Attorneys
Randall J. Bakke
Bakke is a board certified civil trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and has been so certified since 1997. Bakke is also certified in Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy by the National Board of Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy. Bakke also is a Fellow in Litigation Counsel of America. Less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers are selected for membership in Litigation Counsel of America. Bakke has also been selected numerous times as a “Super Lawyer” by his peers both in North Dakota and as a “Super Lawyer” in the Great Plains Super Lawyer selections. Bakke focuses on civil litigation and has tried nearly one hundred cases to resolution before juries, judges and arbitrators. His area of emphasis includes construction litigation, commercial litigation, personal injury and products liability, death cases, general tort litigation, fire and property damage cases, employment cases and insurance coverage disputes. Bakke has been involved in numerous large and complex cases including significant construction and property loss cases. Bakke has substantial experience representing political subdivisions including numerous cities, counties, townships and state agencies. While Bakke’s practice is primarily defense oriented, he has obtained numerous settlements and jury verdicts for plaintiffs of $1 million and higher. However, each case is different and Bakke’s results in the past are not assured in the future. A list of his representative reported cases is contained below.
Randy is married to Shannon and has two adult children.
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Bakke is a member of the North Dakota Bar Association and has also held numerous offices with the North Dakota Defense Lawyers Association (President, 1998-1999; Vice-President, 1996-1998; Secretary 1989-1996; Editor, Newsletter). Bakke previously served on the North Dakota Judicial Conduct Commission from 2016-2022.
Bakke is licensed to practice in federal court in North Dakota and has substantial federal court experience including before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is licensed in North Dakota and South Dakota. Bakke has also practiced in numerous Tribal Courts in North Dakota and Minnesota. Bakke speaks near fluent Spanish and attended one year at the Universidad del Carmen, Campeche, Mexico. Bakke also resided in Brazil and has performed volunteer work in Panama and Guatemala on numerous occasions. He also has been involved in numerous activities in his community and was selected by the North Dakota State Bar Association as an Outstanding Volunteer (1999) and received the North Dakota State Bar Association Community Service Award in 2001.
North Dakota Supreme Court Cases:
Bakke has handled in excess of 50 cases before the North Dakota Supreme Court. Representative cases include the following:
Western Petroleum, LLC v. Williams County Board of Commissioners, 2016 ND 249, 888 N.W.2d 388
Schmidt v. City of Minot, 2016 ND 175,883 N.W.2d 909 26th Street Hospitality
LLP v. Real Builders, Inc., 2016 ND 95, 879 N.W.2d 437
Messer v. B&B Hot Oil Service, Inc., 2015 ND 202, 868 N.W.2d 373
Western Horizons Living Centers v. Feland, 2014 ND 175, 853 N.W.2d 36
Hale v. Ward County, 2012 ND 144, 818 N.W.2d 697
Haugland v. City of Bismarck, 2012 ND 123, 818 N.W.2d 660
Empower the Taxpayer v. Fong, 2012 ND 119, 817 N.W.2d 381
Mills v. City of Grand Forks, 2012 ND 56, 813 N.W.2d 574
Hagerott v. Morton Co. Bd. of Commissioners, 2010 ND 32, 778 N.W.2d 813
Capital Electric Coop. v. City of Bismarck, 2007 ND 128, 736 N.W.2d 788
City of Bismarck v. Mariner Construction, Inc. , 2006 ND 108, 714 N.W.2d 484
Boudreau v. Estate of Miller, 2000 ND 30, 6060 N.W.2d 514
Ohio Casualty Ins. Co. v. Clark, 1998 ND 153, 583 N.W.2d 377
Fisher v. Fisher, 1997 ND 176, 568 N.W.2d 728
Ingalls v. Paul Revere Life Ins. Group, 1997 ND 43, 561 N.W.2d 273
Fisher v. Fisher, 546 N.W.2d 354 (N.D. 1996)
Fleck v. ANG Coal Gasification Co., 522 N.W.2d 445 (N.D. 1994)
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Cases:
Bakke has handled numerous appeals before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Representative cases include the following:
Arena Holdings Charitable, LLC v. Harman Professional, Inc. 785 F.3d 292 (8th Cir. 2015) Wetzel v. Brown, 588 Fed.Appx. 514 (8th Cir. 2015)(Mem.)(unpublished)
Mills v. City of Grand Forks, 614 F.3d 495 (8th Cir. 2010)
Executive Air Taxi Corporation v. City of Bismarck, 518 F.3d 562 (8th Cir. 2008)
Odom v. Brutger Equities, Inc., 302 Fed.Appx. 505 (8th Cir. 2008)(unpublished)
Kalan Enterprises, LLC v. BNSF Ry. Co., 415 F.Supp.2d 977 (D.Minn. 2006)
Hepper v. Adams County, N.D., 133 F.3d 1094 (8th Cir. 1998)
Westchem Agr. Chemicals, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 990 F.2d 426 (8th Cir. 1993)
Shawn A. Grinolds
Shawn obtained a Bachelor of Accountancy in 1991, a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Finance in 1992, and a Juris Doctor, with distinction, in 1996, all from the University of North Dakota. While in law school, Shawn worked as a student researcher for Central Legal Research at the University of North Dakota from 1994 to 1995, then as the Development’s Editor for the North Dakota Law Review from 1995 to 1996. Shawn practiced law in Grand Forks with Caldis, Tingum & Grinolds, Ltd. (1996 to 2001), in Bismarck with Smith Bakke Porsborg Schweigert Armstrong (2001 to 2016), and currently practices law with Bakke Grinolds Wiederholt in Bismarck.
