Maggie Mahoney
by Michael Krieger
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Born: Dec. 14, 1972; South Bend, Ind.
Education: William Mitchell College of Law, J.D., 2001; University of Minnesota, B.I.S., 1996
Employment: Ameriprise Financial, associate counsel, 2004-present
Professional Associations: Tobacco Law Center, staff attorney, 2006-present; William Mitchell College of Law, adjunct professor, 2005-present; Office of the Monitor, staff attorney, 2002-06; Minnesota Court of Appeals, law clerk to Judge Sam Hanson, 2001-02
Professional Associations: Hennepin County Bar Association, Minnesota State Bar Association, Warren E. Burger American Inn of Court
Community Activities: Minneapolis block club leader
Hobbies/Interests: Camping, gardening, reading mysteries, rowing
Family: Husband, Dan Sward
Tobacco Law Center
Education: William Mitchell College of Law, J.D., 2001; University of Minnesota, B.I.S., 1996
Employment: Ameriprise Financial, associate counsel, 2004-present
Professional Associations: Tobacco Law Center, staff attorney, 2006-present; William Mitchell College of Law, adjunct professor, 2005-present; Office of the Monitor, staff attorney, 2002-06; Minnesota Court of Appeals, law clerk to Judge Sam Hanson, 2001-02
Professional Associations: Hennepin County Bar Association, Minnesota State Bar Association, Warren E. Burger American Inn of Court
Community Activities: Minneapolis block club leader
Hobbies/Interests: Camping, gardening, reading mysteries, rowing
Family: Husband, Dan Sward
Attention smokers: You’d do well to quit now, because Maggie Mahoney is on the march.
Mahoney is an attorney with the Tobacco Law Center in St. Paul, where she offers legal support for anti-smoking advocates and legislation aimed at snuffing cigarette use in public places.
Her fascination with the law began while working in the human resources department at the University of Minnesota. There, Mahoney frequently spent time with attorneys on employment matters.
“I really wanted to develop my analytical thinking to be like those lawyers who helped us with our cases,” she says.
But during her time in law school — and later while clerking for then-Judge Sam Hanson — Mahoney says her interest in labor law gave way to public interest law.
To that end, she spent four years in the Office of the Monitor after earning her law degree. The office was established in 2000 to review class action claims stemming from a massive civil rights suit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
She also teaches an advocacy and a public health law course as an adjunct professor at the William Mitchell College of Law, where the Tobacco Law Center is based.
Most of the center’s resources are directed toward anti-smoking efforts in Minnesota. But it is also part of a nationwide consortium, and Mahoney is one of just two people within the group who offers legal help across the country.
One day, Mahoney may get a call from someone in Kentucky asking for advice on how to word a city ordinance. Another day, she may be tasked with researching caselaw to defend a smoking ban in Ohio.
The Tobacco Law Center’s ability to track court challenges and law changes across the country is one thing that makes it so useful. Mahoney says the center has access to materials that aren’t readily available from traditional legal databases, so it can better promote and defend anti-smoking laws by citing cases with similar fact patterns.
Still, smoking bans can be a tough pill for some people to swallow. The Wisconsin Legislature, for example, this year tried to pass a law that bans smoking in bars and restaurants, but failed.
And here in Minnesota, there have been several attempts to circumvent the smoking ban — such as efforts to exploit the so-called theater night loophole. Mahoney says she has seen this type of creativity elsewhere, and the courts see right through it.
“The nice thing is that we can recommend changes to keep these things from happening,” she says.
So until there’s a nationwide smoking ban, or the United States adopts tobacco control measures suggested by the World Health Organization, Mahoney will have her hands full.
“Unlike some areas of law, this seems like it has a direct impact on people’s quality of life,” she says.
