Julie Firestone is a partner in the Minneapolis office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Complex Business & Commercial Litigation and Insurance Regulatory & Compliance Practices. Julie represents corporations, insurance companies, investment firms, broker-dealers, issuers of securities, registered representatives, and insurance agents in class actions, regulatory proceedings, FINRA arbitrations, and other adversary matters. Julie's litigation practice includes representing clients in securities litigation, shareholder derivative actions, and closely-held corporate disputes. She also focuses on regulatory compliance and customer complaints. Julie's legal experience includes matters involving securities fraud, breach of contract, common law fraud, RICO, breach of fiduciary duty, suitability, selling away, and unauthorized trading.

Julie is the co-chair of the ABA Women in Securities Litigation Committee and the former co-chair of the ABA Securities Litigation Committee.

As part of her pro bono practice, Julie represents refugees seeking asylum, working in cooperation with the Advocates for Human Rights. She was honored as a Minnesota Attorney of the Year in 2014 for her work representing LGBT+ asylum-seekers from Cameroon.

She was named to the Super Lawyers list in 2021 and 2022.

Publications

Admissions

• State Bar Admissions
  • Minnesota
  • Washington
• United States District Courts
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
  • United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
• United States Courts of Appeals
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Awards & Honors

• Super Lawyers - 2021-2022
• Minnesota Attorney of the Year - 2014

Education

University of Washington School of Law

Juris Doctor, 1997

University of California, Berkeley

Bachelor of Arts, English, 1994

Representative Matters

• Defended broker-dealer and registered representative in a FINRA arbitration brought by a senior citizen who lost approximately $2.5 million writing naked puts on margin. The claimant sought compensatory damages of over $2.5 million, punitive damages of $1 million, plus an additional attorney fee of 35% of any award; after a week-long hearing, the Panel awarded the claimant $1,000 and assessed 100% of the hearing fees against the claimant; 
• Defended life insurance company in a class action and related litigation arising out of alleged improprieties in the sale of whole life insurance policies through an illegal premium financing scheme, and obtained recovery of approximately $3.5 million for the life insurance company;
• Defended life insurance company in a RICO action claiming that the company used "shadow insurance" to improperly inflate its value. Obtained a dismissal on motion before the district court, which was affirmed by the Eighth Circuit; 
• Resolved a RICO class action against a life insurance company in which the class alleged that the company and its agents induced customers to take out mortgages on their homes to purchase equity indexed annuities (“equity-stripping”). The federal action was dismissed on motion, and the class action was then resolved in state court. 
• Defended life insurance company from claims that its agent had embezzled funds from insured with dementia and obtained dismissal with prejudice on statute of limitations grounds. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal;
• Successfully defended principal of broker-dealer against a claim that he had breached an agreement to enter into a joint venture. Obtained a zero award after a FINRA arbitration hearing; 
• Successfully defended insurance agent against Minnesota Department of Commerce, which was seeking to revoke agent’s license. After hearing before ALJ, the agent received no discipline. 
• Successfully defended insurance company against lawsuit alleging that its agent had sold an unsuitable annuity to a senior citizen and had misrepresented the terms of the annuity and its riders.