Makinen Lawyers

Jay has been a licensed attorney since 1980. He began his career as a public defender before transitioning into insurance defense work where he gained valuable experience and knowledge of the insurance industry and insurance practices. After founding Tentinger Law Firm in 1997, Jay practiced in family law as well as continuing his insurance defense work. Today, Jay focuses his time to working with small businesses and their litigation needs. Jay is a member of the Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska State Bar Associations and a no-fault arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. He is admitted to practice before the...

Ashley M. Beard is a dedicated attorney with a strong background in family law and litigation matters. She is known for her unwavering commitment to advocating for her clients and providing them with personalized and strategic legal representation. Ashley's experience spans across various legal settings, including private law firms, a self-help clinic, and as a certified student attorney, showcasing her versatility and adaptability in handling diverse legal matters. Ashley has successfully handled family law-related matters, such as dissolution, child custody, child support, and parenting time, and provided representation in ex parte proceedings involving allegations of abuse or neglect. Ashley's strategic approach...

Christopher Jensen is an experienced litigation attorney that has successfully handled civil lawsuits in state, federal, administrative, and appellate courts. He has been honored as a Rising Star attorney, which is a distinction awarded to less than 2.5% of attorneys. He is not afraid to take cases to trial.

He owns and operates The Jensen Litigation Firm, PLLC, which has offices in Shakopee and Litchfield, Minnesota. The firm focuses on litigation that involves business, real estate, banking-lending, and construction disputes.

His mission is to provide clients with outstanding litigation services at a reasonable cost. He enjoys building relationships...

A trial attorney for more than 30 years, Paul Otten practices in the areas of Personal Injury and Criminal Defense. He represents individuals and families who have suffered a personal injury or the loss of a loved one; including those involved in automobile collisions, medical malpractice claims, slip and fall cases, and dog attacks. Otten has achieved awards for his personal injury clients, both through negotiated settlements and jury trials. Since the establishment of the Otten firm, Criminal Defense was added to the foundation in Personal Injury.

A native of northern Minnesota, Otten received his Doctor of...

Justin Duffy is a skilled criminal defense attorney and trial lawyer with The Law Office of John J. Leunig who represents clients in both state and federal court in Minnesota. Mr. Duffy's zealous advocacy on behalf of his clients has resulted in victory at trial, complete dismissals prior to trial, and victory on appeal. He defends clients charged with all levels and types of crimes, including, but not limited to, DWI, assault, theft, drug possession, criminal sexual conduct, prostitution, criminal vehicular homicide, murder, and white collar crimes. For more information on The Law Office of John J. Leunig and Mr....

Jeff is an advocate for injured people, an attorney and partner at SiebenCarey. He practices in all areas of personal injury law. He is licensed to practice law in Minnesota Federal District Court, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the State of Wisconsin.

Before becoming an attorney, Jeff served as a volunteer teacher in Bucaramanga, Colombia, South America. He handled work assignments for the Dakota County Sheriff's Department in Hastings and worked with Central Minnesota Legal Services in St. Cloud. Jeff holds membership in the American Association for Justice, the Minnesota Association for Justice and the American, Minnesota, Wisconsin,...

Jill utilizes an innovative approach to family law - she see a divorce as a "family reorganization" and she encourages her clients to adhere to the following guiding principles: 1. A happy family in two houses is better than a miserable family in one house. 2. A divorce terminates a marriage, but a divorce does not terminate a family. 3. Conflict damages children. 4. A divorce is not to be started lightly - it impacts multiple generations. 5. All divorces cause losses. 6. We all experience a predictable pattern of emotions in response to losses. 7. You choose to make your life better. 8. Revenge against the other party does not make your life better. 9. Life's challenges...

Zorislav Leyderman moved the U.S. from Ukraine (former Soviet Union) when he was 11 and grew up in St. Paul. He obtained his B.A. degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied politics and the American criminal justice system. After college, Zorislav continued his education at the William Mitchell College of Law, where he obtained his J.D. and graduated with honors. While in law school, Zorislav Leyderman worked for the Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners (LAMP) Clinic and the William Mitchell Law Clinic, representing low-income people and Minnesota prisoners in both criminal and civil cases. Zorislav also worked for...

