Halunen & Associates

Minneapolis, Minnesota
phone (612) 605-4098
fax (612) 605-4099
email Email Me

Joni M. Thome practices exclusively on behalf of plaintiffs in the areas of employment law and class action litigation. Ms. Thome is a 1992 graduate of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota. Ms. Thome has successfully obtained millions of dollars for her clients in awards and settlements. She was one of the lead attorneys in a same-sex sexual harassment lawsuit which resulted in the largest known settlement in such a case to date. Ms. Thome is known for her appellate work relating to human and civil rights including cases involving governmental immunity, sexual orientation discrimination and constitutional issues relating to speech and religion in the workplace. She is an Adjunct Professor at Hamline University School of Law teaching sexual orientation and the law. Ms. Thome has been named Superlawyer by Minnesota Law and Politics and the Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine each year since 2000. Before joining Halunen & Associates, Ms. Thome worked in private practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota for 12 years.

Areas of Practice

• Civil Rights
• Employee Law - Employee
• Litigation & Appeals
• Sexual Harassment
• Workplace Training - Sexual Harassment, Sexual Orientation, HIV/AIDS
  Disability

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota, 1992
• U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 1993
• U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 2001

Education

Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1992
J.D.
Law Journal: Hamline University Journal of Law and Policy, Associate

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 1983
B.A.
Major: Psychology

Published Works

Reconciling Nondiscrimination with the Affirmation of Cultural Diversity, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Fall 1997, Volume 13, Number 2

Representative Cases

• Goins v. West Group (2000)
• Davis v. Hennepin County
• Sonkowsky v. Independent School District 721
• EEOC and Paul B. Hummel v. Federal Express
• Thorson v. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (2004)
• EEOC, et. al. v. Long Prairie Packing

Classes/Seminars Taught

18th and 19th Annual Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, Minnesota State Bar Association, 2001 and 2002

Ethics and Bias Seminar, Minnesota Institute for Legal Education, 2001

Employment Law Institute, Minnesota Institute for Legal Education, 2001

Lavender Law, National Lesbian and Gay Law Association, 2001, 2002, 2003

Annual Conference, American Association of Law Libraries, 2001

Honors and Awards

Superlawyer, Minnesota Law & Politics, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004

Minnesota Lavender Bar Association, Community Service Award, 1999

Professional Associations and Memberships

Minnesota State Bar Association, 1992 - Present
Member

Hennepin County Bar Association, 1992 - Present
Member

Minnesota Lavender Bar Association, 1996 - Present
Founder/Past Chair

Minnesota AIDS Project, 1996 - Present
Volunteer Attorney Program

OutFront Minnesota, 1999 - Present
Attorney Referral Program Volunteer

National Gay and Lesbian Law Association, 2002 - 2004
Chair, current board member

Lavender Law 2004 Host Committee
Fundraising Chair

Seward Childcare Center, 1999 - 2004
Board Member, 2004 Board Chair

Human Rights Committee of the MSBA, 1994 - 1999
Member