FairVote Minnesota congratulates Fredrikson & Byron attorney Nicole Moen on earning the 2010 Pro Bono Publico award for her outstanding work in providing pro bono counsel on a range of important legal matters, including the constitutionality of ranked-choice voting in Minnesota.

Nicole Moen James Dorsey of the Fredrikson & Byron law firm and Keith Halleland of the Halleland, Lewis, Nilan and Johnson law firm served as lead co-counsel in FairVote Minnesota's intervention as a defendant in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of ranked-choice voting in Minneapolis, a case that was appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

On June 11, 2009, the state's top court delivered a unanimous opinion upholding the constitutionality of ranked-choice voting and paved the way for the use of ranked-choice voting in Minneapolis in November of 2009. 

Nicole will be recognized at the Hennepin County Bar Association's annual benefit March 9th.

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Date: January 26, 2010
Contact: Kelly Griffith, Marketing Manager
Phone: (612) 492-7514
E-Mail: kgriffith@fredlaw.com

For Immediate Release

Nicole Moen Receives Pro Bono Award

Minneapolis, MN January 26, 2010 – – Fredrikson & Byron attorney, Nicole Moen, will receive the 2010 Pro Bono Publico Award: Private Sector. She will be honored at the annual fundraiser for the Hennepin County Bar Association on March 9 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis.

Moen is a senior associate in Fredrikson & Byron’s Litigation Group. She represents clients in civil, regulatory, and white collar criminal matters. Her practice focuses on health litigation, white collar and regulatory defense, and business and commercial litigation. Moen is a member of the firm’s pro bono committee and represents clients in a number of pro bono matters. As part of her pro bono work, she volunteers at legal clinics, giving advice and brief service in the areas of consumer credit, housing, and family law. Moen has also represented a number of individuals in court, including securing custody for foster parents in a highly-emotional and strongly-contested adoption. Her work has also included assisting nonprofit organizations on issues as diverse as securing the right of churches to ban guns on their premises to upholding a voter referendum on instant runoff voting. In addition, Moen has for many years represented an Algerian citizen who was being detained at Guantanamo Bay. She traveled to Cuba numerous times for meetings with her client and—because of her fluency in French—served as both an attorney and translator. Her client was recently sent home to Algeria. Nicole is also frequent speaker about the unique legal issues surrounding Guantanamo Bay detention and has written an article about her experience representing a Guantanamo Bay detainee. She is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and clerked for the Honorable John R. Tunheim, United States District Judge of the District of Minnesota.

Fredrikson & Byron is a 240 attorney law firm based in Minneapolis, with offices in Bismarck, Des Moines, Monterrey, Mexico, and Shanghai, China. We’ve built a reputation as the firm “where law and business meet” by bringing business acumen and entrepreneurial thinking to our work with clients, and by operating as business advisors and strategic partners as well as legal counselors. The firm’s primary areas of practice include banking, corporate, employment, energy, renewable energy, franchise, government relations, healthcare, intellectual property, international, litigation, real estate, securities, and tax. We serve a broad range of clients, including multinational corporations, public companies, privately-held businesses, entrepreneurs, government agencies, and family businesses. Fredrikson & Byron’s attorneys also work with individuals on estate planning, family law, and immigration matters. We are the exclusive Minnesota law firm member of the World Services Group, a worldwide network of professional service providers. More information about the firm is available at www.fredlaw.com.