CU Law Partners, PLLC, the first dedicated credit union law firm, wasn’t born in a boardroom planning session.
It started with the frustration of a current member of the Minnesota Credit Union Network team, in his former role at a credit union. He found himself limited to compliance guidance, without access to formal legal counsel from the Network’s attorneys. Without a law firm, the trade organization was unable to provide legal services.
From there, he started thinking: What if credit unions had legal counsel built specifically for their needs: priced predictably, grounded in credit union law, and focused on preventing risk? What if we could solve this problem for every Minnesota credit union?
That experience became a mission, and then a vision. That vision became CU Law Partners, a law firm for credit unions.
Principal Dan Le’s Story: Bridging Gaps, Building Trust
Dan Le’s life has always been about building bridges.
He arrived in the United States in 1975 as Vietnam War refugee, settling in Minnesota in 1976. Like many immigrant families, his family was rebuilding from the ground up: learning a new language, wayfinding through unfamiliar cultures, and generally working to find their footing.
As a child, Dan quickly adapted to English and began helping family members, friends, and neighbors translate documents, learn how to work with institutions, and understand new systems. His instincts eventually led him to pursue a career in law.
After earning a degree in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota and his law degree from William Mitchell College of Law, Dan built a career rooted in service. He worked in legal aid and served as a community prosecutor in St. Paul. Over more than two decades, he represented individuals and organizations from every corner of Minnesota’s diverse communities.
When Dan became General Counsel of the Minnesota Credit Union Network in 2022, he saw something familiar: mission-driven institutions working tirelessly for their communities, often navigating legal complexity, sometimes with partners who didn’t always have their best interests in mind.
Credit unions exist to close financial gaps by providing all people opportunities, and CU Law Partners is a law firm which places credit unions first in focus and expertise to promote those people over profit industry values.
Purpose-Built for Credit Unions
Since opening in May 2025, CU Law Partners now proudly serves nearly 30 credit unions and counting, offering a wide breadth of services, from regulatory guidance to contract and documentation expertise, and more. Dan’s guiding principles for the firm are that credit unions are always at the front of the line and need their legal matters resolved quickly and affordably.
The firm’s model removes the anxiety of unpredictable hourly billing with mostly fixed fees where credit unions receive clear, responsive counsel who understand the financial cooperative model and its specific state and federal laws.
“I’ve spent my life helping people find their way through things that may feel overwhelming,” Dan said. “From translating letters at my family’s kitchen table to advising credit unions today, the goal has been the same: make things clearer, fairer, and more accessible, especially when it’s urgent. CU Law Partners exists so credit unions can focus on serving their members, knowing they have a trusted partner to guide them on legal matters.”
These collaborative principles are symbiotic with the credit union difference for serving member-owners and their communities every day to grow and thrive.
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