ERIC C. TOSTRUD TAKES FEDERAL COURT OATH

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Chief Judge John R. Tunheim is pleased to announce that on September 14, Eric C. Tostrud took the oath of office to become the Court’s 37th United States District Court Judge. Professor Tostrud was administered the oath by Chief Judge Tunheim in a private ceremony; a public investiture ceremony will be held at a later date.

Tostrud is a 1990 summa cum laude graduate of William Mitchell College of Law and clerked for the Honorable Edward J. Devitt, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, and for the Honorable George E. MacKinnon, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

At the time of his appointment to the federal bench, Tostrud was a member of the faculty at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, serving as Distinguished Practitioner in Residence since 2015, and of counsel with the firm Lockridge Grindal Nauen. Tostrud had been a partner with Lockridge Grindal Nauen from 1998 through 2014. He was an associate with the firm from 1992 until 1997, and he served as a law clerk at the firm while attending William Mitchell. Tostrud´s practice was concentrated in federal court, primarily in the area of commercial litigation with an emphasis on representing clients in health care and regulatory and litigation matters, including compliance, Medicare fraud and abuse and false claims matters, and ERISA litigation. Tostrud taught in the areas of federal jurisdiction and court procedure at Mitchell Hamline and the University of Minnesota Law School.

Tostrud has been active in his community. He has served on several boards and committees, including the Board of Trustees for William Mitchell College of Law from 2006 through 2015. He has volunteered as a youth coach and mentor on numerous occasions, including through the West St. Paul Youth Athletic Association. In 2017 and 2018, Tostrud was voted Professor of the Year by the students of Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

Tostrud was nominated by President Donald Trump on February 12, 2018 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 6, 2018. He fills the vacancy created when Judge Donovan W. Frank took senior status.

Tostrud will be chambered in the St. Paul Federal Courthouse, located at 316 North Robert Street.