Douglas K. Amdahl Public Attorney Career Achievement Award Caps Off a Successful Law Career for Mill District Resident Ric Rosow

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided by Ric Rosow

Ric with his son Michael and wife Vicki at the award ceremony. 

In 2022, Mill District resident Ric Rosow was awarded the Douglas K. Amdahl Public Attorney Career Achievement Award by the Minnesota State Bar Association in recognition to dedication and commitment to public service and the public practice of law.

Q:  Congratulations! Please tell us more about the award and your years of law practice that led to the award.

The award is named after Justice Douglas K. Amdahl, a Minnesota Supreme Court Justice. Justice Amdahl’s career involved 34 years of public service including being the Chief Justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Most of the attorneys who receive the Justice Douglas K. Amdahl Award are attorneys who have worked as employees for governmental entities or for non-profit entities. My situation as an attorney in private practice was different. I was nominated by the General Counsel of the League of Minnesota Cities who asked a partner in our firm to co-sponsor the nomination with her. Both were familiar with my career and public service.

January 31st was my last day as an attorney in my law firm. On that day I sent out an email on the City Attorney listserv announcing my full retirement I received many responses to my announcement. I have selected one to share with you, the response from the General Counsel of the LMC touched my heart. She wrote:

"Ric - We are all sad to see you "fully retired from the practice of law" but very excited for you as you dive more deeply into your other passions of photography and travel. An "icon" of the municipal law community is a term bestowed on a select few. As you see from the comments today made by Minnesota's city attorneys on this forum, you have earned that title. Congrats! On behalf of the entire legal team here at LMC – thank you, thank you, thank you and all the best."

My public service included service to variety entities. I served a term as president of both the Environmental Law Section and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections of the State Bar Association. I served a term as president of the Minnesota City Attorney’s Association. I represented on a pro bono basis several non-profit entities including two fire fighter associations, a non-profit that provides aid to two townships in South Africa and a non-profit formed by me and my wife that provided aid to people living in a province in a country in Asian.  

In addition to the non-profit work, I assisted other City Attorneys in Minnesota. I was recognized at a city attorney conference as the city attorney making the most responses from faraway places around the world. The most remote response location was from Asia while in a Nomad tent. I respond with such frequency that some city attorneys would contact me directly to seek my advice, rather than submit the question to the group.

Ric in the South Africa township of Malungeni, traveling with Arm in Arm in Africa to distribute food and clothing, and provide financial assistance to the township. 

In North Minneapolis with the Mobile Loaves and Fishes truck delivering food to first responders on the day the tornado tore through North Minneapolis. The MLF team and a pizza delivery service were the first to bring food into the area.

My public service extended beyond my work as an attorney. I was elected twice to the Minnetonka School Board and was Chair of the Board for 3 years. I served on the Finance Committee for our church for 10 years and was chair for about 6 years. I also assisted in making Mobile Loaves and Fishes Minneapolis a reality in Minneapolis. Our involvement in Mobile Loaves and Fishes led me to recommend to my law firm that in place of giving fruit baskets to our clients as a holiday gift in December, that we take the same amount of money and donate it to Mobile Loaves and Fishes. As a law firm we have donated over $30,000 to Mobile Loaves and Fishes. The firm continues making this donation.

Ric and Vicki on their first trip to Tibet, where they stayed in a 500 year old mud home with a family. In this photo they are wearing clothing provided by their host.Finally, my non-legal work in the non-profit area would not be complete without telling you about the non-profit Vicki and I formed “Companions In Compassion.” In 2009 Vicki and I traveled to the country in Asia where the Dalai Lama is from, our guide was a woman Vicki met in an art class three years before. Our guide worked with Buddhist monks in Dharmsala, India who had fled their home country, helping them write grants for improving their living situation. We were in the country for two weeks and spent one of those weeks in a small village in a mud home. Many residents came to thank our guide for her support. We were guests at both a monastery of Buddhist monks and a convent of Buddhist nuns. We stayed over-night at the convent. The nuns told us they wanted to learn English. When we returned to the U.S. Vicki and I both took classes in teaching English as a second language. Vicki volunteered for two years teaching English as a second language at two schools. In preparation for our return trip, we acquired through donations 12 laptop computers, two iPads, one desk computer, paper, pencils and materials to teach English, clothing for 100 children and funds to pay tuition for children’s schooling. With this assistance one young person in the village completed school from elementary to a Post Graduate Degree. We returned with our guide in 2011. We attempted 5 different routes to get to the city we visited in 2009. Four times we were stopped by the police after six hours or more of driving and sent back to our starting point. The fifth time we were allowed to stay in a village where we had been stopped. My most memorable experiences were riding a horse through the mountain grasslands and spending the night in a tent with a nomad family and 24 baby yaks. Vicki joined with villagers in sewing prayer flags onto thick ropes to be placed high up on the mountain overlooking the village.

Q:  You were also recognized by the Minnesota Firefighter Initiative. You received the Fireman’s Axe which is inscribed with “We appreciate your tireless dedication to improving the lives of Minnesota’s firefighters. Many thanks for everything.” Please tell us about your work on behalf of firefighters.

A:  I was asked by the Eden Prairie Fire Chief if I would provide pro bono services to form a new non-profit, Minnesota Firefighter Initiative (MnFIRE). The purpose of the organization is to provide firefighters with the tools to prioritize and protect their health, specifically in the areas of Cardiac, Cancer and Mental Health. After forming the non-profit and obtaining Federal 501(c)(3) status I served as legal counsel on a pro bono basis. 

Q:  You’re retired now from the practice of law. Are you still involved in supporting firefighters?

A:  Yes. Subsequent to receiving the award, a fireman from Chanhassen, Doug Foote, volunteered to walk in fire gear from the southwest corner of the State to the Capital grounds in St. Paul to raise funds for and awareness of MnFIRE and its mission. I volunteered to photograph the last three days of his walk. The very first city did not have a big turnout of firefighters to greet him but the fire chief’s wife walked with him to the next city. At each succeeding city there was a larger turnout. At the end of the walk Doug was awarded the Firemen’s Axe. See news report on the walk at this link.

Taking photographs in the Dolomites in July, 2022.

Hiking in Zion National Park and taking photographs.

Q:  I first knew you as a talented photographer, supplying many fabulous photographs to the Mill City Times. How may we follow your news as a photographer?

A:  I post my new work to my photography website, the Tres Leches Art Gallery website, my professional page on Facebook, and on Instagram. I also display my work at the Tres Leches Art Gallery, Studio 173, located in the Northrup King Building in NE Minneapolis. Tres Leches Art Gallery is open Friday from noon to 4 pm; Saturday from noon to 5 pm; and the first Thursday of each month from 5 pm to 9 pm.

At a fund raiser for Peter Yorrow’s Anti Bullying Foundation where his donation was rewarded with signatures on his guitar by Peter Yarrow and Paul Stokes of Peter, Paul and Mary.