Kugler, Laura Ellis

Susan Torgerson is an experienced education, employment and labor law attorney. Her practice includes general school district matters with a concentration in student matters, special education and disability law litigation. She frequently lectures on topics in the areas of student rights, preventing liability, sexual harassment, teacher discipline, data practices, special education and disability issues (such as Section 504, the Americans with Disabilities Act, extended school year services, due process, discipline, and behavior intervention).

Her labor law practice for local government entities includes consulting on strategies for development and revision of collective bargaining agreements, advising on unfair labor practices and Public Employees Labor Relations Act (PELRA) compliance. She has handled numerous grievance resolutions and grievance arbitration hearings, including discharge hearings. Sue has assisted clients with strike preparations, strike conditions and strike resolution processes.

Her litigation practice includes being retained by insurance companies to defend suits against public entities and she has handled many agency complaint matters with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Office of Civil Rights, and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

Sue graduated cum laude from the University of South Dakota, where she received a Master of Arts degree in learning disabilities. She received her law degree from the University of South Dakota School of Law. She has been an instructor of learning disabled seventh-and-eighth-grade students, and has taught in elementary school and at the college level. She has served as a consultant in curriculum development for developmentally disabled children at the University level.

Sue is a member of the South Dakota, Hennepin County, Minnesota State Bar Associations and ABA, the Minnesota School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys, National School Boards, and COSA.

Sue resides with her husband in Bloomington and enjoys spending time at their farm in Northern Minnesota. Their two grown daughters and their families live in the Twin Cities as well.

Sue has this to say about her practice at Kennedy & Graven:

I feel very fortunate to practice with talented, dedicated staff and attorneys. Our overall concentration on public sector law allows me to collaborate with colleagues in a way that benefits our public clients greatly. Our shared goals, strategies and philosophies make me a better lawyer, without a doubt.