About Dan Heilman
In four decades as a professional writer, Dan Heilman has covered subatomic particles, subterranean punk rock bands, and just about everything in between. He has experience in news reporting, features, profiles, reviews, essays, blogs and corporate communications. He’s also edited everything from in-house newsletters to daily business journals to monthly specialty magazines. He’s been a full-time freelance writer since 2010, with legal issues in Minnesota being his primary beat. He’s a regular contributor to Super Lawyers’ Minnesota edition.
Articles written by Dan Heilman
On the Right Track
Xavier Martine started in law later than most, but he’s making up for lost timeWhile Xavier Martine now leads a team of eight lawyers who handle criminal defense and family law matters across Minnesota, his journey to the law wasn’t a direct one. That path needed to be paved by a few key life experiences. In that way, he’s similar to his father, who pivoted to law school from banking while in his 40s. The joy the law brought him made an impression on his young son. “He was the inspiration,” Martine says. “He loved law school and he loved his practice.” A …
Tales from Highway 59
Kent Marshall has practiced criminal law in every corner of the state for decadesSome Minnesotans might remember the Yahtzee murders. In 2010, in the tiny western Minnesota town of Alberta, three siblings were charged with killing their mother because she supposedly wanted to play Yahtzee on Christmas Eve and they didn’t. What’s less well-known is the fact that the only one of the three defendants to avoid prison time was represented by Kent Marshall. “It was a bizarre case,” he says. “The other defense attorneys and I often said that much like the movie Fargo, if …
Father Knows Best
Why Michelle Beneski and Dan Surprenant followed their dad’s legal footstepsMost of us get along with our grown siblings. But working alongside them five days a week? That’s not for everybody, but it’s no problem for the sister-brother team of Michelle Beneski and Dan Surprenant. “We agree on 90% of things, and we just work out the other 10%,” says Surprenant. “We are very different, and that’s probably good. … You can go into business with a lot of great lawyers. But Michelle and I know neither of us would do anything to intentionally hurt the other. …
Politics and Law
Abou Amara brings capitol experience to his practiceAbou B. Amara Jr. knew something about late nights long before he went to law school. In 2015, while working on the staff for leadership at the state House of Representatives, Amara was sitting in on discussion of a complicated bill with numerous amendments, and debate wore on into the wee hours. “At about 4 a.m., a legislator who’ll remain nameless put up his hand and said, ‘What’s this bill about again?’” Amara recalls. “We’d only been talking about it for 12 hours. It showed …
Systemic Change
Four young attorneys look toward the next 30 years of lawBesides being lawyers, Minnesotans, and Rising Stars listees, what do Maria Brekke, Cresston Gackle, Colin Pasterski and Rachel Davis Scherf have in common? Super Lawyers lists are older than they are. They were all born after the 1991 creation of Super Lawyers. So how do they feel about the next 30 years? “I look around at my colleagues, and I see people who are compassionate, devoted, and committed to being excellent at what they do,” says Brekke, 28, a business litigator at Nilan Johnson …
All in La Famiglia
The Bruno firm brings a tight-knit mentality to criminal defenseCertain Italian American stereotypes don’t bother Fred Bruno. In fact, he relishes them—in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way. When a client affectionately dubbed Bruno and his colleagues at the Golden Valley-based Bruno Law “La Famiglia,” the name stuck, as did the image it represented. “We encourage that stereotype,” says Bruno, 65. “It instills fear in our opponents and confidence in our clients. And there is some truth to it—I’m a fighter, and I do my best work when I’m …
Piece by Piece
Tom Muck has made a career out of assembling the puzzle that is tax lawWhen it comes to tax law, there’s rarely a simple answer. That’s why it’s become Thomas R. Muck’s lifeblood. A shareholder at Fredrikson & Byron in Minneapolis, Muck is able to find the drama and nuance in the arcane details of tax law. “I like knowing a statutory system,” he says. “It’s like a puzzle.” While Muck’s primary arena is the Minnesota Tax Court, he has also become a familiar face at the appellate, supreme and federal levels on behalf of an array of big-ticket …
The Greater Good
Bill Pentelovitch has been pushing Minnesota forward for nearly a half centuryEven Bill Pentelovitch’s losses get the job done. In 2012, Pentelovitch was representing—pro bono—a coalition challenging a proposed constitutional amendment that would require Minnesota voters to present valid, state-issued IDs at the ballot box. Penetelovitch and his team from Maslon argued that the wording of the amendment on the ballot measure was misleading. The state supreme court disagreed, saying the coalition had not been able to demonstrate an error in the amendment language …
The Steady Boat in the Storm
Lymari Santana makes the most of every opportunityLymari J. Santana has been called on to wear many hats in her 49 years—student, military officer, paratrooper, JAG attorney; wife, daughter, mom, law partner and volunteer—and she’s made them all fit. With Laurie Mack-Wagner, she currently runs Mack & Santana Law Offices in a space overlooking the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis. Over 18 years in private practice, Santana has cultivated a reputation for tenacity and smarts that has made her a star in Minnesota’s family law …
The Whistleblower’s Best Friend
Clayton D. Halunen aims to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflictedClayton D. Halunen grew up in Virginia, Minnesota, the son of working parents: His father was an electrician for a railroad, and his mother taught and worked for St. Louis County. Both dealt with workplace issues: Halunen’s father faced pressure to quit after a 42-year career, while his mother was repeatedly passed over for promotions that went to less-qualified male colleagues. Those experiences made an impression on Halunen, who eventually set aside his ambitions to be an architect to …
Find top lawyers with confidence
The Super Lawyers patented selection process is peer influenced and research driven, selecting the top 5% of attorneys to the Super Lawyers lists each year. We know lawyers and make it easy to connect with them.
Find a lawyer near you