Top Best Family Lawyers | 17717 Available

Thomas Tuft, a native of the Saint Paul, is a partner at Tuft & Lach, PLLC practicing primarily in family law. Mr. Tuft practices in all areas of family law, including complex divorce, child support, paternity, and child custody with an emphasis on interstate and international child custody cases. He has been a SuperLawyer® since 2002 and has been named one of the Top 40 Family Law SuperLawyers in Minnesota since 2006. He has been named to the list of Top 100 Superlawyers in Minnesota since 2006 and the Best Lawyers in America®. He is rated AV (the highest possible rating in both ethics and legal skills) by Martindale-Hubbell one of the nation’s oldest and most respected attorney listings. He is a member of the ABA, MSBA, RCBA, is a Fellow and current President of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers — Minnesota Chapter, and is a past chair of the Second District Ethics Committee. He writes and speaks on the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, law practice management, and legal ethics.

Carlo practices exclusively in the area of family law. Through his professional experience and the matters of various people close to him, he is fully cognizant of all of the sensitive dynamics that can arise during family law issues.. Family law is an area that is ripe with the potential for emotional stress and conflict for clients. While any legal issue is not one to be taken lightly, quite often family law issues subject individuals to an inordinate amount of emotion and stress. Carlo’s approach is that a large part of his role is to be a shield for his clients, working hard to insulate them from any unnecessary hostility or stress while at the same time providing them with honest, learned advice.. A graduate of Creighton University School of Law, Carlo has taken the Jesuit philosophy of “cura personalis”-Latin for “care of the whole person”- and applied it to his practice. He views clients as individual people and treats them with the utmost courtesy and care.. In what little spare time he has, Carlo spends it with his wife (the love of his life) and their wonderful children. As a New Hampshire native, the majority of Carlo’s summer is spent supporting the Boston Red Sox, although his better half has gotten him to take an interest in the Twins. On mornings when the wind chill is above -10 degrees, you can find Carlo running around the North Metro preparing for one marathon or another.. Areas of Practice. Divorce. Custody/Parenting Time. Child Support. Post-Dissolution. Family Law. Spousal Maintenance. Mediation, arbitration, and evaluative processes representation. Same-sex divorce, dissolution of domestic partnerships, and other LGBT family law issues. Education. Creighton University School of Law, Omaha, Nebraska, J.D.. Emmanuel College, Boston, Massachusetts, B.A. with distinction in the field. Political Science. Bar Admissions. Minnesota. Professional Associations and Memberships. Minnesota State Bar Association, Family Law Section, New Lawyers Section

Rachel received her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.  At Georgetown, Rachel worked as a law tutor for first-year law students and volunteered for a Congressman on Capitol Hill.  Rachel also represented domestic violence victims in Washington, D.C.. Rachel has worked in both large and small law firms, representing a variety of individual and business clients.  Rachel focuses on identifying the needs and goals of the client and then identifying how best to achieve these objectives.  She is a fierce advocate for her clients, but believes that every case is best served by examining the realities of the situation and determining a path that makes economic, emotional, and legal sense.. Outside of Southtown Law, Rachel serves as an Adjunct Professor at William Mitchell College of Law.  She also represents children in foster care as a volunteer attorney for the Children’s Law Center.  Rachel currently serves on the Board of Sejong Academy of Minnesota, whose purpose is to open a Korean immersion charter school in the Twin Cities area.. Rachel is conversational in both German and Spanish.  She is always looking for an opportunity to sharpen her skills in this area.

Melissa J. Nilsson practices exclusively in all areas of family law. Melissa frequently works on cases involving spousal maintenance, child support, child custody, parenting time and the division of assets and liabilities, whether a case involves a non-acrimonious settlement or vigorous litigation. Melissa is able to assist in the division of high net worth marital estates, analyzing complex financial issues, such as business valuation, non-marital tracing and executive compensation valuation. Melissa represents clients in a variety of matters through mediation, arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution processes in order to settle matters, if possible. If a resolution cannot be reached, she strongly advocates for her client through the litigation process. In addition, Melissa has extensive experience with family law appeals if one does not agree with a court’s decision and has the ability to analyze the legal issues and develop creative and persuasive arguments to present to the appellate court. Whether mediating or litigating, Melissa strives to be a calm and considerate advocate for clients during this highly emotional and difficult time in their lives.

Kathryn A. Graves practices in the area of family law, litigating in the trial and appellate courts on all family law issues, including custody, child support, third party custody, spousal maintenance, property division and complex valuation issues, and post-decree disputes. She provides Alternative Dispute Resolution services as a Mediator (Qualified Neutral under Minnesota’s Alternative Dispute Resolution – Rule 114), is a Financial Early Neutral Evaluator for Hennepin, Ramsey, and Dakota Counties and is on the roster for Moderated Settlement Conferences in Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington Counties.

Lisa T. Spencer represents clients in all areas of family law, working with her clients to reach resolution and settlement, and litigating only when settlement cannot be attained.  She brings a compassionate approach to the difficult transitions many of her clients face.. Lisa has substantial experience in cases involving complex financial issues including business valuation, executive compensation, intellectual property, and non-marital property.  She helps families create effective parenting plans, specifically suited to each family, with an eye towards minimizing the effects of divorce on children.  Lisa also assists clients in creating premarital and postnuptial agreements that address long-term financial settlement.. She is a member of Henson & Efron’s Management Committee.

Suzanne M. Remington is a partner in the firm and practices exclusively in the area of family law, including complex business valuation, property division, cash flow analysis relating to spousal maintenance and child support, and contested custody matters.. “Even at its most technical, family law never veers far from its intensely personal core,” says Suzanne. “At the same time I’m focusing on complicated tax and liquidity issues or honing my knowledge of case law, I’m equally focused on doing everything possible to alleviate the profound stress my clients are experiencing. It’s not a skill one learns in law school, but it’s absolutely integral to being a true client advocate.”. Over the last two decades, Suzanne has appeared before the Minnesota Supreme Court and many times before the Minnesota Court of Appeals. She has also tried numerous cases before district court judges in the metro and surrounding areas, and is a frequent presenter and trainer on topics such as financial early neutral evaluation, the new child support statutes, and effective marital dissolution practices. In addition, she completed certified civil mediation training and is now a qualified neutral under Rule 114.

I am passionate about practicing law and advocating for my clients. When not practicing law, I enjoy spending time with my family, skiing--on water or on snow-covered hills, depending on the season--watching college basketball, and catching up on my favorite podcasts.