MINNEAPOLIS – Oct. 20, 2025 – Lorie Skjerven Gildea, a shareholder in global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP’s Minneapolis office, has been named a 2025 Minnesota ICON Award honoree by Finance & Commerce and Minnesota Lawyer. The award recognizes leaders with distinguished careers, notable achievements, and exceptional ability to inspire and guide others. She will be honored at the Minnesota ICON Awards ceremony Dec. 11.
Gildea is a member of Greenberg Traruig’s Litigation Practice, where she represents clients in civil litigation and appellate matters.
She is celebrated for her significant impact on Minnesota’s legal landscape, including her 13 years of service as chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. She was the second woman to hold the position and the third longest-serving chief justice in the state’s history.
During her tenure, she presided over one of the most transformative eras in the history of the Minnesota judiciary, advancing the courts into the digital age and navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before joining the Supreme Court, Gildea served as a judge in the Fourth Judicial District, Hennepin County, a prosecutor in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, and associate general counsel for the University of Minnesota. In 2024, Gildea was inducted into the National Center for State Courts Warren E. Burger Society and received the 2024 Advocate Award from the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Civil Litigation Section.