Paul F. McEllistrem

Legal Assistant: Katie Slama – kslama@mcfarg.com

To schedule ADR: Molly Kovash – mkovash@mcfarg.com

Paul attended the University of Minnesota where he received an undergraduate degree in economics in 1989.  He worked his way through college at a golf course, as a soccer referee and as a janitor at Williams Arena.  Paul moved back across the river for law school attending William Mitchell Law School (now Mitchell Hamline) where he graduated Cum Laude in 1994 – having clerked full time all the way through school.

Paul was sworn into the Minnesota Bar in 1994 and has practiced as a plaintiff’s personal injury lawyer ever since.  He has tried a lot of cases to verdict – in both Minnesota and Wisconsin – winning some and losing some – but no longer feeling the need to keep track.  He is certified by the Minnesota State Bar Association as a Civil Trial Specialist.

In 2016, Paul received the Minnesota Lawyer Attorney of the Year Award for a $5.6 million jury verdict he obtained for a client attacked in her home by a day laborer.  He also successfully represented several victims of the 35W Bridge Collapse and earned the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Professional Excellence Award for those efforts in 2009.  He was appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court to serve two terms on the No-Fault Standing Committee (2006-2014) and has taught No-Fault Insurance Law at Mitchell Hamline as an adjunct professor since 1998.

Paul has authored law review publications on automobile insurance coverage for the Mitchell Hamline Law Review and is co-editor of the Minnesota Motor Vehicle Accident Deskbook.  He began doing mediations and arbitrations as a neutral in 2007 and quickly learned that this kind of work was just as hard as representing his personal injury clients.  Paul now divides his time evenly – spending half his time on mediations and arbitrations and the other half representing injured people with personal injury claims.

Paul’s favorite activities are vacationing in state and national parks with his wife and four children, and all things sports – mostly coaching and watching now.

Professional Accomplishments

• Certified by the Minnesota State Bar Association as a Civil Trial Specialist
• Successfully litigated personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions across the United States including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, South Dakota Federal District Court, and New Mexico Federal District Court
• Successfully argued cases to the Minnesota Court of Appeals and Supreme Court on behalf of injured clients
• Successfully juggled coaching two traveling soccer teams and two basketball teams for his four children in the same year
• Appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court to the No-Fault Arbitration Standing Committee in 2006 to oversee Minnesota’s No-Fault Arbitration System
• Law Professor – William Mitchell College of Law – Teaching “No-Fault Insurance Law” from 1998 to present
• Served on the Board of Governors for the Minnesota Association for Justice from 2000-2002
• Served as Chair of the Board of Hennepin County Volunteer Lawyers Network, Ltd., from 2000-2001; served on the Board of Directors from 1996-2002; and tried civil cases for indigent clients from 1996 – 2003
• Invited by Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association as presenter on topics including Motor Vehicle Insurance Coverage, Orthopedic Injury Cases, and Subrogation Issues

Publications

• Minnesota Motor Vehicle Accident Deskbook – 6th Edition, Editor (2017-2021)
• Minnesota Motor Vehicle Accident Deskbook – 5th Edition, Editor (2014-2016)
• Minnesota Motor Vehicle Accident Deskbook – 4th Edition, Editor (2009-2013)
• Minnesota Motor Vehicle Accident Deskbook – 3rd Edition, Editor (2006-2008)
• No-Fault Benefits: An Overview, Minnesota Motor Vehicle Accident Deskbook (2003 – 2021)
• “Closeness To The Risk” in Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverages in Minnesota, William Mitchell Law Review, vol.24, no. 4 (1998)
• 101 Practical Tips – Handling Auto Claims, Minnesota Institute for Legal Education (1998)
• Fee Agreements in Minnesota, Personal Injury, 1st Ed., Minnesota CLE (1997)
• Premises Liability Law Overview (October, 1994)