News Item
G. Tony Atwal and Laura Nelson Olmstead Appointed to Fill Second Judicial District Vacancies
Posted: Monday, April 11, 2016
Today, Governor Mark Dayton announced the appointments of G. Tony Atwal and Laura Nelson Olmstead as District Court Judges in Minnesota’s Second Judicial District. Mr. Atwal and Ms. Nelson Olmstead are replacing the Honorable Rosanne Nathanson and the Honorable Salvador M. Rosas, who both retired earlier this year. Mr. Atwal and Ms. Nelson Olmstead will be chambered at Saint Paul in Ramsey County.
“Mr. Tony Atwal and Ms. Laura Nelson Olmstead have served their communities honorably, and excelled in their legal careers,” said Governor Dayton. “Their shared commitment to justice and impartial application of the law, have served their communities very well. I congratulate Ms. Nelson Olmstead and Mr. Atwal on their appointments, and wish them both the very best as they begin their service to the people of the Second Judicial District.”
About G. Tony Atwal
Mr. Atwal is an attorney at Johnson Becker, PLLC, where he handles cases in employment law and mass tort class action lawsuits. He is also an Appellate Advocacy Adjunct Professor at Mitchell Hamline School of law and previously was an attorney at Nichols Kaster, PLLP, an assistant appellate public defender for the Office of the Minnesota Appellate Public Defender, and a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Gregg E. Johnson and the Honorable Wilhelmina M. Wright. Mr. Atwal earned his B.S. from Pacific University in Oregon and his J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law.
Mr. Atwal volunteers as a pro bono attorney for the appellate public defender, serves as a board member on the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society, and was recently awarded Adjunct Professor of the Year by Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
About Laura Nelson Olmstead
Ms. Nelson Olmstead is an attorney at Robins Kaplan, LLP, where she represents plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of complex commercial matters and family law litigation. Previously, she was a staff attorney at The Advocates for Human Rights and a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Kathryn L. Quaintance in Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District. Ms. Nelson Olmstead earned her B.A. from the University of Redlands, Johnston Center and her J.D. from the University of Minnesota.
Ms. Nelson Olmstead is the Secretary of the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association and a Bench & Bar Benefit Committee member for the Ramsey County Bar Association. She previously served as a board member on the Hennepin County Domestic Fatality Review Board and volunteered as a mock trial coach at the University of St. Thomas Law School.
Minnesota’s Second Judicial District consists of Ramsey County.
More information on the Commission on Judicial Selection, as well as vacancies it is currently considering, can be found at
http://mn.gov/governor/appointments/judicial-appointments/.