Vincent D. Louwagie

Vincent Louwagie is a shareholder of Anthony Ostlund, and a trial lawyer who practices in all areas of business litigation with an emphasis in investment matters. He is consistently and widely recognized as one of the top business litigators in the state of Minnesota.

Vince's practice is enhanced by his previous experience as a financial auditor with KPMG. That background allows him to better understand the transactions and financial reports that form the backbone of his clients’ investments. He has litigated disputes involving investments of all kinds, and has tried cases to arbitration award or jury verdicts.

Vince’s financial auditing experience informs his representation of broker dealers, registered representatives and customers in securities matters. He has represented in excess of 30 broker dealers and investment advisor companies. He regularly advises and represents one of the pre-eminent independent broker dealers in the country on a wide variety of planning and other issues, including regulatory, risk, employment, and customer-related issues. Vince has served as a mediator on several occasions to resolve investment-related disputes.

Vince has extensive experience in shareholder disputes. In 1998, Vince represented the prevailing party in the seminal Minnesota Supreme Court case of Wessin v. Archives, 581 NW2d 380, (1998), which set the standard for distinguishing between direct and derivative claims by shareholders.

He has served as a board appointed Special Litigation Committee for a number of Minnesota Companies and as a court-appointed Consensual Special Magistrate. As Consensual Special Magistrate, Vince presided over an 8-day trial and his decision and order was upheld by the Minnesota Court of Appeals on all substantive grounds. ROA, Inc. v. Nicholson, No. A12-1695, 2013 WL 2460354 (Minn. Ct. App. June 10, 2013).

Because lawyers are the most sophisticated consumers of legal services, Vince is proud to have been selected on numerous occasions to represent lawyers and law firms in connection with law firm owner disputes. Vince tried one such case to a successful jury verdict obtaining a multi-million dollar judgment on behalf of Brian Williams in the case of Williams v. Heins, Mills & Olson.

Vince considers referrals from other lawyers (many of whom have opposed Vince in litigation) his greatest compliment. Vince has earned the respect of hundreds of referring lawyers from all over Minnesota and beyond.

"As an estate and trust lawyer who has helped many clients with business planning, I have frequently turned to Vince Louwagie when clients needed vigorous representation in complex business litigation. Vince is creative, intelligent, persistent and experienced. Both my clients and I have come to rely upon his judgment, knowledge and skill. I have no hesitation in recommending him to my clients."

— Alan Yanowitz, Estate and Trust Lawyer, Rochester, Minnesota