Waconia, MN

John C. Syverson

John joined MHS in 2024 as an experienced trial lawyer with verdicts across Minnesota. He sharpened his trial skills defending personal injury cases and brings this background to MHS to advocate for the rights of seriously injured persons. He combines courtroom experiences with compassion for the rights of his clients and their families to tell each client’s personal story in a compelling way. John focuses his practice on assisting people that have endured life-altering injuries. His experience in personal injury litigation includes car and truck collisions, motorcycle crashes, work injuries, and other personal injury tragedy experienced through no fault of their own. Prior to MHS, John managed personal injury law offices in Minnesota and Wisconsin for a large insurance company. He has tried a wide variety of personal injury cases including motor vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian crashes along with slip-and-fall, wrongful death, and other insurance disputes. John is a member of the Minnesota Association for Justice and has served as an arbitrator appointed by the Supreme Court No-Fault Standing Committee for Minnesota No-Fault automobile insurance cases. He is additionally licensed to practice law in Wisconsin and Iowa. John has appeared before the Minnesota Court of Appeals, the Minnesota Supreme Court, and the United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Kathryn J. Barnes

Katie understands that an attorney’s job is to serve in the best interest of others. She works hard to build relationships with her clients and provide them with individualized solutions to meet their needs. She listens carefully to her clients and asks the necessary questions needed to move forward. Even more, she posses the diligence and knowledge required to address several client issues simultaneously. Throughout her career, providing excellent client service has been Katie’s highest priority. Seeing her clients return to the firm time after time is a testament to Katie’s focus on service. Katie uses her legal expertise to help individuals, families, farmers and business owners plan for their future and preserve assets. She also helps clients with medical and disability planning.

Travis J. Adams

Travis is a skilled trial lawyer and litigator advocating for the rights of the seriously injured. Travis started his career representing insurance companies and defending personal injury matters. As a result, he has insight into helping injured clients navigate insurance disputes which are oftentimes intentionally confusing and misleading. Travis’ practice is devoted to representing individuals who have been injured at work, in motor vehicle crashes, or in other matters. He believes that a client is best served by an attorney who is always prepared to go to trial but has enough empathy and compassion to walk clients through a challenging time in their lives. Throughout Minnesota, Travis has assisted his clients in obtaining fair compensation for their injuries by way of processing settlements, obtaining arbitration awards, and effectuating jury verdicts.

J. Michael Melchert

For more than 30 years, Mike has provided his clients with practical and effective legal representation. A significant portion of Mike’s practice involves assisting clients that are buying, selling, developing, financing, and leasing commercial real estate. He also has significant experience with contract negotiations and business issues. Mike’s clients include nonprofit hospitals, municipalities, property management companies, developers, farmers and individuals. Mike is a certified real property specialist. He also serves as an elected member of the Real Property Counsel of the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA), which operates as the governing body of the MSBA’s Real Estate Section. At Melchert Hubert Sjodin, Mike heads the firm’s Municipal Practice Group. Businesses and individuals retain Mike to help them with their most important and complex projects. For example, Mike assisted one of his healthcare clients develop the first standalone emergency room in Minnesota. He also helped a municipal client structure and document one of the first community center projects in Minnesota that involved a city and a school district sharing a recreational facility.

P. David Melchert

David’s many years of experience in financial and project management give him the skills to advise his clients on the intricacies of estate planning and long-term care. David helps his clients understand that estate planning should include both having an effective distribution plan in place and saving money. David makes building long-term relationships a priority and prides himself on representing multiple generations of the families he serves. David works with clients to create an estate plan that works best for their situation and that carries out each client’s wishes, whether that involves establishing health care directives, powers of attorney, beneficiary designations, wills and trusts, or use of other estate planning tools. He also helps family members navigate the probate and trust administration process. In addition, David has experience in real estate transactions, particularly those involved with the estate planning process, preservation of assets for the next generation, and succession planning.

Matthew D. McDougall

Matthew is a passionate and pragmatic advocate emphasizing realistic expectations and outcomes for his litigation clients. He is frequently utilized by other attorneys to efficiently and effectively handle a variety of litigation matters, and he successfully represents clients in actions ranging from simple to highly complex litigation disputes. Matthew litigates cases in civil, appellate, and administrative law courts, and strives to provide each of his clients with the highest standard of legal representation. A resident of Waconia, Minnesota, Matthew received his B.S. in Criminology from Kansas State University and received his J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law. During law school, Matthew was a member of the Rosalie E. Wahl Moot Court Team, served as a Judicial Extern for former Ramsey County Chief Judge Gregg Johnson, and completed an externship with the Hennepin County Examiner of Titles Office. Matthew is a former President of the Eighth District Bar Association. He joined Melchert Hubert Sjodin in 2012.

Jason R. Lee

Jason is the President of our affiliated title agency, Title Mark. He also represents clients in real estate matters. He understands the importance of listening to his clients and thoughtfully crafting appropriate and individualized solutions to meet their legal needs. Jason currently serves as the President of the Eighth District Bar Association and is on the Board of Directors for Wheel and Cog Children’s Museum. Prior to joining Melchert Hubert Sjodin, Jason served as a Judicial Clerk for United States District Judge Samuel H. Mays, Jr., and then spent several years representing Minnesota individuals and businesses in litigation matters. Jason received his B.A. from the University of Central Florida and received his J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law. During law school, Jason was elected class president, served on the executive board of the MSU Law Review, and served as a Judicial Extern for Judge David W. McKeague of the U.S. Sixth Circuit. Jason is also a U.S. military veteran.