The State Bar Association of North Dakota Spring 2015 Gavel Magazine | Page 8

“Whether he won or lost, Jim
Fitzsimmons wanted to see due proess
achieved. He would always side for
the downtrodden, the underdog.”
Ross Sundeen, Watford City lawyer
and passion. He could have done any
number of other jobs in the legal profession. “
Johnson recalled that Fitzsimmons was the
first lawyer he met when he returned to his
hometown of Watford City to practice law
in 1980. “His priorities were always the
constitution, due process and fairness,” said
Johnson.
Jim Fitzsimmons
1952-2015

after efforts to consolidate were unsuccessful.
Having one consolidated program is
significant.“
As head of LSND, LeMay said Fitzsimmons
put a great emphasis on equal access across
the state. “He wanted the same services
available to people in Wahpeton and Crosby,
Park River and Bowman. While some state
offices have staff with particular specialties
in law, Jim set the model that all offices
provided the same services. This gave people
in the state unparalleled access to legal
services. Not many other states offer the
access that North Dakotans have in free legal
services.“
Reinhardt said Fitzsimmons never lost his
focus on clients. “As long as he was executive

director, he still carried a caseload because
he said he didn’t want to lose touch with
the clients. He said it made him a better
administrator.”
Watford City lawyers Ross Sundeen and
Dennis Johnson worked with Fitzsimmons
throughout their careers. “I first met Jim
when I clerked for him in 1992 in a shared
position with Dennis’s office that was funded
in part by an IOLTA grant,” said Sundeen.
“I was able to observe first hand that whether
with people, politics or the law, Jim had
tremendous integrity that allowed him to
selflessly achieve results for the common
good of others, regardless of race or creed. I
saw this time and again over two decades.“
Sundeen believes what defined Fitzsimmons
as a lawyer was that “he followed his heart

M e d i at i o n

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“He had great empathy for those who did
not have someone or when someone who did
have something tried to take advantage of
someone who didn’t. He had a great sense of
right and wrong. He didn’t tolerate bullying
from anyone – attorneys, judges, prosecutors
or politicians. When it did happen, he
worked as hard as he could to bring ‘right’
back to the table.“

A passion for due process
His great passion for due process is what
Sundeen says he will remember most about
Fitzsimmons. “Whether he won or lost, he
wanted to see due process achieved. He
would always side for the downtrodden, the
underdog. He was a true child of the Sixties.
His character was formed in the civil rights
movement and it never left him. He was a
brilliant man and could have done anything,
but he never aspired to anything else. They
don’t make people like that anymore.”

RetiRed Judges

Resolve cases by mediation more effectively and efficiently than through litigation and trial.
Karen K. Klein

20 years of litigation experience
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