Minneapolis
(612) 340-2833 P
(952) 516-5707 F

Marianne D. Short

Managing Partner

Marianne D. Short, Managing Partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP since January 2007, has more than 30 years of courtroom experience as a trial lawyer and an appellate judge. She has served as trial and appellate counsel for a number of major companies in their most important litigation, including antitrust, securities, healthcare, products liability, and class action lawsuits. Marianne is a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and the American College of Trial Lawyers, and is certified by the Minnesota State Bar Association as a Civil Trial Specialist.

Marianne joined Dorsey after serving as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota following graduation from Boston College Law School. From 1988-2000, she served as a Minnesota state appellate judge, authoring more than 900 opinions in virtually every area of civil and criminal law. Marianne returned to Dorsey after leaving the bench.

Representative Litigation

Lead co-counsel for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota in a federal class action lawsuit brought by a group of chiropractors alleging antitrust, ERISA, RICO and state insurance violations. Marianne designed a defense strategy that resulted in the federal court dismissing several counts of the complaint, ruling for her client as a matter of law on significant antitrust claims, and sustaining Daubert challenges to exclude plaintiffs’ expert testimony. The case eventually was resolved on favorable terms.
Represented Governor Jesse Ventura in the constitutional litigation to determine Minnesota’s congressional and legislative boundaries following the United States Census. The decennial redistricting litigation was argued and tried to a specially appointed five-judge panel. Marianne used demographics, land use and population changes, as well as constitutional principles and case law, to argue for the novel concept of “politically competitive” districts.
Lead counsel to Ceridian Corporation in a breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, noncompete and licensing lawsuit. Marianne obtained a permanent injunction against a former executive that prohibited his use of customer and product information, as well as marketing strategies.
Represented Medica HealthPlans and its Board of Directors in regulatory litigation involving issues of self-governance brought by the Minnesota Attorney General. After several years of legal maneuvers and a trial, Medica received a 50-page landmark decision dismissing the Attorney General's lawsuit and declaring the company and its board free from court supervision. Marianne currently advises the Board and management on issues involving executive compensation, retirement plans, protections for intellectual property and board procedures.
Lead trial and appellate counsel for Qwest Corporation in several tax cases. Marianne argued that the purchase of telecommunications equipment is exempt from sales tax as capital equipment under applicable statutes. She currently represents Qwest in several Regulatory cases.
Appellate co-counsel to 3M in Minnesota breast implant insurance coverage case. As co-counsel, Marianne was successful in obtaining millions of dollars of insurance coverage for 3M’s defense costs.

Admissions

Minnesota
Massachusetts
United States Supreme Court
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
United States District Courts for Minnesota, Colorado, and North Dakota

Honors

American Academy of Appellate Lawyers
Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
Named a "Person to Watch in 2008" by Twin Cities Business Magazine
Selected for "Class of 2008" - ABA DirectWomen Board Institute
Minnesota Lawyer's 15 Attorneys of the Year for 2005 Award
"Women to Watch" Award in 2005 from The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal
Corporate Woman of Achievement Award 2004, given by the National Association of Women Business Owners
Named one of “America’s Leading Business Lawyers” by Chambers USA (Litigation: General Commercial)
Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Appellate, Commercial Litigation), 2008
Named one of the Top 40 Business Litigation SuperLawyers in 2003-present by Minnesota Law & Politics
Named a Superlawyer in 2001-present by Minnesota Law & Politics (in the Business Litigation, Appellate, Antitrust Litigation and Employment Litigation categories)
Distinguished Alumna Award 2006 - Visitation Convent
Founders Award - Boston College Law School, 2007

Education

Boston College Law School
J.D., 1976,
Newton College of the Sacred Heart
B.A., 1973

Related Practices