About Us
FRAGO & LASSWELL, a Professional Association, practices exclusively in the area of family law. The firm consists of W. Bradley Frago and Michelle M. Lasswell, both practicing attorneys, and paralegal Shelley Friesen.
BRAD FRAGO
Brad Frago has been a licensed attorney since 1992. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School, cum laude in 1992. Upon his graduation from the U of M, he was a law clerk in the Eighth Judicial District for the Honorable John J. Weyrens. In 1995, he joined a family law firm as an associate attorney. Brad opened W. Bradley Frago, P.A. (now Frago & Lasswell, P.A.) in Northfield, Minnesota in May 2001. His law practice is limited to family law. He is a Rule 114 qualified neutral, has a family law mediation practice, and conducts Financial Early Neutral Evaluations (FENE) and Social (Custody) Early Neutral Evaluations (SENE). Brad serves on the Executive Council of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Family Law Section. He is a past President of the Rice County Bar Association and a past member of the Minnesota Collaborative Law Institute’s Board of Directors.
Brad first came to Northfield in 1984 when he attended Carleton College. He graduated cum laude from Carleton in 1988. Brad has lived in Rice County since 1995. He has been involved in many community organizations. He is a Den Leader and Cubmaster for Cub Scout Pack 344 in Northfield. Brad is active in the Northfield Rotary Club and serves as the club’s Youth Protection Officer, and as a counselor for Rotary foreign exchange students. He is a past president of the Faribault Noon Exchange Club, and is currently a board member of Airfest, Inc., which organizes the Faribault Area Airfest and Balloon Rally.
Brad is married to Michelle Lasswell and they have two children. In his spare time, Brad enjoys amateur radio, aviation, camping, fishing, traveling, weather and spending time with his family.
MICHELLE LASSWELL
Michelle Lasswell has been a licensed attorney since 1994. She graduated from the College of St. Benedict with an English major, government minor. She attended Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa and graduated with honors in 1994. While at Drake, she was an Associate Editor for the Drake Law Review, and had two articles published in the Law Review. Michelle worked as a law clerk in the Eighth Judicial District for the Honorable Randall J. Slieter from 1994 to 1996. In 1996, she opened the Law Office of Michelle M. Lasswell in Faribault, where she practiced family law, in addition to working as a part-time public defender for the Third Judicial District. In 1997, she took a position as an attorney in the compliance department of the Life Company at Federated Insurance in Owatonna. She joined Brad Frago at Frago & Lasswell, P.A. in January 2002. Her law practice is limited to family law. She is a qualified neutral under Rule 114, and has a private family law mediation practice.
Michelle is a member of the Northfield Rotary Club and Parent Teacher Organization at her children’s school. She also volunteers as a teacher at St. Dominic’s Faith Formation program. She has served as a board member on the Faribault Airport Youth Aviation Center (EAA Chapter 1273), HOPE Center (fka WomanSafe Center), the College of St. Benedict’s Alumnae Association, and Open Door Nursery School.
Michelle is married to Brad Frago and they have two children. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys writing, traveling, reading, walking and spending time with her family and friends.
SHELLEY FRIESEN
Shelley Friesen has been a paralegal with Frago & Lasswell, P.A. since it opened in 2001. She attended Dakota County Technical College and Kaplan College and graduated in 2000 with a paralegal degree. Prior to joining Frago & Lasswell, P.A., she was a legal secretary at J. Scott Braden, P.A. in Faribault.
A native of Faribault, Shelley still lives there with her husband Jerry and three children. She has been an active volunteer at her children's schools. Shelley enjoys watching her children in their various activities, gardening, as well as spending time at the lake with her family and friends.