Law Alumni Earn Awards, Elected to Lead Bar Associations

Several University of St. Thomas School of Law graduates have recently been recognized with awards and elected to lead as president of their professional organizations. Congratulations to the following alumni:

The Power List, Minnesota Lawyer

Alumni Jon Farnsworth and Alyssa Troje were named to two of Minnesota Lawyer’s Power Lists. The publication’s Power List feature highlights respected leaders who influence the direction of the law and legal community.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Jon Farnsworth ’07 J.D./MBA, partner, Spencer Fane

Read more about Alyssa Troje

2024 Attorneys of the Year, Minnesota Lawyer

Elizabeth Burnett ’10 J.D., partner, Robins Kaplan LLP

Elizabeth Burnett, who has built a reputation for her expertise in fire and explosion cases, and a team of colleagues, won a $73 million jury verdict in a complex product liability case. The court later entered judgment on their clients’ contractual indemnity claims, with attorneys’ fees and costs to be awarded. The case involved a propane-powered forklift that exploded, causing extensive property damage, business disruptions and financial losses for the client.

m boulette, ’10 J.D., partner, Taft Stettinius & Hollister

m boulette was one of the leaders of a Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) committee to study parental leave continuance rules in appropriate circumstances. The committee’s recommendation for pregnancy-related leave was adopted by MSBA and expanded to include caregiving, illness and death of a loved one. boulette's colleague and fellow committee member, Jessica Klander, went on to argue for the rule in front of the Minnesota Supreme Court and a two-year pilot program is underway to measure its effectiveness.

m was also named to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s 2025 40 Under 40 list. They recently completed their service as the president of the Hennepin County Bar Association.

Jeffrey Storms ’06 J.D., partner, Storms Dworak LLC

Jeff Storms was honored for his work securing a $3.4 million settlement in Bellamy v. Hennepin County. Storms represented the family of Lucas Bellamy, who died while in custody at the Hennepin County Jail. It is among the largest settlements in Minnesota history related to a jailhouse death. Storms says he hopes the lawsuit’s outcome will bring about reforms in the prison system.

Emily Niles ’14 J.D., partner, Robins Kaplan LLP

Emily Niles was part of the legal team that won the largest jury verdict to date in the federal District of Minnesota for infringement of patent: more than $42 million from the jury, plus $29 million of pre-judgment interest awarded by the court. The Robins Kaplan team represented Willis Electric Co. in a lawsuit against its biggest competitor, Polygroup, for infringement on a patent for a pre-lit artificial Christmas tree.

Adam Seward ’24 J.D., associate, River Valley Law

Adam Seward began working on Daniel Keller’s wrongful termination case in 2023 when he was still in law school and working as a clerk for Sarah Jewell, founder of River Valley Law. The lawsuit began in 2019 and took five years, two separate district court cases and one appeal of a wrongful dismissal of the case by a district court judge before a satisfactory settlement was reached between Keller and his former employer.

Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association

Andrea Mejia Narvaez ’17 LL.M., ’19 J.D. was elected president of the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association for 2025-26. She is an attorney at Sapientia Law Group and handles a variety of business and commercial litigation issues involving shareholder disputes, corporate governance, fraud and general contract disputes. Mejia Narvaez also advises national and international clients on corporate, commercial and transactional matters, areas of foreign investment in the U.S. and Latin America, U.S. corporate formation and governance, financing, corporate law, real estate and general cross-border commercial transactions.

Oregon State Bar Lifetime Achievement Award

Courtney N. Moran ’11 J.D. was selected as just the second recipient of the Leland R. Berger Lifetime Achievement Award by the Oregon State Bar Cannabis and Psychedelics Law Section. She has co-authored and lobbied for federal and state pro-hemp legislation and guided the initial implementation of hemp production programs in four states. She served as president for the Oregon Industrial Hemp Farmers Association from 2015-23 and continues to serve on the boards of several organizations such as the National Hemp Association and the Global Hemp Innovation Center. In 2022, she joined the Lewis and Clark Law School faculty teaching the first Hemp Law & Policy course in the United States. Moran is the founding principal of Earth Law, LLC in Portland through which she continues to practice and successfully advocate for individuals and businesses operating in the agriculture, hemp and psychedelics industries.

2025 Notable Women in Law, Twin Cities Business

Victoria Brenner ’04 J.D. is one of just 16 individuals named a Notable Woman in Law for 2025 by Twin Cities Business. Her practice at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, where she is a partner, spans all aspects of complex and high-net-worth family law, and she regularly represents professional athletes and prominent members of the business community. The Notable series features best-in-class executives across a range of industries in Minnesota. The leaders who are honored are nominated by their peers at work and in the community.