Armstrong appoints Minot attorney Steven Lautt to North Central Judicial District judgeship

BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Kelly Armstrong today appointed Minot attorney Steven Lautt to an open judgeship in the North Central Judicial District, which is comprised of Burke, Mountrail and Ward counties, effective Aug. 4.

Lautt has practiced law as an attorney and shareholder with the Minot law firm of Pringle & Herigstad since 2012, litigating a wide variety of civil cases ranging from collections, forcible detainers and foreclosures to complex construction, oil and gas, commercial, personal injury and real property matters. He also currently serves as general counsel for several regional agriculture and telecommunications cooperatives and a statewide nonprofit organization.

A Minot native, Lautt earned his bachelor’s degree from Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas, and his law degree in 2012 from the Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas. He is a former president of the Ward County Bar Association and current president of the North Dakota Association for Justice, and serves on the board of directors of the Minot-based Northern Plains Children’s Advocacy Center. Prior to law school, he worked as a committee staffer for U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith.

The North Central Judicial District judgeship vacancy was created by the June 1 retirement of Judge Douglas Mattson, who was first elected to serve as a district court judge in 2002. Three attorneys were named as finalists for the judgeship, which is chambered in Minot.