Stillwater, MN

Benjamin M. Scheel

Benjamin M. Scheel works in the civil litigation department with Amy Mason, where he litigates complex civil litigation matters from pre-litigation through trial and appeal. Benjamin’s diverse caseload includes estate, probate, and trust disputes; commercial and residential real estate matters; corporate and small business issues; plaintiff personal injury claims; and criminal defense. Through strategic case management and persuasive advocacy, he advances client interests in high-stakes settings. Before attending law school, Benjamin developed foundational experience in property law at a real estate firm in Stillwater, Minnesota. He also gained experience in personal injury litigation at a firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota. During his time at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Benjamin served as a certified student attorney with the Washington and Anoka County Public Defender's Offices, where he managed misdemeanor arraignments. Additionally, he worked as a resident in LEC division of the Ramsey County Attorney's Office, handling a high volume of felony arraignments. Following his graduation from Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Benjamin clerked for the Honorable Nancy Buytendorp in Winona, Minnesota. In this role, he conducted comprehensive legal research and drafted judicial orders across a range of areas, including criminal, civil, family, and juvenile matters. He subsequently joined a firm in Minneapolis, where he defended insurance companies in complex cases involving personal injury, construction law, product liability, and insurance coverage disputes. Later, he transitioned laterally to another Minneapolis firm, specializing in municipal prosecution and civil litigation.

Dwight P. Cummins

Dwight P. Cummins is admitted in both Minnesota and Wisconsin and his primary practice focuses on long range planning and transactions. For over 35 years, he has helped his clients' transfers of wealth be less complicated, more efficient, and less burdened with taxes and transaction costs. For individuals and families he focuses on estate planning, using trusts, wills, and charitable planning, as well as assisting with probate and trust administration after death. Dwight enjoys creating customized documents designed to address the individual needs and goals of the client. He strives to implement estate plans that are practical, and that reflect the personal values of the client. For businesses, he helps with the appropriate entity selection for new businesses, provides general representation for business transactions, helps transfer family businesses to the next generation, and assists both buyers and sellers in business purchases and sales. He also provides representation in commercial and residential real estate transactions, and banking and commercial transactions. Dwight has volunteered on numerous local nonprofit boards, and has held leadership positions in several, including The Bethlehem Foundation (Board Chair), Family Means (Board Chair), Stillwater Area Lions Club (President), Lakeview Memorial Hospital Foundation (Board Chair), and Lakeview Health System (Board Chair).

Cameron Kelly

Cameron Kelly enjoys providing personalized planning for individuals and businesses in Minnesota and Wisconsin. His practice includes assisting clients with comprehensive estate planning, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives, and living wills. He also has a special interest in the estate, gift, and income taxation of estates and trusts. In addition to estate planning, Cameron works with business owners from formation to business succession. Cameron serves in multiple capacities on the Probate & Trust Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association. He is a member of the Section Council, the co-chair of the Section’s Legislative Committee and Past Chair of the Section’s Technology Committee. He testified before the Minnesota House of Representatives Judiciary Finance/Civil Law Committee on the Electronic Wills Act in January 2023 as a part of his work with the Probate & Trust Section, which subsequently passed and became law on August 1, 2023. He is a frequent speaker on estate planning, trusts, tax planning, business succession planning, and real estate. Residing his entire life in Minnesota, Cameron lives with his wife, daughter, and two sons in Stillwater, Minnesota. He is active in the Stillwater and Hudson communities, including providing legal services to cancer patients through Cancer Legal Care and, receiving their Volunteer Attorney of the Year award in 2015 and is a past member of the City of Stillwater Planning Commission.

Anne K. Stoudt

Anne graduated from St. Olaf College in 2004, with majors in Political Science and Math. Anne went on to William Mitchell College of Law, graduating in 2007, and has been in private practice since then. Prior to Stoudt Law, Anne developed experience in civil litigation, business law, contracts disputes, real estate transactions, banking law, estate planning and personal injury law. Anne founded Stoudt Law in 2015, focusing solely on personal injury cases. Anne is a zealous advocate for her clients, focused on maximizing their total recovery in the most efficient and effective way possible.

Justin D. Bonestroo

Justin D. Bonestroo is admitted in both Minnesota and Wisconsin and his primary practice focuses on estate planning, small business and real estate transactions. Justin enjoys working alongside and educating his clients to confidently analyze and precisely implement informed decisions. Whether he is helping prepare a long term estate plan or assisting with a commercial business transaction, he seeks to build a mutually authentic relationship between himself and the client. Justin currently serves (or has served) on numerous non-profit boards, including most recently Youth Advantage (as Chair) and the Stillwater Library Foundation (as Vice Chair). He also has served as a volunteer mentor, teacher, youth basketball coach, and currently serves on the Baytown Township Planning Commission.

Ben Bonestroo

Ben is admitted to practice in Minnesota and primarily focuses on estate planning and administration issues. Prior to joining Cummins and Bonestroo, Ben practiced in the Minneapolis office of a national law firm advising high and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families, fiduciaries, trustees, large banks and trust companies, family offices, and family businesses.

Patrick J. Gallagher

Pat was born and raised in St. Paul. He received a B.A. in Economics from Creighton University and graduated with honors from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1974. Pat has helped many individuals and families determine how best to protect and pass on their assets. He has helped many business owners transfer control of their business to family members during lifetime or as part of an estate plan to take effect at death. He has also represented numerous clients in transactional real estate and small business matters. Pat has been honored in a survey by Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine as one of the top attorneys in Minnesota. Pat was the course chair for the 2010 and 2011 Minnesota Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Seminars on the Basics of Wills and Trusts, and for their 2012, 2013 and 2014 seminars on Drafting Your First Will and Trust. He also has co-authored a chapter of a Minnesota CLE Deskbook on Estate Planning for Non-Traditional Families. He is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association and three of its sections: the Probate and Trust Law Section, the Real Estate Section and the Elder Law Section. He is also a member of the 10th Judicial District and Ramsey County Bar Section. Pat has spoken at numerous seminars on topics related to his practice, and has been a contributing author of the Elder Law Handbook published by Minnesota CLE.