Drawing on her extensive experience in complex litigation, technology, and business, Tara helps her clients leverage and defend their intellectual property inside and outside the courtroom.  Ranking Tara among Minnesota’s top IP attorneys, Chambers USA 2022 states, “Tara is a fierce and highly skilled advocate.”

Tara focuses on high-stakes patent, trade secret, trademark and business litigation with a keen strategic view and relentless attention to details that matter. She has secured victories in district and appellate courts and arbitrations across the country, and negotiated licenses and multimillion-dollar agreements in matters involving a wide spectrum of technologies, including medical devices, financial systems, radiation therapy systems, dental treatments, glass coatings, and consumer goods, among others.

In addition to her IP practice, Tara routinely serves as an appointee of the Federal Court in various capacities. She served as general counsel for the Receiver in the $190 million Trevor Cook Ponzi scheme, the second-largest fraud in Minnesota history, where she led the effort to repatriate assets from around the globe that were stolen under the guise of an international investment program. She also served as general counsel in the Inter-Mark receivership, where she oversaw the return of $26 million to individuals around the world. Her work on behalf of the Court and with the SEC, CFTC, and U.S. Department of Justice has earned her high regard around the country in sophisticated fraud and financial matters.  She also has been appointed as a Rule 54 Special Master in the Baycol qui tam action pending in the District of Minnesota.

Tara brings first-hand business experience to every matter she handles, having worked for a global consulting firm before becoming a lawyer. Prior to joining Carlson Caspers, Tara clerked for the Honorable Donald P. Lay of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and practiced with Sidley, an international law firm headquartered in Chicago.

Tara is a member of the firm’s Management Committee.  She also is the firm’s chief marketing partner and co-founder and co-chair of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, which leads the firm’s actions in fulfillment of its commitment to ensuring that all people, regardless of color, creed, sexual orientation, disability, or other unique human characteristic, can excel and thrive in the firm, the profession, and the community.

Beyond the firm, Tara is a widely recognized national leader advancing DE&I in the legal profession and is a frequent speaker on these topics.  She served as President of the Federal Bar Association’s Minnesota Chapter in 2016-17 and has led numerous initiatives with the Chapter and the District Court during over a decade of service on the Board.  At the national level, she founded and chairs the FBA’s DE&I Committee, which developed and is now implementing a multi-year DE&I Action Plan for the organization and its 100+ chapters around the nation.

In 2022 Tara was honored with the prestigious Earl W. Kintner Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession by the national FBA. She is routinely named among the top IP lawyers in Minnesota and has been honored twice as an Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer and featured by Attorney at Law Magazine, in celebration of women attorneys who exemplify excellence in the Minnesota legal profession. Tara has chaired and served on several Merit Selection Panels for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota and the Court’s Markman Study Group. She also has helped to develop numerous programs for the Court and the community it serves, including The Latino Experience, featuring Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and most recently,  An Unfinished Journey, a multifaceted educational program focused on civil rights for people with developmental disabilities and the role of the federal courts.

Outside of her law practice, Tara serves on the Board of Directors for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. She also works with Friends of FANA, Minnesota, a non-profit organization established to unite Colombian children of all ages with adoptive families. She also has served on the Board of Trustees for Sunny Hollow Montessori.

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