Aaron Gott of Bona Law: Would I Hire Him? An Honest Review

Aaron Gott of Bona Law markets himself as a top-rated antitrust litigator. Before you hire Aaron Gott, here is an honest, devil’s-advocate review of his publicly available profile, credentials, and what to verify independently. Nothing on his page is a smoking gun, but the gaps between his self-description and verifiable substance are worth examining.

Career Trajectory: 12 Years at One Boutique Firm

Aaron Gott has effectively spent his entire legal career — roughly 12 years post-graduation — at one firm, Bona Law PC. He joined in June 2014, the same year he finished law school clerkships, and he’s still there. He has never worked at a BigLaw firm, never clerked for a federal judge, never worked at the DOJ Antitrust Division or the FTC, and never had an in-house role at a major company. For an “antitrust and competition litigator” who claims to be “top-rated” and lead counsel in “high-profile” cases, the absence of any of the usual antitrust pedigree markers is notable. Compare him to people the Bona Law page itself surfaces as similar profiles — Pat Pascarella and Paul Moore are ex-DOJ Antitrust Division. Aaron Gott is not. His self-claim that he’s been “lead counsel in high-profile antitrust cases and appeals in federal courts across the nation” is unverified on the page; no specific case names, citations, or outcomes are listed.

The “Partner and COO” Title at a Boutique Firm Is Unusual

Being COO of a law firm is an administrative role, not a litigator role, and combining it with “Partner” at a small boutique is the kind of title that can mean a lot or very little depending on the firm. Bona Law is a boutique founded by Jarod Bona — Aaron Gott has essentially worked under the same boss for over a decade. That’s not inherently bad, but it raises questions about whether his judgment has been tested in environments with independent peers and supervisors, and whether his recognition reflects market validation or in-house promotion.

Concurrent Outside Role: GC and VP at a Family Frozen Custard Startup

From March 2014 to March 2016 — overlapping with his first two years as Partner/COO at Bona Law — Aaron Gott was simultaneously “General Counsel and Vice President” of David’s Famous Gourmet Frozen Custard, described as a “family startup company.” Holding a GC/VP title at a family business while also being a law-firm partner can raise conflict-of-interest, time-allocation, and nepotism questions. The puffery in the description (“the world’s richest, creamiest craft frozen custard”) is also unusual content for a serious litigator’s resume.

Self-Description Red Flags: Typos, Unverified Claims, and Puffery

The “About” section on Aaron Gott’s profile contains a typo — “busines-to-business” — on the public-facing profile of someone whose entire job is precise written advocacy. It’s a small thing, but in a litigator it’s the kind of detail opposing counsel will notice. The section is also heavily self-laudatory (“top-rated,” “high-profile,” “magna cum laude,” “Super Lawyers,” “Best Lawyers,” “combat veteran”) without specifics or citations, and several claims are unverifiable from the page itself.

Public Commentary Risk: Criticizing Federal Judges and Active Litigation

Aaron Gott posts publicly and bluntly — including saying a federal court “probably got it wrong” in the X Corp. advertising-boycott case and calling MDL coordination “the slow torture of committee rule.” A litigator publicly criticizing federal judges and grumbling about the discovery process can be a liability if he ever appears before those judges or if a client wants discreet representation. He also publicly volunteers that he “would have made a similar argument if I were counsel for the advertiser defendants” in a live, ongoing matter — armchair-quarterbacking active litigation can rub clients and peers the wrong way.

Marketing-Heavy Activity: Thought Leader or Heavy Litigator?

Most of Aaron Gott’s recent activity is content marketing — Fox 9 TV appearances, an “Antitrust and Hockey” series, a behind-the-scenes post about Minnesota Wild season tickets that ties his family life into firm branding. There’s a fair question of whether he’s primarily a thought-leader / rainmaker for the firm rather than a heavy litigator. The hockey series tied to season tickets and a “Stanley Cup contender” post is the kind of content that some clients find off-putting in their counsel.

Personal Commitments: Family Time vs. Trial Demands

Aaron Gott volunteers that he has five children, three of them new hockey players this year, and that all seven family members attend Wild games. That’s a lot of outside time pressure during what is also a very demanding professional period. It’s not a disqualifier, but if you’re hiring for something that requires heavy travel, late nights, or trial work in distant venues, it’s worth probing.

Military Service: “Combat Veteran” Claim Invites Verification

Aaron Gott claims “nearly ten years” of Army service and “combat veteran” status, but the active-duty dates listed only span 2003–2010 with reserve/mobilization periods, and the deployment to Baghdad is listed as Feb 2004 to Feb 2005 with a unit listing (“1st Cav. Div. & 10th Mtn. Div., Log Base Seitz”) that’s specific enough to verify. None of the listed medals are valor decorations; they’re service/campaign medals that are essentially automatic for any soldier who deployed. Calling himself a “combat veteran” based on a logistics-base posting in Baghdad is technically defensible but is the kind of self-description that some veterans push back on. Worth verifying via DD-214 if it matters.

No Bar Admissions, Jurisdictions, or Case List Shown

For a litigator, the absence of a clear listing of which state and federal courts Aaron Gott is admitted in, what reported decisions he has, and what his win/loss record looks like is conspicuous. A thorough vet would pull his Minnesota bar record (and any other states), search PACER for cases where he’s counsel of record, and look for any discipline, sanctions, or fee disputes.

What to Verify Before Hiring Aaron Gott

Things this profile cannot tell you and that you should independently check before hiring Aaron Gott: (1) Minnesota Lawyer Registration Office and any other state bar disciplinary history; (2) PACER and Westlaw for actual cases he was counsel on, outcomes, and any sanctions or adverse credibility findings; (3) news and Google searches for any litigation involving him personally, fee disputes, or client complaints; (4) verification of the Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers listings (both are pay-to-be-considered or peer-nominated, not gold standards); (5) verification of military service via DD-214 if the veteran narrative is material; (6) references from opposing counsel, not just clients — opposing counsel is often the most honest source on a litigator; (7) why he has stayed at one boutique firm for 12 years and whether he was ever considered for or declined moves to larger firms; (8) the nature and time commitment of the David’s Famous Frozen Custard role and whether it created any conflicts.

The Bottom Line: Would I Hire Aaron Gott?

The honest bottom line of the devil’s-advocate read on Aaron Gott of Bona Law: nothing on the page is a smoking gun, but the profile is consistent with someone who is a competent boutique-firm partner and skilled marketer rather than a heavyweight antitrust litigator with the elite credentials his self-description implies. The gap between the puffery and the verifiable substance on the page is the thing I’d want to close before hiring Aaron Gott.