Welcome to Faris & Faris Law Office:
faris legal team
The Faris & Faris Law Office team (l to r):  Paula, Alicia, Priscilla, Wayne, Jennifer.
Minnesota Personal Injury Attorneys Since 1993

Serving Minnesota and Minnesotans since 1993, the personal injury attorneys and staff at Faris & Faris Law Office have earned the respect of both clients and peers in the legal community thanks to an unbending commitment to honesty and integrity and delivering experienced legal representation, and outstanding service to our personal injury and other clients.

At Faris & Faris Law Office, every client receives the same high-quality, personal, confidential service – from the initial consultation and evaluation to the preparation and adjudication of your case.  Our goal is to do everything in our power to ensure that your entire experience with the legal system is seamless and successful.

Our ability to consistently achieve this objective is one reason why managing partner and personal injury lawyer Priscilla Lord Faris has been named a Minnesota Super Lawyer and one of the Top 40 Personal Injury Attorneys by the publishers of Minnesota Law & Politics for both 2006 and 2007.  Only the top 5 percent of Minnesota lawyers earn Super Lawyer status. Super Lawyer Article on Faris. In addition, Ms. Faris has earned an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which indicates that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest professional level.  Martindale Hubble Ratings Explaned.u

Meet our experienced and dedicated legal and medical team…

Priscilla Faris
Wayne Faris
Alicia McMonigal
Paula Muller
Jennifer Thorup

Faris & Faris: Contributing To The Community And Its People:(click here for info)
priscilla faris
Minnesota Lawyer Priscilla Lord Faris
Managing Partner

What makes for a good personal injury attorney?  Knowledge of the law and how to apply it is an obvious prerequisite.  So is the ability to collect, analyze and interpret a complex set of facts and communicate them in a manner that is both compelling and easy for people to understand.

But few attorneys succeed over the long term unless they also have a deep and abiding passion for helping people.  That kind of commitment to ensuring that individuals and families get a fair shake from our legal system is one reason Priscilla Lord Faris has been recognized as one of Minnesota’s top lawyers.

A glance at her background reveals the many factors that have driven her success…

Born in Minneapolis, raised in the western suburbs.  Daughter of well-known Federal Court Judge Miles Lord and Maxine Lord.  University of Minnesota graduate.  Worked on the staff of Senator Hubert H. Humphrey in 1963 and campaigned for the Senator in his run for President in 1968. Passionate about youth and youth athletics. Served on the staff of Young Life in Washington D.C.  Taught third grade and special education.  Member of League of Women Voters.  Earned a law degree from Hamline University.  Married to Wayne Faris, successful attorney and business executive.  Mother of three.   Law clerk for the Honorable John Connelly in Federal Bankruptcy Court.  Ten-year career in investment real estate. Currently holds a real estate broker's license in Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Served on the boards of Little Earth Housing Community and Chrysalis.  Trained mediator.  Former Member of Sunfish Lake City Council and University of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Advisory Board and President's Club.  Traveled to over 15 foreign countries.  Lifelong advocate and community leader. Opened her own personal injury law practice in 1993 to serve people in Minneapolis, St. Paul and across Minnesota who have been harmed by medical devices or medications or injured or killed in car accidents or through other tragic circumstances. 

Since opening her own personal injury law firm in 1993, Priscilla Lord Faris has earned accolades from her clients as well as her peers in the legal community for her knowledge of the law, professionalism and commitment to client service and achieving results.  She’s experienced at evaluating cases and ushering them through the maze of paperwork and other legal processes required for people to obtain a fair outcome when they or a family member have suffered as a result of an accident or other incident that has caused harm, injury or even death.

Her introduction to the practice of personal injury law came after a decade in investment real estate and the death of their son in 1989.  “It was a difficult time, and I needed a change,” she recalls.  “My father had retired as a federal court judge and started a practice within a practice with a local firm that was handling silicone breast implant cases.”  A handful of medical device injury cases became over 600 cases over the next seven years as Faris became adept at managing the complex legal and medical paperwork and processes required to successfully adjudicate each case and claim.  Faris’ hard work ultimately paid off for her clients, who received settlements from the implant manufacturers ranging from $10,000 to $250,000.

In 2001, Faris and her associates took on another major challenge: representing people harmed by their use of the diet drug Fen Phen, which was found to cause heart valve dysfunction and primary pulmonary hypertension.  By the end of 2002, Faris had submitted personal injury claims on behalf of approximately 300 clients.  “These cases can take many months to file and many years to resolve,” says Faris.  “For almost all of 2002 and 2003, we worked seven days a week.  In fact, we’re still coordinating all the paperwork involved with payments from the court settlement.”  In those cases, clients of Faris & Faris Law Office received from $2,000 to more than $562,000.

When they’re not handling large, complex personal injury cases, Faris and her dedicated team represent clients injured or killed in car accidents or truck accidents, by a dog or animal bite, or harmed by sexual harassment or discrimination. Faris is also experienced in representing doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals facing disciplinary actions from state or federal medical licensing or regulatory agencies.  In addition, the firm has helped to resolve unique legal issues such as Qui Tam, consumer debt reduction, basic contract disputes and real estate warranty issues.

For her efforts and her expertise, she’s been recognized as one of the top attorneys for several years with an AV rating in her field by LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell®, which publishes peer review ratings on attorneys from around the United States.  She has been given an AV rating by her peers for several years.  In both 2006 and 2007, Faris also was named a Minnesota Super Lawyer by the publishers of Minnesota Law & Politics. 

While Faris takes pride in the recognition, she is most gratified when clients feel justice has been fairly served at the end of their case.

