Introduction
Edward Cassidy is an officer shareholder and practices in the Employment & Labor and Litigation Section of Fredrikson & Byron. He is a litigator with more than 30 years of experience in civil litigation, workers’ compensation defense, employment and OSHA defense.
Ed’s workers’ compensation practice focuses on advising and representing employers in all phases of risk assessment and management, implementation and maintenance of modified duty programs, defending workers’ compensation claims through trial. And he defends civil matters related to workers’ compensation such as retaliatory discharge, disability discrimination (ADA) claims, third-party liability suits, and subrogation.
In addition, Ed represents healthcare, manufacturing, and construction clients in a wide variety of state and federal OSHA jurisdictions. He works with clients throughout the OSHA inspection, citation and litigation process, through trial. Within the last few years, Ed has successfully contested through trial willful violations for a construction client and willful violations involving a fatality for a railroad client. In the last two years, Ed has also handled state and federal OSHA trials in Florida, Massachusetts, Texas, Arizona, Kentucky, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. These trials included state and federal citations alleging willful repeat and serious violations of the act and involved fatalities, fall protection, confined space issues, chemical exposure, toxicological issues, scaffolding and related allegations.
Ed also represents clients in state and federal court in general litigation matters.
Pro bono and community involvement has been an integral part of Ed’s practice for over 30 years. He has represented indigent parties in family law matters, housing issues, post-conviction criminal proceedings, and he has been appointed by the court many times as a guardian ad litem in Ramsey County child protection proceedings.
Education
- Hamline Law School, J.D., 1981
- University of Minnesota, B.A., 1973
Bar Admissions
- Minnesota, 1981
Practice Areas
- Litigation (State and Federal)
- Workers’ Compensation & OSHA (State and Federal)
- Employment & Labor
- Construction
Selected Publications & Presentations
- “Workers’ Compensation Claims/ADA/FMLA: How to Make it All Work,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 27th Annual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, November 10, 2011
- “OSHA Issues Important to ND Employers,” Fredrikson & Byron’s Employment Law Seminar, May 12, 2010
- “Independent Medical Exams,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 25th Annual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, October 8, 2009
- Speaker, Workers’ Compensation and Beyond: Key Trends and Developments that Employers Need to Know, May 5, 2009
- “Worker’s Comp Light Duty, Disability, and FMLA,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 24th Annual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, October 30, 2008
Professional Activities
- Member, Minnesota Supreme Court’s Legal Services Advisory Committee (LSAC)
- Member, Minnesota State Bar Association
- Member, Ramsey County Bar Association
Honors & Distinctions
- A-V rated by Martindale-Hubbell
- Certified Trial Specialist, Civil Trial Litigation Section, Minnesota State Bar Association, 1989-1995
- Certified, Volunteer Guardian Ad Litem in Ramsey County District Court
- Annual Pro Bono Award by
Community Involvement
- Legal Assistance to the Disadvantaged Committee (Chair, 1992-1995)
- Volunteer Guardian Ad Litem, Ramsey County Child Protection Proceedings (1999-present)
- Chair Ramsey County Correction Board (2006-2009)
- Supreme Courts Legal Services Advisory Committee (LSAC) 2006-2012
Current Major Pro Bono Case & Board Activities
- In July 2009, the Louisiana Supreme Court appointed Ed lead counsel to represent an inmate on Louisiana’s Death Row at Angola State Penitentiary. Ed leads a team of five Fredrikson & Byron lawyers that in July, 2010 filed a State Habeas Corpus Petition with the local district court, seeking a new trial and related relief. A partial hearing on that Petition was heard in August.