Shawn lives in Bismarck with his wife Sindhu, and their two children.
North Dakota Supreme Court Cases:
Langness v. Fencil Urethane Systems, 2003 ND 132, 667 N.W.2d 596
Grager v. Schudar, 2009 ND 140, 770 N.W.2d 692
Kambeitz v. Acuity, 2009 ND 166, 772 N.W.2d 632
Mills v. City of Grand Forks, 2012 ND 56, 813 N.W.2d 574
Empower the Taxpayer v. Fong, 2012 ND 119, 817 N.W.2d 381
Haugland v. City of Bismarck, 2012 ND 123, 818 N.W.2d 660
Bakke v. D&A Landscaping Co., 2012 ND 170, 820 N.W.2d 357
Hayden v. Medcenter One, Inc., 2013 ND 46, 828 N.W.2d 775
Messer v. B&B Hot Oil Service, 2015 ND 202, 868 N.W.2d 373
Schmidt v. City of Minot, 2016 ND 175, 883 N.W.2d 909
Western Petroleum, LLC v. Williams County Bd. of Comm’rs, 2016 ND 249, 888 N.W.2d 388
Gannaway v. Torres, 2017 ND 287, 904 N.W.2d 317
James Vault & Precast Co. v. B&B Hot Oil Service, Inc., 2018 ND 63, 908 N.W.2d 108
Siana Oil & Gas Co., L.L.C. v. Dublin Co, 2018 ND 164, 915 N.W.2d 134
North Dakota Legislative Assembly v. Burgum, 2018 ND 189, 916 N.W.2d 83
Bakke v. Magi-Touch Carpet One Floor & Home, Inc., 2018 ND 273, 920 N.W.2d 726
James Vault & Precast Co. v. B&B Hot Oil Service, Inc., 2019 ND 143, 927 N.W.2d 452
Big Pines, LLC v. Biron D. Baker, M.D., 2020 ND 64, 940 N.W.2d 616
Bismarck Financial Group, LLC v. Caldwell, 2020 ND 207, 950 N.W.2d 155
Big Pines, LLC v. Biron D. Baker, M.D., 2021 ND 70, 958 N.W.2d 480
Hartman v. Grager, 2021 ND 160, 964 N.W.2d 482
Federal District Court Cases:
Wetzel v. Brown, 2011 WL 1357184 (D.N.D. July 26, 2011)
Wery v. NDDOCR, 2012 WL 4090681 (D.N.D. Sept. 17, 2012)
Olson v. General Casualty Ins. Co., 2014 WL 11531615 (D.N.D. July 8, 2014)
Sailer v. City of Willison, 2016 WL 11709314 (D.N.D. Nov. 14, 2016)
Leland Oil & Gas, LLC v. Azar, 2017 WL 752142 (D.N.D. 2017)
Doe v. Goodman, 2016 WL 1384781 (D.N.D. Apr. 7, 2016),
aff’d by Doe v. Olson, 691 Fed.Appx. 272 (8th Cir. 2017), cert. denied by 138 S.Ct. 336
Auer v. City of Minot, 2017 WL 5894999 (D.N.D. Feb. 8, 2017), aff’d by 896 F.3d 854 (8th Cir. 2018)
Woodmont Company v. LaSalle Shopping Center, LLC, 2020 WL 2857164 (D.N.D. June 2, 2020)
Clark v. Carlson, 2020 WL 073267 (D.N.D. Oct 14, 2020)
Krile v. City of Bismarck, 2021 WL 6805695 (D.N.D. Mar. 5, 2021)
Dundon v. Kirchmeier, 2021 WL 6774678 (D.N.D. Dec. 29, 2021), plaintiffs’ appeal to 8th Circuit pending
Poemoceah v. Morton County, North Dakota, 2020 WL 836356 (D.N.D. Dec. 29, 2020), plaintiff’s appeal pending before United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Thunderhawk v. County of Morton, ND, 483 F.Supp.3d 684 (D.N.D. 2020),
plaintiffs’ appeal pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Mitchell v. Kirchmeier, 2020 WL 8073625 (D.N.D. Dec. 10, 2020), affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded by 28 F.4th 888 (8th Cir. 2022)
Eighth Circuit Court Of Appeals Cases
Executive Air Taxi Corporation v. City of Bismarck, 518 F.3d 562 (8th Cir. 2008)
Mills v. City of Grand Forks, 614 F.3d 495 (8th Cir. 2010)
Wetzel v. Brown, 588 Fed.Appx. 514 (8th Cir. 2015) (Mem)
Auer v. Trans Union, LLC, 834 F.3d 933 (8th Cir. 2016)
Odom v. Kaizer, 638 Fed.Appx. 553 (8th Cir. 2016) (Mem) (per curiam)
Odom v. Kaizer, 864 F.3d 920 (8th Cir. 2017)
Doe v. Olson, 691 Fed.Appx. 272 (8th Cir. 2017), cert. denied by 138 S.Ct. 336
Fleck v. Wetch, 888 F3d 652 (8th Cir. 2017), cert. granted and judgment vacated
by 139 S.Ct. 590 (2018), affirmed on remand by 937 F.3d 1112 (8th Cir. 2019)
Dundon v. Kirchmeier, 701 Fed.Appx. 538 (8th Cir. 2017) (Mem)
