Doug Seaton, a long-time Minnesota labor and employment law attorney, decided the time had come to establish a public-policy law firm and founded the Upper Midwest Law Center in 2019. Having observed decades of left-wing special interest domination of government and a stranglehold in Minnesota and the region by public-sector unions, Doug came to the conclusion that the best path forward to protect individuals, businesses and organizations whose rights have been trampled on was through legal action. Although Doug had been fighting for these rights for years in private practice, he believed that only a center-right public-policy law firm dedicated to changing laws and policies could have a meaningful impact on Minnesota’s policy and cultural landscape.

While with his previous firm, Seaton, Peters & Revnew, Doug’s frequent victories against governmental overreach, public sector union coercion and dues skimming, and special interest agendas left a real mark on the state. For example, in 2011, he successfully challenged the constitutionality of Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton’s Executive Order seeking to unionize childcare providers, even though the workers were not actual public employees.

Also, in 1999, Doug was successful in getting a drastic change to Minnesota’s prevailing wage law declared unconstitutional. The proposed change (which to this day has not been enacted) would have discriminated against contractors and employees who choose not to be union-affiliated and cost Minnesota taxpayers millions of dollars to subsidize inflated wage requirements. He has also successfully overturned city ordinances restricting competition and sanctioned violent protesters interfering with people’s livelihoods and businesses.