Law school alumnus Jonathan Wolf '11 J.D. has been chosen by the American Inns of Court to receive its 2021 Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Professional Service. This prestigious, national award is given each year to an Inns of Court member who has been in practice for less than 10 years to recognize excellence in public interest or pro bono activities.
"I have consistently seen Mr. Wolf throw himself into his many pro bono cases as a definitive exemplar of the term 'zealous advocate,'" attorney Nicholas R. Delaney, Wolf’s mentor, said in his nomination letter. "Time and again, Mr. Wolf has vigorously and effectively represented vulnerable, local people facing a crisis, with no expectation of payment in return."
Wolf has been a volunteer attorney with the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans and Central Minnesota Legal Services (CMLS) since 2014. He also sits on the CMLS board of directors.
Professionally, he is active within the Stearns Benton Bar Association and served as a seventh district delegate to the Minnesota State Bar Association Assembly.
In the community, Wolf is a restoration volunteer with Great River Greening and a chapter officer with Central Stearns Ducks Unlimited.
Gov. Tim Walz appointed him to the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission in July 2020.
Wolf is an attorney at Rinke Noonan in St. Cloud, Minnesota. His practice focuses on environmental, family and real estate law; guardian and conservatorship appointments; as well as probate and trust litigation.
In addition, Wolf is a legal news writer and publishes a column for the website Above the Law.
He is a member of the John E. Simonett Inn of Court based in Waite Park and St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Wolf will be presented with his award during the American Inns of Court Celebration of Excellence Dinner at the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C., in April 2022.
The American Inns of Court fosters excellence in professionalism, ethics, civility and legal skills. Membership includes nearly 30,000 federal, state, and local judges, lawyers, law professors, and law students in nearly 370 chapters across the United States. The organization is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.