Auer v. City of Minot, 896 F.3d 854 (8th Cir. 2018)
Mitchell v. Kirchmeier, 28 F.4th 888 (8th Cir. 2022)
Bradley N. Wiederholt
Brad is a member of the State Bar Association of North Dakota, the Minnesota State Bar Association, as well as a member of the Big Muddy Bar Association. He is a native of North Dakota, and served in the United States Marine Corps as an infantryman. He holds degrees from North Dakota State University (Bachelors of Arts, with honors, 2003) and from the University of North Dakota (Juris Doctor, with distinction, 2007). After law school he clerked for North Dakota’s East Central Judicial District Court in Fargo where he assisted eight District Court judges.
Brad lives in Bismarck with his wife Christa, and their four children.
Grant T. Bakke
Grant T. Bakke was admitted to the Illinois Bar and the North Dakota Bar in 2018. Grant obtained his Juris Doctor in May 2018 from the University of North Dakota School of Law and obtained a Master of Business Administration May 2018 from the University of North Dakota College of Business & Public Administration. While in law school, Grant was an associate editor of the North Dakota Law Review. His
Case Comment was published in the North Dakota Review.
David R. Phillips
David R. Phillips has been practicing law since 2005 and is licensed in state and federal court in North Dakota, and before the United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.
David obtained an undergraduate degree in Political Science from North Dakota State University in 2001, and a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law in 2005. David practiced civil litigation at Smith Bakke Porsborg Schweigert and Armstrong, primarily in the areas of insurance defense, insurance coverage disputes, defense of political subdivisions, personal injury, and property damage. David joined Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. in 2010 as an attorney in its Bismarck office, eventually becoming a partner in the firm. At Fredrikson, David represented business clients in all aspects of complex commercial litigation, with a particular emphasis on oil and gas, contract disputes, employment law, and property law. Additionally, David represented numerous school districts throughout North Dakota on transactional and litigation matters. David also worked as general counsel at CoSchedule, LLC, a successful startup software company based in North Dakota. From 2018 to 2021, David was an Assistant Attorney General with the State of North Dakota, primarily representing the North Dakota Industrial Commission, including the Oil and Gas Division.
David lives in Bismarck with his three children.
Bakke Grinolds Wiederholt | 300 West Century Avenue Bismarck, ND 58503
P.O. Box 4247 Bismarck, ND 58502-4247 | Telephone: (701) 751-8188 | Facsimile: (701) 751-7172
DISCLAIMER: The information and materials on this website are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Transmission of the information on this website does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Bakke, Grinolds, and Wiederholt and you should not act on or rely on any information on this website without seeking the advice of an attorney. Please do not send us any information without our written request for information, as it cannot be treated as confidential or otherwise privileged until you speak with one of our attorneys and we have entered into a written agreement to represent you.
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