Contributing to the Community and Its People

Contributing to the Community and Its People iIn addition to serving the legal needs of clients, the personal injury lawyers and members of the Lord & Faris Law Office team have answered the call to serve the broader Twin Cities and Minnesota communities in support of local, state and
national causes – particularly those that support and protect young people.

Protecting Our Youth Through Legislation and Community Action

Following the loss of their son to a drunk driver in 1989, Priscilla Lord Faris has volunteered with MADD® and served as a speaker about the impact of drunk driving accidents. She also played a key role in the development of social host and dramshop legislation aimed at deterring drunk driving and preventing similar accidents and loss of life. As a member of Minnesota Join Together, a project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Priscilla led the committee that drafted legislation that allows for civil liability against adults who serve alcohol to minors. That bill passed both the Minnesota House and Senate and was signed into law in May 2000.

Public Service:

Founding attorney, Miles W. Lord was elected as Minnesota Attorney General from 1955 to 1960. He then became U.S. Attorney until President Johnson appointed him as Federal District Judge in 1966. Lord became known as the “People’s Judge.” He developed a reputation for his concern that all citizens obtain justice regardless of their station in life. These values are reflected throughout the firm.

Jim Lord was elected as a State Senator in 1972, and then at age 25 was elected State Treasurer, serving two full terms 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.

Priscilla Lord Faris was elected in 2000 to a four year term on her City Council in the City of Sunfish Lake. In 2008, Lord Faris ran in the DFL primary for the U.S. Senate. After only 7 weeks of campaigning she received 30% of the vote (75,000 votes).

Creating Opportunities for Minnesota Athletes

Both Priscilla and Wayne Faris are avid sports fans and active promoters and supporters of amateur athletics. They are members of the University of Minnesota President’s Club. Between them they have served 20 years on the University of Minnesota Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Advisory Board. – Article PDF –When Gov. Rudy Perpich founded the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission, he asked Wayne to chair the Commission. In that role, he managed a sport facilities building budget in excess of $30 million and facilities that included the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center, the St. Cloud National Ice Hockey Center and the National Sports Center in Blaine.

Wayne also headed the local Community Development Program for the United States Olympic Committee. The program develops young athletes by providing elite coaching and training in weightlifting, curling, cross country skiing, snow boarding, biathlon, speed skating, team handball and women’s hockey.

From 2001 through 2006, Wayne served on the Board of the Minnesota Twins Community Fund, a charitable organization that distributes more than half a million dollars annually to build better and stronger communities. The fund has helped build baseball and softball fields in upper Midwest communities, provided college scholarships to help worthy students and sponsored youth baseball and softball teams.

Serving the Legal Community

Priscilla Lord Faris has served the legal community as a member of the Board of Governors of the Minnesota Justice Association (formerly known as Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association) and as co-chair of its legislative committee. She is also a member of the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, a national public interest law firm. Ms. Faris served on the Board of Chrysalis and the Advisory Board of Little Earth Housing Community in Minneapolis. She also served as a member of a group that studied and made recommendations to the State of Minnesota Pardon Board, and headed up the lobbying effort of Minnesota MADD at the Minnesota legislature in the early 1990s.