Attorney James Frank Lord

Jim (James Frank) Lord was the managing partner in the firm of Miles W. Lord & Associates. He was born on November 26, 1948 to Maxine and Miles Lord and passed away on June 6, 2008.

Jim suffered from diabetes since he was a young man, and on April 1, 2008 he successfully received a kidney and pancreas transplant from the University of Minnesota. His health was nearly restored, and he was optimistically looking forward to living his life with greatly improved health. Sadly, he died of a heart attack.

 

U.S. Senate Page:

As a teenager, in the mid 1960s, Jim served as a U.S. Senate Page in Washington D.C. One of his friends was Al Gore, another page. Jim was a graduate of Minnetonka High School, the University of Minnesota.

Political Career:

Jim was elected as a State Senator in 1972, and then at age 25 was elected State Treasurer, serving two full 1975 - 1983. Jim was the youngest Minnesotan elected as a constitutional officer, and at that time, the youngest statewide elected official in the United States. During his service as State Treasurer, he was a national leader in founding the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators which led the fight to recover and return unclaimed property and monies to their rightful owners. Jim’s leadership on unclaimed property issues fueled a movement across the country by state governments and has returned billions of dollars to citizens.

Legal Career:

Jim graduated from William Mitchell Law School in 1979. He did not seek re-election in 1982 and when his term was finished in 1983, he joined his cousin, Mike Doshan, in private practice focusing on automobile litigation and victims rights to recovery. In 1993, Jim joined the practice of his father, former Federal Judge Miles Lord. Jim was creative, courageous and committed to his clients. In 1995 and 1997 respectively, Jim received a $9 million verdict and a $6.75 million settlement on behalf of two critically injured clients.

Devotion To Justice:

Jim did substantial pro-bono work over the last 15 years. In his most famous case, Jim represented Jan Ganglehoff, a University of Minnesota office manager, who revealed in 1999 that she had done course work for 20 players on the Gophers basketball team. Jim argued she was being made the scapegoat for widespread and systemic NCAA violations by coaches and staff in the basketball program. As a result of this case, the University dismissed the head basketball coach and department administrators while enacting several significant reforms to restore academic integrity in the Athletic Department.

The most defining characteristic of Jim was the fun and humor he brought to those he touched on a daily basis. His contagious laughter and quick witted sense of humor (which included teaching his two dogs to play the piano) showed his great zest for life.