Philip Sieff
Phil Sieff is widely recognized for representing seriously injured people and the families of those killed due to the wrongdoing of others. A special emphasis of his practice involves representing injured children or families of children who have been killed. He also works extensively with crime victims and people who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Phil was born in 1960 in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, and raised in the Twin Cities. In 1982, he graduated with distinction from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. He went on to attend law school at Hamline University in St. Paul, where he graduated with honors in 1985. He was admitted to the bar the same year and has been a practicing attorney ever since. Much of Phil's early legal career was spent in traditional general practice and at some point in his career, Phil has handled virtually every type of legal matter ranging from divorces to bankruptcy to sports law to general corporate matters.
In the mid-1990s, Phil made the decision to focus his energies on those he could help the most-the seriously injured and the grieving families of someone lost due to the wrongdoing of others. In 1995, Phil realized a long-held dream of being a member of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. when he joined the firm's St. Paul office where he worked with the firm's founder, Solly Robins, and trial attorney Leo Feeney. Eventually, Phil moved to the firm's Minneapolis office where, over the course of the years, he had the opportunity to work side by side with some of the firm's trial lawyers, including Michael V. Ciresi. Today, Phil continues to practice personal injury, products liability, and wrongful death law from the firm's Minneapolis office where he is a partner of the law firm, oversees the firm's Investigation Department and is a member of the law firm's Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury Department.
Over the course of the years, Phil has handled numerous catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases involving motor vehicle collisions, defective products, drunk drivers, boating accidents, train derailments, construction site accidents, truck collisions, and airplane crashes. He is a member of the National Crime Victims Bar Association.
Phil is routinely called upon to represent victims in very complex and high profile injury and wrongful death matters. A few examples of some of those cases include:
- Free Legal Services for the Victims of the I-35W Bridge Collapse. Phil is lead co-counsel of the I-35W Bridge Pro Bono Consortium, a group of 20 law firms which have provided free legal services to the over 100 victims of the August 1, 2007 I-35W Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis. Phil has dedicated over 1,100 hours on behalf of the victims. He was instrumental in helping secure a legislatively created $38 million compensation fund for the Bridge Collapse victims, is in charge of managing the needs of the Consortium's 100+ Bridge Collapse clients, coordinates the work of the consortium law firms, and is the point person for the engineering experts hired to determine the cause of the collapse.
- The Wellstone Plane Crash. The 2002 plane crash which took the lives of Senator Paul Wellstone, his wife, his daughter and three staff members changed the course of history in Minnesota and the country. Phil served as co-counsel for the family of Senator Wellstone and the other passengers on the plane. The family's claims were ultimately settled for $25 million.
- The Holidazzle Parade Disaster. In December 1998, an out-of-control vehicle killed and seriously wounded numerous spectators in the crowd gathered on Minneapolis' Nicollet Mall to watch the Holidazzle Parade. Phil represented several of the injured survivors of this tragedy, including a young girl who lost her arm. Phil and his partner, Dick Gill, tried the Holidazzle Parade case before a Minneapolis jury for eight weeks. Ultimately, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Phil's clients, including $3.8 million for the little girl whose arm was amputated, with most of the money set aside so she could receive artificial limbs and medical care for her lifetime.
- Cirrus Plane Crash. On January 18, 2003, a Cirrus airplane crashed near Hill City, Minnesota. The two occupants of the plane were killed. Both were highly respected family men from Grand Rapids who were on their way to watch their sons play in a hockey tournament in St. Cloud. Phil was retained on behalf of the widow and three surviving children of the passenger to hold those responsible for the crash accountable for the harms to the family. This case was tried in Itasca County for two weeks. The jury returned a $7.4 million verdict in favor of Phil's clients against Cirrus and others. Phil's clients plan on using part of the award for education and charitable purposes.
The dedication and determination to achieve just compensation for his clients has earned Phil numerous award and accolades, including:
- Recipient of the second annual "Pro Bono Award" from the American Association for Justice for securing a bridge fund for the victims, as well as assisting the investigation into the cause of the 35W Bridge Collapse (2009)**
- "Professional Excellence Award," from the Minnesota State Bar Association, awarded to a group of lawyers who represented survivors of the 35W Bridge Collapse on a pro bono basis (2009)**
- Selection by Minnesota Lawyer as one of its Attorneys of the Year (2008)**
- Designation as Co-lead Counsel for the I-35W Pro Bono Consortium
- Voted a "Super Lawyer" of Minnesota law by his peers every year since 2000**
- Voted as a "Rising Star" of Minnesota Law by his peers in 2000**
Phil frequently appears in various media outlets both locally and nationally. His media appearances include the New York Times, USA Today, Associated Press, Minneapolis Star Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press, KSTP TV, WCCO Radio, Minnesota Public Radio and WCCO TV. He has also appeared in newspapers all across the Iron Range and North Dakota.
Phil is married to his wife of over 20 years, Laurie, and is blessed by his two daughters Hannah and Olivia, and of course, his ever present companion, his dog Boomer. Phil is an avid fisherman and he and his family spend as much time as possible at their cabin on Lake Vermilion. In addition, Phil is quite active in many efforts to better the lives of those less fortunate.
Phil is licensed to practice in Minnesota but also regularly appears in cases in other state and federal courts around the country. Of course, Phil is also active in many legal organizations and is a regular speaker at legal seminars.
Bar Admissions
- Minnesota
- U.S. District Court, Minnesota
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
Education
- Hamline University Law School, J.D., cum laude (1985), Associate Member, Hamline Law Review and Associate Editor-In-Chief, Hamline Law Review Symposium
- Cornell College, B.S.S., Politics, with distinction
Selected Speeches
-
Physical Injuries, Loss of Physical Capabilities, Pain and Suffering
Minnesota State Bar Association
(2008)
-
Subrogation Seminar
Minnesota Association for Justice
(2008)
Advanced Expert Witness Deposition Tactics in Minnesota
National Business Institute (2004)
Advanced Legal Training Course - Personal Injury
NALS, The Association for Legal Professionals (2003)
The Evidence Factor - Spoliation of Evidence
Minnesota State Bar Association (2003)
The Holidazzle Parade Trial- An Examination
Minnesota Trial Lawyer Association Convention (2002)
Mold - Why Mold? Why Now? Evaluating the Case - A Reality Check
Minnesota State Bar Association (2002)
Discovery Tactics
Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association Convention (2000)
Premises Liability Seminar
Minnesota Association for Justice (formerly Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association) (2000)