Sokolowski, Joseph M.

Current Employment Position(s)

Shareholder

Lawyer Overview

Joe Sokolowski is a shareholder of Fredrikson & Byron. He is a litigator with 23 years of experience in defending employment litigation for employers in both state and federal courts.  Joe also represents employers before local, state, and federal administrative agencies. He advises management on all aspects of their employment practices and provides employment law training on a variety of employment topics. Joe defends employers in collective/class action litigation involving state and Federal (FLSA) wage and hour claims across the country. Joe also represents individuals and organizations in business tort litigation involving contracts, non-compete agreements, trade secrets, and confidential information, as well as antitrust and trade regulation matters.

Joe has obtained jury verdicts of “zero” in defending companies with over 1 billion dollars in assets and obtains summary judgment regularly in dismissing plaintiff employment claims in the state and federal courts. Joe has helped employers gain no probable cause findings in hundreds of discrimination charges before administrative agencies and has represented many clients in resolving litigation through alternative dispute resolution.

Areas of Practice

• Employment & Labor
• Litigation
• Non-Competes & Trade Secrets
• Class Action/Wage and Hour Litigation

Representative Clients

• Ferrell Gas North America
• Express Point Technology Services
• Acordia/Wells Fargo
• Saks Fifth Avenue
• Tom Thumb Food Markets, Inc.
• Bell Mortgage Company
• Acrometal Management Company
• S & C Banco
• Liberty Diversified Industries
• Litton Systems
• Alcoa Engineered Products
• Regent Aviation

Representative Cases

• Hagen v. Burmeister, 633 N.W.2d 497 (MN Supreme Court 2001)
• In re Milk Products, 195 F.3d 430 (Eighth Circuit 1999)
• Tom Thumb Food Markets v. TCH, 1999 WL 31168 (MN Ct. Appeals 1999)

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota, 1986
• U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 1986
• U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Meritas, f/k/a Commercial Law Affiliates, 1996 - 1999 (Chair Labor & Employment Section)
• Meritas, f/k/a Commercial Law Affiliates, 1999 - 2002 (Board of Directors)
• Hennepin Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section (Member)
• American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section (Member)
• Minnesota State Bar Association (Member)
• Minnesota Management Employment Lawyers Assoc., 2001 - Present (Member)

Honors and Awards

• A-V rated by Martindale-Hubbell, 1998 - Present
• Named a “Super Lawyer” (top 5% of all Minnesota Lawyers), in Employment Litigation every year since 1998
• Voted Top 40 Best Employment Lawyers in Minnesota by Minnesota Law and Politics every year since 2003

Classes and Seminars

• “Technology vs. Employee Privacy” and “Current Trends in Wage & Hour Compliance", Fredrikson & Byron’s 23rd Annual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, October 11, 2007 - Present
• Speaker, Fredrikson & Byron’s Annual Employment and Labor Law Seminar, October 2006
• “Employment Practices Liability Insurance", Prosource Educational Services
• “Anatomy of an Employment Lawsuit", Prosource Educational Services
• “Sexual Harassment and other Workplace Indiscretions", Prosource Educational Services
• “Taxation of Settlements and Verdicts in Employment Litigation", Upper Midwest Employment Law Seminar
• “Ethical Issues in Employment Litigation", Upper Midwest Employment Law Seminar

Past Employment Positions

• Honorable Robert Schiefelbein, Hennepin County District Court, Judicial Law Clerk

Education

• William Mitchell College of Law, St Paul, Minnesota, 1986
  J.D.
• St. John's University, 1980
  B.A.
  Major: English

References

• Honorable Robert Schiefelbein Retired Judge
• Joan Morrow Mediator
• Michael Wellington President & CEO Synet Service Group
• Michael Cibulka Chairman of Board Express Point Technology
• Larry Stroup President & CEO Katun Corporation

Published Works

• “Are You Vulnerable to a Tip-Pooling Claim?,” co-authored with Lindsay Zamzow, FredNEWS: Employment & Labor, July, 2008
• “Wage and Hour Violations: An Employer’s Single Greatest Uninsured Risk,” co-authored with Lindsay J. Zamzow, Fredrikson & Byron’s Employment & Labor Focus Newsletter, May, 2007

Address

200 South Sixth Street
Suite 4000
Minneapolis, MN 55402-1425

Phones

(612) 492-7714

Faxes

(612) 492-7077

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.fredlaw.com