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
The Code of Law
Former computer programmer Michael A. Albert of Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks has developed one of Massachusetts' most significant IP litigation practicesQ: Before you went to law school at Harvard, you were an undergrad there. What did you study? A: My undergraduate degree was in philosophy, which allowed me to take courses in a number of different areas, ranging from math to linguistics to computer science. I actually worked as a computer programmer to pay my way through college. Law is like computer programming, in a way: It’s using a specialized language to solve real-world problems. Q: We don’t get to talk to a lot of …
Love of the Deal
Aleksandra “Aleks” Miziolek, the director of Dykema’s automotive industry group, follows the golden rule of transactional law: get the deal doneQ: How did you come to a practice in transactional law? A: I clerked two years for federal Judge James P. Churchill. I saw firsthand how little control you have over what you do [in a litigation practice]. There’s little predictability in that, not to say that a transactional practice is more predictable. The other thing that was very instrumental was that I found that transactional law is really a win-win. You’re sort of the quarterback for the client. You’re there when they have all …
Seeing How The Evidence Comes In
After 45 years as one of Duluth’s busiest—and most successful—trial lawyers, Tom Thibodeau still considers himself a studentOver the course of his nearly half-century career, Tom Thibodeau has defended Fortune 500 companies, represented plaintiffs in civil suits, litigated a Lake Superior shipwreck, and been involved in the legal fallout of one of Minnesota’s notorious murders. It sounds like he’s seen it all. But, even after working more than 100 civil jury trials, Thibodeau still considers himself a student. “Whether it’s medicine, engineering, product manufacturing, aviation crash cases … it’s been a …
Morrow in the Middle
Williamsburg-based mediator Joan Morrow, who practices across the country, speaks about fundamental neutrality, navigating emotional minefields and going from gladiator mode to counselor modeQ: What inspired you to go to law school? A: I’m a New Jersey native. I went to Cornell for undergraduate [school]. I met my husband, who was teaching as an adjunct professor in one of my senior English classes, and instead of moving to New York City, which is what I had intended to do, I married this man from Minnesota, found myself in Duluth and found my Cornell degree quite useless. Thank heavens I had taken a six-week typing course. So I typed my way through some jobs that year, but …
Philadephia Born and Bred
Workers’ comp attorney Samuel H. Pond, one of the founders of Pond Lehocky Stern Giordano, draws on his blue-collar background to create a successful practiceQ: What first got you interested in the law? A: My father was a union member for 35 years. He was always very much involved in the union movement. They had to turn to lawyers to be able to strike, collectively bargain and those types of things. He always taught me about the importance of the rule of law. But I don’t think I ever had that affinity until I got into undergraduate school at Drexel University, and started thinking about going out and representing the folks that I grew up with. …
Ann of All Trades
Over the course of her 27-year career, from construction to employment to insurance to lobbying law, Ann Maloney Conway of Keleher & McLeod in Albuquerque has loved anything that gets her into the courtroomQ: You’ve studied all over the country: Notre Dame, the University of Puget Sound, and Eastern New Mexico University. Is there a story there? A: I’m a native New Mexican. My father was in the second world war, and when he came back, he had just started practicing law when he became ill with multiple sclerosis. There was a hospital in Washington where my grandmother took him for care. So when I was looking at schools, we had just happened to be going to Tacoma to visit a couple of the nuns …
The Great Generalist
Jon Laramore of Baker & Daniels on how the lessons he learned working in government—in both civil and criminal arenas—give him a leg up in his appellate law practiceQ: What led you to appellate law? A: I began to do appellate law in government. I worked in state government for 16 years, 12 of which were in the state attorney general offices. I just had many opportunities to pursue appellate work in that context. I came to find out that I enjoyed it, and the more I did, the more I learned. Ultimately, that attracts clients. Q: What was it about the work that you enjoyed? A: It’s work that’s more centered on development of the law. Generally, the …
The Problem Solver
Former IRS attorney Jaye A. Calhoun of McGlinchey Stafford on how tax law can be a bit like the Wild West or NintendoQ: What first got you interested in the law? A: I love a good puzzle, and practicing law is really about problem-solving. I have this opportunity to help businesses and individuals succeed in accomplishing their goals and saving money by understanding the rules in a complex area. It definitely has its high points. I got into [tax law] originally because, in law school, I met all these very bright people, and even they were intimidated when we heard about tax law. So it was a challenge in the …
Standing Up to Bullies
Playwright-turned-litigator Hank Bates of Carney Williams Bates Pulliam & Bowman in Little Rock goes up against those who prey on the poorQ: What first got you interested in the law? A: On the worldview level, I was interested in doing something from a social change perspective. In my practice, I’ve always done nonprofit or social interest or plaintiff’s work, which I’ve always seen as a sort of public interest work. On the gut level, I’ve always rooted for underdogs and don’t like bullies. A lot of what I do, at least in my mind, is sue bullies. I’m not anti-corporation—my law firm’s a corporation—but they are …
Gail McCann Brings People Together
The real estate attorney at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge in Providence facilitates collaboration in her law practice and in her alumni activities at Brown UniversityQ: What first got you interested in the law? A: I was an American history major at Brown University, and a lot of history majors go on to law school. So it was always in the back of my mind. Then I went away for my junior year to The University of Edinburgh [Scotland], and when I came back, all sorts of people I knew were applying to med school and law school. I said, “I guess I better get serious about my life.” I have to say that my father was an indirect influence. He wasn’t a lawyer, …
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