Joe Nelson joined Gustafson Gluek PLLC as an associate in 2022 and has been practicing in the areas of antitrust, data breach, and consumer protection. Joe is passionate about ensuring everyone has a voice in our legal system and holding those who try and take advantage of others accountable.
More recently, Joe has been involved in several data breach cases, representing individuals whose personal information has been compromised because of the failures of organizations to take the necessary steps to protect that information. Among the cases that Joe has been involved in are Quaife v. Brady Martz & Associates, P.C. (D. N.D.) and Serra v. New England Patriots (D. Mass.).
Joe has also been actively involved in several pro bono cases for the Firm which raise important constitutional and civil rights claims on behalf of our clients. For example, Joe is representing a proposed class of civilly committed sex offenders who, despite having court orders for transfer to a less restrictive placement in the program, have not been transferred by the State. Plaintiffs allege constitutional violations by officials of the Minnesota Department of Human Services for their failure to abide by the court orders for transfer. He has also worked on a pro bono basis on behalf of individuals who were arrested on criminal charges, found to be insufficiently competent to proceed with their criminal charges, and civilly committed to the custody of the Minnesota Department of Human Services for treatment. These plaintiffs also allege constitutional violations for the State’s failure to timely transfer them, leaving them to linger in jails for weeks and months without treatment. In recognition of his dedication to pro bono work, Joe has been named a North Star Lawyer for providing over 50 hours of pro bono work in a year.
Before joining Gustafson Gluek, Joe clerked for the Honorable Kate Menendez at the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota and the Honorable James B. Florey at the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Joe graduated cum laude from Mitchell-Hamline School of Law in 2019. While in law school, he served as an editor for the Mitchell-Hamline Law Review and volunteered with the Self-Help Clinic, which helps individuals represent themselves in court. He also clerked for a Twin Cities plaintiff’s employment law firm.
Joe grew up in rural Minnesota and now lives with his wife, two children, and misbehaved dog in the Twin Cities area. He enjoys exploring local state parks with his family. When he has time, Joe likes to study and practice hand-tool woodworking and make music of all genres.
For more information regarding Joe and a list of his representative cases, see below.
More About Joe
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Mitchell-Hamline School of Law, J.D. (2019)
St. John’s University, B.A. (2014)
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Minnesota Supreme Court
United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
United States District Court for the District of North Dakota
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
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Joe is actively involved in many of our data breach and constitutional rights cases, among other things.
Joe has worked on Quaife v. Brady Martz & Associates PC (D.N.D.), in which Gustafson Gluek has been appointed Interim Co-Lead Counsel, and is alleging that individuals had their personally identifiable information accessed by unauthorized third parties. That information was controlled by Defendant Brady Martz & Associates, PC, which is a firm offering accounting, tax, and audit services. The information in question includes Social Security numbers, names, addresses, protected health information, and financial account/payment information.
Joe also has worked on the In re Google Digital Publisher Antitrust Litig. (N.D. Cal.), in which the Firm has been appointed to the Leadership Committee representing a class of publishers who sold digital advertising space via Google. Plaintiffs allege that Google’s anticompetitive monopolistic practices led to digital publishers being paid less for their advertising space than they otherwise would have been paid in a competitive market.
Other Representative cases:
Karsjens v. Jesson (D. Minn.)
Dalen v. Harpstead (D. Minn.)
Rud v. Johnson (D. Minn.)
In re Surescripts Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Ill.)