Category: News & Events
Minnesota Mock Trial & BGS
April 5, 2011 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.This past year Attorney Joan M. Quade, division leader for the commercial litigation practice group at BGS, volunteered as a coach to the Spring Lake Park High School’s Mock Trial Team. Mock Trial is a competition where participating schools are given a real legal case which was developed by the Minnesota State Bar Association. Each school’s students then discuss the case and are subsequently assigned to either attorney or witness roles. In some cases, team members may play more than one part. The students prepare the case like an actual trial. They must be able to compete on either the defense or plaintiff/state’s side doing both direct and cross examination and objections just as in a real trial. They practice extensively and compete in simulated trials against other schools. The team consisting of mostly sophomore students did extremely well and one member was awarded a perfect score in one of the competitions. Even though they did not make the State competition this year, members of the Spring Lake Park High School’s Mock Trial team had the opportunity to attend and observe the State Mock Trial Competition in Duluth on March 8, 2011. The legal case used by the Minnesota Mock Trial teams this year was based upon the criminal trial in the Condon…
Read MoreBGS Attorney William F. Huefner a 2011 Five Star Wealth Manager
March 1, 2011 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.Congratulations to BGS Attorney William Huefner who was named a 2011 Five Star Wealth Manager by Crescendo Business Services in January’s Mlps-St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business. Bill is a shareholder in the firm’s Estate & Tax Planning/Probate & Trust areas of law. He has professional experience as a former IRS Agent and as a Certified Public Accountant (inactive). This experience assists him in understanding the issues of today’s clients and helping them plan for the future of their estates. Crescendo Business Services chose the 2011 Five Star Wealth Managers based on a random survey of over 96,000 high-net-worth households and all identified FINRA registered representatives within the Twin Cities area. Before finalizing the list, wealth managers were reviewed by a blue ribbon panel of individuals from within the financial services industry. The honor of being named a 2011 Five Star Wealth Manager then goes to an elite group, representing less than 5{a0c01d20c42349884e67ff80c137866b0a9fe47aaae8f8a86a605a369ae487c3} of the existing wealth managers in the Twin Cities area.
Read MoreThe Diaper Drive & BGS
January 4, 2011 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.Barna, Guzy & Steffen law firm has made a strong commitment to serving worthy pro bono clients. Among the firm’s active pro bono attorneys is Kip Peterson, whose practice focuses on corporate law and business transactions. One of the non-profit corporations Kip has worked with is The Diaper Drive. This organization supports families in need in our community and BGS considers it a privilege to represent this cause. The Diaper Drive began when Kristen Grode was cleaning out a closet at home and found several packages of disposable diapers her children had outgrown. Kristen set out to research where she could donate the diapers and discovered that there was a tremendous need for such items but no organization existed to fill the need. Just as the recession has increased the demand on food shelves for things to eat, the need for diapers has also grown. In fact, statistics show that 1 in 3 American mothers struggle to provide diapers for their children. However, diapers are not covered by WIC or food stamps. As the mother of two young children, Kristen recognized the need and began calling friends and family for donations. Before long The Diaper Drive was born. The Diaper Drive collects disposable diapers, sanitary wipes, and other toiletries and distributes them to…
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