Law Firm Overview

Areas of Practice

• Employment
• Labor
• Fair Housing
• Civil Rights
• Personal Injury/Tort

Honors and Awards

• Profiled in The Best Lawyers in America (Rich Miller and Bill O'Brien)
• Profiled in The Guide to Leading American Attorneys (Rich Miller and Bill O'Brien)
• Designated as a "Super Lawyer" by Minnesota Law & Politics (Rich Miller, Bill O'Brien, and Nancy Miller)
• Designated as "Outstanding" by the Minnesota Consumer Guidebook to Law and Leading Attorneys (Bill O'Brien and Nancy Miller)
• Designated as a "Rising Star" by Minnesota Law & Politics (Brendan Cummins and Justin Cummins)

Published Works

• Taking the Fork in the Road, (Brendan Cummins and Justin Cummins), 29 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 1069, 2003
• Minnesota's Alternatives to Primary Caretaker Placements: Too Much of a Good Thing, (Sheila Stuhlman), 28 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 677, 2001
• Housing Matters: Why our Communities Must Have Affordable Housing, (Justin Cummins), 28 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 197, 2001
• The Supreme Court on Sexual Harassment, (Nancy Miller), 24 Minnesota Trial Lawyer (No. 3), 1999
• Refashioning the Disparate Treatment and Disparate Impact Doctrines in Theory and in Practice, (Justin Cummins), 41 Howard L.J. 455, 1998
• Non-Compete Agreements, (Nancy Miller), 23 Minnesota Trial Lawyer (No. 3), 1998
• La mediacion del conflicto constitucional entre la libertad y la igualdad lo que tenemos que hacer acerca de la expresion de odio, (Justin Cummins), 3 Rev. Jur. Palermo 149, 1998
• Preparing the Plaintiff for Deposition, (Nancy Miller), 22 Minnesota Trial Lawyer (No. 1), 1997
• The Thorny Path to Thornhill The Origins at Equity of the Free Speech Overbreadth Doctrine (Brendan Cummins), 105 Yale L.J. 1671, 1996
• Recasting Fair Share: Toward Effective Housing Law and Principled Social Policy, (Justin Cummins), 14 Law & Ineq. 339, 1996

Classes and Seminars

• Civil Rights Law (Justin Cummins and Brendan Cummins), University of Minnesota Law School - Spring Semesters
• Civil Rights Law (Justin Cummins and Brendan Cummins), William Mitchell College of Law - Fall Semesters
• Labor Rights (Brendan Cummins), University of Minnesota - Labor Education Service - periodic
• 43rd NACUA Annual Conference Seminar (Bill O'Brien), National Association of College and University Attorneys - 6/03
• The 20th Annual Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute Seminars (Bill O'Brien), Minnesota State Bar Association - 5/03
• Hiring & Firing Conference (Nancy Miller - Course Chair), Minnesota Institute of Legal Education - 2/03
• Fair Housing: The Next Frontier for Civil Rights Litigation in Minnesota (Bill O'Brien and Justin Cummins), Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association - 1/03
• Executives & Other Key Employees (Bill O'Brien), Minnesota State Bar Association - 9/02
• Proprietary Interest Protection Agreements, Organizers' Roundtable (Brendan Cummins), AFL-CIO Annual Convention - 8/02
• Reeves, Hoover and their Aftermath (Nancy Miller - Course Chair), Minnesota Institute of Legal Education - 1/02

Pro Bono Activities

• Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights (Shiela Stuhlman)
• Minnesota AIDS Project (Bill O'Brien)
• Resource Center of the Americas, Board Member (Brendan Cummins)
• Central Community Housing Trust, Board Chair (Justin Cummins)
• National Employment Lawyers Association, Board Member and Amicus Committee Chair (Justin Cummins)
• Minnesota State Bar Association Labor & Employment Law Section, Chair (Nancy Miller)
• AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, Member (Rich Miller, Bill O'Brien, and Brendan Cummins)
• National Employment Lawyers Association, former Board Member and Chair (Bill O'Brien), 1992 - 1994
• Minnesota State Bar Association Labor & Employment Law Section, former Chair (Bill O'Brien), 1989

Representative Clients

• Employees regarding wrongful termination and discrimination
• Employees regarding employment and severance agreements
• Employees regarding sex harassment, overtime, and contract claims
• Employees regarding strategic, non-litigation counseling
• Fair housing plaintiffs
• Other civil rights plaintiffs
• Personal injury/tort plaintiffs
• Union-side labor oganizations

Representative Cases

• SternJohn, et, al v. Kreisler, et al, 238 F. Supp 2d 1104 (D. Minn. 2003)
• Mathowetz Const. Co. v. Minnesota Dep't, of Transp., 2002 WL 334394 (D. Minn. 2002)
• Twin City Sprinkler Fitters v. Total Fire Protection, Inc., 2002 WL 31898170 (D. Minn 2002)
• Elliott Contracting v. Nat'l. Contractors Ass'n., 242 F. 3d 374 (8thCir. 2000)
• Queen City Construction v. City of Rochester, 604 N.W. 2d 368 (Minn. App. 1999)
• Minnesota Ch. Assn. Builders & Contractors, et al v. Dep't of Labor, 866 F. Supp. 1244 (D. MInn. 1993)
• Holman v. CPT Corp., 457 N. W. 2d 740 (Minn. App. 1990)
• Int'l. Union of Op. Engineers v. Mpls. Civ. Service Com'n., 409 N. W. 2d 515 (Minn. App. 1987)
• Holmes V. Board of Com'rs., 402 N. W. 2d 642 (Minn. App 1987)
• Briggs Transp. Co. v. Int'l. Brotherhood of Teamsters, et al, 739 F. 2d 341 (8th Cir. 1994)

West Practice Categories

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Arbitration, Mediation, Shareholders' Rights, Civil Rights, Age Discrimination, Disability & Illness Discrimination, Gay & Lesbian Rights, National Origin Discrimination, Race Discrimination, Religious Discrimination, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Constitutional Law, Affirmative Action, Discrimination, Freedom of Information, Freedom of Press, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Education Law, Student Rights, Public Law, Employment Law -- Employee, Affirmative Action -- Employee, Americans with Disabilities Act -- Employee, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) -- Employee, Employee Rights -- Employee, Employment Contracts -- Employee, Employment Discrimination -- Employee, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) -- Employee, Municipal Employment -- Employee, Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA) -- Employee, Pensions, Benefits & Compensations -- Employee, Sexual Harassment -- Employee, Wage & Hour Laws -- Employee, Whistleblower/Qui Tam, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act -- Employee, Wrongful Termination -- Employee, Government Agencies & Programs, Housing & Urban Development, State & Local Agencies, Health & Health Care Law, Disability, Mental Health, Immigration & Naturalization Law, Asylum, Deportation, Immigration, Naturalization & Citizenship, Visas, Labor Law, Collective Bargaining, Labor Arbitration, Labor Disputes, Labor Legislation, Labor Relations Boards & Proceedings, Unfair Labor Practices, Unions, Wage & Hour Laws, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, Litigation & Appeals, Class Actions -- Plaintiff, Complex Litigation, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Trial Practice, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court, Personal Injury -- Plaintiff, Assault & Battery -- Plaintiff, Defamation & Privacy -- Plaintiff, Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Plaintiff, Premises Liability -- Plaintiff, Slip and Fall -- Plaintiff, Wrongful Death -- Plaintiff, State, Local & Municipal Law, Municipal Employment