Seth A. Thompson

Seth maintains a labor and employment law, construction law, and general litigation practice in our Bismarck office.

Seth has experience handling construction claims involving a wide variety of issues on projects including industrial facilities, commercial facilities, hotels, retail development, residential housing, and road and highway projects. He also litigates a wide variety of labor and employment disputes, both in court and before arbitrators.

Seth has been a Master Electrician since 2003. He uses this hands-on, detailed knowledge of the construction industry to help general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and owners achieve their goals—in and out of court. Prior to becoming an attorney, Seth worked on numerous construction projects, ranging from residential projects to the construction of a $60 million dollar hospital. He received a two-year trade school degree in construction electricity and completed a three-year U.S. Department of Labor approved electrical apprenticeship program.

While working as an electrician, Seth attended night and weekend classes for three years to obtain his Bachelor’s Degree. Always up for a challenge, he then took night classes to earn a Master’s Degree in management with an emphasis in human resources.

Seth also spent four years working for a labor union negotiating collective bargaining agreements and handling arbitrations and mediations. He was the head elected official of the 900-member organization for two years. During this time, Seth was also an arbitrator on the nation’s oldest dispute resolution panel in the construction industry, the IBEW/NECA Council on Industrial Relations, in Washington, D.C.

Seth graduated with distinction from the University of Minnesota School of Law. He was elected to the Order of the Coif. Seth graduated with an emphasis in labor and employment law. During law school, Seth served as the Editor-in-Chief of the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law and received the ABA-BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Labor and Employment Law. He also clerked for a public-sector labor union and Region 18 of the National Labor Relations Board.

After law school, Seth served as a law clerk to Justice Carol Ronning Kapsner of the North Dakota Supreme Court.

Seth grew up in the Lignite and Crosby area, and his wife, Anna, is originally from New Salem. In his spare time, Seth enjoys riding his Harley, golfing, hunting, and spending time with his wife and twins, Ruby and Jack.

As a former volunteer fireman on two rural fire departments, civic participation is important to Seth. He currently serves on the Court Facilities Improvement Advisory Committee and participates in various United Way activities.