James Lavoie

James Lavoie is Of Counsel at Meshbesher & Spence. He represents individuals who have been injured and families who have lost loved ones, including matters involving:

• Personal Injury
• Drunk Driver Liability
• Wrongful Death
• Defective Product Injuries
• Medical Malpractice

James joins Meshbesher & Spence from a Minnesota-based civil litigation firm where his work was exclusively on behalf of injured people and their families. He began his legal career as a prosecutor, serving as Mille Lacs County Attorney from 1978 to 1985, successfully prosecuting cases ranging from financial crimes to murder, rape, and child sexual abuse. He later entered private practice, first in St. Cloud and then in Minneapolis, where his work since 1991 has focused on civil litigation for injured individuals and families.

Before entering the legal profession, James served as an Army helicopter pilot with the 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War from 1970 to 1971 and later worked as an agricultural helicopter crop duster. A longtime resident of the Twin Cities and Milaca, he devotes his full attention and best efforts to every client, regardless of the severity of injury or loss. He has also represented clients in civil rights cases involving harm by government officers or agents and takes pride in providing the personal attention clients need during periods of life-altering injury or the loss of a family member.

James is certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the Minnesota State Bar Association and is qualified to serve as a neutral arbitrator and mediator. He has been voted a Super Lawyer® in the area of personal injury every year since 1998 and holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell for ethical standards and legal ability.

His professional affiliations include membership in the Minnesota Association for Justice, the American Association for Justice, the Minnesota State Bar Association, the Wisconsin State Bar Association, and the Academy of Certified Trial Lawyers of Minnesota.

In addition to his legal work, James has served as a volunteer high school mock trial coach and judge through the Minnesota State Bar Association mock trial program. He is a volunteer board member of the Milaca Scholarship Foundation and a member of Pagosa First, a community organization in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. An avid outdoorsman, he remains active in Mille Lacs County, where many of his clients are based, as well as throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area.