Firsts in state history
Lawyers
- Jacob Jackson Noah (1851): [1] First Jewish American male lawyer in Minnesota
- Fredrick McGhee (1889): [2] First African American male lawyer in Minnesota
State judges
- Charles Bechhoefer: [3] First Jewish American male judge in Minnesota (1923)
- L. Howard Bennett: [4] First African American male judge in Minnesota (1957)
- Stephen L. Maxwell (1953): [5] First African American male to serve as a district court judge in Minnesota (1968)
- Alberto Miera, Jr.: [6] [7] First Hispanic American male judge in Minnesota (1983)
- Alan Page (1978): [8] First African American male to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court (1993)
- Tony N. Leung: [9] [10] [11] First Asian American male judge in Minnesota (1994)
- Robert A. Blaeser (1979): [12] [13] First Native American (Anishinaabe from the White Earth Band of Ojibwe) male judge in Minnesota (1995) [14]
- Edward Toussaint: [15] First African American male to serve on the Minnesota Court of Appeals (1995)
- David Stras: [16] First Jewish American male to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court (2010)
- Peter Reyes Jr. (1997): [8] First Hispanic American male to serve on the Minnesota Court of Appeals (2014)
- David Stras: [16] First Jewish American male to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court (2010)
- Leonardo Castro: [17] First Hispanic American male to serve as a chief judge in a judicial district in Minnesota (2020)
- Karl Procaccini: [18] First Muslim American male to serve as a Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (2023)
Federal judges
- Michael J. Davis (1972): [19] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota (1994) and its Chief Judge (2008)
- Leo Brisbois: [20] First Native American male to serve as a U.S. Magistrate judge in Minnesota (2010)
- Tony N. Leung: [9] [10] [11] First Asian American male to become a federal court judge in Minnesota (2011)
- Jeffrey Bryan: [21] First Latino American male federal judge in Minnesota (2023)
Attorney General
- Keith Ellison (1990): [22] [23] First African American (and first Muslim) to become Attorney General of Minnesota (2018)
United States Attorney
- B. Todd Jones: [24] First African American male to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota (2009)
Assistant United States Attorney
- Donald M. Lewis: [25] First African American male to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota (1982-1988)
County Attorney
Public Defender
- Daniel Lew: [29] First Asian American male to serve as a Chief Public Defender in Minnesota (2014)
Political Office
- Keith Ellison (1990): [22] [23] First African American male (and first Muslim) elected to the U.S. Congress from Minnesota (2006)
Bar Association
- Jarvis Jones: [30] First African American to serve as the President of the Minnesota State Bar Association (c. 2001) [31]
- Leo Brisbois: [32] First male of American Indian descent to serve as the President of the Minnesota State Bar Association (2009)
- Phil Duran: [33] First openly LGBT male to serve as the President of the Minnesota State Bar Association (2013)