Eckland & Blando LLP

Eckland & Blando LLP recently welcomed friends, family, clients, colleagues, and employees old and new to celebrate its 20th Anniversary. The firm was founded in August 2004 by Jeff Eckland and Mark Blando, and has grown to a team of over 20 attorneys and staff with offices in four cities. The anniversary party was a great success, with highlights including welcoming remarks from Mark Blando, a speech and original poem from Jeff Eckland, and a surprise performance by the firm’s still unnamed band, featuring Daniel Cragg on lead vocals. We want to thank all those who were able to join our celebration, and the many people who have contributed to our growth and success over the last 20 years. We look forward to seeing what the next 20 years will bring!

We are pleased to announce that firm partner Samuel Blatchley was recently honored with two prestigious awards recognizing his work in Admiralty and Maritime Law: he has been selected to the Best Lawyers® 2025 in Admiralty and Maritime Law, and he was named the Admiralty and Maritime Law “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers® for 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. Please join us in congratulating Sam for these two honors!

For the past two years, Eckland & Blando LLP has been pleased to join members of the Massachusetts Lobstermen Association in supporting the Annual Disabled Veterans Fishing Trip hosted by Harvey’s Salt Water Fishing Club in Quincy, MA. This year, Samuel Blatchley, Patrick J. O'Connor, and Leah Happke from the firm were able to spend the day on the water connecting with veterans from our communities. Eckland & Blando is proud to support the efforts of the Massachusetts Lobstermen Association in giving back to those who bravely served our country!

Rounding out clerk week at Eckland & Blando LLP, where we get a chance to highlight our outstanding summer clerks, last but not least we have Lindsey Broda! Lindsey is a rising 3L at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. Her favorite class in law school so far was Trial Advocacy, which has proven to be the most practical course for developing the skills she's been able to apply to her work here at Eckland & Blando and in her previous role with the Dakota County Attorney's Office. This coming academic year, Lindsey is on the board of the University of St. Thomas Journal of Law and Public Policy as the Symposium Editor. She is also participating in the Appellate Clinic under the direction of Professor Gregory Sisk, where she has already began to draft an appeal, and will eventually argue her case in front of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals next spring! At Eckland & Blando, Lindsey has enjoyed working on a variety of cases, including breach of contract and medical malpractice. A memorable experience of the summer was watching oral argument at the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.If you’re looking for ideas on where to plan your next international trip, Lindsey recommends Germany, where she visited while studying abroad in undergrad. But she offers one key word of advice: make sure to double check that the train you’re getting on is going in the right direction!

Continuing on with clerk week at Eckland & Blando LLP, where we are highlighting our outstanding summer clerks, next up is Jocie Scherkenbach! Jocie is a rising 2L at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. Prior to entering law school, Jocie held a career in the world of health insurance. Her favorite classes in law school so far have been Contracts and Property. Even though each class held rigorous expectations, she believes they helped her grasp and retain key concepts that she has been able to apply to her work here at Eckland & Blando. This coming academic year, Jocie will joining the University of St. Thomas Journal of Law and Public Policy as an Associate Editor and will be competing on the Trial Advocacy team. At Eckland & Blando, Jocie has enjoyed working on a wide variety of litigation and transactional work and especially learning about government contracts. Jocie's go to coffee order for tackling the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and other dense government contract issues is an iced Americano! Jocie has a goal to find the best Americano in Minnesota and keeps a running list of her top picks. As of now, Socca Cafe is in the lead.

It's clerk week at Eckland & Blando LLP! This week we're highlighting our three outstanding summer clerks who have been hard at work assisting the attorneys here at Eckland & Blando. First up: Bridgette Valenti Bridgette V. is a rising 2L at Tulane University Law School in New Orleans. Her favorite class in law school so far has been Contracts II, which focused on Article II of the Uniform Commercial Code. Bridgette appreciated the fact that this class centered on strategic approaches to legal problems. This coming academic year, Bridgette will be joining the Tulane Law Review as a Junior Member and will also be competing on the Moot Court Constitutional Law team. At Eckland & Blando, Bridgette has enjoyed working on a wide variety of litigation matters, particularly those involving maritime and administrative law. She has most enjoyed helping with briefs and other pleadings. Her favorite experience this summer has been attending an oral argument at the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. If you ever find yourself in New Orleans, Bridgette’s recommendations are Clancy’s for dinner and French Truck for their New Orleans Iced Coffee. After living in Minneapolis for the last couple months, Bridgette’s favorite thing to do here is pick up coffee and spend time in the parks around the Mississippi and nearby lakes.

