Email: james@tuftlaw.com
Phone: (651) 259-1168
Fax: (651) 771-0850
Download: vCard
James Street, a recently retired Family Court Referee, is a shareholder at Tuft, Lach, Jerabek & O’Connell, PLLC and practices in Family Court Alternative Dispute Resolution. As a Referee, he presided over 2,500 family law proceedings over 12 years including contested custody, spousal maintenance, grandparent visitation, divorces, child support and parenting time disputes. This experience will position him to provide insightful evaluative mediation, moderate settlement conferences, and serve as a special master or consensual special magistrate. As a Referee, he also trained new judges in family law and case management techniques and served as Chair of the State’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Ethical Board appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court. He is a frequent speaker and former president of the Minnesota Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC).
Current Employment Position:
- Shareholder/Attorney
- Rule 114 Qualified Neutral
Past Employment:
- Referee of District Court 2011-2022
- Supervising Attorney, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Inc. 1995-2010
- Managing Attorney, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Inc. 1990-1995
- Staff Attorney and Specialist, Queens Legal Services, Inc. 1987-1990
- Staff Attorney, Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Denver, 1986-87
Bar Admissions:
- 1990 Minnesota Supreme Court
- 2007 Mdewakanton Sioux Tribal Court
- 2009 Winnebago Tribal Court
Education:
- 1983 Macalester College
- 1986 University of Denver – College of Law
Published Works:
- Preparing, Settling, and Trying a Custody Case. Minnesota Child Custody Deskbook, (Chapter 8) (co-author)(2018-present).
- The 2010 Reality of Low-Income Family Law Litigants, Family Law Forum, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Winter, 2010/11).
- Ramsey County Special Courts Guide for Handling Orders for Protection and Harassment Restraining Orders, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2019. Co-authored all editions of this guide to help judicial officers handle Orders for Protection and Harassment Restraining Orders.
Professional Associations and Memberships:
- Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) – Member
- MSBA Family Law Section – Member
- Ramsey County Bar Association – Member
- Washington County Bar Association – Member
- Minnesota Statewide ADR-Rule 114 Qualified Neutral Roster – Family Law Facilitative/Hybrid (Mediation, Med-Arb, Arb-Med)
- Minnesota Statewide ADR-Rule 114 Qualified Neutral Roster – Family Adjudicative (Arbitration, Consensual Special Magistrate)
- Minnesota Statewide ADR-Rule 114 Qualified Neutral Roster – Moderated Settlement Conference (MSC)
- Association of Family and Conciliation Court – Minnesota Chapter – Board Member (2019-present), past president (2019-20)
- Minnesota Alternative Dispute Resolution Ethics Board – Member (2015-2022), Chair, (2020-22)
- Ramsey County ENE Steering Committee – Member (2009-2022); Chair (2011-2022)
- State Supervised Parenting Time Standards Work Group (2013-14)
- State ENE Advisory Committee (2011-2014)
- Joint Physical Custody Study Group (2008). Appointed by Supreme Court
- AIDS Center for Queens County Advisory Board (1989-90)
- Southern Valley Alliance for Battered Women – Board member (1993-95)
Honors and Awards:
- 2023 Distinguished Humanitarian Service award from the Ramsey County Bar Association
- 2010 Direct Service Award from the Minnesota Justice Foundation
- 2009 Dawn Carlson Family Advocate Award; 1999 Certificate for the Dawn Carlson Exemplary Service Award
- 1994 Distinguished Service Award by the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless
- Twice selected as Super Lawyer prior to going on the Bench
Courses Taught:
- Co-taught new Judges family law twice per year from 2015-2022
- Co-trained Judges rotating onto the family law bench in the Second Judicial District from 2016-2022
- Co-taught class on Domestic Violence at the University of St. Thomas Law School (2015 and 2017)
- Supervised Visitation/Parenting Time: The Who, What, Why, and How. November 2023 AFCC Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Presented with Jennifer Joseph, J.D. and Mindy Mitnick, EDM, MA.
