Fall 2017 Fall 2017 Gavel | Page 28

YOUNG LAWYER SHOWCASE The SBAND Young Lawyers Section (YLS) would like to congratulate the new attorneys admitted to the North Dakota Bar on Sept. 22. All new bar members are automatically members of the YLS. The purpose of the YLS is to encourage active participation of young lawyers in SBAND and in local communities. The YLS is continuing its efforts to integrate young lawyers with other attorneys in the state and within the communities we live. The YLS Community Service Committee will host its annual Feed Your Community Food and Fund Drive this spring. The YLS will once again partner with the Great Plains Food Bank to help feed those in need in our local communities. The YLS is excited to continue this worthwhile event. To become involved in the food drive, contact Cassie Marka at [email protected]. YLS will continue to host luncheons and happy hours across the state. These social events serve as a great way to interact with other young lawyers in the community. If you are interested in hosting, please contact YLS Secretary-Treasurer Shea Thomas at [email protected]. Please contact Jill Martin, YLS president, at [email protected] to nominate a young lawyer for future showcases or to discuss opportunities to become involved in YLS. JESSICA RYDELL Jessica Rydell is an associate attorney with Flom Law Office, P.A., in Fargo. She is licensed to practice law in North Dakota and Minnesota state courts and the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota. She practices primarily in the area of insurance defense litigation. Rydell grew up in Fairmount, N.D. In 2011, she graduated summa cum laude from Minnesota State University Moorhead with a bachelor’s degree in legal studies and minors in economics and political science. She then attended the University of North Dakota School of Law and graduated cum laude in 2015. While in law school, she was inducted into Phi Alpha Delta and was a member of the Criminal Law Association. She was an extern with the United States Attorney’s Office in Fargo. She also worked as a certified student attorney with the law school’s Housing and Employment Law Clinic and served as a research assistant for Professor Margaret Moore Jackson. Rydell is a member of the Cass County Bar Association and North Dakota Defense Lawyers Association. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, golfing, kayaking, attending sporting events, and traveling. 28 THE GAVEL VICTORIA JONES Victoria Jones is an associate attorney with Johnson Law Office, P.C., in Fargo. She practices primarily in litigation, family, juvenile, personal injury, probate, civil, and criminal law. She was admitted into the State Bar Association of North Dakota in 2016 before joining Leslie Johnson Aldrich and Johnson Law Office, P.C., in 2017, after which she became a member of the State Bar Association of Minnesota. She is currently an active member of the North Dakota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Cass County Bar Association. In 2013, Rydell graduated from the University of North Dakota (UND) with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. In 2015, she earned her juris doctor with a certificate of specialization in Indian Law from UND School of Law. During law school, Jones worked as a law clerk for Reis Law Firm, P.C., in Grand Forks, where she focused on estate planning, real estate, and business law. Jones was an active member of Law Review and the Clinical Education Program offered by UND School of Law. Jones grew up in a hockey family in Bismarck, N.D., alongside two brothers. She married in September 2016, and her husband, Brandon, is a running back for the Fargo Invaders. They welcomed their son, Jhett, in June 2017. Both are excited to raise their son in Jones’ home state. In her free time, she enjoys watching football, playing with baby Jhett, and going on runs with her doberman pinscher, DeSoto.