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  • October 01, 2015

    Fall Admissions: State Bar Welcomes 54 New Wisconsin Lawyers

    Shannon Green

    New lawyers sworn in

    Visit the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Facebook page for more photos of this event, or click here.

    Oct. 1, 2015 – They deserve the celebration and congratulations: They are the newest lawyers in Wisconsin.

    At two ceremonies on Sept. 29, 2015, 54 attorneys took the Attorney’s Oath before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. They had every reason to celebrate, as they were the successful 65 percent – out of 127 people who took the bar exam – who passed it in July.

    The new Wisconsin lawyers represent 54 law schools in 19 jurisdictions. And 75 percent of those taking the exam for the first time passed it, said Jacquelynn B. Rothstein, director of the Board of Bar Examiners.

    The lawyers earned their degrees at law schools outside of Wisconsin, but chose to be admitted to practice in Wisconsin for a variety of reasons, including for the sake of employment, or to help out family members who live in the state.

    Amid a gentle reminder to pay dues, Chief Justice Patience Roggensack told the soon-to-be Wisconsin lawyers to never forget kindness.

    “In the state of Wisconsin, you will find more kindness,” Chief Justice Roggensack said.

    A lawyer’s position is often one of power, said Justice Annette Ziegler.

    “You need to wield that power wisely,” Justice Ziegler said.

    She urged the new Wisconsin lawyers to “keep that oath deeply embedded in your soul,” and to maintain personal honor. Honor is a fragile thing. “Your word is your bond,” Justice Ziegler told them.

    State Bar President-elect Fran Deisinger told the new Wisconsin lawyers the secret to the antidote of stressful and lonely work: “Reach out, get involved,” he said – especially in your local bar associations. “People will welcome you.”

    The new Wisconsin lawyers include David Matzen of Park Ridge, Ill., a graduate of William Mitchell College of Law, interested in working in government after working as a legislative aide at the Capitol in Madison; Megan Sippl of Hoffman Estates, Ill., who works as a government lawyer in McHenry County in Illinois, Scott Craig of Racine, whose family has recently moved to Wisconsin from Texas; J.J. Silverstein, whose parents – Wisconsin lawyers Allen Silverstein and Christy Brooks – vouched that he had “high, fine wit” as they spoke as movants for him; Colin Laffey, who joins his sister Allison and father Jack as Wisconsin lawyers; and Margaret Heitkamp, whose father, John R. Heitkcamp Jr., recalls his own swearing in as a Wisconsin lawyer 30 years ago.

    There was one more bit of advice offered to the new Wisconsin lawyers, mentioned by Rothstein during her remarks during the 10 a.m. ceremony: “Call your mom” – advice enthusiastically seconded by Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. It also made a strong impression on Flori Betita, whose home in Vancouver, Canada, is now quite a distance from that of her son Ronald Betita, a new state public defender in LaCrosse.

    “I liked it,” Flori Betita said.

    “I’m almost ordered to do it,” Ronald Betita said with a laugh.

    The State Bar welcomes these new attorneys:

    Michael Anderson, Milwaukee

    Taryn Quinn Baker, Milwaukee

    Cassi Baumgardner, Alexandria, Va.

    Amanda K. Beggs, Milwaukee

    Candace D. Berg, Milwaukee

    Ronald C. Betita, La Crosse

    Schuyler Boggio, Madison

    Zachary D. Brenner, Milwaukee

    Emily C. Breslin, Harvard, Mass.

    Nick G. Cirilli, Rhinelander

    Anne Cohen, Madison

    Jeffrey A. Cormell, Hayward

    Scott P. Craig, Racine

    Calvin Fermin, Des Plaines, Ill.

    Emily Kay Fons, Milwaukee

    Hayley M. Freimuth, Madison

    Rebecca C. Furdek, Clintonville

    Sean Lee Harrington, Saint Paul, Minn.

    Margaret Kathryn Heitkamp, Milwaukee

    Joshua M. Hufford, Milwaukee

    Sarah E. Hyde, Milwaukee

    Alexander G. Izzo, Milwaukee

    Aveen Qader Jamrozy, Oshkosh

    Adam Jardine, Milwaukee

    Ryan D. Jayne, Madison

    Whitney A. Johnson, Barneveld

    Natalie E. Kitzrow, Milwaukee

    Robert John Konkel, Milwaukee

    Colin Laffey, Milwaukee

    Samuel Louis Lawton, Rice Lake

    Sean Conor Leedom, Milwaukee

    Robin K. Lehninger, Milwaukee

    Benjamin Ludeman, Black River Falls

    David R. Matzen, Park Ridge, Ill.

    Lauren Nicole McComis, Cedarburg

    Max S. Meckstroth, Milwaukee

    Amy Catherine Miller, Delafield

    Michael G. Moseler, Menomonie

    Douglas Alan Muskett, Bessemer, Mich.

    Spring Jayda Nelson, Menomonie

    Prateek Peereddy, Milwaukee

    Brandon Jeffery Pellerin, Milwaukee

    Christopher Pierro, Saint Paul, Minn.

    Julia Kathryn Potter, Fitchburg

    Jessica Lauren Rowe, Pewaukee

    Collin Scheuermann, Milwaukee

    Jonathan Robert Schmig, Thiensville

    J.J. Silverstein, Milwaukee

    Maximiliano J. Silvestre, Milwaukee

    Andrew Joseph Simek, Madison

    Megan Sippl, Hoffman Estates, Ill.

    Lindsey Streicher, Stillwater, Minn.

    Pieter Vanderlijn, Rice Lake

    Joshua Zamzow, Berlin


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