YOUNG LAWYER SHOWCASE
The Young Lawyer Section (YLS) held its annual statewide food drive from April 8-12. Thank you to all community hosts
and all who donated nonperishable food items and money. YLS will be holding board elections in June. Available positions
are: president-elect (one-year term as president-elect immediately followed by a one-year term as president for a two-year
commitment), secretary-treasurer (one-year term) and association board of governors representative (two-year term). If you
have any questions or are interested in running for a position on the board, please contact Laney Herauf at [email protected].
LUKAS W.
CROAKER
Lukas W. Croaker
joined Ohnstad
Twichell, P.C., as an
associate attorney in
2016 after graduating
from the University of
North Dakota School
of Law. He focuses
primarily in municipal
law and water law in
Ohnstad Twichell’s West Fargo office. Prior to law
school, Croaker received his bachelor of science in
political science from North Dakota State University.
During law school, he served as president of the
Energy Law Association and as an extern for the
United States Attorney’s Office for the District of
North Dakota. Croaker was also selected to serve as
a legal intern for the North Dakota Legislature during
the 64th Legislative Assembly.
In October 2018, he married the lovely Morgan
(Wagner) Croaker, who works at Serkland Law Firm
in downtown Fargo. They live on the small farm he
grew up on near Kindred, N.D.
Croaker currently serves as a director on the Junior
Achievement board of directors, secretary of the
Dakota Southeast Pheasants Forever board of
directors, a trustee of the Norman Lutheran Church,
and is an active member of the Kindred Wildlife
Club. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with
his wife, family, and friends, hunting, growing and
maintaining food plots, fishing, golfing, and traveling.
34
THE GAVEL
SARAH ATKINSON
Sarah Atkinson is the general
counsel for Vaaler Insurance, Inc.,
an independent insurance agency
headquartered in Grand Forks,
N.D. Her focus is on general legal
matters for the company, as well
as administering the agency’s
errors and omissions program,
information security policies and
procedures, and licensing. She
currently holds a designation as a
construction risk and insurance specialist and is working towards her
chartered property and casualty underwriters designation.
Atkinson attended the University of North Dakota (UND) and the
University of Montreal. In 2012, she graduated cum laude with
degrees in psychology, French, and honors. During college, she
worked as a florist and for a textbook company.
Atkinson attended UND School of Law. During her time in law
school, she served as the secretary/treasurer on the Moot Court
board, participated in several internal and external moot court
competitions, and served as the treasurer for Phi Delta Phi. In
addition, she worked as a law clerk for the Robert Vogel Law Office
and the Grand Forks Public Defender office. During her clerkship
at the Public Defender office, she had the privilege of arguing two
cases in front of the Supreme Court of North Dakota. She graduated
from the UND School of Law in 2015 and was elected to the Order
of Barristers.
Atkinson currently serves as the president of the Greater Grand
Forks County Bar Association, a programming committee member
and regional representative for the Women Lawyers Section of
SBAND, and as a co-chair for the marketing committee for the
Greater Grand Forks Women’s Leadership Cooperative. She lives in
Grand Forks with her husband, Ryan, and their dog, Lily. In her spare
time, she enjoys being outdoors, running, and baking.