News/Announcements

VOGEL LAW FIRM WELCOMES NEW ATTORNEYS

We are pleased to announce that Matthew L. Thompson, Levi D. Andrist and Amanda Kilen Peterson have joined the firm.

MATTHEW L. THOMPSON

Matt is a business attorney in our Fargo office. His practice focuses on business representation, corporate law, commercial transactions and commercial litigation. Matt represents businesses in matters relating to formations, mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, ownership disputes, and intellectual property protection.

Matt graduated first in his class from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was a Managing Editor of the Hamline Law Review, as well as the winner of a national championship in the Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court. While in law school, Matt interned for the Honorable Mary A. Yunker, Tenth Judicial District of Minnesota, and externed for the Honorable Paul A. Magnuson, United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. Matt received his undergraduate degree cum laude from Luther College in Decorah, IA.

LEVI D. ANDRIST

Levi attended the University of North Dakota School of Law where he graduated with distinction and was elected to the Order of the Coif. After law school, he served as law clerk to Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle of the North Dakota Supreme Court.

Levi focused his legal education on legal scholarship and government experience. Levi served as editor in chief of the North Dakota Law Review as well as a Teaching Assistant for the Academic Success Program. He served as a legislative intern for the Senate Judiciary and Natural Resources Committees during North Dakota’s 2009 legislative session. Recognizing Levi’s leadership at the School of Law and within the University of North Dakota, he was awarded the 2010 ALI-ABA Scholarship and Leadership Award and a 2010 Outstanding Student Leader Award.

Before law school, Levi graduated summa cum laude from Concordia College in Moorhead with a bachelor of arts degree in music. He also interned on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. He and his wife, Bethany, spent summers performing as Burning Hills Singers in the Medora Musical. Levi is also an Eagle Scout.

Beyond developing a general practice, Levi plans to focus his practice on government relations.

AMANDA KILEN PETERSON

Amanda is developing a general practice and plans to concentrate in the area of civil litigation with a focus on insurance defense, medical malpractice and employment law. She will practice in the Bismarck office.

Amanda received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Dakota in 2008 and graduated summa cum laude from the Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2011. Amanda is originally from Stanley, North Dakota.

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19 Vogel Law Firm Attorneys Listed in The Best Lawyers in America®

Vogel Law Firm is proud to announce that 19 of its attorneys have been named to the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America ® in their respective practice areas.  Vogel Law Firm attorneys listed include:

Brenda Blazer (Medical Malpractice Law)

Jerilynn Brantner Adams (Family Law)

Jon Brakke (Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law)

Daniel Bueide (Real Estate Law)

Lisa Edison-Smith (Labor and Employment Law)

Mark Friese (DUI/DWI Defense)

Joel Gilbertson (Administrative/Regulatory Law, Government Relations Law and Insurance Law)

William Guy, III (Trusts and Estates)

Steve Johnson (Corporate Law and Mergers & Acquisitions Law)

Angie Lord (Health Care Law)

Tami Norgard (Environmental Law)

Leslie Bakken Oliver (Health Care Law)

John Petrik (Corporate Governance Law)

Bruce Quick (Criminal Defense: Non-White Collar and White Collar, and DUI/DWI Defense)

William Schlossman, Jr. (Corporate Law and Mergers & Acquisitions Law)

Robert Udland (Medical Malpractice Law)

C.Nicholas Vogel (Employee Benefits Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates)

M. Daniel Vogel (Product Liability Litigation and Professional Malpractice Law)

H. Patrick Weir, Jr. (Plaintiff's Personal Injury)

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VOGEL LAW FIRM WELCOMES ATTORNEY JAMES M. CAILAO

Vogel Law Firm welcomes attorney James M. Cailao to the firm's Bismarck office.

James will concentrate his practice in the area of family/domestic law.  He received his undergraduate degree in 2007 from Minnesota State University Moorhead and in 2010 graduated cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota.  After law school, he served as law clerk to the Chief Judge of the Eighth Judicial District in Minnesota. 

James provides a wide range of services to clients, including divorce and legal separation actions, paternity actions, post-judgment child custody and visitation disputes, child support actions, and adoptions.

A North Dakota native, James grew up in Fargo.  In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his wife Chrisy, golfing, being at the lakes, mountain biking in the summer, and snowboarding in the winter.

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Vogel Law Firm Adds New Attorney Michelle M. Eaton Scimecca

Vogel Law Firm is pleased to announce that Michelle M. Eaton Scimecca has joined the firm.

Michelle practices in the firm’s Minneapolis office and will focus her practice on employment-based and family-based immigration.  She advises clients seeking temporary and permanent employment eligibility.  She represents a variety of clients, including multinational corporations, health care organizations, educational institutions, and individual foreign nationals.  In particular, Michelle works closely with medical and research sector employers and employees, including universities as well as hospitals, clinics, and research institutions, to provide employment authorization and permanent residence for foreign professionals.

Michelle joined Vogel after practicing with a boutique immigration firm in Minneapolis. She graduated from Concordia College summa cum laude with a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish.  She received her law degree from Marquette University, during which time she worked as an extern with Honorable John R. Tunheim of the United States District Court, District of Minnesota, and Honorable Ann Walsh Bradley of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Michelle is a Fargo native and frequently travels to Fargo-Moorhead. 

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Vogel Law Firm Attorney Lisa Edison-Smith Named Board Certified Labor and Employment Law Specialist!

The Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) recently announced that Lisa Edison-Smith has earned the designation of Certified Labor and Employment Law Specialist. This new Certification program recognizing labor and employment attorneys is administered by the MSBA and approved by the Minnesota State Board of Legal Certification.

The certified specialist designation is earned by leading attorneys who have completed a rigorous approval process, including an examination in the specialty area, peer review, and documented experience. Certified attorneys have demonstrated superior knowledge, skill and integrity in their specific field and may use the designation of specialist to advertise their credentials. The MSBA has been accredited as an independent professional organization for certifying attorneys as Criminal Law Specialists, Real Property Law Specialists, Civil Trial Law Specialists and Labor and Employment Law Specialists.  Certification is an achievement that has been earned by fewer than 3% of all licensed Minnesota attorneys. More information about Certified Legal Specialists is available at http://www2.mnbar.org/certify.

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Published Articles

Professionalism and the Practice of Law as a Trial Lawyer, by Mart R. Vogel. The Bencher, January/February 2004 (pdf file)