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​​Back to State Bar 2019 Election Officer Candidates.
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Kathleen Brost Candidate for President-elect

Kathleen Brost

Legacy Private Trust Company, Neenah
Email: kbrost@lptrust.com

Platform Statement

I am honored to accept the nomination as a candidate for State Bar president-elect.

I am committed to ensuring that the State Bar is a member focused organization that strengthens the legal profession and provides support to its members. I ask for your vote.

To me, the State Bar’s role is to not only be an advocate on behalf of the profession and access to justice but to provide its membership with the tools, resources and support to assist them in tackling the challenges of practicing law, including:

  • The challenge of keeping up with rapidly changing law practice management issues, such as new technology and cybersecurity.
  • The challenge facing attorneys who have large student loan balances but who would like to practice in rural or underserved communities.
  • The challenge facing solos and smaller law firms whose practice is much more than knowing the substantive law but also includes the challenge of running a small business.
  • The challenge facing attorneys who would like to retire but their law practice is a major part of their retirement plan.
  • The challenge facing attorneys who never plan on retiring.
  • The access to justice challenge of a system where attorneys cannot afford to take on public defender cases at current private pay rates.
  • The persistent challenges of inherent bias, diversity and inclusion which can result in women and minorities leaving the practice of law.
  • The challenge of national corporate entities who actively market forms and legal services to Wisconsin residents.

I’ve experienced many of these challenges while operating my own law practice. Others I’ve seen while working on the Solo Small Firm General Practice Section Board, the Challenges Facing Young Lawyers Taskforce, the Succession Planning Work Group and most recently while working on the Board of Governors and traveling the western counties on the Greater Wisconsin Bus Tour this past fall.

I believe all of these challenges are surmountable. The challenge for the State Bar is to keep dues manageable while advocating for the legal profession and access to justice and providing the best possible service, resources and tools to their members. I am excited about the opportunity to work on this challenge.

I welcome your ideas, your support and your vote.

Biography

I joined Legacy Private Trust Company in 2016. I perform a variety of corporate functions for Legacy, and I provide financial planning for our clients - which I think is just fun! I find it pulls together my legal knowledge and experience in estate planning, retirement planning, family business planning, charitable planning, etc. Prior to joining Legacy, I was in private practice for 12 years. I started Brost Law Office, LLC, as a true solo with no clients and operating out of my home office. I realized that while I knew the substantive law, I knew virtually nothing about running a law practice. So I attended one of the first technology conferences put on by the State Bar, which later became the Wisconsin Solo Small Firm Conference (WSSFC). I joined the WSSFC planning committee and have been active in the Bar ever since. While in private practice, my clients were primarily fraternal benefit societies which are non-profit membership organizations. Prior to entering private practice, I was corporate counsel for retirement products at Thrivent Financial f/k/a Aid Association for Lutherans. I have over 25 years of experience with nonprofit membership organizations.

Professional/Bar Leadership

  • Board of Governors (2018-present)
  • Solo Small Firm General Practice Section Board f/k/a General Practice Section Board (2010-present), chair (2015-17)
  • Wisconsin Solo Small Firm Conference Planning Committee (2010-present); chair (2012)
  • Neenah Soccer Booster Club Board, (2012-16), vice president (2014), president (2015-16)
  • Association of Fraternal Benefit Counsel, vice president (2008), president (2009)

Education

  • University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison, J.D. (1992), graduated cum laude.
  • Lakeland College, Sheboygan, Bachelors of Business Administration in Human Resources degree (1988), graduated summa cum laude.

Personal

I was born and raised in the Town of Menasha, a/k/a the Village of Fox Crossing, where I reside with my husband, Bob, our 2 cats, and dog. We have two children, Allyse who lives in Germantown with her husband, Steve; and Trevor who is a senior studying engineering at UW Madison. I am licensed to practice law in Minnesota, a Certified Financial Planner, a Chartered Life Underwriter and hold a Wisconsin real estate broker’s license. I have beautiful perennial gardens and a personal goal to see and experience the world.​​​