Wisconsin
Lawyer
Vol. 81, No. 12, December
2008
In the News
New Hires, Promotions, Partners
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Mark Afable, Marquette 1983, and Christopher
Spencer, U.W. 1972, have been promoted at American Family Mutual
Insurance Co., Madison. Afable is executive vice president overseeing
the claim and customer billing divisions. Spencer is senior vice
president, with chief legal officer and corporate secretary
responsibilities. |
Afable |
Spencer |
| Patrick R. Burns, South Dakota 2000, has joined Dady &
Garner P.A., Minneapolis, and focuses on representation of franchisees,
dealers, and distributors. He previously was with the Minneapolis office
of the American Arbitration Association. |
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Charles G. Curtis Jr., Chicago 1982, has joined the Madison
office of Arnold & Porter LLP as a partner in the business
litigation group and will focus on complex litigation, appellate
matters, and Native American law.
Patrick Farley, U.W. 1995, has joined Axley Brynelson LLP,
Madison, in the government relations practice group. He previously was
director of external relations for Gov. Jim Doyle.
Three attorneys have joined Godfrey & Kahn S.C. as associates.
Claire K. Finando, Northwestern 2008, is with the corporate group
in the Madison office. Annie L. Raupp, Minnesota 2008, is with
the litigation and labor and employment group in the Green Bay office.
Peter J. Wilder, Missouri-Columbia 2008, is with the financial
institutions group in the Milwaukee office.
John A. Griner IV, Drake 1984, has been promoted to managing
counsel at the Brookfield location of Travelers Indemnity Co. and
continues to focus on tort, worker’s compensation, subrogation,
and construction litigation. The office will now be known as Griner
& Associates.
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Daniel J. O’Brien, Marquette 1986, has
joined Halling & Cayo S.C., Milwaukee, and continues to practice in
insurance defense, business litigation, and plaintiff’s personal
injury law. Richard H. Schulz, U.W. 1965, has joined the firm as
of counsel and continues to practice in personal injury and construction
litigation with an emphasis on mold-related matters. Schulz previously
was with Schulz, Duffey & O’Brien, Milwaukee. |
O'Brien |
Schulz
|
| Megan Kuehl, Marquette 2008, and Mary
Lokensgard, U.W. 1993, have joined Menn Law Firm Ltd., Appleton.
Kuehl concentrates in general litigation. Lokensgard focuses on estate
planning. |
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Kuehl |
Lokensgard
|
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Nadia Musallam,
Marquette 2008, has joined Ruder Ware LLSC, Wausau, in the business
transactions group. |
Twelve attorneys from the former Heller Ehrman office in Madison have
joined Perkins Coie, Madison. David Harth, U.W. 1979, David
Jones, Creighton 1987, and John Skilton, U.W. 1969, have
joined the intellectual property litigation practice as partners.
Timothy Burns, Missouri-Columbia 1991, has joined the insurance
coverage group as a partner. David Anstaett, U.W. 2001, Eric
Barber, U.W. 2004, Melody Glazer, U.W. 2004, Christopher
Hanewicz, U.W. 1999, Lissa Koop, U.W. 2005, Autumn
Nero, U.W. 2006, Sarah Walkenhorst, U.W. 2002, and Jeffrey
Walker, U.W. 2007, have joined the intellectual property litigation
group as associates.
Elizabeth S. Blutstein, George Washington 1988, and Kathryn
Kronquist, DePaul 1995, have joined the Milwaukee office of Quarles
& Brady LLP. Blutstein is a partner in the public finance team and
previously was with Foley & Lardner LLP. Kronquist is of counsel
with the corporate services group and focuses on commercial lending and
financial institutions. She previously was with Maritime Savings Bank
and Legend Title Corp.
Jeffrey Vercauteren, Notre Dame 2008 cum laude, has joined
Cullen Weston Pines & Bach LLP, Madison, in the energy and
telecommunications section.
| Anders Helquist, Drake 2008 high honors, and
Jake Torgerson, Iowa 2008, have joined Weld, Riley, Prenn &
Ricci S.C., Eau Claire. Helquist focuses on labor and employment law.
Torgerson focuses on business and real estate law and litigation. |
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Helquist |
Torgerson |
Jennifer Jin, Notre Dame 2008, Kristina Lemanski,
Northwestern 2008, and Robert L. Staude, Notre Dame 2008, have
joined the Milwaukee office of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C. as
associates. Jin is with the state and local tax practice. Lemanski
focuses on litigation. Staude focuses on real estate.
Top of Page
Mergers, Relocations, New Offices
Niebler & Roth LLP and Niebler, Pyzyk, Klaver &
Carrig LLP have combined to form Niebler, Pyzyk, Roth &
Carrig LLP, located at N94 W17900 Appleton Ave., Suite 200,
Menomonee Falls.
Phillip J. Ramthun, U.W. 1978, has relocated his office to
2100 N. Mayfair Rd., Suite 102, Milwaukee, and continues to focus on
plaintiffs’ personal injury, worker’s compensation, and
Social Security disability matters.
The Techmeier Law Firm S.C. has moved its office to the
Renaissance Building, 309 N. Water St., Suite 160, Milwaukee, and
continues its focus on personal injury law.
Top of Page
Appointments, Elections
Thomas Domer, U.W. 1983, has been reappointed to the national
board of the Worker’s Injury Law and Advocacy Group and as editor
of Worker’s First Watch, the organization’s magazine.
