Hal A. Shillingstad
Profile
Hal Shillingstad’s practice is exclusively litigation. He has tried numerous cases to verdict and has obtained dismissals through motion practice. His employment law experience includes the successful representation of clients by defense trial verdicts, dismissals (voluntary or by summary judgment) and/or favorable settlements in the following types of claims: discrimination (age, national origin, race, gender, marital), reprisal, whistleblower, harassment, retaliation, breach of employment contract, wrongful termination, negligent hiring and retention, tortious interference with contract, promissory estoppel, shareholder oppression claims, ERISA violations and defamation.
Hal also successfully defended a case (defense verdicts in bifurcated trials on discrimination claims and breach of contract) that received national and local media exposure (Dunham v. Wayzata Country Club – A Current Affair broadcast 2004; one of the “Lawsuits of the Year” in Minnesota Law and Politics, 2005, and local coverage of trial in the Minneapolis Star Tribune).
Hal’s extensive commercial litigation experience includes trying to verdict cases involving, products liability, premises liability, construction, insurance coverage, fraud, and breach of contract. He was one of the trial counsel in the Minnesota Tobacco litigation in the four month trial in St. Paul. He has managed and litigated cases in multiple states, and has participated in numerous arbitrations. He has participated in class actions and has successfully defended as lead counsel claims seeking class certification. He has thirty reported decisions.
Hal is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and has been recognized as a Super Lawyer. He has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law for the William Mitchell College of Law Business Practicum Course (2008-2009) and serves on the Board of Regents for St. Croix Lutheran High School in West St. Paul, Minnesota.
Experience
- Defense trial verdicts as lead trial lawyer in cases involving products liability, discrimination, breach of contract, wrongful termination, promissory estoppel, fraud, premises liability, and construction
- Summary judgments won in cases involving products liability, whistleblower, retaliation, discrimination, ERISA, breach of contract, fraud, premises liability, workplace injuries, franchise agreements, pollution damage, insurance coverage, real estate, class decertification
- Voluntary dismissals obtained in cases involving products liability claims involving death, personal injury, and property damages
- Thirty reported decisions in numerous areas of the law
Notable cases:
- Trial counsel for defendant in Minnesota Tobacco Litigation
- Defense verdict in discrimination and breach of contract case involving exclusive private country club
- Defense verdict in arson/fraud case involving over $1 million in damages
- Summary judgment in $13 million property damage claim on behalf of Fortune 100 Company defending service contract
- Voluntary dismissal in multiple death case defending fire alarm manufacturing company
- Voluntary dismissal in multi-million dollar claim involving an alleged breach of warranty by product manufacturer
- Voluntary dismissal in products liability case involving a gas explosion resulting in personal injury and property damage
Education and Honors
J.D., William Mitchell College of Law, 1988
B.A., University of St. Thomas, 1984
- Martindale Hubbell “AV” rating
- Super Lawyer
- Lawsuit of the Year (Minnesota Journal of Law and Politics, 2006)
Professional Activities
- Minnesota State Bar Association (Past Member, Professionalism and Rules of Professional Conduct Committees)
- Wisconsin State Bar Association
- Hennepin County Bar Association
- Adjunct Professor of Law for the William Mitchell College of Law Business Practicum Course (2008-2009, 2010)
- Hennepin County Bar Association - "Presenting Your Case Through Cross Examination" - Minneapolis - January 2006
In The News
- March 30, 2012 - Law360 - "Quick Wins In Age Bias Suits A Long Shot Under EEOC Rule"
- April 19, 2005 - Star Tribune - "Judge Testifies in Wayzata Case"
- December 5, 2004 - Star Tribune - "Desperate Days Out In Suburbia"
- Winter 1993 - Minnesota Defense - "Merchants of Goods of the Kind: Minnesota's New Interpretation of the Economic Loss Doctrine"
Minnesota
Wisconsin
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota
U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth and Eighth Circuits


