About Ross Pfund
Ross Pfund is the managing editor of Super Lawyers. He is the editor of the Minnesota, Colorado, Massachusetts, Louisiana and Southwest magazines. An award-winning editor and writer with more than 20 years of experience, he has a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota. His work has also appeared in the Star Tribune and the Norman County Index. As a child, he knew he was cut out for a career in journalism because he never once stuck his hand into his father’s printing press.
Articles written by Ross Pfund
Legal Concerns Surrounding Pokémon Go in Illinois
Since its release on July 6, 2016, Pokémon Go has been downloaded more than 500 million times by iOS and Android users. That’s a lot of monsters pocketed. But in the wake of a few high-profile accidents related to the game, some consumers have been left wondering if all those Rattatas are really worth it. Because the game encourages players to move around the real world in order to find and capture its creatures, it’s easy to see why some Pokémon Go players have been tempted to hop …
New Game Plus
How Stephen McArthur turned his gaming passion into a niche practiceWhen Stephen McArthur was in high school, he kept a secret. As the winner of the 18-and-under Junior Super Series tournament in 1999, he was one of the best Magic: The Gathering players in the world, but he didn’t want anyone to know. It just wasn’t cool. He felt it was the opposite of cool. “I hid it,” McArthur says, laughing. “There were kids that would play Magic in the cafeteria at lunch break. Even they didn’t know I played.” In college—paid for by the scholarship he won …
Q&A: Paulette Brown
We caught up with the American Bar Association president after her keynote speech at a recent Minnesota Black Women Legal Network event to talk about diversity and mentorship in the legal worldYou’ve discussed the role of mentorship in increasing diversity. When you are mentoring younger attorneys, what are you are talking about with them? Everything that I learned that I didn't know before: about the various practices of law, that you don't have to be litigator to be a real lawyer, that you have to have both a personal development plan and a professional development plan and it must be in writing. It cannot be in your head, because it won't get done. You're never too young to do …
For the Love of Bloomington
Betsy K. Greene of Greene & Schultz on representing plaintiffs, doing victory dances and pushing those damned bouldersQ: I hear you’ve tried over 85 jury trials. A: I’ve actually tried 102—I hit triple digits last summer. Q: Was it tough to hit that mark, considering trials happen less often these days? A: That’s very much my experience. I really love trying cases, I really do. It’s a lot of work; you’ve got to be willing to put yourself out there, but it’s what I do and I enjoy it. However, my clients, not so much. Although I regret not perhaps trying as many cases, if it’s going to be …
Objective Empathy
Family law attorney Gemma Allen of Ladden & Allen on creative applications of the law, overcoming sexism and why it’s riskier for clients to dance on tables nowadaysQ: You were inspired to go into family law by a heartfelt plea from a friend of your mother’s. What’s the story behind that? A: I was doing chancery work—special remedies like injunctions. I was a new lawyer. My mother’s best friend was getting a divorce. So she called my mother, and of course my mother called me. You know the way it goes. And I said, “Well, I’d be glad to meet with her and I’ll talk to her, but I don’t do divorce work.” So she’s like, “Well, it’s my …
Under the Microscope
How Serial helped C. Justin Brown’s case for Adnan Syed—and how it opened his every legal move to scrutinyAs a reporter in the 1990s, C. Justin Brown filed stories as a war correspondent in Kosovo and as a national security correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor. He was published in The New York Times and Newsweek, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. But he penned what might be one of his most-read pieces in June 2015, long after he traded in his journalism bona fides for a law license. It was a motion to reopen post-conviction proceedings, written on behalf of a client found guilty of …
J.D., JD
James “J.D.” Smeallie of Holland & Knight in Boston speaks out on athletic conference realignment litigation, leading the Boston Bar and being quoted in Sports IllustratedQ: J.D. is a pretty appropriate nickname for an attorney. Have you always gone by that? A: I’ve gotten that before. I’ve been called “J.D.” since I was born. I have the same name as my grandfather. He went by Donald, which is the middle name. They didn’t want to stick me with Donald, so they just started calling me “J.D.” right off the bat. Q: Was the law always your plan? A: Coming out of Yale, I was actually interested in journalism, but I had a role model in my uncle, …
From the Uneven Parallel Bars to the Bar
Anne Schiavone of Holman Schiavone on employment law, working with kids and the study habits she developed as a competitive gymnastQ: You’ve spent your entire legal career in Kansas City. Did you grow up in the area? A: I didn’t. My dad was in the Coast Guard, so we would move every two to four years or so. He was a Coast Guard lawyer and with the Maritime Administration and Veterans Administration. He never brought his work home with him, so I really didn’t know what it was like to be a lawyer—it wasn’t like I was raised in a generational family of lawyers. Q: But what did your dad think when you told him …
The Benefits of Raising Your Hand
Scott A. Wolfson of Wolfson Bolton in Troy on bittersweet boom times and how a bankruptcy lawyer wound up trying a freedom of religion caseQ: What was your first move out of law school? A: I’m originally from a really small town up on the upper peninsula of Michigan called Ishpeming. I was the first person in my family to go to college. I wanted to get back up there and I wanted to work in the community, in government or in politics, to try to help it out. I had no intention of practicing law. I just thought a law degree would be something beneficial or helpful for what I planned to do. But I practiced for two years and I guess …
Turning the Page
A few months before retiring from the state Supreme Court, Justice Alan Page sat down with us to look back at his judicial careerQ: What do you think you will miss the most after you leave the court? A: The most? All of it. The work that the court does is fascinating, challenging and I love every bit of it. Not being a part of it will be a bit of a loss. Q: What qualities does it take to be successful as a justice? A: Hard work, obviously. Intellectual curiosity; openness to hearing what the parties have to say. Being able to exercise your judgment and working very hard not to simply impose your will. Being able …
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