Current Employment Position(s)

; Business Litigation

Lawyer Overview

Liz is a shareholder and treasurer in the firm of Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association. She is a member of the Business Litigation Section. She practices primarily in the following areas:

• Business litigation
• Financial disputes
• Labor and employment

As a knowledgeable, persistent business litigator, Liz has been involved in complex commercial litigation, labor and employment litigation, appellate practice, and environmental disputes. As a certified public accountant (inactive), she also regularly deals with disputes in the finance and accounting industries, such as purchase price adjustments and merger and acquisition matters. Liz has been included in Minnesota Rising Stars (as seen in Minnesota Law & Politics) and was named one of Minnesota Lawyer’s “Up and Coming Attorneys 2006.”

Liz received her B.A. in accounting and political science summa cum laude from the University of St. Thomas where she was also an Aquinas scholar. She successfully completed the Certified Public Accountant Examination in the State of Minnesota. She received her law degree magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota School of Law, where she was lead note and comment editor of the Minnesota Law Review, and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Liz clerked for the Office of the General Counsel, University of Minnesota, during law school and for the Honorable Kathleen A. Blatz, Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, after graduation.

Prior to joining Briggs in 2002, Liz served as legal counsel for the 2001-2002 Minnesota Special Redistricting Panel. She advised a five-judge panel on law relevant to redrawing state legislative and congressional districts, relevant procedural law, election processes, and demographic issues. She also drafted possible redistricting plans and analyzed potential and final district maps.

Liz participated in a national Redistricting Reform Conference that resulted in the November 2005 report “The Shape of Representative Democracy.” She co-authored “Should Judges Get Out of Redistricting?” with Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Thomas J. Kalitowski for the March 2004 issue of Bench & Bar of Minnesota. In 2003, she contributed “Erlandson v. Kiffmeyer: Minnesota’s Absentee Voting Laws Following the Sudden Death of Incumbent Candidate Paul Wellstone” to the William Mitchell Law Review.

Liz is admitted to the Minnesota state court and the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. She is a member of the American, Minnesota State and Hennepin County Bar associations and has been appointed to the Minnesota State Bar Association Professionalism Committee. She is also a member of Minnesota Women Lawyers.

In the community, Liz has provided pro bono services as a Hennepin County guardian ad litem since 2001. As a guardian, she is appointed by the court to advocate in the best interests of children subjected to abuse and neglect. In addition, Liz serves on the board of directors for the Sexual Violence Center and is the organization's past president. She recently joined the advisory board for the University of Minnesota's Institute for Law and Politics.

Areas of Practice

• Business Litigation
• Administrative & Regulatory
• Appellate Representation
• Financial Markets
• Labor Law
• Employment Law Litigation
• Energy Litigation

West Practice Categories

Administrative Hearings & Adjudication, Administrative Investigations, Administrative Law, Administrative Officers & Agents, Administrative Rulemaking, Affirmative Action -- Employee, Affirmative Action -- Employer, Alternative Energy, Banking & Finance Law, Business & Commercial Law, Business Organizations, Class Actions, Collective Bargaining, Complex Litigation, Contracts, Electric Power, Employment Contracts -- Employee, Employment Contracts -- Employer, Employment Discrimination -- Employee, Employment Discrimination -- Employer, Employment Law -- Employee, Employment Law -- Employer, Energy Law, Environmental Law, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Claims Court, Federal Trial Practice, Labor Arbitration, Labor Disputes, Labor Law, Labor Legislation, Labor Relations Boards & Proceedings, Limited Liability Companies, Litigation & Appeals, Non-profit & Tax-exempt Organizations, Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA) -- Employee, Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA) -- Employer, Patent Litigation, Public Utilities, Regulatory Enforcement, Sexual Harassment -- Employee, Sexual Harassment -- Employer, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, Unfair Labor Practices, Unions, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court, Wage & Hour Laws, Wage & Hour Laws -- Employee, Wage & Hour Laws -- Employer, Whistleblower -- Employee, Whistleblower -- Employer, Wrongful Termination -- Employee, Wrongful Termination -- Employer

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota, 2000

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Hennepin County
• Guardian ad Litem (2001-Present)
• American Bar Association
• Member
• Minnesota State Bar Association
• Member, Professionalism Committee (2003-Present)
• :place w:st="on":PlaceType w:st="on"University:PlaceType of :State w:st="on":PlaceName w:st="on"Minnesota:PlaceName:State:place New Institute of Law and Politics
• Member, Advisory Board
• Minnesota Women Lawyers
• Member
• State of Minnesota
• Certified Public Accountant (Inactive)
• Sexual Violence Center
• Member, Board of Directors; Past President; Founder, CLE Fund-Raising Program "Ethical Considerations When Investigating and Defending Sexual Harrassment Claims"
• Hennepin County Bar Association
• Member
• Briggs and Morgan
• Former Member, Recruiting Committee

Education

• University of Minnesota Law School, 2000
  J.D.
  Honors: Magna Cum Laude Order of the Coif
• University of St. Thomas, 1997
  B.A.
  Honors: Summa Cum Laude Aquinas Scholar
  Major: Accounting, Political Science

Published Works

• Balancing Professionalism and Client Advocacy in Litigation, 2008
• On Leadership, Community Activism, A Lawyer's Account, 2008

Address

2200 IDS Center
80 South 8th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Phones

612.977.8624 (Business Phone)

Faxes

612.977.8650 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.briggs.com/