MESSERLI - Key Persons

Alicia M. Westerhoff

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Plymouth Team

Anthony L. Barthel

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team

Ashley J. Valley

Job Titles:

Member of the Minneapolis Team
Paralegal

Brendan R. Tupa

bt..@messerlikramer.com

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team
Attorney / Minneapolis
MSBA Certified Civil Trial Specialist

Brendan Tupa is an attorney in Messerli Kramer's Business Litigation group, where he focuses his practice on solving complex legal issues both inside and outside the courtroom. He has a deep bench of experience in both state and federal courts, and his practice has touched everything from contract and construction cases to product liability and trademark suits. Brendan is often brought to a case when it involves a variety of legal considerations. Prior to joining Messerli Kramer, he served as the chair of the litigation group for a boutique firm in the renewable energy space, and before that, he worked in-house for a Fortune 100 Insurance Company, where he managed an average caseload of 75+ files. As a result, he understands both sides of the litigation coin: knowing how to successfully navigate a client's needs at trial, while also being aware of the benefits to litigation avoidance. Brendan is an MSBA Certified Civil Trial Specialist and a Qualified Rule 114 Neutral, and he is licensed to practice in Minnesota, North Dakota, the District of Minnesota, and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Brett A. Perry

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team

Brett M. Larson

bl..@messerlikramer.com

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team
Attorney / Minneapolis
Shareholder and Chair of the Minneapolis Division

Brett Larson is a Shareholder and Chair of the Minneapolis Division. In addition to managing his practice, Brett oversees all business operations of the Minneapolis Division, which is comprised of the Banking & Finance, Business Litigation, Commercial Real Estate, Corporate, Divorce & Family Law and Estate Planning & Probate groups. Brett also serves as a member of the Firm Board of Directors. Brett focuses his practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate organization and reorganization, international transactions and succession planning for businesses and business owners. Brett serves as outside general counsel to many U.S. based businesses in the lower middle and middle markets. Brett understands that his clients need to make important decisions quickly, which is why he is always available to provide direction and discuss any questions or concerns they may have. His clients know that he is in their corner in the way that he advocates for their interests while advancing his client's overarching business goals in an efficient and cost effective manner.

Brian A. Chou - Shareholder

bc..@messerlikramer.com

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Plymouth Team
Shareholder
Attorney / Plymouth

Brian Chou is a Shareholder who specializes in Collections. His particular focus is managing the practices in Wisconsin, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, North and South Dakota, and Montana.

Carrie L. Bazella

Job Titles:

Member of the Minneapolis Team
Paralegal

Craig Henderson

ch..@messerlikramer.com

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Plymouth Team
Attorney / Plymouth

Craig Henderson is an attorney in Messerli Kramer's Consumer Collections and Creditors' Remedies group and focuses on aiding the firm's clients in their debt recovery. Craig sees the importance of representing his clients to the best of his ability while keeping the unique circumstances of each consumer in mind. Craig received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota and his Juris Doctor from Mitchell Hamline School of Law. He specialized in criminal defense during law school, working in both district court and the court of appeals.

Dalton K. Crum

dc..@messerlikramer.com

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team
Attorney / Minneapolis

Dalton Crum is an attorney in Messerli Kramer's Corporate group, where he works on both private equity and strategic transactions in a wide range of industries, from Construction to Commercial and Professional Services to Transportation. Dalton represents clients on both the buy-side and sell-side, and he has established himself as a trusted advisor to clients seeking sophisticated legal guidance in complex lower- to middle-market business transactions. At Messerli Kramer, Dalton focuses his practice primarily in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate organization and reorganization, family-owned and closely-held business entities, and succession planning for businesses and business owners. Dalton's approach to corporate M&A is both strategic and practical. With a background in forensic accounting, in addition to time spent in secondment at a leading private equity firm, Dalton is committed to understanding each client's business objective and tailoring his advice and work to meet the client where they are. His experience and insight into deal structures, financing options, and regulatory requirements allow him to provide clients with sound legal advice and practical solutions to even the most complex issues, and to do so in a way that non-attorney clients can actually understand.

Daniel S. Schleck

ds..@messerlikramer.com

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team
Attorney / Minneapolis

Daniel Schleck's varied career has involved many areas of transactional law including environmental law and policy; renewable energy projects; commercial real estate development; financing and corporate matters; municipal and land use law; and eminent domain proceedings. More specifically, Dan has experience in structuring complex transactions and financing packages for all aspects of property development. He has successfully secured significant public grant funds including TIF, PACE and TBRA funds for clients that choose to redevelop contaminated property-using these funds in creative and successful financing structures. As a former city attorney for Mendota Heights, Minnesota, Dan's unique perspective allows him to add value when negotiating development agreements, including tax Increment financing with municipalities. Dan's technical and hands-on experience developing projects, cleaning up contaminated sites and utilizing complex financing structures, has given him a deep understanding of clients' issues and needs in these area. Prior to becoming an attorney, Dan worked as an environmental and chemical engineer utilizing his skills and background to provide project management to many hazardous waste site clean-up projects for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, various state environmental agencies, and private companies. Having been involved in planning, pricing and project management for these various agencies, Mr. Schleck uses his experience to deliver solutions to clients in a timely, cost effective and measurable manner. Dan was admitted to the bar in 1995 after graduating from Chicago Kent College that same year. He is a licensed professional engineer in Wisconsin, and has received certifications as a hazardous materials manager and environmental specialist. Dan is a frequent lecturer at numerous continuing education classes and seminars.

