Educational Background:

Charles James (Jim) Suk has lived most of his life in Rochester, Minnesota. He is a 1972 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and received his BA from the University of Minnesota in 1969. As a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, Jim was commissioned in the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) and was discharged from duty as a captain in 1976. At present, Jim is enrolled in an Art History MA program at St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Practice Information:

Upon graduation from law school in 1972, Jim began private practice in Rochester. Although much of Jim’s early trial work consisted of criminal defense (including several local murder cases), his practice gradually focused more and more upon civil trial work, including cases which required his admittance to the federal bar, U.S. Court of Claims, U.S. Tax Court, and, ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court. As part of his continuing professional focus, in 1988 Jim became certified as a MSBA Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist by the Minnesota State Bar Association. In the same year, he became nationally certified as a trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Jim has been repeatedly recognized by his peers as a leading attorney in personal injury law. Since 2001, Jim has annually been named one of Minnesota's "Super Lawyers" as a personal injury specialist by Minnesota Law & Politics Magazine. He was also the first trial lawyer to obtain a verdict in excess of one million dollars in Southeast Minnesota and most recently attained one of the largest verdicts in the state ($1.6 million) in March 2003.

Professional Associations/Admissions:

Jim has been nearly a thirty year member of the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association and presently serves on its Board of Governors and Executive Committee. Jim is also a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the Minnesota Academy of Certified Trial Lawyers. He is licensed to practice law in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. He is also admitted to practice before the Federal District Court--District of Minnesota, the U.S. Claims Court, the U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Personal Information:

Jim presently serves on the Board of Directors of the Rochester Art Center and was its president from 2001-2002. He has also served on the Rochester Planning & Zoning Commission, serving three years of his six-year term as either president or vice-president. Deeply committed to conservation causes, Jim is a lifetime member of Trout Unlimited, the NRA and Safari Club International. Jim is also a member of the Minnesota Conservation Federation, the Nature Conservancy, Pheasants Forever, and the Ruffed Grouse Society.