Joseph T. Pates grew up as part of a military family with deep family ties to Minnesota. After obtaining his undergraduate degree in English, Joe returned to Minnesota to complete his Juris Doctorate at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Prior to joining Deckert Law, Joe worked for firms in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Brainerd, Minnesota, assisting clients with a wide variety of legal issues that involved civil litigation, business disputes, municipalities, administrative law, real estate, contracts, and estate planning.

Joe now focuses his practice on estate planning, probate, and trust administration. Joe finds great fulfillment in helping and serving others and strongly believes in the importance of approaching all legal matters with diligence, integrity, and excellence.

In his hard-earned spare time, Joe treasures each moment spent with his wife, Angie. He also enjoys reading, hiking, kayaking, gardening, and playing banjo and guitar.

Areas of Practice

• Wills Trusts and Estates
• Probate and Trust Administration
• Business
• Real Estate
• Civil Litigation

Education

• Mitchell Hamline School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, J.D., 2019 cum laude
  • Honors: CALI Award Winner – Criminal Law and The American Corporation
  • Dean’s List
• Thomas Edison State College, B.A. 2015

Bar Admission

• State of Minnesota, 2019

Past and Present Professional Associations

• Minnesota State Bar Association

Publications

• Joe is the published author of Chapter 10 here (with Mark Severson):
  The Law of the Great Outdoors – Minnesota CLE (minncle.org)