Tuft, Lach, Jerabek & O'Connell, PLLC

Family law at the center

Family law is the main focus at Tuft, Lach, Jerabek & O'Connell, PLLC. The firm's work covers divorce and dissolution, child custody, child support, spousal maintenance, property division, paternity, adoption, and prenuptial agreements. This range allows the attorneys to handle both the financial and parenting issues that often arise in the same case.

The attorney profiles add detail to that focus. Thomas W. Tuft handles all areas of family law, with stated work in divorce, spousal maintenance, paternity, custody, and child support. Christopher L. Vatsaas works on divorce, custody, asset and debt division, spousal maintenance, and support matters. Alexandra L. Michelson handles simple and complex divorces, high asset cases, post-divorce disputes, custody matters, and domestic abuse cases.

Several other attorneys devote most or all of their work to family law. Dan C. O'Connell has practiced for 30 years and works in family law and family mediation. Lindsey O'Connell primarily handles family law matters, while Allyson Kerr works as an associate attorney in the same field. Melanie I. Nelson also works across all areas of family law.

Juvenile cases and appeals

The firm also handles juvenile law, with John M. Jerabek's profile offering the clearest account of that work. He represents clients in grandparent custody and third-party custody proceedings. He also handles contested adoptions in juvenile court, as well as appeals in family and juvenile cases.

Those services may matter when a family dispute does not fit the usual divorce or custody pattern. Grandparent claims, third-party custody, contested adoption, and appellate work each involve distinct court procedures. The website identifies an attorney who deals directly with those issues rather than grouping them under a broad family law label.

Estate planning and probate

The firm's services extend to estate planning, probate, elder law, conservatorships, and guardianships. Letty M-S Van Ert works in family law, probate, guardianships, and estate planning. This mix may suit a client whose family matter overlaps with care planning, estate administration, or decision-making for another person.

VerifiedLawFirms matched the firm's stated services with wills and probate as directory practice areas. The website also names elder law and conservatorship work. These services sit beside the firm's family and juvenile court work, but the available attorney details tie much of this area to Van Ert.

Options for settlement and court proceedings

Alternative dispute resolution has a visible place in the firm's work. The available methods are mediation, early neutral evaluation, collaborative law, arbitration, and moderated settlement conferences. The firm states that all of its attorneys have training as Rule 114 Qualified Neutrals through the Minnesota Supreme Court. Several attorneys also have training in Social and Financial Early Neutral Evaluations.

The attorney profiles show how that training appears in individual practices. Thomas Tuft provides mediation, arbitration, and early neutral evaluations. Lindsey O'Connell conducts mediations and early neutral evaluations and works as a parenting consultant. Susan M. Lach, whom the website lists as retired, has more than 40 years of family law litigation experience and now focuses on arbitration, mediation, parenting consulting, and Social and Financial Early Neutral Evaluations.

Dan O'Connell combines family law representation with mediation. Letty Van Ert is a Rule 114 qualified neutral. These profiles give prospective clients several named choices for a settlement process. They also make clear that neutral work is spread across the team rather than linked to only one attorney.

Judicial experience within the team

James J. Street brings a different form of family court experience. Before joining the firm, he was a Family Court Referee and presided over 2,500 family law proceedings during 12 years. His current work includes evaluative mediation, moderated settlement conferences, and appointments as a special master or consensual special magistrate.

That background gives the firm's dispute resolution work a former judicial perspective. Street's listed services focus on evaluation and structured settlement work. Christopher Vatsaas adds an academic role as an Adjunct Professor of Advanced Family Law at St. Thomas School of Law.

The firm also states that its attorneys have courtroom and trial experience for cases that require litigation. This matters because settlement methods do not resolve every dispute. The stated mix gives clients access to mediation and evaluation while retaining attorneys who handle contested proceedings.

How the legal team is built

The firm identifies shareholder attorneys, mediators, associate attorneys, and a retired attorney with a current ADR focus. Its website describes a team-based case model. One or more attorneys may work with a paralegal, law clerk, and support staff on a matter.

The shareholder group has varied areas of concentration. Tuft, Dan O'Connell, Jerabek, Van Ert, Lindsey O'Connell, Michelson, Street, and Vatsaas all appear with shareholder titles and mediator roles. Their profiles cover family litigation, juvenile proceedings, probate, estate planning, appeals, and several forms of dispute resolution.

The associate group adds recent litigation and court-related experience. Anna G. Street has worked in family law and housing law litigation. She previously worked for Central Minnesota Legal Services and sits on the Board of Directors for The Listening House, a nonprofit organization. Melanie Nelson previously worked at a mid-sized Minnesota law firm and clerked for a referee in Ramsey County Family Court.

Experience across different roles

The named backgrounds are useful because they show more than a list of practice labels. Lach brings over four decades of family law litigation experience, while Dan O'Connell reports 30 years in practice. James Street contributes 12 years on the bench as a Family Court Referee.

Other profiles show experience in legal services, teaching, clerkship work, and nonprofit board service. Each role offers a different view of family disputes and court procedure. In my opinion, the clearest feature of the team is its mix of litigators, mediators, neutrals, and attorneys with direct court system experience.

Service area and client fit

The firm works through offices in Maplewood and Plymouth. It serves Saint Paul, Minneapolis, Roseville, Maplewood, Oakdale, Woodbury, and Stillwater. Its stated county coverage includes Ramsey, Hennepin, Washington, Anoka, and Dakota counties.

This geographic reach covers communities in both the east and west Twin Cities metro. The two-office structure may give clients options when choosing where to meet with the firm. The website also lists Facebook, X, and LinkedIn profiles for readers who want to review its public presence.

The firm appears most relevant to Minnesota clients who need help with divorce, custody, support, adoption, paternity, or related financial issues. It may also suit families seeking mediation, early neutral evaluation, arbitration, or a moderated settlement conference. Probate, guardianship, estate planning, elder law, and selected juvenile matters broaden the available services.

What the published record shows

The firm's own material gives useful detail about who handles particular kinds of work. It names the attorneys, states their roles, and connects many of them with defined services. The ADR descriptions are especially clear, as are the profiles for juvenile court work, appeals, family court evaluation, and estate-related matters.

The published record supports a measured view of a Minnesota firm with a strong family law concentration and an established set of settlement options. It also shows capacity for contested family and juvenile proceedings when agreement is not possible. For directory readers, the attorney profiles offer a practical basis for matching a legal issue with a named member of the team.