Christopher Celichowski represents clients in a variety of matters involving Minnesota workers’ compensation, subrogation, employer liability, general liability, dram shop, employment, and OSHA defense matters. A shareholder with the Firm since 1993, Mr. Celichowski heads O'Meara Wagner P.A.'s Workers' Compensation Section, one of the largest Workers' Compensation practice groups in the state. He began his career with the Firm in 1987 as a law clerk. Mr. Celichowski served as the Firm's managing partner from 1997-2000 and from 2004-2006.
Mr. Celichowski graduated summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point in 1984. He received his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1988. At the University, he served as a managing editor for the Journal of Law & Inequality, was on the Dean’s List, and earned the William O. Douglas Award for excellence in Constitutional Law. Admitted to practice in Minnesota state and federal courts, he is a member of the American Bar Association, the Minnesota State Bar Association, the Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association and the Hennepin County Bar Association.
He litigates cases in civil, appellate and administrative law courts. He lectures extensively and has prepared seminar materials for workers’ compensation, workers’ compensation subrogation, employer liability and dram shop audiences. In 2003, he co-authored an essay, “Recent Developments in Minnesota Dram Shop Law” which appeared in Vol. 30, No. 2 of the William Mitchell Law Review.
His peers have voted him a Minnesota "Super Lawyer" and "Rising Star" in Law and Politics magazine. His professional colleagues have also given him an "AV" rating through the LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings signifying very high to pre-eminent legal ability and very high general standards.
He lives with his wife, Bonnie Sons, and their four children in Shorewood, Minnesota. Outside the office he coaches multiple youth sports, serves on various community boards and enjoys competitive running and freelance writing.
Education
- St. Lawrence Seminary High School (Mt. Calvary, WI) 1980
- University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point, B.S., magna cum laude, 1984
- University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., 1988
- Dean’s List
- Managing Editor, Journal of Law and Inequality
- William O. Douglas Award for Excellence in Constitutional Law
Bar Admissions
- Minnesota
- U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
Affiliations
- Minnesota State Bar Association
- Hennepin County Bar Association
- International Society of Primerus Law Firms
Author & Speaker
- Speaker, Chiropractors in Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Cases: Foundations of Care, History of Compensability, Defenses to Claims and Fraud, CEU Institute, May 3, 2011, Maple Grove, MN.
- Speaker, Defense Perspective on WC Law & Rules and Rehab as a Defense Attorney Sees It, presentation to Minnesota Rehabilitation Association, 2011 Spring Conference, April 21, 2011
- Faculty, “Workers’ Compensation Law & Practice” CLE seminar presented by Sterling Education Services, 11/17/2010, and Speaker Workers’ Compensation Settlements and Hot Topics in Minnesota Workers’ Compensation
- Seminar moderator, Breaking the Cycle of Prolonged Passive Modalities, SpeakerApplication of Minnesota Workers' Compensation Treatment Parameters to Soft Tissue Injury Cases, May 2007, Sponsored by Woodlake Medical
- Co-author, Recent Developments in Minnesota Dram Shop Law, Vol. 30, No. 2, William Mitchell Law Review, 613-645 (2003).
- Author, Development of Naig and Reverse - Naig Settlements, Feb. 2001, Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association, Mid winter conference, author and speaker.
- Author, Racial Discrimination Under 42 U.S. § 1982: Proof or Perceptions? Shaare Tefila Congregation v. Cobb, Law and Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice, vol. V, No.1 (May 1987)