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Founding Partner

Bart Torvik

Founding Partner

Bart Torvik is a skilled personal injury and foodborne illness attorney, with years of experience in litigation. After graduating at the top of his class from the University of Minnesota Law School, he clerked for Judge James M. Rosenbaum, the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. Following this position, Bart worked at a large Minnesota firm where he handled every aspect of litigation, from initial consultations to jury trials.

In 2010, Bart moved to Evanston, Illinois after his wife Laura became a Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. In Evanston, Bart became General Counsel for Evanston-based provider of innovative alternative energy solutions and services, and then in 2011 started his own firm, Torvik Law LLC.

At Torvik Law, Bart successfully helped hundreds of individuals to protect their rights in court. He also began working with Brendan Flaherty and Ryan Osterholm, his future partners at OFT Food Safety & Injury Lawyers, to get justice for people sickened, through no fault of their own, by food suppliers focused only on their own bottom lines rather than the health and safety of their customers. This work convinced Bart of the need to start OFT Food Safety & Injury Lawyers to protect the safety of the food we eat and help the people who are harmed when food suppliers don’t put safety first. Bart is licensed in Illinois and maintains the firm’s Illinois office in Evanston, just north of Chicago.

Bart lives in Evanston, Illinois with his wife Laura and their two school-aged daughters. They enjoy spending time together wherever and whenever possible, but especially at home on the couch.

Bart’s practice areas include:

“At OFT, I use my diverse legal background to help analyze complex legal and scientific issues that arise in cases involving foodborne illness. Every case is different, and every case requires careful analysis and strategic thinking. Most importantly, every single client deserves my focused attention. I take pride in offering careful strategic counsel, and gladly fight for what is right for my clients.”

Firm Results

$10 million

Seven infants were sickened after consuming a contaminated food product marketed to infants

$6.5 million

Verdict on behalf of a little boy who contracted a severe Salmonella infection from chicken

$7.55 million

Verdict on behalf of a little girl who contracted E. coli at a petting zoo

$2.25 million

E. coli infections contracted from a major fast food chain

$45 million

An over-the-counter medication caused severe kidney damage to multiple users

$3.4 million

A pregnant woman contracted a Listeria infection from contaminated fruit and passed the infection to her child

$3 million

Multistate Cyclospora outbreaks

$275,000

A couple contracted Salmonella from a restaurant

$525,000

A pedestrian was struck by a left-turning car, fracturing her tibia

$700,000

A semi-truck rear-ended a motorcyclist causing a collapsed lung, rib fractures and road rash


  • Bar Admissions

    • Illinois
    • Minnesota (inactive)
    • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
    • United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Trial and General Bars)
    • United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
    • United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin


  • Education

    • University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., 2003
    • University of Wisconsin - Madison, B.A., 1999


  • Professional Associations & Memberships

    • Chicago Bar Association, Member
    • Illinois State Bar Association, Member


  • Notable Verdicts/Settlements

    • J.R. Distribution v. Forte Packaging & Supplies LLC - Case dismissed
    • Prime Property Cas. Ins. v. Transnational Logistics - Favorable result, leading to an acceptable settlement
    • Pushpin Holdings LLC v. [Multiple defendants] – Successfully represented over 100 individuals who were sued by a debt collector
    • Hanna v. Qureshi  - Won case at trial.
    • Geo. M. Martin Co. v. Alliance Machine Systems, Inc. – Won appeal affirming judge’s verdict.
    • Becker v. Mayo Clinic - Appeal won, and verdict upheld
    • Angiodynamics, Inc. v. Vascular Solutions, Inc. -  Motion to transfer case won
    • [Multiple plaintiffs] v. Mayo Clinic - Associate trial counsel to Mayo Clinic in four jury trials
    • Emergis Technologies. v. Otter Tail Corporation - Appeal won
    • Cybersettle v. National Arbitration Forum - Took over appeal case, obtaining a reversal from Federal Circuit Court
    • Wildlife Research Ctr., Inc., v. HME Products, LLC - Summary judgment won
    • Communications Systems, Inc. v. Kostelnik - Summary judgment won


  • Honors & Awards

    • Illinois Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2013 - 2016
    • Minnesota Law & Politics Magazine, Rising Star, 2008 - 2010
    • University of Minnesota Law School, Sidney J. Kaplan Award, 2003
    • University of Minnesota Law School, Order of the Coif, 2003
    • Dorsey & Whitney Scales of Justice Award


  • Conference Presentations

    • Rock of Ages Law Day, How to Start a Business, 2013
    • Licensing Executives Society Annual Meeting, Intellectual Property Opportunities in New Energy Technologies, 2010
    • History of Hip, Obscenity Law & Lenny Bruce, 2009


  • Professional Experience

    • Torvik Law LLC, Owner, 2011 -
    • Indie Energy Systems Company, LLC, General Counsel, 2010 - 2011
    • Dorsey & Whitney, LLP, Associate, 2005 - 2010
    • United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, Judicial Law Clerk, 2003 - 2005