YOUNG LAWYER SHOWCASE
SETH THOMPSON
Seth Thompson is an associate attorney at Vogel Law Firm in
Bismarck. He graduated with distinction from the University
of Minnesota School of Law, where he was elected to the
Order of the Coif. After law school, Thompson served as a law
clerk to Justice Carol Ronning Kapsner of the North Dakota
Supreme Court.
Thompson focused his legal education primarily on labor and
employment law. In addition to graduating with an emphasis
in labor and employment law, he served as the editor-in-chief
of the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law and received
the ABA-BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Labor and
Employment Law. Thompson also clerked for a public-sector
labor union and Region 18 of the National Labor Relations
Board. Prior to attending law school, he spent four years
working for a labor union negotiating collective bargaining
agreements and handling arbitrations and mediations.
He served as the head elected official of the 900-member
organization for two years.
Thompson also has hands-on knowledge of the construction
industry. Prior to law school, he worked as an electrician
on numerous construction projects in the Red River Valley.
He attended two years of trade school and completed a
three-year U.S. Department of Labor approved electrical
apprenticeship program, eventually becoming a master
electrician in 2003. While working as an electrician, Thompson
attended night and weekend classes for three years to obtain
his bachelor’s degree. Always up for a challenge, he then took
night classes to earn a master’s degree in management with
an emphasis in human resources.
He grew up in the Lignite and Crosby area, and his wife,
Anna, is originally from New Salem. They were both happy to
move back to North Dakota and make Bismarck their home.
In his spare time, Thompson enjoys riding his Harley, golfing,
hunting, and spending time with family.
RACHEL EGSTAD
Rachel Egstad is the prosecuting attorney for the
criminal court of the Spirit Lake Tribe in Fort Totten.
She is also a contract attorney with Swenseth Law
Office, PLLC, in Devils Lake, where she practices in the
areas of family law, tribal law, and civil litigation. Prior
to becoming the prosecutor for the Spirit Lake Tribe,
Egstad was the juvenile public defender in the Spirit
Lake Tribe’s family division and represented parents in
child abuse and neglect proceedings.
Egstad grew up in Grand Forks. After high school, she
attended the University of North Dakota (UND) and
earned a bachelor of arts degree in Indian studies.
Egstad earned her juris doctor and the Indian Law
Certificate from the UND School of Law in 2015.
While in law school, she was chosen for the first ever
externship focusing on tribal prosecution with the
U.S. Attorney’s Office in Bismarck, working with both
federal prosecution and tribal prosecution in the
Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Court. She also earned an
externship with the Walsh County State’s Attorney’s
Office.
She was involved in the Native American Law Student
Association (NALSA) and participated in the National
NALSA Moot Court Competition in her second
year. Egstad is also a member of the Phi Delta Phi
International Legal Honor Society.
Egstad serves as secretary/treasurer of the Indian
Law Section of SBAND and is also a member of the
Federal Bar Association. Egstad currently resides in
Grand Forks with her husband, Zach, and their dog,
Charlie. In her spare time, Egstad enjoys spending
time with family and friends, attending concerts, and
spending many summer weekends on West Battle Lake
in Minnesota.
SPRING 2017
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