February 01, 2006

James L. Forman ’81

2005
Donald G. Balmer Citation
James L. Forman is the past president of Lewis & Clark’s Board of Alumni and a former ex officio member of the Board of Trustees. A partner with the law firm Rider Bennett in Minneapolis, where he practices commercial and business litigation, Forman is also a director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, headquartered in Washington, D.C.; a director of the Loan Repayment Assistance Program of Minnesota; and a member of the fund advisory board of St. Paul’s Casa de Esperanza. He was named a “super lawyer” in 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2005 by Minnesota Law and Politics.

James L. Forman is the past president of Lewis & Clark’s Board of Alumni and a former ex officio member of the Board of Trustees. A partner with the law firm Rider Bennett in Minneapolis, where he practices commercial and business litigation, Forman is also a director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, headquartered in Washington, D.C.; a director of the Loan Repayment Assistance Program of Minnesota; and a member of the fund advisory board of St. Paul’s Casa de Esperanza. He was named a “super lawyer” in 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2005 by Minnesota Law and Politics.

Forman is active in the American Bar Association, where he is a fellow of the Young Lawyers Division and the American Bar Foundation. He has been a member of both the ABA’s Commission on Homelessness and Poverty and the editorial board of the Business Law Section’s Business Law Today, and has chaired the ABA’s Steering Committee on the Unmet Legal Needs of Children. In 2002, Forman was featured in the Lewis & Clark College Chronicle for his public service work and volunteerism on behalf of children.

Forman graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Lewis & Clark and went on to receive his juris doctor cum laude from the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a past trustee of William Mitchell College of Law and was recognized by it in 2001 in its publication 100 Who Made a Difference. Currently, he does volunteer work for Lewis & Clark’s College of Arts and Sciences admissions department, organizes alumni of the Minnesota chapter, and is a member of the Pioneer Athletic Club.

Forman, his wife, Karen, and their two children, Ben and Amelia, live in St. Paul, Minnesota.