JoEllen Doebbert
Attorney at Law

Education

JoEllen Doebbert earned her Juris Doctor degree, cum laude at William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1988. Ms. Doebbert studied international law in Moscow (then the Soviet Union) and in Warsaw, Poland in 1986. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and holds a BA degree in Political Science.

All licensed attorneys in Minnesota are required to take a minimum of 45 hours of continuing legal education credits every three years. Ms. Doebbert regularly attends continuing legal education programs in the areas of estate planning and elder law, among other areas of interest.

Ms. Doebbert has taught numerous courses and workshops on Wills and estate planning issues to interested persons in the Alexandria - Glenwood lakes area.

Legal Work Experience

Ms. Doebbert owns and operates her own law firm at 1022 Broadway, Alexandria, Minnesota. In the Spring of 2003, she opened a satellite office at Glenfield Place, located at 100 17th Avenue Northwest in Glenwood, Minnesota. Appointments may be made at either location. Ms. Doebbert has been in solo practice since 1997. Ms. Doebbert entered the private practice of law in 1991. Upon graduating from law school in 1988, Ms. Doebbert clerked for the US District Court, Magistrate Bernard P. Becker, in St. Paul, Minnesota. She also clerked for two years for the Minnesota District Court, Eighth Judicial District.

During law school, Ms. Doebbert interned at the Office of Administrative Hearings and at the chambers of US District Court Judge Robert Renner. Ms. Doebbert has had work experience in all three branches of government – legislative, judicial, and executive – and has worked at the local, state, and federal levels. She has worked for the Minnesota Legislature, the US Congress, the state and federal courts, and a local zoning office, among other experience.

Bar Admissions

Ms. Doebbert was admitted to practice in the Courts of the State of Minnesota in October of 1988. She was admitted to practice to the U.S. District Court, Minnesota, in August of 1989, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, in 1989.

Professional Associations

JoEllen Doebbert has been a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association since 1988. During her tenure, she has served the Bar in many capacities, including service as a member of the Board of Governors, Chair of the Law Office Management committee, Chair of the Outstate Practice Section, Co-Chair of the Outstate Secretary selection Committee, and a member of many other state and local bar committees. At the local level, Ms. Doebbert served at the pleasure of the Minnesota Supreme Court as Chair of the Sixteenth District Ethics Committee for six years (1997 to 2003), as President of the Sixteenth District Bar Association (2000-2001), and as Investigator and Panel Member of the Sixteenth District Bar Association Ethics Committee from 1990 to the present.

Community Involvements

Ms. Doebbert has served on many community boards and organizations. She is currently a member of the Alexandria Rotary (former board member), the Alexandria Area Business and Professional Women’s organization (parliamentarian), the Glenwood Literary Club (Secretary 2003-2004), Emmanuel Church of Alexandria (Sunday School Superintendent and former Vestry member), the Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce (Past President, 1996), and the Outreach Food Shelf (board member). Ms. Doebbert is very active in issues affecting her children’s school and the local school district.

Awards and Honors

Ms. Doebbert received the prestigious AAA Woman of the Year Award in 1996, which is given by the Alexandria Area Business and Professional Women’s organization annually to a local woman who displays the award’s criteria of Attitude, Action and Achievement.

Ms. Doebbert has received two awards from Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota, including the Special Services Award in 1994, for her "extraordinary advocacy and commitment to justice for low income Minnesotans, and for services performed with quality, dignity and professionalism without regard to personal gratification or compensation."

Personal

JoEllen Doebbert was born in Martin, South Dakota and lived on a farm until she was nearly 8 years old. When she was 16, she moved with her family from South Dakota to the Minneapolis area and lived in the twin cities until she married her husband, Belvin Doebbert, of Glenwood, Minnesota. The Doebberts make their home on Lake Reno, near the family farm, in rural Pope County in the Glenwood-Alexandria lakes area.