The Hon. Lisa N. Borgen (Ret.) served as a judge for the 7th Judicial District Court of Minnesota. Borgen was appointed to the bench by former Governor Tim Pawlenty in 2006. She resigned on November 1, 2013, and became the Vice President of Administration for the American Crystal Sugar Company.
The 7th Judicial District includes Becker County, Benton County, Clay County, Douglas County, Mille Lacs County, Morrison County, Otter Tail County, Stearns County, Todd County, and Wadena County. Over the course of her judicial career, Borgen established the Clay County Domestic Violence Court, the Clay County Drug Court, and the Becker County Drug Court. She also implemented a system for CHIPS petitions.
Prior to her appointment, Borgen was the County Attorney for the Clay County Attorney’s Office, a position to which she was named in 1999.
Borgen studied nursing at the North Dakota State College of Science in 1982. She spent the next several years working as a licensed practical nurse in the neurological intensive care unit at St. Luke’s Hospital before completing a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Minnesota State University, Moorhead (1993). She then completed a J.D. at the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1996.
After graduating from law school, Borgen began her legal career as a sole practitioner in her own private practice. She served in that capacity until 1999, supplementing her practice with service as a contract attorney for the 7th Judicial District Public Defender’s Office.
Borgen was raised in Moorhead, Minnesota, as one of four children. Her mother worked as a legal secretary, while her father worked as a union electrician for the City of Moorhead. Borgen and her husband, Brad, have four children.