Landlords and tenants can and should have written rental agreements; leases to set out the obligations of both sides. Because the rental of properties is highly regulated there are limits on what can be in rental agreements. There are also certain rules regarding...
Firm News
Plea Bargains
What are they? In short, it is an agreement made to settle a criminal case. The vast majority of criminal charges are resolved by a plea agreement without going to trial. Why is that? For the defendant, the person charged with the crime, trials are risky and...
Outdoor Time!
This post will not say anything about the law, or the legal business, need to take a break from that once in a while. Last Saturday, the Tour of Lakes, bike ride was run here in Brainerd. It is one of hundreds of amateur sporting events all over the upper Midwest...
Back To School
Wait a minute, you might say summer vacation has not even started yet, what are you talking about with back to school? Where kids attend school is a common issue in family court. It comes up in two ways, when parents live in different school districts, we need to...
Big Brother is Listening
If you have been in jail or prison, or know someone who has, you know how important phone calls are. When you are locked up the phone is your lifeline, your connection to loved ones, family, and your attorney. What many people do not know is that, in Minnesota at...
Edward R. Shaw named a Minnesota State Bar Association Certified Criminal Law Specialist
We are pleased to announce that Attorney Edward R. Shaw has been named a Minnesota State Bar Association Certified Criminal Law Specialist. Less than 3% of Minnesota attorneys are Certified Specialists. Certification is granted after a rigorous selection process...
How To Turn The Temperature Down
I am not talking about the temperature outside, which certainly does not need to go down anymore. Family law cases often involve a lot of emotion, anger, and disagreements that turn personal. One of our most important jobs as attorneys is to turn the temperature down,...
OJ trial part 2, why did the jury find OJ not guilty?
I am one who respects the jury system. It is easy for someone to watch a thirty second soundbite on a case and think they know more about it than the jurors who listened to the entire trial. In the OJ case, we now know a lot more than the jury knew at the time of the...
Kimberly Potter Trial- Understanding Sentencing 101
Many of you probably watched the Kimberly Potter sentencing on Friday or heard about it. Her trial, and the trial of Derek Chauvin last year have provided rare windows for the general public into how real trials work, not the fictional kind we see on TV shows....
Don’t take the rule of law for granted
This is a good time, a year after the assault on the capitol, to think of what the rule of law means to all of us. The system is far from perfect, I have seen judges, governors, legislators all make mistakes, and do things that I do not agree with, they are human....
