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Doug Nill has devoted his legal career to the representation of farmers in injury and business disputes, and has received acclaim for his work. For example, Nill was recognized in 2001 and 2002 by a national farm advocacy group as "one of the nation's best attorneys" representing farmers in complex business litigation. Recently his Minnesota peers recognized Nill as a "Super Lawyer". Doug Nill offers advice and counsel in the following areas and issues:
- agricultural cooperatives: formation and membership structure, financial structure, marketing contracts, membership disputes
- bankrupt agricultural elevators and buyers: mishandling of commodities, diverting of funds to support personal ventures, commodity futures speculation
- biotech (genetically modified) seed industry: price fixing and antitrust behavior
- crop and livestock financing: the use of crops, livestock and equipment as farm debt collateral, priorities between secured parties, production supplier's priority, assignments of sale proceeds, statutory agricultural liens
- farm financing and borrowers' rights: farm credit institutions such as the Farm Credit System (FCS) and Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) and its successor as to farm program loans, the Consolidated Farm Service Agency (CFSA), and state lending programs
- herbicide and pesticide price manipulation and pricing: unfair price manipulation and pricing in the pesticide industry including crop fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides, and other crop production expenditures
- herbicide and pesticide injuries: injuries to the crop, humans or animals
- leases of agricultural land and pasture: the importance of written leases, the enforceability of leases, and farm lease provisions
- livestock: warranties relating to the sale of animals for breeding, check-off payments for marketing purposes, sale requirements, etc.
- Packers and Stockyards Act: price manipulation and unfair pricing by meat packers in the livestock industry
- storage and marketing of crops: the status of parties delivering commodities, producer marketing strategies, the formation and enforceability of marketing contracts, commodity futures trading, hedging risks, and hedge-to-arrive contracts
- unfair agricultural production contracts: particularly in the poultry and hog industries
- unfair insurance coverage: For example, protecting farmers from asteroids and hurricanes in North Dakota, but providing no real value and coverage for legitimate concerns such as flooding, extensive snowfall collapsing farm buildings, etc.
- water resources law: water quality, wetlands preservation, allocation of water resources, drainage
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