From the Boardroom to the Courtroom: Spotting and Stopping Fiduciary Breaches

Janel Dressen | Anthony Ostlund Louwagie Dressen Boylan P.A.

Janel Dressen serves as CEO and is a shareholder at the Minneapolis litigation boutique Anthony Ostlund Louwagie Dressen & Boylan P.A. With twenty-four years of business litigation and trial experience, Janel represents business owners and companies in all types of complex business disputes and bet-the-company cases, including disputes involving fiduciary duty claims both on the plaintiff and defense side of matters. She is most often called-upon to resolve shareholder, ownership, and business valuation disputes among business owners and/or family members. She serves on the American Bar Association Business Divorce, ADR and Business Committees (2019–present) and has been a member of the executive team on the Minnesota State Bar Association Civil Litigation Council including serving as Chair from 2022-2023. Janel is a highly regarded speaker and routinely called upon by numerous organizations to present and share her knowledge on various topics impacting her practice areas.

She is a co–author of chapters in the Ongoing Businesses and Minnesota LLCs Deskbooks published by Minnesota CLE, and a co–contributor to the American Bar Association’s Business Divorce Litigation chapter. In 2021, Janel was chosen by the firm’s leaders as only the second Chief Executive Officer of Anthony Ostlund, making her the first woman to lead the firm. Janel has been named a Minnesota Attorney of the Year (2017), has repeatedly been named to the Top 100 Lawyers and Top 50 Women lawyers by Minnesota Super Lawyer, The Power 30 in Business Litigation by Minnesota Lawyer, a Notable Woman in Law by Twin Cities Business Magazine and recognized as a Best Lawyer in America since 2018. In 2024, Janel was named as Top Woman in Law, and her law firm, Anthony Ostlund, was identified by as one of the Best Women-Led Law Firms by Minnesota Lawyer.

Cory D. Olson| Anthony Ostlund Louwagie Dressen Boylan P.A.

Cory Olson is a shareholder at Anthony Ostlund where his litigation and trial practice focuses on securities arbitration, fraud, disputes between business owners, and shareholder litigation.

I. What a fiduciary relationship is, and what it means for the fiduciary | 1:00pm – 1:20pm

II. The most common instances where fiduciary relationships arise | 1:20pm – 1:35pm

III. Core fiduciary duties (loyalty, care, disclosure, good faith) | 1:35pm – 1:50pm

IV. Common breaches of fiduciary duties, and the signs a duty was breached | 1:50pm – 2:00pm

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

V. Managing conflicts of interest | 2:10pm – 2:25pm

VI. The Business Judgment Rule and role of Special Litigation Committees | 2:25pm – 2:40pm

VII. Investment prudence | 2:40pm – 2:50pm

VIII. Legal consequences, remedies and resolutions | 2:50pm – 3:00pm

IX. Practical tips to avoid finding yourself or your clients in hot water fiduciary duty disputes | 3:00pm – 3:10pm