Date: May 11, 2006
Contact: Kelly Griffith, Marketing Manager
Phone:
(612) 492-7514
Email: kgriffith@fredlaw.com
For Immediate Release
Former General Counsel, Sr. Vice President of Medtronic, Inc. Joins Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.
Minneapolis, MN May 11, 2006 – Ronald E. Lund, former Sr. Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of Medtronic, Inc., has joined Fredrikson & Byron in the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation and Corporate Governance Groups. During his tenure with Medtronic, Lund guided the company's legal strategy through the intellectual property and product liability challenges that threatened the company in one of its most rapid periods of growth. Those challenges took the company to the United States Supreme Court on two occasions. In one of those cases, Medtronic established its right to enter the field of implantable defibrillators over the patent claims of Eli Lilly, the predecessor of Guidant in that field. The other case provided the platform for establishing new product liability principles beneficial to the company.
Lund’s positions included Vice President, Latin America/Pacific and Associate General Counsel at Pillsbury Companies from 1961 to 1988. He was Sr. Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of Medtronic, Inc., from 1988 until he retired in 2000. He then served as interim General Counsel of the American Red Cross in Washington D.C., and was involved in private practice with a Minnesota-based law firm. He returned to Medtronic at the request of its Board of Directors to serve one additional year in 2004. Lund is the immediate past chair of the board of the Minnesota Orchestra, and leads its current capital campaign.
Lund is knowledgeable about a wide range of legal subject matter both domestically and internationally. Intellectual Property, health care and litigation matters have been major parts of that practice. He has a wealth of experience in providing strategic legal and business advice to corporate boards of directors, and in managing high stakes litigation.
John M. Koneck, President of Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., commented: “We are extremely pleased to have Ron join us. As the former associate in the General Counsel office of two international corporations headquartered in the Twin Cities, he appreciates the importance of understanding a client’s business needs when providing legal advice. Giving legal advice that business people can use to make business decisions is a hallmark of our firm. Ron’s community involvement locally and nationally has made our community a better place to live. He epitomizes our firm’s focus on relationships with our clients and with the community.”
Fredrikson & Byron is a 190-attorney law firm based in Minneapolis, with offices in London; Monterrey, Mexico; and Des Moines, Iowa. The firm's primary areas of practice include banking, corporate, employment, healthcare, intellectual property, international, litigation, real estate, securities, and tax. We serve a broad range of clients, including multinational corporations, public companies, privately-held businesses, entrepreneurs, government agencies, and family businesses. Fredrikson & Byron's attorneys also work with individuals on estate planning, family law, and immigration matters. We are the exclusive Minnesota law firm member of the World Services Group, a worldwide network of professional service providers. More information about the firm is available at www.fredlaw.com.