Wisconsin Law Foundation presents the 2008 Belle Case La
Follette Outstanding Professional Award to
Tom Sleik, La Crosse
The Wisconsin Law Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to
supporting charitable and educational programs that promote public
understanding of the law and improvement of the administration of
justice. The Belle Case La Follette Outstanding Professional Award
recognizes a lawyer who has made an outstanding contribution to the
advancement of the profession.
Tom Sleik is an attorney with Hale, Skemp, Hanson, Skemp &
Sleik, in La Crosse. “Throughout the Western Wisconsin legal
community, Tom has earned reputation for vigorous representation of his
clients, as well as his strong ethics, professionalism, and
civility,” says long-time friend and colleague Margaret Ahne
Herlitzka.
“Despite his busy practice schedule, Tom still finds time to
mentor younger attorneys and to provide advice and guidance in regard to
a wide variety of legal issues,” says Herlitzka.
“Tom’s impressive involvement with a variety of community
organizations attests to his unfettered dedication to the service of
others.”
Leadership in the law is not new to Sleik. He is a former president
of the State Bar. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of
the National Conferencing Bar Presidents. He served six years on the
Wisconsin Judicial Commission, the last two as chair. He is a past
president of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of
Matrimonial Lawyers.
Service is a large part of Sleik’s life. He has served as the
president and campaign chair of the Greater La Crosse Area United Way,
president of the Gateway Area Council Boy Scouts of America, and the
State of Wisconsin/Upper Peninsula of Michigan Area president. He
chaired the first ever joint capital campaign conducted by a Boy Scout
and Girl Scout Council working together. He is past member of the School
District of La Crosse Board of Education and continues to be a member to
the Board of Trustees of the La Crosse Public Library, which he
currently chairs.
Sleik has been honored for his work in Pro Bono Service by the
State Bar. He is listed in Who's Who in America, Best Lawyers in
America and Who's Who in American Law. He is a life fellow
member of the American Bar Foundation and a Fellow of the Wisconsin Bar
Foundation. Sleik graduated from Marquette University
Law School in 1971.
