Overview
Aaron Van Oort is a legal strategist and appellate lawyer who co-chairs Faegre Drinker’s appellate advocacy group. A former law clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia, a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and an editor of the Eighth Circuit Appellate Practice Manual (10th ed. 2022), Aaron speaks for clients in trial and appellate courts throughout the country. Chambers USA describes him as having “notable prominence and presence in this field.”
Appellate
When cases are important, challenging or both, clients hire Aaron on appeal. Aaron has represented clients in 12 of the 13 U.S. Courts of Appeal, as well as in the U.S. Supreme Court and in many state appellate courts. He has argued more than 50 appeals and has won victories for clients as both appellee and appellant, including winning reversals of adverse jury verdicts in both federal and state courts. His recent representations include:
- Smits v. Park Nicollet Health Services, 979 N.W.2d 436 (Minn. 2022). Representing Park Nicollet, successfully obtained Minnesota Supreme Court review and won ruling reversing court of appeals and affirming summary judgment against claims seeking to hold mental health care provider vicariously liable for murders committed by outpatient.
- Thornton v. Tyson Foods, Inc., et al., 28 F.4th 1016 (10th Cir. 2022). Representing the nation’s four largest beef processors, won a 2-1 decision affirming the dismissal of two putative class actions on the grounds that federal law preempted plaintiffs’ state-law deceptive-advertising claims.
- State ex rel. Knudsen v. AT&T Mobility Nat’l Accounts, LLC, 2021 WL 6109577 (Minn. App. 2021). Representing AT&T Mobility, successfully won decision affirming the dismissal of Minnesota False Claims Act claims for lack of any knowingly false representation.
- Mujo v. Jani-King International, Inc., 13 F.4th 204 (2d Cir. 2021). Representing Jani-King, won 2-1 decision affirming summary judgment against putative class action asserting employee misclassification, minimum wage and anti-kickback claims.
- Micheel v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co., 1 F.4th 614 (8th Cir. 2021). Representing American Family, won reversal of order granting summary judgment to plaintiff and direction to grant summary judgment for American Family, with court agreeing that summary of insurance policy did not create ambiguity in the policy itself.
- LSP Transmission Holdings, LLC v. Sieben, 954 F.3d 1018 (8th Cir. 2020). Representing Xcel Energy, successfully intervened in suit bringing dormant Commerce Clause constitutional challenge against Minnesota’s right-of-first-refusal statute, won dismissal of claim, defended dismissal on appeal and got plaintiff’s petition for writ of certiorari denied.
- Anderson v. American Family Ins. Co., 800 Fed. Appx. 814 (11th Cir. 2020). Representing American Family, won affirmance of summary judgment against putative class action alleging property damage due to stigma, with court agreeing that none had been proven and a failure to assess for stigma was not an independent claim when no stigma was proven.
Litigation Strategy
When clients face class actions, mass actions or individual cases with high exposure, they hire Aaron to team up with litigators and trial lawyers to create and implement the legal strategy to win the case. Clients often have Aaron direct and argue motions to dismiss and for summary judgment, negotiate jury instructions, and handle motion practice at and after trials. Aaron has also defended more than 150 putative class actions and is an editor of the Bolch Judicial Institute’s Guidelines and Best Practices: Implementing 2018 Amendments to Rule 23 Class Action Settlement Provisions (Duke Law School 2018). With Aaron’s representation, clients have compelled arbitration, won dismissal and summary judgment, defeated class certification, and negotiated favorable class and individual settlements.
Personal Interests
Aaron is an avid NFL football fan. He enjoys traveling the U.S. looking for great barbecue with his wife and four sons, and training and taking walks with his Great Dane, Huckleberry.
Related Services
Related Industries
Credentials
Bar Admissions
Minnesota
Court Admissions
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
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 Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
Clerkships
United States Supreme Court, Hon. Antonin Scalia, 2000-2001
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Hon. Richard A. Posner, 1999-2000
Education
University of Chicago Law School
J.D. with high honors, Order of the Coif, Law Review (articles editor) (1999)
University of Minnesota, Morris
B.A. with high distinction, with honors (1996)
Insights & Events
Latest
Insights
News
Other Perspectives
- 8th Circuit Appellate Practice Manual
Editor, 8th Edition, 2018 - Guidelines and Best Practices: Implementing 2018 Amendments to Rule 23 Class Action Settlement Provisions
Editor, Bolch Judicial Institute, Duke Law School, 2018 - The Supreme Court Term in Preview
Panelist, Eighth Circuit Bar Association, St. Paul, October 18, 2017 - Recent Developments in Class Action Law
Panelist, PLI Consumer Financial Services Institute, New York, April 2017 - The U.S. Supreme Court's Big New Decisions
Minnesota CLE, Minneapolis, 2017 - Evaluating Proposed Class-Action Settlements
Panel Moderator, Duke Class-Action Settlement Conference, San Diego, October 2016 - Recent Developments in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Litigation
Banking Law Institute, Minneapolis, 2013 - ABA Appellate Practice Compendium
Contributing Author, 2013 - Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Trade Practice Regulation in Minnesota
Contributing Editor
Firm Blog Contributions
- LaborSphere – a resource providing coverage and insights on breaking cases, recently enacted legislation and a broad range of labor issues
Leadership & Community
Professional Associations
- American Academy of Appellate Lawyers
- Minnesota State Bar Association — Past Chair of Appellate Section
Honors
- Chambers USA — Minnesota, Litigation: Appellate, 2010-23
- Best Lawyers® — Appellate Practice, 2011-24 (Lawyer of the Year, 2017, 2021); Litigation — Antitrust, 2013-24; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions — Defendants, 2023
- Minnesota Super Lawyers — Appellate, 2013-23 (Top 100 Super Lawyers for Minnesota)
No aspect of these recognitions has been approved by the highest court of any state.