Hargrave, Mathew K.

Sam is a shareholder in the firm of Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association, and a member of the firm's board of directors. After serving on the Minnesota Court of Appeals for two years and the Minnesota Supreme Court for five years, he rejoined Briggs’ Business Litigation Section and Energy Law Group, and is a member of the firm's Appellate Practice Group. He is a former litigation section head and firm president. Sam practices principally in the areas of:

• Arbitration and mediation
• Complex civil litigation
• Appellate law
• Public utility regulation

Sam received his B.A. degree from St. Olaf College, where he majored in economics and history. He received his LL.B. degree cum laude and with honors from the William Mitchell College of Law. While in law school, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Douglas K. Amdahl (then a district judge in Hennepin County; later chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court). Immediately after graduation from William Mitchell, Sam served as law clerk for the Honorable Robert J. Sheran (then an associate justice and later chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court).

Sam practiced law with Briggs and Morgan for 34 years before he was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2000. He has had extensive experience in both the state and federal courts in Minnesota, as well as courts in many other states in the region. He has worked closely with several major corporate clients, including telephone, gas and electric utilities; insurance companies; financial institutions; and multinational manufacturing and service corporations.

Sam is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and an advocate of the American Board of Trial Advocates. In 2008, William Mitchell College of Law presented him with an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree (LL.D) for his achievement and excellence in the profession. He has been selected as a Leading Minnesota Attorney and listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of appellate law and commercial litigation.

Sam has been active in professional and community activities and organizations, serving on several Supreme Court boards and advisory committees, the Court’s child protection initiative, and the Court’s planning committee for access to civil legal services; as chair of the state bar association’s Public Utility Section and Women and the Law Committee; and on the boards of several educational and service organizations, including the William Mitchell College of Law board of trustees and the board of directors for Global Volunteers and Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights.