I represent banks and financial institutions in connection with a wide range of matters, spanning everything from front-end lending to workouts and bankruptcy. I have a special focus on the agriculture industry, and previously worked for Country Hedging, Inc. (the commodity trading subsidiary of CHS) as a commodity branch manager and market analyst in Kansas City, advising clients on commodity hedging strategies and trading agricultural futures and options for grain and livestock producers and grain cooperatives in South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado.
My Approach
Clients rely on me to give practical advice, with a strong legal foundation, that helps them get from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible. When working with clients, especially those in the agriculture industry, I rely on my long history in the industry – which began when I grew up on my family’s dairy farm – and apply that first-hand knowledge to my representation of clients. I make sure that clients have all the information they need to make sound business decisions and provide pragmatic, digestible advice on complex problems.
Outside of work, I spend a lot of time attending my kids’ activities, and I also love tinkering and burning brush at our fixer-upper cabin, and going hiking or spending time with my family in the Boundary Waters.
Practice Areas
Bold Perspectives
Ag Finance Update
11.10.23
2023 CASE LAW AND STATUTORY UPDATE
10.03.23
Honors & Awards
The Best Lawyers in America©
Banking and Finance Law, 2024-2025
Minnesota Super Lawyers®
2023
Minnesota's Top Lawyers
Minnesota Monthly, 2022
Urban Hero Award-Heart of Downton
St. Cloud Downtown Council, 2018
Minnesota Rising Star
Thomson Reuters, 2014
Associations & Memberships
American Bar Association Foundation
Fellow, 2024-current
American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers
Fellow, 2022-current
American Bar Association Subcommittee on Agricultural and Agri-business Financing
Chair, 2014-2017
American Agricultural Law Association
Board of Directors, 2014-2017 & 2021-2024; President, 2022-2023
Minnesota State Bar Association
Kansas Bar Association; Corporation, Banking and Business Law Section
President, 2006-2007
Kansas Bar Association; Continuing Legal Education Committee
Vice Chair, 2006-2007
Johnson County (Kansas) Bar Association
Bankruptcy Committee, Chair, 2004-2006