She graduated from the University of North Dakota School of Law and was admitted to the bar in 1992. Since law school, she has been in private legal practice in Grafton, focusing on family law matters. She has been Grafton's municipal judge since 2008 and was city prosecutor from 1996-2007. During law school, she was the first chief justice of the UND Judicial Branch and certified as a mediator. Shanon Gregor