Colin Seaborg
PEOPLE

Colin Seaborg

Associate
seaborg.colin@dorsey.com

Overview

Colin utilizes his legal experience and acumen to strategically guide clients facing labor and employment disputes and issues to reach favorable and practical outcomes. 

Colin has substantial experience litigating employment disputes in court, arbitration, and federal and state agency proceedings on a wide range of claims, including claims for discrimination, violation of the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act, violation of the Minnesota Whistleblower Act, breach of restrictive covenants, and breach of the duties of loyalty and confidentiality. Colin also counsels employers on employment issues that arise apart from litigation.

Prior to joining Dorsey, Colin gained further litigation experience in high-stakes litigation outside of the employment context, from defending putative class actions consolidated in an MDL against a national window manufacturer to defending wrongful-death medical-malpractice claims and much more.

Colin applies his experience to assist employers in identifying and avoiding potential risks in employment matters, offer effective and practical solutions to avoid those risks, and capably protect employers’ interests in litigation that they cannot avoid.

Education & Admissions

University of St. Thomas School of Law (J.D., 2015), summa cum laude

University of Wisconsin – River Falls (2012), summa cum laude

Admissions

  • Minnesota
  • Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Languages

  • English

Clerkships

  • Minnesota Court of Appeals, 2015-2016

Experience

  • Successfully represented healthcare system against charge for sex and age discrimination brought before Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and obtained dismissal of the charge.
  • Successfully represented debt collection agency against charge for race discrimination brought before Minnesota Department of Human Rights and obtained determination of no probable cause.
  • Barbara Henry v. Independent School District #625, a/k/a Saint Paul Public Schools, A21-0004 (Minn. Sup. Ct. 2021): Drafted brief of amicus curiae to the Minnesota Supreme Court regarding adverse-employment actions in constructive-discharge age-discrimination claims under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (decision pending).
  • Brian Rayburn Orsten and Virginia Ann Orsten v. Rayburn Floyd Orsten; Freetly Electric, Inc.; and Dooley’s Petroleum, Inc., No. 76-CV-19-538 (Swift County Dist. Ct. 2022): Successfully represented propane supplier in lawsuit arising out of explosion and substantial burn injuries. A complete defense verdict on liability, causation, and damages was obtained at a jury trial in the matter.
  • Judith Rygwall, as Trustee for the Heirs and Next of Kin of Amy Rygwall, deceased v. ACR Homes, Inc. d/b/a ACR Homes, No. 02-CV-20-2659 (Anoka County Dist. Ct. 2022): Successfully represented residential treatment facility in wrongful-death lawsuit and obtained summary judgment on all claims.

Colin’s representative experience described above includes results obtained before he joined Dorsey. 

Industries & Practices

  • Banking & Financial Institutions
  • Development & Infrastructure
  • Energy & Natural Resources
  • Food, Beverage & Agribusiness
  • Healthcare & Life Sciences
  • Labor & Employment
  • Labor & Employment Guides
  • Technology

Professional & Civic

Community Involvement

  • Minnesota State Bar Association, Member
  • Hennepin County Bar Association, Member
  • Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association, Member
  • Defense Research Institute, Member

Accolades

  • Minnesota Rising Stars (2022)

North Star Lawyer

  • MSBA North Star Lawyer, 2023
Colin Seaborg