James T. Swenson, Retired Judge, Hennepin County District Court, joins JAMS in Minneapolis as a seasoned dispute resolution professional. Since his 2016 retirement, Judge Swenson has devoted his practice to alternative dispute resolution of complex disputes. Parties value his practical, solutions-oriented approach. 

Throughout his 20 years on the bench, Judge Swenson received praise for his case management skills. Improvements led by him, including Minnesota’s first uses of early neutral evaluation (ENE), earned accolades from the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government as a “Top 50” innovation in government. ENE-facilitated settlement was used in well over half of the disputes referred to the program, and those that remained in litigation benefited from a narrowing of the issues. 

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Swenson practiced as a trial lawyer for nearly two decades. He tried cases in over 20 areas of the law, including construction and engineering, banking and financial workouts, unfair competition, intellectual property, employment, antitrust and professional malpractice. As a lawyer and on the bench, he applied extensive organizational experience and proactive case management skills to the disputes before him.

Judge Swenson has significant experience resolving matters in a wide variety of areas.

Representative Matters

• Antitrust & Competition

• As an advocate, prevailed in an antitrust claim against a national pet supplier by securing a favorable verdict after a monthlong jury trial in federal court
• Banking
• As an advocate, handled litigation for banking/finance clients, including workouts, foreclosures and replevins
• As an advocate and co-counsel, handled due-on-sale litigation for lender clients locally and at the 8th Circuit
• As an advocate, litigated many cases involving the Resolution Trust Corporation and taught other lawyers about these issues in the context of continuing legal education presentations
• Successfully represented a bank in a three-week jury trial in which a developer accused the bank of violating loan agreements, together with various tort claims; the jury returned a verdict of no liability
• As an advocate, litigated claims regarding car dealers selling vehicles out of trust
• Business Commercial

• As a consensual special master, presided over three weeks of bilingual (Mandarin), international hearings featuring forensic accounting issues and Chinese banking laws and business practices
• As an advocate, represented a hotel investor against an accountant who sold interests in the hotel based on projected tax benefits that never materialized; numerous investors joined the suit, which advanced through all phases of litigation short of trial until the accountant filed for bankruptcy
• As an advocate, successfully represented the vendor of a large commercial printing press in a trial alleging product defects and related claims; the case settled for a nominal sum midway through trial after the plaintiff struggled to prove its claims
• As an advocate, successfully represented a manufacturer in a trial against a former officer who stole client lists and technical data; lacking an employment contract, the case turned on persuading the judge to apply the corporate opportunity doctrine, which had yet to be applied in the state
• As an advocate for the majority shareholder, successfully settled the unfair treatment claims of the minority shareholders
• As an advocate, litigated and tried matters in the areas of intellectual property, bank fraud, workouts, real estate, products liability, antitrust, FLSA, insurance, construction, professional malpractice, trusts and probate, and accounting, as well as before state and federal courts and the Interstate Commerce Commission
• Construction

• Served as sole arbitrator in a matter involving allegedly defective design of a large addition to a private home designed to house museum-quality art; claimant alleged defects to the climate control system
• As arbitral chair, presided over more than 10 days of hearings in a complex construction matter involving alleged defective facade design for a newly constructed multistory educational institution; rendered final award
• As an arbitration advocate, achieved favorable ruling in a multimillion-dollar construction design malpractice dispute
• As an advocate for the steel fabricator, favorably settled claims regarding spalling to the concrete walls of a public sports stadium
• In a jury trial, successfully represented homeowners against the developer of a single-family home development that was constructed over a peat bog, causing serious mold problems; in an issue of first impression, persuaded the court to apply an implied warranty of habitability
• As an advocate, assisted the general contractor of a large, high-end townhome development in settling alleged construction defects alleged to have caused repeated bouts of serious water infiltration
• Employment Law

• As an advocate represented an employee who built a company's business, only to be denied a promised equity position; he quit, started his own competing business and was sued by his former employer; the case settled when the ex-employer dropped the claim
• As an advocate, represented multiple insurers against claims by their agents
• As an advocate represented a schoolteacher terminated for alleged improper contact with a student
• As an advocate, represented numerous employers seeking to enforce noncompete clauses
• As an advocate, represented employers in resolving Fair Labor Standards Act claims, one of which was resolved via a jury verdict rejecting the claims
• As a judge, was chosen by two other judges to arbitrate and resolve claims between them regarding alleged improper practices in clerk hiring
• As chief judge, spearheaded the investigation and resolution of numerous employment claims against fellow judges
• As chief judge of a large urban court (approximately 450 employees), oversaw the resolutions of numerous employment issues raised by court reporters, law clerks and administration
• As a member of the Assembly Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics for a local university, worked on numerous Title IX issues along with enforcement of faculty rules regarding coaches’ academic obligations
• Family Law

