Dan O’Fallon began his legal odyssey when he left his home state of Montana for Ann Arbor, Michigan and the University of Michigan School of Law in 1983. From the beginning, Dan concentrated on civil law. After graduating cum laude at Michigan in December of 1985, he joined the Washington, D.C. office of national law firm Morrison & Foerster. For two and a half year, he worked on complex litigation matters involving antitrust, oil and gas regulation, and the savings and loan industry.

In October of 1988, Dan followed his heart and joined the St. Paul office of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. (now Robins Kaplan), where he represented injured people in personal injury and medical malpractice cases. In 1991, he moved to the Minneapolis office and joined the firm’s Mass Tort department. In Minneapolis, he developed a practice representing injured people in large products liability cases, often against the medical device and drug industry. Dan was an associate attorney and then a partner handling the firm’s breast implant cases. In the course of that work, he conducted national depositions on behalf of plaintiffs in the national Breast Implant MDL, as well as working on the firm’s individual cases throughout the country.

In 1995, Dan joined the firm’s team representing the State of Minnesota and Blue Cross/Blue Shield in the Tobacco Litigation. Following the May 8, 1998 settlement of this case, Dan joined the firm’s fen/phen litigation team representing clients seriously injured by the effects of this drug combination. Dan would spearhead the firm’s representation of clients injured by the failure of St. Jude’s Silzone-coated heart valves, and starting in 2002, lead the firm’s representation of over 100 victims of the Minot, North Dakota train derailment against Canadian Pacific and the Soo Line. Dan represented his clients the Allendes in the first joint trial against Canadian Pacific, where the jury awarded his clients over $600,000. 

In the later 2000s, Dan would handle hip implant failure cases against Zimmer and Sulzer, and represented women injured by the effects of the Ortho Evra birth control patchs. He continued to handle and try individual medical malpractice cases and large personal injuries cases. These included wrongful death cases of children and adults. He represented victims of plane crashes, and individuals harmed by gas explosions. He also, on occasion, advised corporate clients in complex litigation.

During this time, Dan remained active in and passionate about his community. He served on the Board of Governors of the Minnesota Association of Justice (MNAJ), and at various times chaired the MNAJ Trial PAC and Product’s Liability Section. He served as a state delegate to the American Association of Justice. He was active in the Ramsey County Bar Association and co-chaired the section’s Family’s First event for many years. Locally, he and his wife Kathryn Timm were among the co-founders of the Centennial Area Education Foundation (CAEF). He served on the CAEF board for several years. He was also active with and raised money for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS). He was aa member of the Amdahl Inn of Court.

In 2010, Governor Tim Pawlenty appointed Dan to the bench as a Minnesota State District Court Judge in the 10^thJudicial District sitting in Anoka. As an Anoka County State Court Judge, Dan presided over cases involving every subject matter. He presided in over 30 jury trials (criminal and civil) and multiple bench trials.

Dan resigned from the bench in May of 2019, and in October of 2019, he took the required training and became a Qualified Neutral Under Rule 114 for Civil Facilitative/Hybrid and Civil Adjudicative. He remains current in that regard.

Now semi-retired, Dan remains active in the legal profession and as a mediator. He has conducted civil mediations, and in 2022 returned to active legal practice when he joined the law firm of Bennerotte & Associates in an “of counsel” position. He is involved in the Minnesota State Bar Association, where he serves as the current Chair of the Civil Litigation section, and as the co-chair of that section’s CLE committee. He continues to lecture on issues involving civil litigation and trial practice. For 11 years, ending in 2023, he helped coach the Centennial High School Mock Trial team. He left the team last year in favor of younger coaches, one of whom he coached when he was a student.

Dan remains passionate about civil litigation, and as a mediator, hopes to help parties find a middle ground, if possible, all the while respecting their constitutional right to a trial by jury.