Claire V.J. Joseph

Estates, Trusts and Fiduciary Litigation
Claire works with Taft's estate planning lawyers when estate planning, administration, and trust issues are litigated. Claire has represented beneficiaries, trustees, conservators, and other fiduciaries in complex trust and estate disputes and litigation.   

Employment Litigation and Employment Counseling
Claire represents employers, including corporations and schools (at all levels), in employment litigation and employment law counseling and investigations. In this capacity, Claire has experience with issues related to, among other things, Title IX, Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Minnesota Human Rights Act. Beyond litigation, Claire has experience providing employment counseling regarding contracts, sexual harassment policies and procedures, other types of policies, privacy concerns and investigations into alleged misconduct.

Telecommunications
Claire represents telecommunications clients in state public utilities commissions, as well as federal and state courts. Matters include intercarrier compensation disputes, such as disputes regarding traffic pumping, wireless traffic and VoIP traffic. Claire has assisted clients with telemarketing matters, including state and federal laws and regulations on "robocalls" and the use of automated-dialing machines.

Claire has represented individuals and municipalities on a pro bono basis in Minnesota state and federal district court, as well as the Minnesota Court of Appeals. She also participated in the St. Paul City prosecutions pro bono trial program, where she led petty misdemeanor trials and negotiated plea bargains.

In 2013, Claire was appointed by the Supreme Court of Minnesota to serve on the Minnesota Judicial Branch's Committee for Equality and Justice. She served in this role until fall of 2019. 

She also has served as the chair of the board of the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association, and was a board member of the Minnesota Opera’s Tempo program. 

While Claire was in law school, she participated in National Moot Court and was a teaching assistant with the University of Minnesota Center for Writing.