PARTNERS
Garry A. Pearson (Member) born Minot, North Dakota, August 27, 1934; admitted to bar, 1958, North Dakota, U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth and Ninth Circuits, U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Federal Claims and U.S. Tax Court; 1988, Minnesota. Education: University of North Dakota (B.S.B.A., 1956); University of Wisconsin and University of North Dakota (J.D., 1958). Order of the Coif. Practice Areas: Income Tax; Federal Income Tax; Estate and Gift Taxation.Email: Garry A. Pearson
Douglas A. Christensen (Member) born Rugby, North Dakota, September 9, 1947; admitted to bar, 1971, North Dakota, U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota and U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth and Eleventh Circuits; 1978, Minnesota. Education: Concordia College (B.A., 1968); University of North Dakota (J.D., 1971). Member: State Bar Association of North Dakota. Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Business Organization; Estate Planning; Tax Planning.Email: Douglas A. Christensen
Richard A. Clapp (Member) born Cincinnati, Ohio, March 20, 1948; admitted to bar, 1976, North Dakota, U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota and U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota; 1982, Minnesota and U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit. Education: University of North Dakota (B.A., 1972; J.D., with distinction, 1976). Listed in Best Lawyers in America. Author: "Clapp's North Dakota Law For Claims Professionals," 2007. Member: Minnesota State Bar Association (Member, Civil Litigation Section); American Board of Trial Advocates; National Board of Trial Advocates; State Bar Association of North Dakota; Defense Research Institute; Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association; American Inns of Court (Master, Randy Lee Chapter). (Certified as a Civil Trial Advocacy Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy). Practice Areas: Insurance Defense; Construction Litigation; Products Liability; Civil Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Asbestos.Email: Richard A. Clapp
Ronald F. Fischer (Member) born Bismarck, North Dakota, September 10, 1955; admitted to bar, 1980, North Dakota, U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota and U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit; 1982, U.S. Claims Court; 1984, U.S. Tax Court; 1988, Minnesota and U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota; 2005, U.S. Supreme Court. Education: Mary College (B.S., 1977); University of North Dakota (J.D., with distinction, 1980). Order of the Coif; American Inns of Court . Listed, "The Best Lawyers in America. Member: American College of Trial Lawyers; The Association of Trial Lawyers of America; North Dakota Trial Lawyers Association (Member, Board of Governors, 1989); American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; North Dakota Federal Court Advisory Panel. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Business Litigation; Insurance; Employment Law; Employment Litigation; Construction Law; Construction Litigation.Email: Ronald F. Fischer
Jon J. Jensen (Member) admitted to bar, 1990, North Dakota, Minnesota; U.S. District Court, Districts of North Dakota and Minnesota, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit and U.S. Tax Court. Education: Mankato State University (B.S., Accounting, 1987); University of North Dakota (J.D., with distinction, 1990). Certified Public Accountant, North Dakota. Member: Grand Forks (President, 1999), Minnesota State and American Bar Associations; State Bar Association of North Dakota. Practice Areas: Tax Litigation; Civil Litigation; Commercial Transactions.Email: Jon J. Jensen
James D. Hovey (Member) born Grand Forks, North Dakota, April 26, 1964; admitted to bar, 1996, North Dakota and U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota; 1997, Minnesota and U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota. Education: University of North Dakota (B.A., 1987; J.D., with distinction, 1996). Member: American Inns of Court. Languages: Russian. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Personal Injury; Insurance Defense; Contracts; Real Property; Domestic Relations; Criminal Defense.Email: James D. Hovey
ASSOCIATES
Sarah S. Barron (Associate) born Billings, Montana, March 31, 1953; admitted to bar, 1995, North Dakota; 1996, Minnesota; 2001, U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota; 2007, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit. Education: Antioch College (B.A., 1975); The Ohio State University (Ph.D., English, 1982); Cleveland Marshall College of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1995). Member: Greater Grand Forks County and American Bar Associations; State Bar Association of North Dakota; Minnesota State Bar Association; American Inns of Court, Randy Lee Chapter. Practice Areas: Insurance Defense; Domestic Relations.Email: Sarah S. Barron
Marianne Knudson (Associate) born Bodo, Norway; admitted to bar, 2007, North Dakota. Education: University of Oslo, Norway (Candidata Juris, 2004); University of North Dakota (J.D., 2007). Member, American Inns of Court, Randy H. Lee Chapter. Recipient, Best Appellate Brief, Moot Court. Law Clerk to Pearson Christensen & Clapp, 2007. Author: "Piercing the Corporative Veil," Norwegian and American Law. Exchange Student, University of North Dakota Law School, Norwegian Law Degree. Member: Greater Grand Forks County Bar Association; American Bar Association; State Bar Association of North Dakota. Languages: Norwegian.
OF COUNSEL
Linda E. Bata (Of Counsel) admitted to bar, 1990, Minnesota and North Dakota. Education: Concordia College (B.A., summa cum laude, 1987); University of North Dakota Law School (J.D., with distinction, 1990). Order of the Coif; Law Review Editor; Federal Judicial Clerkship. Member: Minnesota State and American Bar Associations; State Bar Association of North Dakota. Practice Areas: Litigation; Collections; Employment Law; Estate Planning; Probate and Trust Administration.Email: Linda E. Bata