QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
I have over twenty-one years of experience in private practice with the Pearce & Durick law firm. Much of my practice has been focused on civil litigation which has provided me with significant pre-trial, discovery, and trial experience as a litigator for both plaintiffs and defendants in the areas of personal injury, products liability, insurance, employment, contract, and school law matters. I also have experience with administrative hearings as Special Assistant Attorney General for Workforce Safety & Insurance and the North Dakota Real Estate Commission. I am a qualified neutral mediator with experience as a mediator and/or arbitrator in numerous civil cases.
WORK HISTORY
August 1983 to present: Attorney in private practice with Pearce & Durick, Bismarck, ND. Partner since 1986. Practice focuses on civil litigation (majority of work for defendants) in areas of personal injury, products liability, insurance defense, employment law, and school law.
August 1982 - July 1983: Law Clerk, North Dakota Supreme Court. Law clerk to the Honorable Justices William L. Paulson, Gerald W. VandeWalle, and Vernon R. Pederson.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Admitted to the North Dakota Bar, October 1982 (Bar Id. No. 03946). Admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the District of North Dakota and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Member of the American Bar Association, (Member Sections on Tort and Insurance Practice and Labor and Employment), and the State Bar Association of North Dakota. Member, Defense Research Institute, North Dakota Defense Lawyers Association, and North Dakota Council of School Attorneys (past president). Special Assistant Attorney General Appointments to represent Workforce Safety & Insurance, ND Real Estate Commission, ND State Board of Architecture, and the North Dakota Development Fund. Assistant Legal Council to the North Dakota School Boards Association.
EDUCATION
1982: Juris Doctorate, with Distinction, University of North Dakota School of Law, Grand Forks, ND
1979: Bachelor of Arts Degree, Summa Cum Laude, Political Science, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
My community volunteer background includes: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, church council (1992-94, council chair 1994), church missions team (chair 2002-2004), United Way Day of Caring co-chair (2000), Folkfest committee co-chair (1991-92), Burleigh County Extension Advisory Committee (2002-present), University of Mary President's and Varsity Clubs and fund raising campaigns, youth basketball coach, and others.
PERSONAL
Born, Jamestown, ND, on 12-29-56. Age 48. Married to Ann since 1984. One child, Kristen, age 15.
Good health.
May 2, 2005