Meet Our Attorneys
Charles J. Ramstad
Charlie earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota in 1982 and his Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota law school in 1985. He is a Real Property Law Specialist certified by the Minnesota State Bar Association. He concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate, real estate litigation, commercial transactions, trusts and estate planning and municipal law. He is the City Attorney for a number of Minnesota communities, and a past President of the Minnesota City Attorney's Association. Charlie is also an active member of the Detroit Lakes Noon Rotary club, serving as the club's President in 2002-2003. In his spare time he enjoys nordic and alpine skiing, cycling, hunting and camping.
Karen Skoyles
Karen Skoyles earned her B.A. in 1983 at Moravian College and her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1986. She concentrates her practice in Criminal Law prosecution. Karen is Assistant City Attorney and City Prosecutor for a number of Minnesota municipalities, and formerly served as a Minnesota District Public Defender. Karen is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association and Seventh Judicial District Bar Association. She is currently a Vice President of the Minnesota City Attorneys Association.
Karen is very active in the community. She is President of Marshmallow Animal Shelter and chairs the City of Detroit Lakes Park Board. She is a member of the Detroit Lakes Art and Culture Commission, Secretary and Past President of the Detroit Lakes Kiwanis Club and former Jaycee Water Carnival Admiral. She was very active in Scouting and was recognized for her service with the District Award of Merit. She was twice recognized as High School Nordic Skiing’s Section 8 Volunteer of the Year. She also spent nine wonderful summers coaching youth baseball and has been a ski instructor at Detroit Mountain since it reopened in 2014.
In her free time, Karen enjoys spending time with family, alpine skiing, cooking, photography, gardening, sewing, knitting and hanging out with her cats.
Thomas P. Winters
Thomas P. Winters grew up in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. He attended Hamline University, double majoring in Legal Studies and Political Science. From there, he went to William Mitchell College of Law (Now Mitchell Hamline School of Law) where he obtained his Juris Doctorate in May of 2009. After school, he moved to Detroit Lakes, where he has been practicing since 2010. He concentrates his practice in the areas of Estate Planning, Probate, Business Law, Family Law, and Municipal Law.
Outside of work, Tom spends his time supporting his community. He is an active member of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church and a past Admiral for the Jaycees Water Carnival. Most of his free time is spent with his wife raising their four children and cheering on the Vikings and Timberwolves.
Patrick A. Bakken
Patrick graduated from the University of North Dakota in 2015, double majoring in political science and economics. He continued his secondary education by attending the University of North Dakota School of Law and obtained his Juris Doctor degree in 2019. His main areas of practice are real estate, business associations, criminal law, municipal law, probate and estate planning. He is admitted to the Minnesota Bar. Patrick is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association, Seventh Judicial District Bar Association and Becker County Bar Association, serving as the Becker County Bar Association President from 2022 to 2023. He is an active member with the United Methodist Church in Detroit Lakes where he served on the Board of Trustees for 3 years, 2 of which as the Chair, and currently serves on the Leadership Board. He also serves in a leadership role on Lakes Area Mountain Bike Alliance and Trails (LAMBAT). Patrick enjoys spending time with family, who mostly reside in Detroit Lakes. He also enjoys hunting and fishing, mountain and road biking, and running, and is an avid sports fan, including the Minnesota professional teams and the University of North Dakota teams.
Dylan Ramstad Skoyles
Dylan graduated from the University of North Dakota in 2016, with a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Public Administration. After graduation Dylan worked as the Planning and Zoning Supervisor for Becker County where he gained experience administering County planning, zoning and subdivision. Dylan attended the University of South Dakota Knutson School of Law and earned his Juris Doctor degree in 2022. Dylan is licensed in Minnesota and North Dakota. He is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association, North Dakota Bar Association, Seventh Judicial District Bar Association and Becker County Bar Association. His main areas of practice are real estate, planning and zoning, criminal law, municipal law and probate and estate planning. As a graduate of the University of North Dakota he is an avid North Dakota Hockey fan and attends games when he can. Dylan also has a love of the outdoors and enjoys camping, hiking, snowboarding, alpine skiing, cross country skiing, biking and hunting. Dylan is currently the president of Lakes Area Mountain Bike and Trail Alliance (LAMBAT) and in the fall, he is an assistant coach for the Northwest Composite Mountain Bike Team, the local high school mountain bike team.