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10. Are you enforcing the timelines for motion paper filings, and if a violation occurs, what is your typical sanction?
 I expect compliance with the timelines, but will allow an extension or consider a late filing when there is need.  If there is a late filing I will allow the opposing party a fair chance to respond.  There is no typical sanction, although, if coupled with any other issues, I may consider granting attorney’s fees or disregard the late submissions.

11. What are your expectations of pro se litigants?
I do not expect pro se litigants to have the same knowledge of court procedures as attorneys, and will thus allow them some leeway when providing testimony or calling witnesses.  I often refer pro se litigants to the Family Court Self Help Center to allow them an opportunity to complete and file the required paperwork for their cases and seek legal advice on their options.  Especially in family situations where the well-being of a child is at issue, I will allow pro se litigants second chances to appear at a hearing and/or file responsive motions.

12. Do you have policies or practices for controlling parties who continue to bring frivolous motions in the same case time and time again?
I will consider awarding attorney’s fees against parties or attorneys who bring frivolous motions.  In the case of two pro se litigants, I often include language in an order warning the moving party that the court may issue other sanctions in response to frivolous motions.

13. Do you have any timelines that you enforce in moving a case from case management conference to temporary relief hearing to trial?
I do not have specific timelines for the progression of a case, but tend to encourage the parties to progress efficiently on the case.  My staff schedule initial case management conferences within three weeks of the filing of a case.  At the initial case management conference, the parties may require a temporary hearing date, which is usually within three to six weeks of the conference.  Based on the evaluations or other services with which the parties are involved, review hearings may be scheduled for three months from the date of the conference.  Pre-trial hearings and the trial date are usually scheduled once the evaluations and mediations have been completed.  Between hearings, I make myself available for telephone conferences at which I get an understanding of where the case is, and the outstanding issues.

14. Will you receive correspondence sent directly to the court from a neutral expert in the case?
I will receive the reports of family court services personnel, such as early neutral evaluators, custody evaluators, guardians ad litem, and neutral experts where the parties agree that I should receive the report.  Otherwise I typically do not receive reports from private experts, except as exhibits to submissions by the parties.

15. How would you characterize your willingness to award attorney fees as a sanction in a case?
I am generally reluctant to award attorneys’ fees, but will do so in cases where one party has unreasonably contributed to the length and expenses involved.

16. Do you ever order the parties to retain the services of a neutral evaluator or private parenting consultant and then require them to share in the costs?
In a case where the parties attend an early neutral evaluation and/or mediation and are unable to come to an agreement about custody, I refer the parties to Family Court Services for a custody evaluation.  If either party does not want to engage in a custody evaluation through Family Court Services and prefers a private custody evaluation, I will consider the economic means of the parties prior to allowing the parties to select a private custody evaluator.  In cases where the parties require continued assistance with parenting time scheduling, I order the parties to engage a parenting time expediter, but apportion the fees based on need and level of cooperation by the parties.

17. What is your level of involvement in settlement discussions, and will you tell the parties what you would do in the case if the issue were then before you for decision?
Unless requested by the parties, I do not become involved in settlement discussions.  If the parties ask for my tentative position on an issue, I am willing to indicate my position. Even where I indicate my position, however, I always tell the parties and counsel that my ultimate decision will be based on the arguments presented at hearings or at trial.

18. Will you allow parties to have motions heard at pre-trial conferences?
I use pre-trial conferences to gain an understanding of what the outstanding issues are and whether the parties are continuing to attempt to reach an agreement.  If there is a motion by either party, I will generally move the pre-trial conference to a date after the motion has been heard. 

Jay Quam
Originally published in the May 2007 issue.
Author: Marian Saksena
 

Jay Quam, age 44, was sworn in as a judge of the Fourth Judicial District on Oct. 2, 2006.  In announcing the appointment, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said, “Jay has been able to balance a professional career as a well-respected litigator with a private-sector law firm with an impressive amount of volunteer legal work helping the less fortunate.  He will bring an incredible amount of intellect, energy, and compassion to the position.”

Judge Quam grew up in Detroit Lakes, Minn.  His father, John Quam, was an attorney, and he inspired Jay and his younger brother, Steven, to join the legal profession.  While a senior at Moorhead State University, where he majored in political science and psychology, Quam applied for admission to the University of Minnesota School of Law.  He was accepted but decided to defer matriculation for one year.  During this year, Quam’s endeavors included a four-month stint working on a dairy farm in Norway, where he milked cows and cut down trees.  Unwavering in his ultimate interest in the legal profession, Quam traded his milking pail for a study carrel in the fall of 1985, when he became a 1L at the University of Minnesota Law School.

