Senior Judge John H. Scherer
Senior Judge John H. Scherer

Education:

St. John's University, Collegeville, MN - B.A. cum laude, 1977

William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, MN - J.D. cum laude, 1981

Admitted to Practice:

Minnesota State Courts - 1981

U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota - 1983

U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals - 1997

U.S. Supreme Court - 1998

Legal Employment:

Minnesota District Court Judge  Jan. 2, 2003 - Present.  Elected in 2004, 2010, and 2016.  Appointed and assigned to serve statewide as Senior Judge from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2025.

Rajkowski Hansmeier Ltd.  1981 - 2002

Law Clerk, O'Neill, Burke & O'Neill, Ltd.  1979 - 1981

Primary Areas of Practice When in Private Practice:

Insurance Defense, Commercial/Financial, Municipal Law, Court Approved ADR Neutral.

Law Related Organizations When in Private Practice:

Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association

  • President, 1999 - 2000
  • Officer, 1996 - 2001
  • Director, 1993 - 1996

Stearns-Benton County Bar Association

Minnesota Seventh Judicial District Bar Association

Minnesota State Bar Association

Articles:

The Learned Treatise Exception Revisited: The Defense Perspective", Minnesota Defense, Col. 13, Issue 2. (Co-author)

"Ending Gender Inequity", Minnesota Defense, Vol. 14, Issue 1, Winter 1993.

Seminars:

"Review of the Bad Faith Law in Minnesota Both for First-Party Benefits and Excess Claims", Insurance Law Seminar - Sponsored by the Minnesota Institute of Legal Education, October 8 and 9, 1992

"Bad Faith Litigation" - Sponsored by the National Business Institue, Inc., February 3, 1993

"Wage and Hour Law Update" - Sponsored by Lorman Education Services, march 19, 1998

Alternative Dispute Resolution Experience:

  • AAA Panel of No-Fault Arbitrators
  • Served as a party selected mediator, 1996 - 2002
  • Civil Mediation Skills Training - 1998
  • Qualified ADR Neutral - 1998
  • Approved by the Board of Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association and Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association as a member of the Creative Dispute Resolution Neutral Panel

Honors:

Life Member of the National Registry of Who's Who for Lawyers