Faris & Faris: Contributing to the Community and Its People

In addition to serving the legal needs of clients, the personal injury lawyers and members of the Faris & 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.

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.  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.