Thomas Fraser, a retired Hennepin County District Court judge, is taking on the tough assignment of mediating talks aimed at reaching a new operating agreement among the University of Minnesota, Fairview Health Services, and M Physicians.

Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the mediator appointment late Friday, which was the first major development in the long-running talks since Nov. 13. That’s when University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham and the U of M Board of Regents criticized Fairview and the physicians’ group for reaching a 10-year operating pact without the administration’s involvement.

That deal occurred in concert with Ellison and Lois Quam, whom the attorney general appointed in April to serve as a “strategic facilitator” in the talks. After being immersed in the health care issues for eight months, Quam will remain involved in the negotiations.

Ellison indicated Friday that Quam and Dr. William McGuire, both former UnitedHealth Group executives, will serve as “coequal consultants” in the mediation process.

The mediation team of Fraser, Quam, and McGuire was selected by agreement of the three parties to the negotiations and based on their recommendations, according to the attorney general’s announcement.

Despite years of talks on their own, a complicated deal proved elusive for the three parties. After learning the other two players reached agreement on key terms, the University of Minnesota emphasized the importance of moving to mediation.

In a Nov. 21 statement, the University of Minnesota said it looked forward to negotiations in mediation, and it seeks an agreement that best serves the health care needs of Minnesotans for decades to come.

“There is hard work ahead of us and trust to rebuild,” the U of M said in its statement. “We are eager to start that process, and grateful to the Attorney General for bringing the parties back together. We stand ready to collectively and creatively explore all options to define a mutually agreeable path forward—for all of Minnesota.”

Fraser’s high-stakes work

Fraser, a 1976 graduate of Harvard Law School, was appointed a Hennepin County District Court judge in 2013 by DFL Gov. Mark Dayton. He served as a judge for seven years. Ellison’s news release described Fraser as “an experienced litigator and mediator with decades of experience resolving health care disputes.”

The attorney general’s office noted his long career at the Fredrikson law firm, where he specialized in arbitration and mediation.

Fraser did a large amount of pro bono work at Fredrikson. In 2011, the firm was recognized by the American Bar Association’s Death Penalty Representation Project. The law firm noted in a news release that Fraser was part of a three-lawyer team that represented one man on death row from 1987 through early 1999.

Fraser comes from a family in which public service is highly valued. He is the son of Don Fraser, who represented a Minnesota district in the U.S. House and served as Minneapolis mayor.

In late 2024, Fraser became the neutral arbitrator in the Timberwolves and Lynx ownership dispute between longtime owner Glen Taylor and minority owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore. Fraser’s role was reported at the time by Sportico.

Kathleen Blatz, a former Minnesota Supreme Court chief justice, served on the three-person arbitration panel, and she was chosen by Taylor. A partner in a Delaware law firm was selected by Rodriguez and Lore to be an arbitrator. Ultimately, that arbitration was decided 2-1 in favor of Rodriguez and Lore.

McGuire, who becomes a coequal consultant in the mediation process, is a public figure in business, health care, sports, and philanthropic circles in the Twin Cities. McGuire was chairman and CEO of UnitedHealth Group from 1991 to 2006.

In announcing McGuire’s selection, the attorney general’s release said that McGuire is a “pulmonologist with an extensive background in academic medicine and significant experience overseeing large health care systems.” The news release noted that McGuire has made major philanthropic contributions for student scholarships at the University of Minnesota and for research and patient care at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

McGuire is the principal owner of the Minnesota United soccer team, and he’s involved in business development efforts near Allianz Field in St. Paul’s Midway area.

Quam is a native of rural southwest Minnesota and a 1983 graduate of Macalester College. In the early 1990s, Quam was a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton’s Task Force on National Health Care Reform. From 2011 to 2014, she was executive director and a special advisor to the Global Health Initiative at the U.S. State Department.

Quam, a Rhodes Scholar, was an executive at UnitedHealth Group from 1990 to 2007.