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David Herr \u201878, a highly regarded appellate lawyer and complex case litigator who long mentored students and taught at Mitchell Hamline, died on Dec. 22, 2021, at the age of 71. He had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.<\/p>\n
\u201cI already miss his wit, writings, and wisdom,\u201d said Professor Roger Haydock, who knew Herr since his days as a law student in the 1970s, when he was instrumental in growing the William Mitchell Law Review during its early days. \u201cHe loved the law, his family, and Mitchell Hamline.\u201d<\/p>\n
A longtime partner at Maslon, Herr wrote more than 15 publications on Minnesota and federal law while also helping draft and amend rules that guide and govern how lawyers and judges in Minnesota adjudicate civil practice in the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cI imagine every courtroom in this state and every law firm in this state has books that David has written that lawyers rely on,\u201d Haydock added, in an interview with Minnesota Lawyer<\/a>. \u201cThere are maybe over 1.2 million lawyers in America, and most of them are litigators. A majority have used one or more of his books over the decades, so he\u2019s got this remarkable legacy that way.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier in December, as Herr\u2019s ALS progressed, Maslon hosted an online event to honor their partner who had worked at the firm for four decades. The event coincided with Mayor Melvin Carter\u00a0proclaiming<\/a>\u00a0\u201cDavid F. Herr Day\u201d in the city of St. Paul, praising Herr for being \u201cone of the most highly regarded appellate lawyers and complex case litigators in Minnesota.\u201d Herr was a lifelong St. Paul resident.<\/p>\n \u201cFew people have had a greater impact on Minnesota law and Minnesota lawyers,\u201d the\u00a0proclamation<\/a>\u00a0continued.<\/p>\n Fellow Maslon partner Erica Holzer \u201813 moderated the event<\/a>, which included a message from Gov. Tim Walz, who called Herr \u201ca giant in the legal profession.\u201d<\/p>\n Emeritus President and Dean Eric Janus, who led Mitchell Hamline predecessor William Mitchell College of Law, was among those offering tributes to Herr.<\/p>\n \u201cDavid has long understood and advocated for the combination of practical and experiential approaches with academic rigor that is, in my opinion, at the core of the Mitchell Hamline approach to legal education,\u201d said Janus.<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition, along with Professor Roger Haydock and others, David wrote scores of books on various aspects of practice that students the world over have read. David has exemplified, and led, in the idea that law practice can be taught \u2013 intentionally and rigorously \u2013 as opposed to leaving that aspect of the training for expert practice to chance.\u201d<\/p>\n Janus was joined in the tribute by Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Barry Anderson; former State Supreme Court Justice Eric Magnuson \u201976; Cooper Ashley, a retired managing partner at Maslon; and Timothy Berg, former president of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt didn\u2019t take long after I moved to Minnesota to learn how important David Herr has been to the legal profession here and how hard it is to sum up all of his contributions,\u201d said President and Dean Anthony Niedwiecki. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful for all he did for this school and for the example he set for our students of the kind of ever-giving attorneys we strive to graduate from Mitchell Hamline.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to his work at Maslon, Herr was a founder of the\u00a0Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society<\/a>\u00a0and a charter member and president of the\u00a0Academy of Court Appointed Masters<\/a>. He mentored students and colleagues his entire career and was an adjunct professor for many years at William Mitchell, then Mitchell Hamline, most recently teaching a course in 2015 and helping with advocacy courses in 2016 and 2019.<\/p>\n