Merry Christmas in July! Here at Eckland & Blando LLP, thinking of December brings warm memories of our annual holiday party, which has been held annually for more than a decade at the historic Women's Club of Minneapolis. As the celebration has evolved over the years, regular traditions now include a poetry reading – usually of an original work – by Jeff Eckland, and a roast or award ceremony presented by Robert (Robby) Dube and Anne St. Amant. Another blossoming tradition has been an annual performance by the firm's fledgling band, featuring Daniel Cragg on lead vocals, Thomas (Tommy) Harshaw, JD on keyboards, and Mark Blando on drums, bass, guitar, or whatever else is needed. The firm's as yet unnamed band makes sure to work in a Taylor Swift song for the fans each year, and last year was finally able to answer the chants for "Free Bird." Finally, we always make sure to squeeze in for a group photo of the whole team – an increasing challenge as the firm has grown over the years.

Congratulations to the 4 Eckland & Blando attorneys named as 2024 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars, part of Thomson Reuters list! Super Lawyers Minnesota: Mark Blando Daniel Cragg Super Lawyers Massachusetts: Samuel Blatchley Rising Stars Minnesota: Robert (Robby) Dube

Happy Independence Day from Eckland & Blando LLP! We hope the holiday brings you joy, pride, and relaxation.

Our next employee spotlight is our Founding Partner, Jeff Eckland. Here’s a Q&A with Jeff about his 40+ year career as a government contracts attorney, along with some personal tidbits. Q: Tell us about your practice. A:  I am primarily a Government Contracts (“GC”) trial lawyer. As such, I am engaged in acquiring, trying, and/or appealing cases such as Franconia Associates v. United States, a case involving a Congressional breach of contract that I began pursuing in 1995 all the way to the United States Supreme Court and on which our firm continues to work, negotiating with Government lawyers damage claims from all parts of the country.       Q: What is your favorite case that you have worked on? A: It is the second GC case I tried, Matter of Technical Ordnance, Inc. (“TKO”), a MN company that became my best client.  I worked the case up and developed my penchant for demonstrative exhibits while staying at the Willard Hotel in WDC and tried it before the ASBCA in 1991. It involved a conversion of a default termination to a termination for convenience of a contract for TKO’s production of stabilizer units for Mark 46 torpedoes, which remain the NATO standard. The Government had assembled a dozen witnesses to defend onerous inspections that had slowed TKO’s production to a virtual halt. Walking past these witnesses, lined up and down the hallway outside the courtroom awaiting their testimony, after I had massacred three of their colleagues during cross-examination, and knowing as I met their stares just how I was going to decimate each of their own appearances on the stand – and relishing the prospect of doing so – I knew that I had arrived as a GC trial lawyer. I was therefore disappointed when, after realizing that I was proving TKO’s case through the Government’s own witnesses, the agency lawyer withdrew all remaining witnesses and rested. Following the ASBCA’s favorable decision, and at the next year’s West’s GC Conference, the case was awarded the “Bureaucratic Horror Story of the Year” Award. I was thereafter committed to GC litigation, hook, line, and sinker.       Q: What is your go to skyway lunch spot? A: My favorite spots are on Sixth street between two skyways: 1) Murray’s Restaurant, where I prepped many trial witnesses and my parents became engaged; and 2) Lyon’s Pub, where Faegre’s Exxon Valdez Trial Team would gather and I closed many GC claims. Q: Do you have a fun fact for the picture you chose to share? A: This is a 2002 photo of the Eckland family, including Grandma Harriett Cutrer, taken after the rendering of the 9-0 favorable decision of the Supreme Court in Franconia Associates.