About LEVENTHAL pllc

Seth Leventhal, a Minnesota civil litigator since 1996, left the partnership of Dorsey & Whitney LLP (Minneapolis, Minnesota) and large firm life in 2009. Leventhal graduated Magna cum Laude from Carleton College (Northfield, Minnesota) in 1984. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School (Ann Arbor, Michigan) in 1995, where he was on the Michigan Law Review. After clerking at the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (for Judge Cornelia G. Kennedy), he began his career in civil litigation in Minneapolis in 1996.

Experienced Litigator


Leventhal has appeared as counsel of record in over 200 cases in Minnesota state and federal courts. He is a Minnesota State Bar Association Board Certified Civil Trial Law Specialist, putting him in an elite group of fewer than 3% of Minnesota lawyers. He has first-chaired a number of bench and jury trials, as well, with positive results. In 2003, Thomson Reuters rated Leventhal a “Rising Star,” and, since 2015, Thomson Reuters has rated Leventhal a “Super Lawyer” every year.

Leventhal authored a chapter of Federal District of Minnesota Civil Practice Deskbook (1st ed. 2014) (Crosby & Schwind, eds.) and a chapter of Minnesota Business Torts Deskbook (1st ed. 2008) (Wahl, ed.). Leventhal has also presented multiple CLE’s on special considerations and concerns in the drafting of settlement agreements for Minnesota CLE, on early evaluation of lawsuits’ e-discovery demands, and preliminary questions before filing lawsuits in Minnesota state and federal courts. Leventhal has also presented a CLE on “Every Day Ethics for Solo and Small Firm Lawyers” through the National Business Institute and “Managing the Work: Strategies for Building a Solo/Small Firm Practice” for the Minnesota State Bar Association.

Leventhal is also the Executive Editor of Minnesota Litigator, founded in 2008, named an ABA Top 100 Law Blog in 2012 and again in 2016. Minnesota Litigator is dedicated to News & Commentary on Minnesota civil litigation.

He is married with 2 adult children. For fun, he blogs, cooks, reads voraciously, and commutes to work by bike year-round.

A History of Excellence


Formed in 2010 and located in downtown Minneapolis, LEVENTHAL pllc provides a lean, nimble, and focused practice in complex civil disputes. Client service is customized for every matter. In some cases, LEVENTHAL pllc associates with other lawyers with appropriate niche expertise or other professionals, as needed after consultation with clients, to take care of clients with the optimal cost/benefit balance. Recent examples, to name a few, include teaming up with real estate experts, trademark lawyers, a bankruptcy experts, e-discovery resources, and computer forensics experts.

LEVENTHAL pllc favors cooperative resolution in the first instance but aggressive advocacy is sometimes required. We are comfortable and capable either way. We have over two decades of experience in Minnesota civil litigation.

Deb Grossfield has been and continues to be the controller for LEVENTHAL pllc since the origin of the law firm in 2010. In addition, Ms. Grossfield has served as the controller for dozens of businesses over more than twenty years (and currently has several clients). She describes her work as protecting the assets of the company, which is accurate, but as far as the owner of LEVENTHAL pllc is concerned, she is the single greatest asset of his life. (She is also Seth Leventhal’s wife.)