YOUNG LAWYER SHOWCASE
The YLS welcomed a new board
starting in May. Sarah Wall took over
the role of president for the 2019-
2020 year. Jarrod R. Steele is the
new president-elect. Conor Smith
is the secretary/treasurer. Andrew
Askew will continue his role as the
association Board of Governors
representative. Please be on the
lookout for their YLS Showcases
throughout the year in The Gavel.
YLS will continue to host luncheons
and happy hours across the state for
great social networking opportunities.
If you are interested in hosting, please
contact YLS Secretary-Treasurer
Conor Smith at conor_smith@ndd.
uscourts.gov.
In addition, the YLS Education and
Professionalism Committee will
continue to host webinars featuring
various legal topics. Young lawyers,
as well as other licensed attorneys,
are encouraged to participate in these
educational opportunities to earn
continuing legal education credits.
YLS is specifically looking for
individuals interested in co-chairing
and participating in the YLS
Community Service Committee and
the YLS Education and Professionalism
Committee. The YLS Community Service
Committee is responsible for organizing
and implementing the annual spring
food drive. The YLS Education and
Professionalism Committee is responsible
for planning and hosting the webinars.
If you are interested in participating
in either of these committees, please
contact Jarrod Steele at [email protected].
If you would like to recommend young
lawyers for future showcases or if you
would like to get involved in YLS, please
contact YLS President Sarah Wall at
[email protected].
LAURA D. COBB
Laura D. Cobb is an associate attorney at Olson,
Juntunen, Sandberg & Boettner in Grand Forks, N.D.
Cobb practices in many areas of law, including estate
planning, probate, real estate, adoptions, business law,
civil litigation, and education. She assists in advising
the Grand Forks Park District and Grand Forks School
District, which the firm represents. She is licensed
to practice in North Dakota and Minnesota and is a
member of the Greater Grand Forks Bar Association.
Cobb grew up in Willow City, N.D., working on the
family farm. She attended college at the University of North Dakota (UND) and
received a bachelor of science degree, cum laude, with a major of political science
and a minor in history. Cobb received her juris doctor from the UND School of
Law. During law school, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge John
McClintock of the Northeast Judicial District. She also served as a legal intern at the
Grand Forks Air Force Base and clerked at Olson, Juntunen, Sandberg & Boettner
for the last year and a half of school. Throughout law school, Cobb participated in
moot court and the Carrigan Cup trial competition.
Cobb resides in Grand Forks with her husband, Brandon. She enjoys fitness and
health and being active (playing volleyball, basketball, spikeball, etc.), traveling,
gardening, and spending time with her nieces, family, and friends. She returns each
harvest season to drive combine and help her dad on the farm.
32
THE GAVEL
CONOR SMITH
Conor Smith is a native of Wahpeton,
N.D. He attended college at
Georgetown University in Washington,
D.C., where he majored in Chinese. He
received a master's degree in Chinese
politics and diplomacy from Fudan
University in Shanghai, China.
After graduate school, he worked for
the North Dakota Farm Bureau as a field
representative before starting law school
at the University of Hawaii at Manoa,
in Honolulu. When he had enough of
beaches and sunshine, he transferred to
the University of Minnesota Law School,
where he also worked as a staff research
assistant at the law library. He spent a
semester abroad studying international
tax law at Uppsala University, north of
Stockholm, Sweden.
He clerked for the North Dakota
Supreme Court in Bismarck after
graduating from law school cum laude,
then began his present term law clerk
position at the District of North Dakota
Federal Court in Fargo. As a term law
clerk, he assists a federal magistrate
judge in reviewing, researching, and
filing orders. He currently serves as the
secretary/treasurer of the Young Lawyer
Section of SBAND.
Outside of work, Smith enjoys spending
time at the lake, traveling, gardening,
attempting to keep up with Chinese,
and playing with his golden retriever,
Nova.