Tostrud earned his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from St. Olaf College and his Juris Doctor, summa cum laude, from the William Mitchell College of Law.

During his 26 years with the firm, he maintained a complex commercial litigation practice almost exclusively in federal court, with emphasis in the areas of complex insurance coverage, health care litigation, and ERISA.

Tostrud serves on the full-time faculty at Mitchell Hamline School of Law as the Distinguished Practitioner in Residence.

[1] On February 12, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Tostrud to an undetermined seat on the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota after being recommended to the Trump administration by then-Congressman Erik Paulsen.

Tostrud was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge Donovan W. Frank, who assumed senior status on October 31, 2016.