“People who feel they have been wronged almost always have high expectations about the outcome,” says Faris.  “I feel the most satisfaction when a client comes to me at the end and says ‘I got a fair shake.’  In a system that often is neither fair nor just, that’s a tremendous compliment."

Family Entrepreneurs
Priscilla's two daughters also reside in the twin-cities.  Emma Faris is a realtor in the Minneapolis Lakes Coldwell Banker Burnett Office.  You can visit her website at "Dreams By Emma."  Priscilla's other daughter, Maggie Faris, is a veteran comedian and glass jewelry designer and her websites are "Extreme Maggie" and "Lost Jewels."
wayne faris

Minnesota Attorney Wayne Faris
Of Counsel

Wayne Faris is “Of Counsel” to Faris & Faris Law Office, providing Faris & Faris Law Office clients with expert advice and counsel sharpened during a long, distinguished career as an attorney, entrepreneur, CEO and dedicated community leader. 

Born in Ottawa, Ont. and raised in Smith’s Falls, Ont., Wayne Faris graduated from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. and earned a law degree from the University of Minnesota.  In 1970, he joined the firm of Oppenheimer Wolff and Donnelly as a litigator of cases involving product liability and employment law.  In 1990, he left the firm to become CEO and president of Clifton Group Investment Management.

Faris is known around Minnesota and the nation for his involvement in youth, athletic and community-based activities.  He founded and chaired the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission and headed a program designed to develop Olympic athletes from among Minnesota athletes on behalf of the U.S. Olympic Committee.  Faris also served 12 years as a member of the University of Minnesota Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Advisory Board.

In 2006, Wayne Faris completed six years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Twins Community Fund, which distributes more than $500,000 annually to support athletics in upper Midwest communities and provide scholarships and other assistance to deserving athletes.

Alicia McMonigal
Executive Administrator

You’ve probably heard the saying “the devil is in the details.”  But the devil is no match for Faris & Faris Law Office Executive Administrator Alicia McMonigal, whose job it is to keep track of every detail of every case and to oversee day-to-day operations at the firm.  She’s also the cheery-sounding first point of contact when clients call with a question or to schedule an appointment.

One of McMonigal’s most critical responsibilities is managing the complex databases that track the hundreds of plaintiffs the firm is representing as part of personal injury class action litigation filed in recent years on behalf of women who received silicone breast implants or people who used the diet drug Fen Phen.

“My number one job is to relay information – to explain the process to our clients and make sure everyone is doing their part and that all of the deadlines are met,” McMonigal explains.   “There’s always a lot of follow-up and a fair amount of hounding – in a nice way, of course!”

One of the benefits of working at a small law firm is that she gets to know many clients personally and often plays a role in problem-solving with them.  “Many of the clients we serve need more than just legal help, and we often can point them to other resources in the community or help them, for example, when they are dealing with insurance companies.  We try to help any way we can.”

A St. Paul native, McMonigal attended Humboldt High School and received a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from The College of St. Catherine in 1995.  A mother of three active boys, she enjoys crafts, quilting and tending the garden at her home.

Paula Muller, RN, BSN, CLA, LNC, CDMS, QRC
Legal Nurse Consultant

She may have an alphabet’s worth of initials behind her name, but Paula Muller’s vast experience in the medical field has helped spell success for hundreds of Faris & Faris Law Office personal injury clients since she joined the firm in 1993.

Muller is a Registered Nurse with a bachelor’s degree in Nursing, a Certified Legal Assistant, Legal Nurse Consultant, Certified Disability Management Specialist and Qualified Rehabilitation Consultant.

At Faris & Faris Law Office, she researches and evaluates cases that involve medical issues and coordinates collection and interpretation of client-related medical records, development of medical treatment chronologies and case briefs, and submission of case claims.  She has extensive experience as a practicing nurse, medical records auditor and administrator of medical records and claims.  Her experience is particularly valuable in defending doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals facing action against their Minnesota medical license by a state medical board or regulatory agency.

Muller received her nursing degree from Kansas Wesleyan University, earned a paralegal certification from Hamline University, and is studying for both a master’s degree in Health Law from Nova Southeastern University School of Law and a certification in bioethics from Loyola University in Chicago.

Jennifer Thorup
Paralegal

Behind every successful attorney is a team of professionals who collect information, draft legal documents and perform the myriad tasks involved with preparing a personal injury case for settlement or trial or defending a doctor, nurse or other licensed medical professional facing the potential loss of his or her medical license.  At Faris & Faris Law Office, case preparation is the job of veteran paralegal Jennifer Thorup.

Thorup joined Faris & Faris Law Office in 2006 but has worked at law firms since 1992, when she took what she thought would be a temporary job to get some hands-on experience before law school.  By 1995, she decided to forego law school entirely and devote her full attention to paralegal work.

“A paralegal is an attorney’s right hand,” Thorup explains.  “My job varies dramatically from day to day, which is why I love it.  One day I’m interviewing clients and doctors about a case, another I’m doing research, gathering medical records and bills, preparing documents, speaking with insurance adjusters to update them on the status of a client’s medical treatments, and putting together demand letters or pre-mediation materials based on my research."

“Over the years, I’ve found that I get a great deal of satisfaction from educating clients about the legal process and helping manage their expectations,” she says.  “When people walk into the office with a problem, they generally are experiencing a great deal of uncertainty and need our help during a very scary, very difficult time.  I really enjoy helping educate clients about the process and eliminating some of that uncertainty.”

A native of Albert Lea, Thorup has a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication from the University of Minnesota.  She is a busy mother caring for her 6-year-old son while going to school and working.