Overview
Josh is a dynamic and determined trial attorney with deep experience at every stage of litigation. He has successfully litigated multiple matters through trial and has delivered arguments in front of state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels. Josh represents clients in the distribution, technology, food and agriculture, and health care industries. He handles disputes across the country for his clients, including corporate-related litigation, post-deal pricing disputes, appellate litigation and distribution disputes. Josh also works with his clients pre-litigation to avoid and manage litigation risk.
Before joining the firm, Josh clerked for Chief Judge Lavenski R. Smith of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and later for Judge J. Leon Holmes of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Josh brings this invaluable experience to bear on every matter, and guides his clients through the trial and appellate stages of litigation with confidence.
Beyond litigating, Josh serves as an adjunct faculty member teaching Appellate Advocacy at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. Josh also enjoys spending time with his family visiting small towns and experiencing different cultures and landscapes throughout the U.S.
Corporate Litigation
Josh’s clients benefit from his breadth of experience in corporate-related litigation. For example, he has litigated multi-hundred-million-dollar deal disputes in the Delaware Court of Chancery. He has also litigated a variety of post-merger disputes over pricing and reps and warranties in courts across the country. He has handled licensing disputes, distribution and supply disputes, real estate and performance guaranty disputes, and indemnification and arbitration matters as well. Josh has handled corporate litigation matters for name-brand clients in the health care, food and beverage, retail, and financial services industries.
Appellate Advocacy
Josh prides himself on clear and credible appellate advocacy. He has successfully flipped summary judgment on appeal in federal court and preserved trial victories from appellate attack. Josh has briefed cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and state supreme courts and courts of appeals. He has also argued cases in state and federal courts of appeals. On appeal, Josh has represented Fortune 500 companies in the health care, medical device and consumer product industries, as well as higher educational institutions and organizations.
Related Services
Credentials
Bar Admissions
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Court Admissions
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
Minnesota Supreme Court
Wisconsin Supreme Court
Delaware Court of Chancery
Clerkships
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Hon. J. Leon Holmes, 2016-2018
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Hon. Lavenski R. Smith, 2015-2016
Education
Liberty University School of Law
J.D. summa cum laude, Liberty University Law Review (2015)
University of Wisconsin - Madison
B.S. in Political Science (2012)
Insights & Events
Leadership & Community
Pro Bono
- In a case that became a significant inroad for civil rights protections, Josh was appointed by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to represent an inmate who was placed with a dangerous cellmate and suffered serious injury as a result. Even though our client was designated “pair with care,” the prison placed him in a cell with a history of attacking cellmates and failed to move him after recognizing the error. Our client’s repeated requests to be moved were ignored. Three days after the cell assignment, he was violently attacked by his cellmate, who stabbed him repeatedly with a pen. After the assault, a note outlining the cellmate’s intentions to attack our client was found during a search of the cell. The client filed a civil rights lawsuit against several of the corrections employees for failure to take reasonable means to protect him, but the lower court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants. Josh briefed the case and argued it before the Seventh Circuit, which issued a ruling agreeing that the risk to the client was excessive and that corrections officers had actual knowledge of the risk but failed to protect him. In its decision, the court even incorporated wholesale paragraphs from Josh’s brief, and reversed the lower court’s decision granting summary judgment, allowing the client to proceed with his case against prison employees.
- Josh represented a mother with children with special needs in a dispute with her landlord related to damage when the client’s apartment flooded while she was out of town. Josh secured a release from the landlord for all property damage as well as full reimbursement of the client’s security deposit. He also secured a written, positive reference from the landlord, and located alternative housing for the client and her children, including protection of her Section 8 housing voucher.
- Representing IX of Corcoran — a neighborhood organization which promotes housing quality and advocates for low-income tenants — Josh helped secure a final order in Hennepin County (Minn.) Housing Court appointing an administrator to manage and make repairs to five south Minneapolis apartment buildings, which were home to more than 38 low-income families.
- Josh participated in the More Representation Minneapolis housing initiative, a collaboration between Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s office, Twin Cities law firms, the Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN) and Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, aimed at increasing full representation of low-income tenants in eviction defense and affirmative habitability cases. Representing families experiencing substandard housing conditions, advocacy by the team brought both needed repairs to scarce affordable housing and financial compensation for the affected families.
Professional Associations
- Eighth Circuit Bar Association — Communications Committee
- Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) — Business Litigation Committee Board, 2019-present
Civic Activities
- Covenant Presbyterian Church, Hammond, Wisconsin
- Twin Cities Diversity In Practice (TCDIP) — Mentor
Honors
- Best Lawyers® — "Ones to Watch," Commercial Litigation, 2023
- Outstanding Commitment to Pro Bono Service Recognition — Pro Bono Council of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee in coordination with the Minnesota Supreme Court, 2020
- Faegre Drinker — Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2020-21
- Faegre Baker Daniels — Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2019