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© 2012 Dorsey & Whitney LLP

2010, Author of the Year (Overall)

2010, Author of the Year (Labor & Employment)

  

Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 2012

Selected as one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business," Chambers USA , 2004-2011

Top Tier lawyer, recommended by The Legal 500

Selected as a 2006 'Attorney of the Year', Minnesota Lawyer

Selected as one of Minnesota's "Top 40 Employment Attorneys," 2006

Named a Minnesota Super Lawyer, 1990, 2003-2006, 2008, 2011

Selected regularly as one of Minnesota's Leading Attorneys, Guide to Leading American Attorneys

  • Carleton College (B.A., 1975), magna cum laude
  • University of Virginia School of Law (J.D., 1980), Moot Court Board

  • Minnesota
  • The Minnesota Supreme Court and all lower Minnesota courts
  • United States Courts of Appeal for the Seventh and Eighth Circuits
  • United States District Court for the District of Minnesota and various other federal courts

Roy A. Ginsburg

Partner
Minneapolis
P: (612) 340-8761
F: (612) 340-2868
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Mr. Ginsburg is a partner in Dorsey’s Advocacy Group.  For more than 20 years, Mr. Ginsburg was a Partner in the firm’s Trial Department; he now is a Partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department. 

Mr. Ginsburg’s practice involves a wide range of commercial litigation matters.  For many years, he has focused on commercial disputes affecting the employment relationship, including, misappropriation of trade secrets, corporate raiding, usurpation of corporate opportunity, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract (such as post-employment restrictive covenants), and related claims.  Mr. Ginsburg also defends class, multi-party and individual employment discrimination litigation (such as sexual harassment, age, disability, race and sex discrimination claims) as well as the related common law claims invariably pled in connection with a discrimination lawsuit.  He also handles other types of commercial and insurance litigation. 

Representative Litigation

  • NeoNetworks, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., Mark Cree and Clint Jurgens (Minn. 2006) (lead defense counsel in $1.3 billion lawsuit; eight-week trial in 2006 in Minnesota state court; defense verdict at the close of plaintiff's case in chief; no damages awarded)
  • Storage Technology Corp. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., (D. Minn. Sept. 23, 2003) (lead defense counsel in $500 million lawsuit; summary judgment granted to Cisco Systems by U.S. District Court; affirmed by the 8th Circuit in 2005)
  • ATIS v. Xerox Corporation (lead defense counsel in agency termination and commissions dispute; summary judgment granted in 2006 arbitration)
  • Schumacher v. Argosy University, et al. (D. Minn. 2006) (lead defense counsel in graduate student dismissal lawsuit in which plaintiff asserted claims of religious discrimination, breach of contract, and federal and state Constitutional violations; summary judgment granted to defendants)
  • In re: Agribiotech Litigation (lead defense counsel in lawsuit filed by bankruptcy trustee and all officers and directors of failed company, its law firms, and accounting firms. Represented six former directors and officers, including the CEO, CFO, General Counsel, and three directors; obtained insurance coverage for Dorsey's clients despite initial rejection of coverage and thereafter defended action through settlement; nine-figure settlement demand; defendants represented by Dorsey did not contribute to settlement and paid no attorneys' fees)
  • Mitzel v. Northwest Airlines, Inc. (lead defense counsel in lawsuit pursued in arbitral forum in which plaintiff asserted claims of discrimination and retaliation; defense verdict on all counts following protracted arbitration)
  • Adaytum, Inc. (lead counsel for defendant software company in multiple lawsuits in Illinois federal and state court and in Minnesota federal court; claims for raiding and misappropriation of trade secrets, cases terminated when plaintiff acquired defendant)
  • Alliant Techsystems, Inc. (lead counsel for defendant on more than 30 separate age discrimination lawsuits, spanning multi-year period; almost all cases dismissed on summary judgment; some settled for nominal sum)
  • Ray, et al. v. Canon U.S.A, Inc. and Astro Business Solutions, Inc. (lead counsel for defendants in reverse race discrimination, breach of contract, defamation litigation; case tried to jury in Orange County, California in May, 2000; judgment for defendants on all counts)
  • Eckman v. K-Mart Corporation (lead counsel for defendant in sexual harassment and assault and battery litigation; case tried to a jury in Minnesota federal court; judgment for defendant; no appeal)
  • Newman v. Wal-Mart Corporation (lead counsel for defendant in sexual harassment, assault and battery, negligent supervision litigation; case tried to the Court in 1995; judgment for defendant; no appeal)

Presentations

Multiple presentations annually to CLE groups and clients on numerous employment topics.

Professional Activities

  • Member, American Bar Association (Litigation Section and Labor and Employment Law Section)
  • Member, Minnesota Bar Association & Hennepin County Bar Association (Litigation Section and Labor & Employment Law Section)

Attorney Articles

January 26, 2011
Associational Discrimination, Supreme Court Decides Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP
June 23, 2010
City of Ontario vs. Quon: The Supreme Court Weighs In On Employee Privacy Expectations
June 26, 2009
Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc.: Age Discrimination Cases are a Different Breed
February 10, 2009
Ginsburg: The Scope of Relief in Sexual Harassment Cases
January 28, 2009
Analysis of the Crawford Decision
January and February 2009
Ginsburg: Technological Developments Impacting the Workplace
December 23, 2008
Ginsburg: Lawsuits by Inside Counsel Against Their Employers
December 23, 2008
"Lawsuits by In-House Counsel Against Their Employers," (Part 2) BNA's Corporate Counsel Weekly
August 8, 2008
Is Bizarre Behavior 'Notice' for FMLA Purposes?
May 2008
A Guide to Managing Workplace Misconduct Investigations
December 17, 2007
Workforce Reduction Done Right

News & Press Mentions

August 3, 2007
Employment Suits Targeting Executives