Judge Swenson has substantial judicial and settlement experience in all aspects of family law, including:

• Valuation of large estates, including closely held corporations
• Tracing alleged marital funds through all manner of corporate structures
• Valuation of contributions to marital and non-marital estates
• Distribution of assets and debts
• Family support and maintenance
• Marital versus non-marital property
• Legal custody and subsets involving specific decision making responsibilities
• Physical custody
• Parenting time ("visitation" in some jurisdictions), including rights of grandparents and significant others
• Parenting coordination, including serving as the judicial lead in development and implementation of Our Family Wizard
• Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
• Property allocation
• Valuations, including real estate, businesses and personal property
• Authored over 200 pages of substantive family law outlines used by the Hennepin bench
• Real Property

• Represented numerous title insurance corporations in mechanic's lien cases and wrote an amicus brief of their behalf to the Minnesota Supreme Court
• As an arbitration advocate, successfully represented an architect/owner of one-quarter of a city block against a proposed developer of the remaining three-quarters; the case focused on the title to an alley adjacent to the architect's quarter block; the arbitration panel determined that the architect owned the alley, thus thwarting the proposed development
• As an advocate, represented a lakeshore homeowner against the proposed development of an adjacent property; the matter advanced though a half-dozen city council sessions as the developer sought various easements; when the city denied the requested relief, the matter proceeded to trial; the judge ruled in the homeowner's favor and refused to direct the city to grant the developer's requested variances
• Represented the local housing and redevelopment association in condemnation cases
• Represented lenders in quiet title actions
• Handled numerous foreclosure actions
• As a mediator, handled a dispute between a developer/owner and a commercial tenant who was holding over after the lease expired

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

• Commendation, Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, 2016
• Professionalism Award, Hennepin County Bar Association, 2011
• Paul Chapman Award, Foundation for Improvement of Justice (Atlanta), 2007
• Honoring work in the development of aggressive case management systems in Hennepin County’s Fourth Judicial District Family Court; many of the system’s components have been implemented nationwide
• Judge of the Year, Minnesota District Judges Association, 2006
• Anne V. Simonett Excellence in Service Award, Employee of the Year, Hennepin County District Court, 2004
• Legal Writing Instructor, University of Minnesota Law School, 1998–2000
• Guest Lecturer, University of Minnesota Law School, 2019–2023
• Regents Alumni Service Award (for service on the Assembly Committee of Intercollegiate Athletics (Big 10)), the National Alumni board and painting the "There's Just One U" collage celebrating the 100th year of the law school and medical school, 1989
• Developing the Early Neutral Evaluation Program, Hennepin County District Family Court
• As chief judge, took the lead in implementing civil e-filing for the Minnesota Judicial Branch, 2011
• Took the judicial lead in the development and implementation of Our Family Wizard, a co-parenting application used by over 1 million parents worldwide since 2001
  
  

Other Memberships and Affiliations

• Member, Minnesota District Judges Association, 1995–2016
• Member, Minnesota State Judicial Council, 2008–2012
• Member, Minneapolis Board of Adjustments, 1978–1979
• Member and Former Officer, Lead Fundraiser, Legal Advice Clinics (n/k/a Volunteer Lawyers Network), 1976–1990
• Member, University of Minnesota Faculty Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics
• Member, University of Minnesota Alumni Association National Board
• Member, Hennepin County Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, 2008–2012
  
  

Selected Publications and Speaking Engagements

• “Advanced Financial Issues and Strategies: Negotiating Spousal Maintenance and Property Settlements,” Minnesota CLE, Nov. 5, 2021
• “How to Avoid 10 Common Mistakes in Family Law Cases,” Family Law Institute, 2019
• “Family Law Skills Training: How to Effectively Prepare for Mediation,” Minnesota CLE Dec. 13, 2018
• “Advocacy in the Courtroom,” Family Law Institute, 2018
• “Spousal Maintenance Reform in Minnesota,” Minnesota CLE, Nov. 29, 2017

Background and Education

• Of Counsel (ADR Practice); Lind, Jensen, Sullivan & Peterson; 2016–2024
• Judge, Fourth Judicial District, Hennepin County, 1995–2016
  • Presiding Judge, Family Court, 2002–2007
  • Chief Judge, Fourth Judicial District, Hennepin County, 2008–2012
  • Assistant Chief Judge, Fourth Judicial District, Hennepin County, 2006–2007
• Partner, Head of Litigation; Mackall, Crounce & Moore (n/k/a Dewitt, LLP); 1976–1995
• J.D. cum laude, University of Minnesota Law School, 1976
• B.A., Political Science, Phi Beta Kappa, University of Minnesota, 1972