New Wisconsin lawyers are sworn in. From left: James, J. Irvine, Angela L. Johnson, Philomena Kebec, Jason A. Lambright, James L. Ling, and Donald J. Marksteiner.

Justice Roggensack chats with new admittees Philomena Kebec.

Jason Lambright chats with State Bar Member Services representative Pat Ruppert.

By Deb Heneghan, State Bar Reporter

April 26, 2012 – Surrounded by family and friends, 34 lawyers who passed the bar exam were admitted to practice in Wisconsin earlier today. In February, 95 people took the bar exam representing 52 law schools and 27 jurisdictions; 76 percent passed.

The lawyers were welcomed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson and justices David T. Prosser, N. Patrick Crooks, and Patience D. Roggensack; Board of Bar Examiners (BBE) director Jacquelynn Rothstein; and State Bar President-elect Kevin Klein.

Congratulating the new lawyers, Rothstein quoted former ABA President Martha Barnett who said “One vote, one act, one person can change the course of history. I think the lawyers who daily and tirelessly labor in the vineyards of justice, men and women who represent their clients with integrity, ethics, and professionalism, and who think nothing of it because that’s what lawyers do yet often those individuals are the very people who change the world.” Rothstein told the new members, “You can be that one person. You can be the one who can help change the course of history and help preserve our system of justice for future generations.”

Following the swearing-in ceremony, Justice Patience Drake Roggensack spoke to the new lawyers. Roggensack began with a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Roggensack said, “You are the future, at least a part of it, for the legal community and for the State of Wisconsin. What is your dream? What do you hope the future will hold for you?”

Referencing Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech,” Roggensack noted much has changed since that speech in 1963, but there is still so much to do. “Whatever your dream is, the way in which you approach it is very important. Attitude is a very little thing but it can make quite a big difference.

“Be optimistic. You’ll be amazed what you can accomplish if you think you can succeed,” she said noting that even great lawyers don’t always succeed the first time they try something. “Truly great lawyers are those who commit themselves to work on behalf of their clients, to work on behalf of service to the public, and when they don’t succeed they pick themselves up and try again.”

Quoting Winston Churchill: The truth is in incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is. Roggensack summed up, “Value truth and don’t give your word lightly, but once you have given it, don’t abandon it. As a lawyer, the greatest single quality you have is your word … even when truth is not what others want to hear. Don’t shade the truth and in the process become an appeaser for those who do not value the truth.”

State Bar President-elect Kevin Klein welcomed the new members, “You are in a unique position to shape the profession though your work, your professional lives and through the manner in which you address challenges.” Klein urged the new members to get involved in State Bar activities and look to the bar as their first resource when in need help or information. “If you are involved in the State Bar and its governance it will enrich your practice and allow you to fulfill your dreams and goals,” he said.

The State Bar welcomes the following new attorneys:

New member Doua Yang (center) enjoys the reception with his family. Yang is in-house counsel at a dental clinic.

New member Jacob Brunette has his own consulting firm. His wife Lyndsey is Corporate Counsel for Clark County.

Steven J. Bersell, Mequon

Jacob C. Brunette, Neillsville

Alex M. Cahill, Donahue, Iowa

Jeremy T. Chavez, Racine

Megan J. Claucherty, Milwaukee

Nicholas W. Clifford, Sun Prairie

Laura L. Colt, Reedsburg

Jamieson William Fish, Spooner

Karl Joseph Foster, Milwaukee

Katherine Marie Gaumond, Waukesha

Joseph Geraldson, Genoa

Abigail Goins, Madison

Chase Tolman Gunnell, Royce City, Texas

Anna Marie Hassler, Sun Prairie

Joshua J. Hermes, Little Chute

James J. Irvine, Milwaukee

Angela L. Johnson, De Pere

Philomena Kebec, Ashland

Jason A. Lambright, New York, N.Y.

James Ling, Milwaukee

Donald J. Marksteiner, Neillsville

Lui HK. Moefu, Lancaster

Laura E. Nogrady, Oak Creek

Lucia Orozco, Madison

Karl A. Schmidt, Wisconsin Rapids

Amilyn M. Skelton, Rockford, Ill.

Kevin Eric Skogg, New Berlin

Courtney Kay Smaby, La Crosse

Mary Eve Trzebiatowski, Somerset

Carrie Werle, Delafield

Lindsay M. White, Kenosha

Richard J. Wirtz Jr., Plymouth

Doua Yang, Milwaukee

Jason Robert Zapf, Kenosha

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