Volunteer bridges business law access gap

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Sequoia Rutan, an associate attorney at Madigan, Dahl & Harlan, began volunteering with LegalCORPS as soon as she learned about the nonprofit that is Minnesota’s only business law legal aid organization.

She started helping LegalCORPS clients with transactional work, familiar from her practice in commercial and business law, and since has expanded her efforts to include brief advice clinics, workshops on basics like forming a business entity and limited client representation.

“For me, bridging the [access to justice] gap is communicating information in a way where clients know exactly what they need to do and what they should and shouldn’t do,” Rutan said.

At LegalCORPS, Rutan has assisted independent contractors and entrepreneurs who are starting their first businesses and experienced ones who may need guidance on a technical issue.

In her practice, Rutan enjoys problem solving, figuring out the best solution and working collaboratively with clients and colleagues.

Name: Sequoia Rutan

Title: Associate attorney, Madigan, Dahl & Harlan

Education: B.A., Macalester College, political science and international studies; J.D., University of Wisconsin Law School

Q: Best way to start a conversation with you?

A: I love a bad joke. It’s fun to hear what people have up their sleeve, and it’s also good to start a conversation by laughing.

Q: Why law school?

A: Because I loved reading as a kid. My parents suggested that I should go to law school because it’s lots and lots of reading. That was true, and I enjoyed it. Finding a good group of people definitely makes the law school experience worth sticking around for, as well as when you find a good area to practice in. In undergrad, I wanted to do public policy. I took a class in my senior year, I think, that had a legal component to it. We read a lot of literature related to the legal aspects of society. That’s when I began, in earnest, researching law schools.

Q: What are you reading?

A: “Taking Manhattan” by Russell Shorto, about Manhattan changing from being held by the Dutch to the English. I’m from New York City, so reading about Manhattan before it became very densely populated is fascinating. Imagining it as it was in the 1600s is just kind of wild for me.

Q: Pet peeve?

A: People who are dismissive. It’s important to make them feel that they’re being heard and that their ideas and thoughts are worthy.

Q: Best part of your work?

A: Collaboration. I enjoy working with people. You learn so much from them. Working with entrepreneurs, they know a lot more about running a business, whereas I know about helping them form the legal entities.

Q: Most challenging?

A: Depending on the time of year, it can be very busy. Making sure everything gets its due regard.

Q: Favorite activity away from work?

A: In spring-summer, I love walking around my neighborhood. I married into a ski family, so I’m now learning skiing, which is actually quite fun. So, during winter, I’m doing a lot of skiing and falling or falling and skiing.

Q: Where would you take someone visiting your hometown?

A: I’m from Brooklyn, New York, so I would take them to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. It’s absolutely beautiful. Then to a bakery to go get a black and white cookie, at Orwasher’s in Manhattan or Lassen & Hennigs in Brooklyn.

Q: Legal figure you admire?

A: Thurgood Marshall, because he was a foundational figure in the Civil Rights Movement and also the first African American Supreme Court justice. Chief Judge (Sara) Grewing in Ramsey County. I clerked for her in 2021-2022 and it was an amazing experience. I truly admire how she runs her courtroom, her work ethic. I hope that I embody those qualities as I continue to grow as an attorney.

Q: Misconception about your work?

A: That it’s not always fun. It sometimes can be very fun to be an attorney, depending on what you’re working on.

Q: Favorite book, movie or TV show about lawyers?

A: I recently saw “My Cousin Vinny,” and I loved it. It’s hilarious.

—Todd Nelson