About Conlin Law Firm

Meet Our Team

At Conlin Law Firm, we really do operate as a team. Every member of the staff is familiar with every case, and everyone brings something to the table in service of a single goal: helping clients get back on their feet after suffering a serious injury or the loss of a loved one. To us, each client with whom we work becomes a valued member of the Conlin team. Like all teams, we want to win, and to us, winning means helping our clients reclaim their lives as fully as possible after an injury or loss.

Tom Conlin

Attorney Tom Conlin is the founder and captain of the Conlin Law Firm team. With forty years of experience advocating for people who have suffered through a devastating injury, Tom focuses on the big picture: “Our clients aren’t thinking about winning a lawsuit. This isn’t a game to them; it’s their life. What they want are honest answers and the ability to put their lives back together. It’s our job to help them get that.”

Mindful of the stresses a lawsuit can place on an injury victim or family, Tom is very selective about the cases the firm accepts. He believes that it’s the firm’s responsibility to carefully investigate a potential case before taking it on, so that when a client makes the difficult choice to sue, there’s likely to be a real benefit from that decision. This selectivity means that Conlin Law Firm doesn’t take on every client who walks through the door. Those clients the firm does accept get ready access to Tom and the team for all their needs.

Even the clients the firm has to turn away, though, leave with a better understanding of their situation. Many of them are amazed at the amount of time Tom spends with them, knowing that that time doesn’t earn him any money. Tom sees things differently; he feels that offering injury victims a knowledgeable and compassionate ear is part of his service to the community, and a number of people have remarked that their time talking with Tom was the first time they really felt “heard” regarding their injury.

Serving the local community is important to Tom. He says, “Some of my most rewarding work has come on behalf of the poor or disadvantaged in our society through pro bono (free) legal work for those unable to afford an attorney to help with a serious legal matter. I have a hard time turning down those who are the most vulnerable.”

While Tom has been recognized as a preeminent trial lawyer by his peers, the countless accolades and recognitions he has received are not what drive him. Instead, he remains intently focused on doing what is necessary to fully understand his clients’ cases, to expose the false arguments on the other side, so he can win for his clients in court or in settlements. He explains, “while money is a poor substitute for what has been taken from our clients by someone else’s negligence, it’s all we have since there is no magic wand to turn back the clock, and it can help families and individuals get back on their feet after a devastating injury or loss.” A great trial lawyer must be a great listener, and must be dogged on getting to the truth, following the trail of truth wherever it leads. Tom endeavors to do just that.

Learn more about Tom here.

Stacy Deery Stennes

Attorney Stacy Deery Stennes has been with the Conlin Law Firm since 2010. She went into the practice of law because it allows her to analyze problems every day for people she cares about, and lets her give voice to people who wouldn’t otherwise be heard. Conlin Law Firm’s clients appreciate Stacy’s intellectual skill and her genuine compassion for them and their families. Stacy says that just seeing the stress and worry fade from a client’s face when she’s working with them is tremendously satisfying and motivating.

Stacy says, “Our clients are hard-working people with real problems. Many of them are unfamiliar with the law and our system of justice. I enjoy explaining difficult concepts so that they are simple and understandable. I value that the “wins” at the end of the day really make a difference to the people I serve, and are not just dollars and cents at the bottom of a balance sheet.” In addition to making a difference in the lives of individuals and families, Stacy believes the work the firm does is important because it improves community safety by holding wrongdoers accountable.

Colleagues say that Stacy’s strengths include counseling clients, advocating for them, and setting their minds at ease. Stacy herself enjoys the teaching aspect of working as an attorney, whether that means presenting a case to an insurance adjuster or jury, arguing before a judge, or explaining difficult legal concepts to a client. This ability to communicate and educate serves Stacy’s overarching goal: getting clients the information and resources they need to reclaim and move forward with their lives.

Learn more about Stacy here.

