Evan Berquist
In Memoriam
Overview
In Memoriam, 1982 - 2025
It is with great sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of our colleague and dear friend, Evan Berquist, on May 9, 2025.
Evan joined Maslon two years ago as a partner in the Corporate & Securities Group, where he was a talented and valued member of our team. Evan assisted entrepreneurs, business owners, managers, board members, and in-house counsel with a wide range of legal needs, including mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, employment matters, and financing transactions.
A native of Minnesota, Evan earned his law degree from Stanford Law School in 2011 and then clerked for two years for a federal district court judge in Puerto Rico, which suited him well as he was fluent in Spanish. Evan spent over a decade in private practice, most recently at Cozen O'Connor, before joining Maslon in 2023.
Evan dedicated significant time to pro bono efforts involving technology education for disadvantaged youth in Minnesota and East Africa. He also won a federal court case that allowed First Lutheran Church in St. Paul to keep operating a shelter for homeless individuals. He was honored for that work with an Excellence Award for Pro Bono Service by the Hennepin County Bar Association in 2020. Evan was also recognized as an Up & Coming Attorney by Minnesota Lawyer and a Minnesota Rising Star as part of the Super Lawyers selection process.
Evan was a wonderful person and will be deeply missed. Maslon extends its deepest condolences to Evan’s wife, Laura, their son and daughter, and their other family and friends.
Experience
At Maslon, Evan has been involved in the following matters, representing:
- 3M Company in connection with the spinoff of its health care business into a new independent company, Solventum. Evan provided legal support to the procurement functions of 3M and the new company, helping negotiate and transition hundreds of supply agreements.
- Azul Corporation, a 3-D printing company, in its Series B investment.
- A community bank in multiple financing transactions, including a common stock offering and redemption of convertible notes.
- An AI company headquartered in the UK, for which Evan serves as U.S. counsel, assisting with company formation and governance, a Series B investment round, customer agreements, and compliance matters.
- A staffing company headquartered in Canada in its expansion to the U.S. market, and related governance, compliance, contracting, and employment matters.
- A virtual reality game development studio as outside general counsel. Assist father and son founder team with commercial agreements, trademarks, terms of service, privacy-related matters, financing, and joint venture transactions.
- Founders of a company providing software-as-a-service, in the sale of their company to a third-party private equity buyer.
- An IT consulting services company, assisting with master service agreements and related contracts.
- A beekeeping and poultry supply business in several transactions, including a buy-side acquisition, supply agreements, employment, and IP matters.
- An oil and gas services industry in its acquisition of a logistics company and related financing transactions.
- A construction products manufacturer and distributor in its acquisition of a smaller competitor.
- A movie production company in several transactions, including a common stock investment, distribution agreement, and related employment and financing matters.
- A 50% owner of a mine and quarry business in ownership and governance negotiations with the business’ co-owner. Negotiated an operating agreement and related restructuring transactions.
- A real estate developer and hotel owner in restructuring and financing transactions with its lender and co-investors.
Before joining Maslon, Evan represented the following:
- Premier Roofing, one of the largest roofing contractors and vendor managed networks in the U.S., in its growth equity investment from Aurora Capital Partners.
- PrairieCare, a leading provider of mental health services in the Midwest, in its sale to Newport Healthcare.
- Kingland Systems, a leading provider of enterprise data software, in its strategic partnership and minority investment with Abry Partners.
- Pinnacle 21, a leading provider of SaaS solutions for clinical data fitness, regulatory compliance, and submission readiness, in its acquisition by Certara, Inc.
- ConsumerMedical, a leading clinical advocacy and expert medical opinion company, in its acquisition by Alight Solutions.
- Phoenix Integration, Inc., a provider of software that enables model-based engineering (MBE) and model-based systems engineering (MBSE), in its sale to Ansys.
- Exscribe, an orthopedics electronic health records (EHR) vendor, in its sale to Modernizing Medicine.
- Petplan, a leading pet health insurance provider in North America, in its acquisition by Warburg Pincus.
Honors
Recognized on Minnesota Rising Stars list as part of the Super Lawyers selection process, 2022 (Minnesota Rising Stars is a designation given to only 2.5% of Minnesota attorneys each year, based on a selection process that includes the recommendation of peers in the legal profession.)
Excellence Award for Pro Bono Service, Hennepin County Bar Association, 2020