Date: May 29, 2007
Contact: Kelly Griffith, Marketing Manager
Phone: (612) 492-7514
Email: kgriffith@fredlaw.com

For Immediate Release

Steve Helland Named to ‘40 Under Forty’ by The Business Journal

Minneapolis, MN May 29, 2007 – – The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal selected Fredrikson & Byron shareholder, Steven Helland, as a ‘40 Under Forty’ honoree. Forty accomplished professionals in the fields of business, government and non-profits under age 40 were selected from a field of nearly 280 nominees. Steve was recognized for his achievement at an awards ceremony held May 17th at the Minneapolis Club.

Steve works with clients in the Internet, information technology, software, new media and entertainment industries. Steve is Chair of Fredrikson’s Technology group, and Co-Chair of its Entertainment and Media group. He regularly lectures on these legal topics and has been quoted or published in a variety of publications, including Wired Online, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and Upsize magazine. Steve has been named a ‘Rising Star’ by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine.

Fredrikson & Byron is a pioneer among law firms giving associate attorneys paid credit for volunteering on governing boards and committees of non-profit community organizations. Steve helped develop and implement this program and is the founding Chair of the committee that plays matchmaker between non-profits in need of help and young attorneys looking for ways to make a difference. He has helped place attorneys with a range of charitable organizations including: Art-A-Whirl, Intermedia Arts, the Southern Theater and the Cedar Cultural Center.

As a volunteer, Steve has devoted hundreds of hours to building the film, television and media production community in Minnesota. He has served as an advisor to the Sound Unseen film festival as well as the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, and is a past board member of IFP (the successor organization to Film in the Cities). Most recently, Steve joined the Board of the Minnesota Film and Television Board and is the youngest member of its Executive Committee. In 2006, when the Minnesota legislature restored funding for “Snowbate,” the $1.6 million financial incentive for film and television production shot in Minnesota, Steve contributed the legal components to the guidelines for dispensing the “Snowbate.” Snowbate is already credited with bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars in new production and related jobs to Minnesota. One of Steve’s most rewarding projects to date involved providing pro bono business and legal advice to a group of civic-minded film producers who turned the award-winning teen novel, The Skin I’m In, by author Sharon G. Flake, into a feature film. The film’s producers include Robin Hickman, niece of the great photographer and director Gordon Parks.

Fredrikson & Byron is a 200-plus attorney law firm based in Minneapolis, with offices in Iowa, London and Monterrey, Mexico. The firm's primary areas of practice include banking, corporate, employment, franchise, government relations, healthcare, intellectual property, international, litigation, real estate, securities, tax and renewable energy. 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.