Luke J Blahnik is the founder of Law Firm of Luke J Blahnik. Mr. Blahnik was born in the city of Rochester, Minnesota and graduated from Caledonia High School, in Caledonia, Minnesota. In 1998 he received his Bachelor of Science in History from Winona State University, in Winona, Minnesota. He then went on to receive his Juris Doctor degree from Hamline University School of Law in 2001 and was admitted to practice law in the State of Minnesota in 2002. From 2001 through 2004 Mr. Blahnik was a Judicial Law Clerk for the Koochiching County Courthouse, where he...

Mr. Satre has over 29 years of legal experience practicing almost exclusively in the area of employment litigation. He has litigated numerous, high profile sexual harassment cases involving large parties including: The Stroh Brewing Company; Hooters of America; Pfizer; and many other national and international companies. Mr. Satre is a former Board Member of the Minnesota Chapter of the National Employment Lawyer’s Association. Mr. Satre’s highly esteemed reputation as an authority in the employment area has resulted in him receiving numerous awards. Mr. Satre’s peers have recognized him as a “Super Lawyer” many times...

Mr. Hitchcock’s practice is focused on estate planning, contract law and business. He is an acclaimed lecturer on complex estate planning topics and an occasional contributor to the bimonthly newsletter of the Minnesota Podiatric Medical Association. Mr. Hitchcock has two children and resides in Dellwood, Minnesota, with his wife.

Mr. Hitchcock’s estate planning practice is centered on providing complex estate planning services to individuals and families. This includes wills, revocable trusts, marital and support trusts, powers of attorney and health care directives. He has represented thousands of clients in the areas of general estate planning and estate tax planning.

Mr. Hitchcock has...

St. Paul Personal Injury Lawyer

I am a family law attorney that helps clients in Minnesota navigate the next step forward in their divorce, custody, paternity, support, harassment (HRO) or domestic violence (OFP) case. I help clients figure out their goals and what would work best for their family within the context of the family law system. I then guide clients in implementing those goals so they can move forward in their lives. I understand how difficult (financially, emotionally, and sometimes even physically) this process can be. I take care of the papers and letters and phone calls that come along with the process so...

John retired from the United States Marine Corps as a Gunnery Sergeant after serving twenty-two years in various infantry, artillery and administrative capacities in numerous locations within the United States and around the world. John chaired the initiative to start Veterans Courts in Minnesota and has traveled the country assisting in setting them up. Additionally, John travels the country teaching law enforcement how to deal with veterans in crisis. John was a 2010 Attorney of the Year recipient.

Susan M. Lach is a shareholder at Tuft, Lach, Jerabek & O'Connell, PLLC and a Rule 114 Qualified Neutral. Ms. Lach practices in all areas of family law, including complex property valuation and division, contested child custody matters, spousal maintenance, child support issues, and antenuptial agreements. Ms. Lach is trained in arbitration, as well as mediation. She is a Financial Early Neutral Evaluator for the Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka, Washington, and Dakota County District Court Early Neutral Evaluation Programs. Ms. Lach is a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and is past Minnesota Delegate to...

Wanda Gierman is a criminal litigation attorney in St. Cloud, Minnesota where she has practiced law for more than a decade. She serves Stearns County and the surrounding counties throughout the state of Minnesota. Ms. Gierman grew up in Rugby, North Dakota and attended University of North Dakota where she graduated with a degree majoring in criminal justice with a minor in psychology. As an undergraduate, she worked as a summer intern for the North Dakota Supreme Court. She went on to attend William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota and graduated in 2004. While in law...

Crawford Law Office is committed to providing skilled and effective legal representation in divorce and other family law and civil litigation matters throughout the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area. At Crawford Law Office we employ exceptional legal expertise with common sense in our work. We offer our clients the advice and counsel they need in order to make informed decisions about their legal matters while making every effort to cost-effectively resolve their case. We understand that each client we represent faces a unique situation and with that in mind we...

