Overview
Cassie is a legal ethics lawyer with substantial experience in the field of ethics and professional responsibility. For twenty years, she worked as a senior litigator and advisor at the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility.
Cassie is an experienced trial attorney and appellate advocate who regularly argued complex attorney discipline cases in front of the Minnesota Supreme Court. She has advised various government agencies, law firms and other stakeholders on legal ethics and professional responsibility. Cassie is a frequent public speaker on ethics and lawyer wellbeing. As ethics counsel, Cassie will be focused on advising lawyers at Fredrikson on legal ethics, conflict prevention and resolution, legal malpractice/loss prevention, and trust account compliance.
Experience
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
- Investigated and prosecuted high-level attorney-discipline cases involving misappropriation, dishonesty, and other serious ethics violations.
- Briefed and argued attorney discipline cases before the Minnesota Supreme Court.
- Advised members of the bar, and various government agencies on ethics compliance.
- Worked with the Lawyer’s Board and the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Rules Committee on drafting formal advisory opinions and changes to the substantive and procedural rules governing ethics and attorney discipline.
- Written articles concerning professional responsibility and legal ethics.
- Frequent public speaker on legal ethics, professionalism, and lawyer well-being.
Credentials
Education
- University of Iowa College of Law, J.D., 2000, with distinction
- University of Iowa, B.A., 1995, honoros
Admissions
- Minnesota, 2000
Languages
- German
Civic & Professional
Professional Activities
- Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) Professional Regulation Committee, Chair
- Minnesota State Bar Association, Member
- Ramsey County Bar Association, Member
- National Association of Bar Counsel, 2000-2020
Community
- Saint Paul Figure Skating Club, Development and Advisory Committee
News & Insights
Publications & Presentations
“Quandaries & Quagmires: Ethical Considerations in Billing for AI-assisted Work,” Minnesota Lawyer, July 29, 2024
Quoted in “Quandaries & Quagmires: Navigating the Ethical Landscape: Supervisory Practices in Law Firms,” Minnesota Lawyer, April 22, 2024
“Quandaries & Quagmires: Navigating Conflicts, Confidentiality as a Former Government Attorney,” Minnesota Lawyer, April 2, 2024
“Quandaries & Quagmires: Advance Waivers: Lessons from Paul Hastings vs. Coca Cola,” Minnesota Lawyer, September 25, 2023
“Quandaries & Quagmires: Ethics Tips for Handling Outside Counsel Guidelines,” Minnesota Lawyer, December 16, 2022
“Quandaries & Quagmires: Assessing the New Lawyer Discipline Assessment,” Minnesota Lawyer, November 16, 2022
“Quandaries and Quagmires: Serving On a Nonprofit Board in a Non-Legal Capacity Can Bring Ethics Risks,” Minnesota Lawyer, July 26, 2022
“Quandaries and Quagmires: Meet Minnesota Lawyers Two New Ethics Columnists,” Minnesota Lawyer, May 13, 2022
Presenter, Ethical Considerations for Attorneys Representing Parents in Abuse and Neglect Cases, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, May 14, 2021
Presenter, Managing Business and Other Trust Accounts, Minnesota CLE, July 10, 2020
Presenter, The Intersection of Legal Ethics and Mental Health, Minnesota CLE, December 18, 2019
Presenter, Critical Conversation: How is the #MeToo Movement Changing the Legal Profession?, MSBA Conventions, 2018
Presenter, Competence and Well-Being: Can We Have It All?, MWL Conference for Women in the Law, April 27, 2018
Presenter, Recordkeeping for Dummies, National Association of Bar Counsel, Vancouver, February 22, 2018
Presenter, Everything You Need to Know About Trust Accounts, Minnesota State Law Library Featured Training Video, October 31, 2018
“Recent Changes to Trust Account Books and Records Requirements,” Minnesota Lawyer, August 3, 2015
“Lying to a Court Comes with a Price Tag,” Minnesota Lawyer, October 6, 2014