internal investigations involving workplace misconduct, discrimination claims, and financial impropriety. These investigations often address sensitive allegations—sexual harassment, retaliation, embezzlement, expense abuse, and more.
I understand the stakes and know how to balance legal, business, and reputational risks. My goal is to deliver fact-based, legally sound recommendations that allow employers to act with confidence and integrity.
Grounded, Responsive, and Real-World Practical
Clients often tell me they appreciate my no-nonsense, practical approach. I focus on what matters, stay responsive, and bring deep experience to every matter—whether it’s routine or truly novel. I’m here to anticipate challenges before they escalate, offer candid counsel when the path forward isn’t obvious, and help clients make decisions that align with their values and goals.
In my spare time, I enjoy spending time at my family cabin, cycling, and performing home-improvement projects for which I am totally unqualified. This personal balance helps me maintain a fresh and focused approach to my professional commitments.
Employment + Executive Counsel
Type of Client: Employer – Assisted Living Facility
Client’s Issue: Sexual Harassment Defense
My Approach: Proactive Litigation and Discovery
Result: Dismissal on Summary Judgment
Type of Client: Chief Medical Officer – Medical Device Industry
Client’s Issue: Negotiate Terms of Employment Agreement
My Approach: Ensure Market Compensation and Severance Provisions
Result: Successful Hire and Onboarding; Promotion
Type of Client: Executive Sales Representative
Client’s Issue: Noncompete Issues
My Approach: Advise on Exit Strategy to Minimize Exposure
Result: Successful Transfer to Competitor on Negotiated Terms
Type of Client: C-Suite Executive – Public Company
Client’s Issue: Change in Control Severance Dispute
My Approach: Attempt to Negotiate then Litigate
Result: Settled on Usually Agreeable Terms
Type of Client: Highly Compensated C-Suite Executive
Client’s Issue: Renegotiate Employment Agreement
My Approach: Advise the executive on Negotiation of Compensation; Revise Final Agreement
Result: Agreement Reached on Satisfactory Terms
Type of Client: Financial Advisor
Client’s Issue: Terminate Employment Agreement and Open New Practice
My Approach: Extensive Negotiation with Employer’s Counsel
Result: Mutually Agreeable Transition Agreement
Type of Client: Financial Advisor
Client’s Issue: Transition with large book from legacy firm with punitive non-compete/non-solicitation covenants to competing RIA
My Approach: Advise on exit strategy to minimize exposure to non-compete/non-solicitation agreement challenges
Result: Successful Transfer to Competitor on Negotiated Terms
Type of Client: Professional in Private Practice
Client’s Issue: Separation: Non–Compete
My Approach: Defend Client Position and Challenge Enforceability of Restrictive Covenants
Result: Litigation Threats Ceased Without Materializing
Type of Client: Employer/Property Manager
Client’s Issue: Defense of Discrimination Claims
My Approach: Proactive Counseling and Advice
Result: Charges Dismissed by Agency & No Litigation
Type of Client: Physician
Client’s Issue: Transition to competitive practice with non-compete and non-solicitation risk and negotiate terms of new employment
My Approach: Proactive counseling re communication and re-negotiation with prior employer
Result: Successful transition to new practice without litigation
Mergers + Acquisitions
Type of Client: Chief Operating Officer/Part Owner of Private Equity Acquisition Target
Client’s Issue: Ensure client’s interests are protected in new ownership structure
My Approach: Review and negotiate terms of employment agreement, equity award, and restrictive covenant agreement to protect client’s interests
Result: Revise agreements narrowed Good Cause termination definition, added resignation for Good Reason provision to provide severance benefits under certain circumstances, narrowed customer non-solicitation restriction
Type of Client: Owner of Private Equity Acquisition Target
Client’s Issue: Ensure client’s interests are protected in new ownership structure
My Approach: Review and negotiate terms of employment agreement and restrictive covenant agreement to protect client’s interests
Result: Revised employment agreement to ensure that client would be paid full salary and maximum bonus opportunity of terminated without cause or resigned for good reason for full three-year term of agreement
Education
- J.D., William Mitchell College of Law
- University of Notre Dame
- St. Thomas Academy
Bar Admissions
- Minnesota State Courts
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Districts of Minnesota and Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin
Current:
- Mentor, St. John Vianney, University of St. Thomas
- Volunteer Attorney, Cancer Legal Care
- Member, Board of Directors at the Convent and Academy of the Visitation
Previous:
- Member, Our Lady of Grace Parish Pastoral Council
Publications
- Author, Creating Mistake-proof Human Resource Systems, Upsize Magazine (May/June 2021)
- Author, A Practical Approach to Employment Agreements, Negotiating and Drafting Employment Agreements, Inside the Minds series, Aspatore Books (2008)
Presentations
- Management Resource Association Annual Employment Law Update, Minnesota State Legislative Update, 2/17/2022
- Lessons Learned: Keeping the Competition Out of Your Kitchen, 11/01/2017
- Twin Cities Startup Week: Darwin Lessons, 10/13/2017
- Missteps on the Path to Virtue: The Corrosive Effect of the Little Things, Virtuous Business Leader Series, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota (February 2015) University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota (February 2015)
- Workplace Investigations, Private Client Annual Meeting Event, Bloomington, Minnesota (June 2012)
- Employee Theft, Embezzlement and Fraud – Investigations, Terminations, and Asset Recovery, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, St. Paul, Minnesota (May 2012)
- Protecting Trade Secrets and Other Proprietary Information with Restrictive Covenants, Private Client Seminar (September 2011)
- Separation Agreements, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, St. Paul, Minnesota (May 2011)
- Employment Agreements, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, St. Paul, Minnesota (May 2009)
- Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace, Wells Fargo Insurance Services – Risk Management Series (May 2008)
- Common Ethical Issues in Employment Litigation, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, St. Paul, Minnesota (May 2008)
- The Essentials of Non-Compete, Non-Solicitation, Anti-Raiding & Confidentiality Agreements, Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly, Breakfast Briefing (October 2007)
- Avoiding Common Employer Mistakes, Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly, Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Seminar for Employers (June 2006)
- Hiring and Screening in Today’s Environment, Minnesota Institute for Legal Education, Bloomington, Minnesota (January 2002)
- Discipline and Termination for Poor Attitude or Personality Conflict: Making Essential Business Decisions Without Fear of Lawsuits, Counsel on Education in Management, Minneapolis, Minnesota (November 1998)
- Liability Prevention Techniques for Conducting Terminations, RIFs and Retirements in Response to Emerging Laws, Counsel on Education in Management, Minneapolis, Minnesota (September 1998).
- Named a 2024 Top Lawyer in Minnesota by Minnesota Monthly magazine.
- William Mitchell College of Law, Alumni Association Award of Merit
- 100 Who Made A Difference, William Mitchell College of Law