Dan joined Gammello, Qualley, Pearson & Mallak PLLC in January 2012 after serving for more than two years as the law clerk for the Honorable David J. Ten Eyck, Judge of District Court, Ninth Judicial District. Prior to serving as Judge Ten Eyck’s Law Clerk, Dan was also a Certified Student Attorney at the Tenth Judicial District Office of the Public Defender located in Stillwater, Minnesota for a year where he represented clients on in-custody arraignment and misdemeanor/gross-misdemeanor pretrial calendars. Since joining the firm, Dan has begun a diverse practice and represents clients in the areas of Real Estate, Corporate...

Janelle was born and raised in Southern California. She received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of St. Thomas School of Law with honors. During her time in law school, Janelle served as senior editor of the St. Thomas Journal of Law and Public Policy, worked as a student attorney in the Nonprofit Organizations and Elder Law clinics, and volunteered extensively with the Minnesota State Bar Foundation and Wills for Heroes. She currently lives in Eden Prairie with her husband and their five children. In her free time Janelle enjoys creative writing, supporting Minnesota hockey, and spending time outdoors...

Mike is an experienced workers comp, injury, insurance, and disability attorney who believes his clients deserve a tireless advocate to secure the benefits they deserve. He has recovered millions of dollars in unpaid and denied benefits for his clients. Mike is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School, where he specialized in injury law, insurance law, employment law, and employee benefits law. Since graduating, Mike has pursued his client’s disability benefits in hundreds of federal ERISA lawsuits against insurers like Cigna, MetLife, Lincoln, Aetna, Guardian, Standard, Reliance, and Hartford. In addition to fighting for long and short term disability benefits,...

Jim Lavoie exclusively practices personal injury law. He is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been voted to the Super Lawyers list by his peers. Jim's experience is diverse, including helicopter pilot in Vietnam, crop duster, University of Minnesota honors graduate from both undergraduate and law school, Mille Lacs County Attorney 1979-1985, private practice in St. Cloud and Minneapolis, and high school mock trial coach. Qualifications: Admitted in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Federal courts; certified civil trial specialist; qualified neutral arbitrator and mediator. Member: Minnesota State Bar Association, American and Minnesota Trial Lawyers Associations, and the Academy of Certified Trial Lawyers.

Kristy helps her family law clients achieve exceptional results by focusing on their needs and objectives. She thinks outside the box to tailor solutions with client goals. Kristy is a powerful negotiator and seasoned litigator. You can count on Kristy and her team to come through in a pinch and handle your issues in a professional and thorough manner. As Kristy says, “we got this.”

Paul Sortland is one of the area's prominent legal malpractice attorneys. He focuses on professional negligence, legal, accounting, and medical malpractice, business lawsuits and cases involving significant personal injury.

Brendan has spent his entire career helping people seriously injured and their families. He began as part of a trial team working on behalf of a woman who lost fetal twins and the family of a man who died, both as a result of contaminated deli meat. Driven by that formative experience, he focused his practice on food poisoning cases and has represented people throughout the country. Over the past fifteen years, he has litigated countless product liability and food poisoning cases and achieved remarkable, ground-breaking results, including one of the largest E. coli verdicts in history. Most importantly, his...

Ryan has dedicated his entire legal career to representing people injured by foodborne illness. His passion is holding food producers accountable when they poison their customers. His unending goal is to make the food we eat safer. Ryan has a decade’s worth of experience in foodborne illness litigation. He has represented people in every major foodborne illness outbreak during that time. Ryan gravitated to the science-driven foodborne illness practice in part because he comes from a medical family. His sister is a neonatologist at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, his mother is a former nurse practitioner and his father is...

Ben has been an associate with Lindell & Lavoie, LLP, since 2004, and he law clerked at the office in the two summers prior to that. Since that time, he has become an integral piece in the firm’s ongoing success. He has a varied practice, primarily focusing on personal injury and workers’ compensation cases, but he loves appellant work and has a special interest in Section 1983 Civil Rights cases. He has recovered millions of dollars for his clients over that period and has been significantly involved in notable and important cases. In 2012, Ben partnered with...