Burris Law Offices, PLLC
Gay Rights Attorney Serving Minneapolis

Call Today 612-208-7926

Jonathan M. Burris

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Location:

Minneapolis, MN

Phone:

Fax:

763-432-5728

Email:

Jonathan Burris graduated from Edina High School, a public school located in Edina, Minnesota. He then attended Colorado College, a liberal arts college located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Environmental Sociology. He earned his Juris Doctor at Hamline University School of Law, in St. Paul, Minnesota, having excelled in the study of trusts and estates.

He first received his license to practice law in Colorado and then in Minnesota. He has been admitted to practice law in the state and federal courts of both Minnesota and Colorado. His professional training has continued in the form of frequent and specialized continuing legal education courses in estate planning, trusts, elder law, criminal law, real estate law and life planning for alternative families, and his practice is focused in these areas.

In more than 40 years of practice, he has handled a wide variety of cases from probate administrations and trust settlements to neighbor disputes, real estate transactions, and gay marriages and divorces.

Mr. Burris has held numerous leadership positions, both elected and appointed, in a wide variety of organizations. He was appointed by Governor Rudy Perpich to the Minnesota Environmental Education Advisory Board, serving for five years. He was reappointed by Governor Arne Carlson, and served as chairman of that Board. He was subsequently elected as President of the Minnesota Environmental Education Association, which is made up of people who teach others about the natural environment, and he is presently “Of Counsel” to that organization.

Mr. Burris has served on the board of directors of the Izaak Walton League - Minnesota Division and is a former board member of Touchstone Mental Health, a Minnesota-based non-profit corporation providing services to people suffering from persistent debilitating mental illness.

Mr. Burris is a former board member of an arts-as-therapy-based non-profit organization located in Minneapolis called Stewart Pimsler Dance and Theater, Inc and is a member of Sportsman for Change, a group which championed the Minnesota Constitutional "Legacy" Amendment, for conservation of our natural resources. In addition, he has received awards from non-profits Outfront Minnesota and Minnesota Aids Project for his volunteer services. He served as one of eight Commissioners on the Golden Valley (Minnesota) Human Rights Commission variously as it's chair and co-chair over a period of eight years. It has now morphed to the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission.

Since 2003, Jonathan Burris has been affiliated as a Network Attorney with The Estate Plan, Inc., now called "The Estate Planning Source LLC", which continues to set "the gold standard" for national estate planning companies.

Personal and professional references are available, with that client's prior consent, upon request.

Areas of Practice

  • Estate Planning, Wills, and Trusts
  • Transactional Law
  • Tax Planning and Asset Protection
  • Probate and Estate Administration
  • Small Business Counsel
  • Residential Commercial, Conservation and Real Estate Law
  • Home Purchases and Sales
  • LGBTQA+
  • Same Sex

Bar Admissions

  • Minnesota, 1985
  • Colorado, 1980
  • U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 1985
  • U.S. District Court District of Colorado, 1980

Education

  • Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota
    • Juris Doctor - 1979
  • Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado
    • Bachelor of Arts - 1975
    • Major: Environmental Sociology

References

  • Provided upon request with client's express permission or as noted elsewhere on this website

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Minnesota State Bar Association; Elder Law, Probate, and Trust Law Sections
  • Hennepin County Bar Association
  • Minnesota Lavender Bar Association, Co-Founder
  • OutFront Minnesota, Volunteer Lawyer
  • Lambda Legal
  • HRC (F/K/A Human Rights Campaign)
  • Ducks Unlimited
  • Pheasants Forever
  • Minnesota Forestry Association
  • American Forest Foundation
  • Golden Valley Historical Society

Past Employment Positions

  • Appointed by Governor Arne Carlson (volunteer), Chair, Minnesota Environmental Education Advisory Board
  • Appointed by Governor Rudy Perpich (volunteer), Minnesota Environmental Education Advisory Board
  • Hon. Peter J. Lindberg, Judge, Hennepin County District Court, Law Clerk