Erica Holzer and Catherine Ahlin-Halverson Honored with Outstanding Service Award from Minnesota Justice Foundation

Maslon is pleased to announce that Partner Erica Holzer, co-chair of Maslon's Appellate Practice Group, and Public Interest Counsel Catherine Ahlin-Halverson will each receive the Outstanding Service Award from the Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF). Erica is recognized in the Private Practice category, while Catherine receives the Advocate award. Typically, only one recipient or recipient team is chosen in each category annually.

The MJF Outstanding Service Awards were established in 1991 to recognize colleagues who have demonstrated a commitment to public interest legal work. MJF offers these awards in recognition of the dedicated service and outstanding achievements of students, lawyers in private or corporate practice working on pro bono matters, and public interest legal service providers. According to the Minnesota Justice Foundation, its fundamental goal and driving philosophy is to link volunteer law students with opportunities to assist attorneys in meeting the legal needs of the low-income community.

For more information, go to Minnesota Justice Foundation.

Erica represents clients in complex commercial disputes primarily in the areas of tort and product liability, consumer fraud, business torts, insurance coverage, and breach of contract actions. She was voted into Maslon’s partnership in 2021 and now serves as co-chair of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group and member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. Erica has also provided pro bono representation on several high-profile matters, consistently devoting several hundred hours to pro bono work each year in partnership with Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, the Battered Women's Justice Project, and other groups. In one recent case, she represented Terry Olson on behalf of the Innocence Project of Minnesota, successfully obtaining his release from prison. Erica is co-author of several leading treatises on Minnesota law and procedure, authors a chapter in the Eighth Circuit Appellate Practice Manual, and co-authors a regular column in Minnesota Lawyer on appellate issues. She also serves as reporter for three Minnesota Supreme Court Advisory Committees.

Catherine, a former Maslon partner, transitioned to the role of Public Interest Counsel to launch UPLIFT Legal Institute for Teens, a legal diversity pipeline program created for eighth grade students reflecting the rich diversity of the Twin Cities. The program culminates each spring in mock trials at the University of Minnesota Law School. The program works to address the lack of diversity in the Minnesota bar by offering mock trial and college planning opportunities to middle and high school students, and through connecting students to volunteer law student and lawyer mock trial coaches and mentors. Catherine also serves as a mentor and leader across the firm’s pro bono efforts overall, leading teams working on a wide variety of pro bono matters. Catherine leads teams representing pro bono clients in partnership with the Advocates for Human Rights, Children’s Law Center of Minnesota, and other legal services organizations. Catherine also was an integral part of a team of Maslon attorneys that secured the vacation of Douglas Tyrone Armstrong's death sentence by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals after 10 years on death row.