He represents injured workers at Domer Law, Milwaukee.
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Steven S. Gensler, Illinois 1992, has been reappointed to
the Federal Civil Rules Advisory Committee by U.S. Supreme Court Chief
Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Gensler is a presidential professor and
professor of law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law,
Norman. |
| Jill A. Rakauski, West Virginia 1998, has been elected
chair of the Wisconsin Association for Justice. She is a partner at Penn
Rakauski, a personal injury law firm with offices in Racine and Chicago,
and focuses on occupational and environmental lung injury related to
toxic substance exposure. |
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Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., Milwaukee, has formed a new
financial markets crisis team, comprised of lawyers from the banking and
financial institutions, business reorganization, business law, employee
benefits, litigation, real estate, tax, and trusts and estates practice
areas.
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Brenda K. Sunby, John Marshall 1998, has been elected vice
chair of the Wisconsin Association for Justice women’s caucus. She
is a trial attorney focusing on plaintiff’s personal injury cases
with Habush Habush & Rottier in the Wausau, Stevens Point, and
Rhinelander offices. |
John Walsh, U.W. 1975, has been elected to the claims
committee of Wisconsin’s Injured Patients and Families
Compensation Fund and the Wisconsin Health Care Liability Insurance
Plan. He is a trial lawyer, focusing on personal injury matters, with
Axley Brynelson LLP, Madison, and a part-time faculty member with the
U.W.-Madison School of Business.
Top of Page
Authors, Speakers
Michael D. Cicchini, Marquette 1999 summa cum laude, has
authored An Empirical Basis for the Admission of Expert Testimony on
False Confessions, 40 Arizona State Law Journal 1 (2008), and
Broken Government Promises: A Contract-Based Approach to Enforcing
Plea Bargains, 38 New Mexico Law Review 159 (2008). He is with
Cicchini Law Office LLC, Kenosha.
Jay Grenig, California-Hastings 1971, and Nathan
Fishbach, Villanova 1977, have authored Federal Criminal
Restitution (Thomson West 2008). Grenig is a professor of law at
Marquette University Law School. Fishbach is a shareholder at Whyte
Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., Milwaukee.
John T. Podbielski Jr., Marquette 1992, has authored
“Bringing Home the Bacon: Getting a Firm’s Clients to Pay
Their Bills” in the September/October edition of the Association
of Legal Administrators’ Legal Management magazine. He is a
shareholder with The Podbielski Law Group Ltd., Franklin, and practices
creditors’ rights law.
Richard J. Podell, U.W. 1969, spoke at the Alberta Bar
Association conference in Calgary concerning the world-wide development
of family law. He is president of Richard J. Podell & Associates,
Milwaukee.
Top of Page
Awards, Degrees, Honors
Linda Bochert, U.W. 1974, received an award from the
U.W.-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences in recognition of
her work developing, protecting, and improving agriculture, natural
resources, and rural living. She is a partner in the land and resources
practice group in the Madison office of Michael Best & Friedrich
LLP.
| The Hon. Philip M. Kirk, Chicago-Kent 1973, has been chosen
Judge of the Year by the Wisconsin chapter of the American Board of
Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He is a Waupaca County circuit court
judge. |
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The Hon. Daniel Konkol, Marquette 1976, received the Polish
American of the Year Award from the Milwaukee Society of the Polish
National Alliance in October. He is a Milwaukee County circuit court
judge.
Timothy F. Nixon, U.W. 1990, has been elected to the American
College of Bankruptcy and will be inducted at the U.S. Supreme Court in
March 2009. He is team leader for the business finance and restructuring
practice group in the Green Bay office of Godfrey & Kahn S.C. and
also is a member of the corporate and litigation practice groups.
Michael Ostermeyer, Vanderbilt 1989, received the 2008
Distinguished Service Award from his alma mater, Luther College,
Decorah, Iowa. He is a partner with the Milwaukee office of Quarles
& Brady LLP and focuses on real estate.
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Kathryn Maloney Perhach, Marquette 2000 cum laude, received
the Association for Women Lawyers pro bono award for her work as firm
coordinator for the Quarles & Brady Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic
at the Spanish Center and the Task Force on Family Violence Restraining
Order Clinic. She is a partner with the firm and focuses on commercial
litigation. |
C. Scott Pryor, U.W. 1980, has been selected by the Council
for International Exchange of Scholars as a Fulbright Scholar. He will
teach international business transactions and comparative law at the
National Law University in Jodhpur, India. He is a professor of law at
Regent University, Virginia Beach, Vir.
Cynthia A. Van Bogaert, U.W. 1982, has been named a Fellow of
the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. She is a partner and
chair of the employee benefits practice group at Boardman Law Firm LLP,
Madison.
Top of Page
In Memoriam
Donald D. Eckhardt, Marquette 1956, Fort Myers, Fla., Sept.
27, 1929 – May 2, 2008.
John M. Fox, U.W. 1951, Madison, April 11, 1923 – Sept.
11, 2008.
Robert E. Gosse, U.W. 1967, Annandale, Vir., May 22, 1939
– Oct. 2, 2008.
Thomas J. McNally, Notre Dame
1966, Necedah, Sept. 8, 1940 – Oct. 24, 2008.
Eric F. Stutz, U.W. 1970, Black River Falls, Dec. 10, 1944
– May 2, 2008.
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