Dawn Solfield

Job Titles:

Assistant

Debra E. Yerigan

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team

Derrick N. Weber

dw..@messerlikramer.com

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Plymouth Team
Attorney / Plymouth
Member of the Hennepin County Bar Association

Derrick Weber concentrates his practice on collections and creditors' remedies, helping recover losses for such clients as national banks, credit unions, businesses and other lenders. He manages a group of attorneys and staff who work in all stages of litigation and recognizes that a resolution needs to be tailored to the unique circumstances of each consumer. By encouraging open communication that is respectful, ethical, and sympathetic, Derrick helps clients obtain excellent recoveries while minimizing costs. Derrick handles matters related to collection litigation and remedies; bankruptcies; secured transactions; real estate-related collections; regulatory matters; and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) defense. He frequently lectures on ethics issues and served on the District IV Ethics Committee from 1998 to 2004. Derrick has been an active member of the Hennepin County Bar Association since 2005. He actively participates in the bar by serving in leadership roles and lecturing at conferences about issues affecting collection litigation. He is a past officer of the Creditor-Debtor section, Co-Chair of the Bench/Bar Committee and a Board member of the Bar Association. Giving back to the community is also important to Derrick, an attribute he derived from his scouting experience. Derrick is among the five percent of scouts who achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.

Gabriel M.H. Branco

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team

Gary A. Debele

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team

George R. Serdar

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team

Georgia S. Kellogg

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team

Gina M. Rice

Job Titles:

Assistant

Jacklyn R. Vasquez

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team

Jacob W. Elrich

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team

James E. Kachelski

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Plymouth Team

James T. Clark

Job Titles:

Attorney

Jefferson C. Pappas

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Plymouth Team

Jeremy E. Warring

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team

Jessica Murphy

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Plymouth Team

Jessica T. Dulz

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team

Jillian N. Walker - Shareholder

jw..@messerlikramer.com

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Plymouth Team
Shareholder
Attorney / Plymouth

Jillian Walker is a shareholder in the Consumer Collections and Creditors' Remedies group and concentrates in the collection of consumer debt. In addition to representing the firm's clients, she plays an integral part of developing positive relationships between the firm's staff and its attorneys fostering a positive work environment producing superior results. She is licensed in four states, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Each of those states has distinct laws and statutes governing the area of collection. She also assists the firm and clients with licensing requirements. With a deep understanding of the law, Jillian is able to advise the firm's clients on the most cost-effective ways of recovering their losses. Jillian can advise clients on the best approach to ensure their actions meet legal standards so they can run their businesses more efficiently.

John Harper III

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team

John R. Beattie - Shareholder

jb..@messerlikramer.com

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team
Shareholder
Attorney / Minneapolis

John Beattie is a shareholder in Messerli Kramer's Corporate group. With 40 years of private practice experience, he has the broad knowledge needed to advise companies, shareholders and individuals about the legal implications of their business decisions-guiding business owners and managers through organizational, regulatory, and financial matters.

John W. Lang

jl..@messerlikramer.com

Job Titles:

Attorney
Member of the Minneapolis Team
Attorney / Minneapolis

John focuses his practice on real estate (tax deferral and avoidance strategies), corporate law, mergers, acquisitions, estate planning and trusts and estates. John is a Certified Real Property Law Specialist, certified by the Minnesota State Bar Association; this, along with his extensive training as a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and 37 years of experience practicing law, allows him to quickly size up the complex issues often found in real estate, tax and business transactions. John is also well-versed in opportunity zone investments and Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 tax-deferred exchanges, a specialized legal mechanism that allows property owners to sell and exchange appreciated real estate holdings while deferring related taxes. He focuses his practice on finding creative, timely, and cost efficient solutions to complex legal problems involving transaction related business issues. He is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and a Qualified Neutral Arbitrator and Mediator. He is a Real Property Law Specialist, certified by the Minnesota State Bar Association. Mr. Lang is a member of the Hennepin County, Minnesota State, Wisconsin State, and American Bar Associations. He is licensed to practice in all Minnesota courts, including Federal Bankruptcy Court and Federal District Court, Federal Tax Court, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as in Wisconsin. John served as President of Messerli Kramer from 2001-2004 and again from 2012-2019. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Messerli Kramer, as well as on many committees on behalf of the firm and on the Board of Directors of the Messerli Kramer Foundation.