Liz Kramer
PEOPLE

Liz Kramer

Partner
kramer.liz@dorsey.com

Overview

Liz advises clients on complex commercial, appellate, and constitutional matters, bringing firsthand experience at the highest levels of state government.

Liz is a nationally recognized appellate and constitutional attorney. Before joining Dorsey, Liz served as Minnesota Solicitor General for two terms, leading the state's appellate and constitutional litigation and securing several of Minnesota's landmark decisions. For example, she successfully defended health and safety executive orders during the COVID 19 pandemic. Liz also led the Minnesota Supreme Court case that resolved a constitutional crisis arising from a tied Minnesota Legislature and built and led the Rule of Law division at the Attorney General's Office, overseeing nearly 70 cases challenging federal executive overreach.

Before entering public service, Liz represented clients in commercial litigation and construction disputes. She also gained deep experience in arbitration law while at a Minneapolis law firm for 15 years.

Education & Admissions

Yale Law School (J.D., 2002)

Mount Holyoke College (B.A., Political Science and Economics, 1996)

Admissions

  • Minnesota
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

Clerkships

  • Minnesota Supreme Court, Justice Helen M. Meyer, 2002-2003

News & Resources

Legal Writings

  • Co-author, "Women Argue More at the Supreme Court but Parity Remains Distant" (2026)
  • Author, "MEMA Matures: Minnesota Emergency Law Post-COVID," Mitchell Hamline Law Review (2024)
  • Co-author, "A Gender Reveal: Who’s Arguing at the Minnesota Supreme Court?," Minnesota Lawyer (2020)
  • Author, "Initiating Appeals From District Court Decisions," Eighth Circuit Appellate Practice Manual, MinnCLE
  • Co-author, "Commercial Defamation and Disparagement," Business & Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts, ABA Treatise
  • Co-author, "Arbitration," Construction Law, Matthew Bender Treatise
  • Author, www.arbitrationnation.com (weekly posts for seven years)
  • Author, "The Short Shelf Life of Onvoy, Inc. v. SHAL, LLC: What Remains of the Minnesota Supreme Court Ruling After Buckeye Check Cashing, Inc. v. Cardegna?," 33 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 1279 (2007)

Industries & Practices

Government Enforcement & Corporate Investigations

Government Enforcement & Corporate Investigations

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Commercial Litigation
  • Appellate
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Government Enforcement & Corporate Investigations

Professional & Civic

Professional Achievements

  • Fellow, American Academy of Appellate Lawyers
  • Member, Minnesota Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Appellate Civil Procedure
  • Board Member, Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society
  • Co-Founder, Appeals Self-Help Clinic
  • Former Chair, Minnesota State Bar, Appellate Section
  • Member, American Arbitration Association, 2015-2019

Accolades

  • Minnesota Lawyer, Lawyer of the Year, 2016, 2020 (x3), 2025
  • Minnesota Lawyer, “Top Women in Law,” 2024
  • Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, "40 Under 40", 2014
Liz Kramer