The Honorable Ellen L. Maas (Ret.) serves as a JAMS arbitrator and mediator in Minneapolis, bringing to her neutral practice the experience of a 28-year career as a Minnesota District Court judge. Appointed to the bench in 1995 by Governor Arne Carlson and subsequently elected five times, Judge Maas was nationally recognized for her handling of a six-week jury trial arising from a 2003 multiple-fatality train collision — Frazier v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. — and routinely presided over complex civil litigation matters including product liability, employment, professional liability, and consumer law cases. Before taking the bench, she had an active trial practice at Popham, Haik, Schnobrich & Kaufman and Arthur, Chapman & Michaelson in the areas of toxic tort, product liability, negligence, employment, municipal liability, and insurance coverage. She holds a B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Drake University and a J.D., With Distinction, from the University of Iowa College of Law.