Taylor Cunningham

Attorney Taylor Cunningham started as an attorney with the firm in 2020, but he wasn’t a stranger. Taylor clerked with the team when he was in law school and, as Tom explains, “we were delighted when we could bring him on board. Our clients benefit immensely from Taylor’s research and writing skills. He is an outstanding asset on our team.”

Larger-scale advocacy for people who have been injured is important to Taylor. He regularly writes Amicus curiae briefs (“friend of the court” briefs) for consumer-rights organizations such as the Minnesota Association for Justice and the Consumer Federation of America. “Amicus briefs play an important role in our system of justice because they bring relevant facts and arguments to the appellate court’s attention that the parties have not already addressed in their briefs. They provide the court with expertise and insight that has bearing on the issues presented in a single case on a larger scale,” Taylor says. “I really enjoy this work as it allows me to sharpen my research and writing skills and apply them in a different way than I do working on matters at the trial court level. I also appreciate the broader impact of this work, to develop the law to the benefit of hard-working people who don’t have the same access to advocacy as larger corporations.”

Learn more about Taylor here.

Maria Gottwalt

As senior paralegal at Conlin Law Firm, Maria Gottwalt has over 30 years of experience working with personal injury litigation on behalf of plaintiffs. She has been with Conlin Law Firm since the day the firm opened its doors. Prior to that time, she served as a paralegal for a large defense firm, so she understands how the system works from both sides, and is an invaluable resource for clients.

Maria stays in touch with clients throughout their cases, often meeting them in the initial interview and helping them navigate the legal process. Maria assists in getting each case ready for settlement or trial by preparing in-depth summaries of medical records, and by helping clients answer discovery requests and prepare for independent medical exams. She enjoys working at Conlin Law Firm because everyone at the firm has genuine compassion for clients, and a drive to serve their needs.

Reflecting on the strengths of Conlin Law Firm, Maria observes, “everyone in our office works closely together, knows all of our clients, and almost all aspects of their cases. We select a small number of cases so we can give every client the attention they deserve.”

Maria received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Minnesota. She also earned her Legal Assistant Certificate and Legal Administrator Certificate from the University of Minnesota. In her free time, Maria serves as a guardian ad litem (court-appointed advocate for children in legal proceedings) in Hennepin County.

Corinne Suby

Paralegal Corinne Suby has been with the firm for over 15 years. She regularly helps clients obtain their insurance no-fault benefits in accident cases, and works well with insurance adjusters, often persuading them to see the case as the client needs them to. She is an expert in making sure medical expenses are submitted and processed by the proper insurer for payment, and has a knack for detail. She is truly a team member who pitches in with whatever needs to be done.

It’s important to Corinne that clients understand that the Conlin Law Firm team is there to lift a burden from their shoulders while they are recuperating. She goes the extra mile to make sure they receive the benefits they need to get their lives back on track. She explains, “I think the firm really excels at offering empathy, compassion, personalized attention. It’s just the sort of team I want to be part of.”

Corinne received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and completed the American Bar Association-approved Paralegal Certificate program at North Hennepin Community College in 2019. Prior to joining the team, she served as a legal advocate for the Tubman Family Alliance in Minneapolis, helping domestic violence victims get needed services and guiding them through the legal process to obtain Orders of Protection.

Katie Sourbeck

When you call Conlin Law Firm, there’s a good chance the person who answers the phone will be Katie Sourbeck, the firm’s legal assistant. Katie is the newest addition to the team, and everyone wonders what they did without her. Katie works closely with clients to keep them up to date on the status of their cases. She enjoys answering questions and being helpful to clients; if Katie doesn’t have the answer to a question, she’ll make sure that she connects the client with the person who does.

Katie performs most of the administrative tasks for the team, such as maintaining electronic and paper files, filing pleadings in state and federal court, and requesting essential records and information from various sources. Because of this involvement, she has her finger on the pulse of every case, and is a tremendous client resource.

We invite you to learn more about the Conlin Law Firm team by contacting us online, or by calling us at 952-252-0490 or toll-free at 1-888-296-3062. We look forward to getting to know you.