Firm Annoucements

2007 Super Lawyers® Selected

Congratulations to our attorneys who were selected as 2007 Super Lawyers®!

Lindsay G. Arthur

Sally J. Ferguson

Robert W. Kettering

James S. Pikala

Paul J. Rocheford

Each year, Law & Politics mails out more than 16,000 ballots to Minnesota attorneys asking them to nominate their peers who are outstanding attorneys. With more than 11,000 votes cast, a Blue Ribbon panel of 150 lawyers representing over 60 practice areas then voted on those lawyers nominated in their practice area. Just under 1,500 attorneys (6% of the bar) made it through the selection process.

Arthur Chapman Welcomes A New Shareholder

Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala, P.A. is pleased to announce that William A. LeMire has joined the firm as a shareholder.

William LeMire’s practice focuses on civil litigation, trials, and arbitrations with an emphasis on product liability and litigation arising from fires and explosions. His product defense practice has included roles as national counsel for recreational and industrial product manufacturers. William is also General Counsel for the International Association of Arson Investigators (“IAAI”). The IAAI is an international association comprised of thousands of members dedicated to improving and refining the investigations of fires and explosions.

William is admitted to practice in the Minnesota state and federal courts and the US District Courts of Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. He is also admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Minnesota Bar Association, the Federalist Society, and the St. Thomas More Society. He is a frequent speaker on a variety of litigation and trial topics. William graduated magna cum laude from William Mitchell in 1989 where he obtained his Juris Doctorate.

Tom Forker and Chris Newkirk Published in Privacy & Data Security Law Journal

Tom Forker and Chris Newkirk's article, "Well, That Didn't Take Long! Viacom Battles Google and YouTube" was published in the May 2007 issue of Privacy & Data Security Law Journal and is reprinted here with permission.

Fire Litigation News

David Reddan, Chair of Arthur Chapman's Fire Litigation Group, has again been named to the steering committee for the Defense Research Institute's 2007 Fire and Casualty Seminar, scheduled for November 1-2 in Chicago. This annual seminar brings together the country's best-known attorneys and forensic experts in the area of fire litigation.  Mr. Reddan has been a member of DRI's Fire and Casualty SLG for the past several years, and has been named a member of the steering committee since 2005.

Tom Forker and Chris Newkirk Published in Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal

Tom Forker and Chris Newkirk's article, "Does YouTube's Bright Past Mean a Cloudy Future?"  was published in the January 2007 issue of Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal, one of the premier national publications focused on intellectual property issues. 

In their article, Tom and Chris examine the potential legal ramifications and business risks associated with Google's acquisition of YouTube, including copyright infringement and the current video downloading craze sweeping the internet.

Tom Forker is a shareholder at Arthur Chapman and the Co-Chair of the Intellectual Property Practice Group.  He concentrates his litigation practice on intellectual property disputes with a focus on trademark, copyright, trade dress, unfair competition, and deceptive business practice claims and general business disputes.  Chris Newkirk is an associate at Arthur Chapman, focusing his practice on general commercial and intellectual property litigation including trademark, trade dress, unfair competition, and copyright.

Law Firm Co-Founder Retires

Arthur Chapman is honored to recognize the hard work and dedication of our co-founder John T. Chapman (Jack) as he retires from our firm.  We hosted a Retirement Party for Jack on November 2, 2006 in our offices. 

John T. Chapman is a founder of the firm that bears his name.   Jack is a highly regarded trial lawyer who has focused his practice on personal injury, catastrophe fire, property, and insurance matters over the past 40 years. A significant portion of Jack's practice was devoted to the trial of complex multi-party products liability and automobile casualty cases, as well as arbitration and mediation. Jack was a past member of the firm's Board of Directors, a long time member of the Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association, and the International Association of Defense Counsel. 

The following attorneys have been selected by their peers as Super Lawyers for 2006.  Click here for our Super Lawyers firm announcement.

How Super Lawyers® Were Selected : Law & Politics Magazine mailed out more than 16,000 ballots to Minnesota attorneys asking them to nominate their peers who are outstanding attorneys. More than 11,000 votes were cast. A Blue Ribbon panel of 150 lawyers representing over 60 practice areas then voted on those lawyers nominated in their practice area. Just under 1,500 attorneys (6% of the bar) made it through the selection process.  Click here for a firm announcement about our Super Lawyers.

The following attorneys have been selected by their peers as Rising Stars for 2007.

Shayne M. Hamann               Douglas D. McGhee

Lee A. Miller                         Jonathon M. Zentner

How Rising Stars® Were Selected: Super Lawyers are asked to vote for the best attorneys who are either 40 or under or who have been practicing 10 or fewer years. They are instructed to vote for lawyers they have personally observed in action — whether as opposing counsel or co-counsel, or through other first-hand courtroom observation.  Only 2.5% of the best up-and-coming attorneys in the state are selected. To ensure a diverse and well-balanced list, the research staff considers factors such as firm size, practice area, and geographic location.

Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala, P.A. is pleased to announce the published book, “The Litigators” by Lindsay G. Arthur, Jr.

Arthur's passion for the law causes him to expose major weakness in the system as seen in “The Litigators,” a fast moving and passionate book that exposes truths and failures in today's court system: How far will Dillon Love go for his client if the end result of his lawsuit is to destroy the brilliant university professor who has dedicated his entire life to improving the environment? How far will Henry Holten go to defeat the graceful woman whose family and financial future is dependent upon the success of her court case? The Litigators is a riveting page turner that brings together three tenacious lawyers and their highly worthy clients in a way that forever changes the lives of all.

Lindsay Arthur is a well known lawyer who has tried in excess of 150 cases, and is founder of Arthur, Chapman, Kettering, Smetak & Pikala, P.A, a litigation law firm in Minneapolis, MN.  The Litigators is prompted by his love for the law, whose greatest virtue is, paradoxically, its willingness to tolerate strident criticism.   In that spirit, Lindsay speaks here, as an entrenched insider, with a bold critique of a judicial system that displays a myopic lack of human understanding by lawyers who are naively focused on victory at all costs rather than addressing the real human problems of their clients.

The Litigators is also available through most bookstores or online through http://www.bn.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, or http://www.scarlettapress.com/ .