Minneapolis – Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the appointment of Karen A. Janisch and Thomas M. Sipkins to two Fourth Judicial District trial court bench vacancies in Hennepin County. The vacancies occurred with the retirement of the Honorable Pamela G. Alexander on June 6, 2008, and the retirement of the Honorable E. Anne McKinsey on October 3, 2008.

Janisch is general counsel to the Governor, a position she has held since 2003. Previously, she was a partner (1999 to 2003) and an associate attorney (1993 through 1998) with the Rider Bennett, Egan and Arundel law firm in Minneapolis, and a judicial law clerk to Idaho State Supreme Court Justice Byron J. Johnson from 1992 to 1993. Janisch earned her juris doctorate degree magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1992, and her bachelor of arts degree in government cum laude from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph in 1987.

“Throughout her career as a litigator and in public service, Karen has mastered a wide range of legal issues and laws. She is a quick study and her keen intellect has been invaluable to the administration,” Governor Pawlenty said. “She will be a great asset to the Hennepin County bench.”

Janisch is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association and Hennepin County Bar Association, National Governor’s Association Legal Counsel, and National Association of Extradition Officials. She was also a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court Committee on Rules for the Board on Judicial Standards, Minnesota Department of Health Pandemic Ethics Project, and the Rider Bennett United Way Fund Campaign Drive.

Janisch, 43, was born in Minneapolis, where she lives with her husband, Daniel Tschida and their two daughters, Audrey, 6, and Elizabeth, 3.

Sipkins, of Edina, is an attorney and partner with the Minneapolis law firm of Maslon, Edelman, Borman, and Brand, where he heads the firm’s Labor and Employment Group, and is a member of its Competitive Practices and Litigation groups. He has been an attorney with the Maslon firm since 2004.

Previously, Sipkins was an attorney and shareholder with Halleland Lewis, Nilan, Sipkins and Johnson in Minneapolis from 1996 to 2004, an attorney and shareholder with Popham, Haik, Schnobrich, Kaufman and Doty in Minneapolis from 1986 to 1996, an attorney and partner with Peterson, Popovich, Knutson and Flynn in St. Paul from 1977 to 1986, a city of St. Paul staff attorney from 1975 to 1977, and a staff attorney with the United States Renegotiation Board in Washington D.C. from 1973 to 1975. Sipkins earned his juris doctorate degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1973, and his bachelor of arts degree from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts in 1969.

“Tom has a wealth of experience as a civil litigator as well as in the management of the law firms where he has worked, which will be of great benefit to the Hennepin County courts,” Governor Pawlenty said. “I am heartened that he is willing to lend his talents to public service in this capacity.”

Sipkins is a member of the American, Federal, Minnesota, Hennepin and Ramsey County Bar Associations, and serves on the ABA’s Litigation and Labor and Employment Sections. He has been selected by Minnesota Law & Politics as a “Super Lawyer” every year since 1977, and has been recognized as a Top 40 Employment Lawyer since 2003. Sipkins’ community activities have included serving on the boards of directors of the Minnesota Sudden Infant Death Center, YMCA Camp Warren, Temple Israel, as well as a member of the Edina Men’s Choir, Edina Athletic Booster Board, a class agent for the Williams College Class of 1969 Alumni Fund, and a reading tutor of minority students at Bethune Elementary School in Minneapolis.

Sipkins, 61, was born in Minneapolis, and lives in Edina with his wife, Jessica. They have two adult daughters, Nicole Koranda and Alison Sipkins.