After graduating from law school in 1988, Quam joined the law firm of Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., where he practiced for 18 years.  Quam enjoyed a broad general litigation practice, encompassing both large and small civil disputes.  In addition to civil litigation, Quam handled criminal defense cases.  Through his significant pro bono work, Quam also gained experience representing clients in family, juvenile, housing, and other types of cases.  At Quam’s swearing-in ceremony, John Koneck, president of Fredrikson & Byron, praised Quam for being the type of attorney who truly cares about each client.  This sentiment was echoed by Jim Dorsey, a shareholder at the firm who also remarked on Quam’s “outstanding ability to relate to and communicate with a broad variety of people.” 

“Jay has been a leader both in the firm and in our community in promoting pro bono and public service generally,” noted Jim Baillie, a shareholder at Fredrikson & Byron, and past president of the HCBA and MSBA.  Throughout his career as an attorney, Quam devoted significant time to providing pro bono legal services, averaging about 150 hours per year over the past decade.  Specifically, Quam provided pro bono services to low-income individuals through his firm’s pro bono program, as well as through Volunteer Lawyers Network, Legal Access Point, Catholic Charities/Branch III Homeless Shelter, and North Vista (an alternative school for pregnant or parenting teens).  Baillie emphasized that Quam’s personal commitment to pro bono work “not only illustrates the breadth of his background and his willingness and ability to work with people of all backgrounds, but it especially shows his commitment to equal justice and to improving our judicial system.”

Yet Quam’s “compassion went beyond providing direct pro bono services to people of limited means,” observed Pamela Wandzel, the pro bono/community service coordinator at Fredrikson & Byron.  Quam inspired others to get involved and leveraged community resources to provide opportunities for more lawyers and law students to provide pro bono services.  Quam “was the one who conceived the idea of using summer clerks for pro bono work and he carried that through the Supreme Court process to allow their temporary admission to practice for pro bono cases” under the Student Practice Rule, according to Baillie.  Wandzel noted that Quam was “instrumental in formalizing and formulating our pro bono program.”  Additionally, Quam launched the summer associate program/student attorney program for the Volunteer Lawyers Network, served on the board of directors for Volunteer Lawyers Network as well as Central Minnesota Legal Services, and helped establish the Minnesota Justice Foundation Partner Program.  In recognition of his extraordinary commitment to pro bono service, Quam received the Minnesota Justice Foundation Outstanding Service Award for attorneys in private practice in 2001 and the Fredrikson & Byron Distinguished Service Award in 2003. 

Quam’s devotion to community service also includes a long-standing interest in mentoring young people.  He coached Moundsview High School’s mock trial team for over 16 years and worked with young people at North Vista, The City, Inc., and Young Life.  Wandzel praised Quam for his significant help with raising funds for Friends of Fredrikson, an employee-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission of promoting the education of disadvantaged children in public schools and providing food, clothing, and other support to low-income families and children.  In 2004, Quam suggested a new way to raise funds for Friends of Fredrikson: an annual Friends of Fredrikson Bike ’n’ Hike to raise money to send disadvantaged school children to academic summer camps.  Quam, who bikes to work in downtown Minneapolis from his home in Eden Prairie, received support for his idea from fellow biking enthusiasts and non-bikers alike.  As a result, Quam’s colleagues and their family members have participated in the annual Friends of Fredrikson Bike ’n’ Hike and raised the funds to enable dozens of elementary school children from the Whittier School in south Minneapolis to attend Camp Chi Rho.

Robert Boisvert, a shareholder at Fredrikson & Byron who has known Quam for 17 years, shared the following assessment with the Commission on Judicial Selection: “He cares deeply about others, is generous, enthusiastic, and hardworking, and has an abiding commitment to friends, colleagues, clients, and the community.  Jay’s helpful nature, coupled with his likeable and friendly personality and unflappable demeanor, would make him a respectful and respected jurist.”

Family is also extremely important to Quam.  Quam is married to Kristi Carlson, who is also an attorney.  Quam and Carlson have two children: Annika, age 7, and Erik, age 3.  Quam is close to his parents, John and Mary Quam, and his two brothers, Steven Quam, who is a shareholder at Fredrikson & Byron, and Jeff Quam, who lives near Detroit Lakes. 

Now in his first year as a judge, Quam is assigned to the criminal court calendar.  Prior to this assignment, Quam did manual labor through the Sentence to Serve program and spent a night in a cell block at the county workhouse, knowing that these were two of the dispositions he would soon have to consider imposing at criminal sentencing hearings.

Quam recalls that when he received the telephone call from Governor Pawlenty informing him of the judicial appointment, he felt like his “life’s dream had been realized.”  But as the time grew closer to the swearing-in ceremony, Quam says that he began to recognize that his life’s dream was not as much about becoming a judge, but what he would actually do as a judge.  Likewise, while the flurry of accolades was much appreciated and humbling, Quam realizes that what others will eventually conclude about his service as a judge in 10 or 20 years is what will really matter.  If “what is past is prologue,” as Shakespeare put it, then the judiciary and citizens of Hennepin County will undoubtedly be well served by Judge Quam’s legal acumen, creativity, and compassion in the coming years. 

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