Joni M. Thome
Joni Thome
Minneapolis
Minnesota (MN)
Employment Litigation: Plaintiff
Class Action/Mass Torts
Profile
Joni M. Thome is a founding partner at Baillon Thome Jozwiak Miller & Wanta, an employment and consumer protection law firm with offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ms. Thome represents employee/plaintiffs in employment lawsuits, class action litigation and related appeals. She has extensive experience with employment discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful discharge and retaliation cases of all types, and with issues involving civil rights, Workers' Compensation retaliation, disability, sexual orientation and HIV/AIDS status. Joni has successfully obtained millions of dollars in awards and settlements over the course of her career and was one of the lead attorneys in a same-sex sexual harassment lawsuit that resulted in the largest known settlement of such a case to date.
Ms. Thome is a 1992 graduate of Hamline University School of Law, in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is certified as a labor and employment law specialist by the Minnesota State Bar Association, and for years she has been named one of the top 100 women attorneys in Minnesota. Ms. Thome has also established a national reputation through her service on the boards of numerous equal rights organizations and through speaking engagements on various topics related to her employment law practice.
Selected To
Minnesota Super Lawyers 2011
Minnesota Super Lawyers 2010
Minnesota Super Lawyers 2009
Minnesota Super Lawyers 2008
Minnesota Super Lawyers 2007
Minnesota Super Lawyers 2006
Minnesota Super Lawyers 2004
Minnesota Super Lawyers 2003
Certifications and Credentials
MSBA Board Certified Specialists — Labor and Employment
Top Lists
Top 100 Women Minnesota Super Lawyers 2009
Top 100 Women Minnesota Super Lawyers 2008
Top 100 Women Minnesota Super Lawyers 2007
About Joni Thome
Admitted: 1992, Minnesota
Professional Webpage: www.baillonthome.com
Honors and Awards:
- Minnesota Lavender Bar Association, Community Service Award, 1999
Special Licenses/Certifications:
- Employment Law Specialist, 2010
Bar/Professional Activity:
- Chair and Board Member, National Gay and Lesbian Law Association, 2001 - 2009
- Member, Human Rights Committee of the MSBA, 1994 - 1999
- Board Member, Seward Childcare Center, 1999 - 2004
- Attorney Referral Program Volunteer, OutFront Minnesota, 1999 - Present
- Volunteer Attorney Program. Minnesota AIDS Project, 1996 - Present
- Founder/Past Chair, Minnesota Lavender Bar Association, 1996 - Present
- Member, Hennepin County Bar Association, 1992 - Present
- Member, Minnesota State Bar Association, 1992 - Present
- Minnesota, 1992
- U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 1993
- U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 2001
- Board Chair, Seward Childcare Center, 2004
- Fundraising Chair, Host Committee, Lavender Law, 2004
Scholarly Lectures and Writings:
- Regular Presenter at the Annual Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Minnesota State Bar Association
- Lavender Law, National Lesbian and Gay Law Association, 2001, 2002, 2003
- Reconciling Nondiscrimination with the Affirmation of Cultural Diversity, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Fall 1997, Volume 13, Number 2
- Hamline University Journal of Law and Policy, Associate
- Annual Conference, American Association of Law Libraries, 2001
- Employment Law Institute, Minnesota Institute for Legal Education, 2001
- Ethics and Bias Seminar, Minnesota Institute for Legal Education, 2001
- Presenter, Multicultural Forum, University Of St. Thomas, 2010
Representative Clients:
- EEOC, et. al. v. Long Prairie Packing
- EEOC and Paul B. Hummel v. Federal Express
- Sonkowsky v. Independent School District 721
- Davis v. Hennepin County
- Goins v. West Group, 2000
- Thorson v. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 2004
- Schutz v. Minneapolis School District #1, 2007
- Frieler vs. Carlson Marketing, 2008
- Lemon v. City of Minneapolis, 2009
- Brezina et. al v. Chart, 2010
Educational Background:
- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, B.A. in Psychology, 1983
Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.
