Biographies

Susan C. Rhode is a shareholder and board member at Moss & Barnett.  Renowned for her extensive experience and high ethical standards as a family law attorney, Ms. Rhode has been listed among The Best Lawyers in America and repeatedly named a Super Lawyer due to her exemplary work in representing families who have marital, divorce and other family issues.  Ms. Rhode is also the current President of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Minnesota Chapter, and actively works to shape the practice of family law in this capacity.

Ms. Rhode works with clients to resolve financial and family issues either through settlement or litigation.  She frequently works on complex financial issues which include business valuations, executive compensation valuation and division, and complex property divisions.  She represents clients in spousal maintenance and child support cases to address a client's short and long term ability to sustain his or her lifestyle.  Ms. Rhode also works with families to create effective parenting plans for their children that minimize the effects of divorce on children.

In addition, Ms. Rhode helps clients create prenuptial and postnuptial agreements to avoid future problems.  Her approach is to help the client create a fair and respectful long-term financial settlement in the event of a divorce or the death of a spouse.  Ms. Rhode also represents clients in litigating premarital and post-marital agreements which may include trial and appeal of this issue.

Ms. Rhode's practice has included working on some of the seminal cases in current Minnesota law on various issues including:  nonmarital property in Gottsacker v. Gottsacker, spousal maintenance in Hecker v. Hecker and premarital agreements in McKee Johnson v. Johnson.

In addition to her daily practice, Ms. Rhode also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Moss & Barnett, assisting in various areas of firm governance, including pro bono programs, associate issues and other management issues.

Ms. Rhode is a frequent lecturer to both local and state family law bar organizations.  She lectures on specific practice topics as well as teaching general practice techniques.  She has written on issues such as substantive fairness in premarital agreements, spousal maintenance trends and motion practice.

Ms. Rhode devotes time to helping the children in our city through her work with Friends of Children.  She currently serves as President of this organization which provides special assistance to children who are in long-term foster care or are state wards.  She has served as a representative to the Hennepin County Bar Association Board of Directors and is an active member in local Bar activities for the Family Law Bar.  Ms. Rhode also contributes by her work on a Hennepin County Early Neutral Financial Evaluation pilot program to assist families in reaching efficient and economical settlements.