Mary Kay Kolar - Partner

Resolving complex medical malpractice cases comes naturally to HDBOB partner Mary Kay Kolar. Prior to graduating magna cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law, she graduated summa cum laude from Augsburg College with a B.S. in Nursing and worked as an R.N. in Critical Care. In law school, she was drawn to topics that involved personal injury. When HDBOB principal Gene Bradt interviewed her, he was impressed with her nursing background and personal injury education, and asked if she would be interested in medical malpractice. She was. Mary Kay never looked back, litigating many cases where she settled or obtained verdicts in excess of $1 million, including one case that resulted in the largest plaintiff’s medical malpractice jury verdict ever in Douglas County, Minn., for $2.4 million.

Mary Kay also practices extensively in Wisconsin, primarily in the area of defending automobile accident claims. She believes representing both plaintiffs and defendants allows her to be more objective when evaluating cases, as she is able to view both sides of each case from a more neutral perspective.

Mary Kay has been at HDBOB since 1982. She says, “It’s been my first and only job as an attorney. I started right out of law school and I’ve been here so long, I can’t leave!” She proudly says the firm is unique because of its collegiality, lack of class distinction between partners and associates, and great teaching atmosphere. “We’re not the biggest, not the flashiest, but among judges and peers we have an excellent reputation as a law firm and we work very hard to keep it. There’s not much turnover at the top. The same partners are still here, and that says something,” she adds.

Recently Mary Kay was elected to the BlueSky Charter School Board of Directors. BlueSky is Minnesota's first totally virtual school for grades 7-12, and serves over 800 students throughout Minnesota.

When she retires, she would like to sell antiques or become an interior designer. Both would be excellent choices and use her talents as a “closet handy person.” Mary Kay has a power drill and knows how to use it––for everything from assembling furniture to projects around the house she shares in Woodbury with her husband and their daughter, who is also handy with the drill thanks to her mother’s careful tutelage.

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