ST. PAUL, MN - Earlier this year, Governor Walz asked a merit selection panel consisting of leadership in his administration and the chair and at-large members of the Commission on Judicial Selection to solicit applicants, review candidates, and recommend finalists for appointment to the Court of Appeals.

The panel announced today that it is recommending three candidates for consideration to fill the upcoming vacancy on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The vacancy will occur upon the retirement of the Honorable Susan L. Segal at the end of the year. This seat is designated for Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District.

Rachel Bond: Rachel Bond is a managing attorney in the Office of the Minnesota Appellate Public Defender, where she supervises a team of attorneys and represents criminal defendants in their direct appeals to the Minnesota Court of Appeals and Minnesota Supreme Court. She was previously an attorney at Faegre & Benson LLP and Shearman & Sterling, as well as a law clerk to the Honorable Boyce F. Martin Jr. on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Bond’s community involvement includes serving as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Minnesota Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure and an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Her community involvement also includes serving on the board of the Great North Innocence Project and as a judge for the William E. McGee National Civil Rights Moot Court Competition.

Carrie Ryan Gallia: Carrie Ryan Gallia is a senior associate general counsel in the Office of the General Counsel at the University of Minnesota, where she handles litigation and advises on student affairs, freedom of expression, civil rights, and other issues.?She previously was an attorney at Lindquist & Vennum and Fish & Richardson, as well as a law clerk to the Honorable Carlos T. Bea on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Ryan Gallia’s community involvement includes teaching judicial writing at the University of Minnesota Law School, serving as a board member for Xperitas, and volunteering at Jefferson High School in Bloomington.

Kate Swenson: Kate Swenson is a partner at Greene Espel law firm, where she represents clients in the private and public sectors at all stages of dispute resolution, including trial and appeal in state and federal courts. She also chairs the firm’s Ethics Committee. Swenson was previously legal counsel to the 2011 Minnesota Special Redistricting Panel and served as a judicial law clerk for the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Her community involvement includes providing pro bono representation to people seeking asylum, serving as an officer of the Public Law Section Council of the Minnesota State Bar Association, serving as a board member of the Minnesota Justice Foundation, and mentoring law students.

For more information about the judicial selection process, please visit the Governor’s Judicial Appointments webpage.