Steve's business litigation practice is broad. Steve has appeared in state and federal courts throughout the country and has also represented individuals and securities broker-dealers before self-regulatory bodies. He has litigated trade secret and restrictive covenant cases on behalf of national financial institutions. Representing individuals and corporations with employment or regulatory issues has also been a staple of Steve's practice.  He also represents and counsels clients with corporate and business disputes, including lawyers and law firms. He is a Qualified Neutral (mediator/arbitrator) under Rule 114.

After law school Steve clerked for the Honorable Chief Justice Douglas K. Amdahl at the Minnesota Supreme Court. He started his legal career at Lindquist & Vennum in Minneapolis. Steve joined Flynn, Gaskins, & Bennett, L.L.P., in 2000.

Steve has served as a mentor for law students at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. He taught as an adjunct faculty member at William Mitchell College of Law and Hamline University teaching courses in Antitrust and Sales. He currently is an adjunct faculty member at the University of St. Thomas Law School teaching a course on Complex Litigation with Dean Thomas Mengler. 

Steve has also been an active member of the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and has chaired and spear-headed the chapter's Pro Se Litigant Program and the Federal Transport Program which allows the minor children of women in the federal prison system to maintain contact with their mothers. He is currently the president of the local chapter. 

Bernstein v. Extendicare Health Services, Inc., __ F.Supp.2d __, (D.Minn. Mar 04, 2009)
Motion for dismissal granted in putative consumer class action.

Hies v. Acordia of Minnesota, Inc., Case No. 05-C-740-S (W.D. Wisc. 2005)
Representing defendant employer, obtained transfer of Wisconsin declaratory judgment action to Minnesota along with rejection of application of plaintiff-favorable Wisconsin law to dispute.

WFI, LLC v. Bengston, 2007 WL 2007997, (D.Minn. July 09, 2007)

St. Croix Development, LLC v. Gossman, 735 N.W.2d 320 (real property)

Huber and Sons, Inc. v. Service Corporation, International, Inc., 2003 WL 1572004 (employment-labor)

Dominium Management Services, Inc., v. Nationwide Housing Group, 195 F.3d 358, (8th Cir. 1999) (breach of contract) 

Autio v. AFSCME Local 3139 , 157 F.3d 1141 (8th Cir. 1998) (dispositive motion) (Americans with Disabilities Act claim/constitutional law)

Gaworski v. ITT Commercial Finance Corp., 17 F.3d 1104 (8th Cir. 1994) (trial) (age discrimination claim)

Hendricks v. Callahan , 972 F.2d 190, 200 UCC Rep.Serv.2d 25, (8th Cir. 1992)(trial)(securities and breach of contract)

Hurwitz v. Padden, 581 N.W.2d 359, (Minn. App. 1998)(trial)(Hon. Marianne Short) (partnership law)

Beck v. American Sharecom, Inc., 514 N.W.2d 584, 23 UCC Rep.Serv.2d 548, (Minn. App. 1994)(trial) (Hon. Marianne Short) (Article 8 UCC) 

Seminars and Presentations:

MNCLE: Litigation Advocacy Institute (Panel Moderator, "The Judgment of the Judges - Observations as to Why Certain Cases Succeed and Others Fail"), June, 2009

MNCLE: Strategic Discovery ("The Art of Being Appropriately Aggressive"), May 2009

MILE- CLE: Arbitration (“The Practical Implications of Arbitration of Employment Disputes”) 2003

MSBA-CLE: Internal Investigations (“ Fact Gathering, Including Electronic Document Searches: Preserving Privilege”) 2003

MILE-CLE: Motion Practice (“Twelve Points to Remember About Motion Practice in Federal Court”) 2000

National Practice Institute: - CLE: Starting Your Own Practice, 1996 – 1999

MSBA – CLE: Punitive Damages: The Complete Story, September, 1997

Adjunct Faculty, Article 2 UCC, Hamline University School of Law, 1996 and 1997

MILE - CLE: Defamation Law (“Mediate or Litigate -- But Don’t Arbitrate”), 1994

Adjunct Faculty, Legal Writing and Antitrust, William Mitchell College of Law, 1987-1993

Published Works: 

"Remedial Action and Cost Recovery, Hazardous Waste in Minnesota" (1986) (MILE) (co-author with Timothy H. Butler)

Casenote, "Church Property Tax Exemption", 8 William Mitchell Law Review 973 (1982)

For the last twelve years, Steve’s peers in the Minnesota bar have elected him a “Super Lawyer” as a business litigator.

Federal Bar Association:
    President of Minnesota Chapter, 2008 - 2009;
    President-Elect, 2007 - 2008;
    Chair, Federal Transport Program, 2004 - 2007;
    Chair, Pro Se Employment Law Panel, 1999 – 2002;
    Member, Board of Directors, Minnesota Chapter, 1998 - Present

Board Member, Minnesota Justice Foundation, May 2009 - Present

Hennepin County Bar Association: Ethics Panel Investigator, 1996 – 1999

Minnesota State Bar: Chair, Section of Civil Litigation, 1993-1994; Member, Governing Council, Section of Civil Litigation, 1989-1994

U.S. District Court, State of Minnesota, Member, Public Defender Panel, 1986-1994, 2007 - current

Warren E. Burger Inn of Court, Barrister, 1990-1992; Master of Bench, 1992-1993

Minnesota Literacy Council, Board of Directors, 1987 – 1990

American Bar Association, Member, Sections of Administrative Law, Labor and Employment, and Litigation

Minnesota, 1983
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, 1983
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1986
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 1987
U.S. Supreme Court, 1987
U.S. District Court, District of Nebraska 1996
Nebraska, 1998
Wisconsin, 1997
U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, 1997
U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin, 1999
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2001