New Hires, Promotions, Partners

Austin D. Auleta, U.W. 2020, has joined Bosshard | Parke Ltd. as an associate in the La Crosse office, handling personal injury, family law, health law, criminal defense, and general civil dispute resolution matters.

Billie Jean Smith, U.W. 1992, and Sarah Wong, Marquette 2012, have been promoted to voting shareholders at Boyle Fredrickson SC, Milwaukee, an intellectual property law firm. Brad Meyer, Marquette 2013 cum laude, has been promoted to nonvoting shareholder. 2020 board members are the following: president – Keith Baxter, Georgetown 1984; vice president – Mike Griggs, U.W. 2003; secretary – Jim Boyle, Marquette 1984; and treasurer – Tim Newholm, George Mason 1992.

Anne Daugherty-Leiter, Georgetown 2002, has joined The Law Center S.C., Madison, and focuses on employment law (including COVID-19-related concerns), school law, LGBTQ rights, and international adoption. She previously has worked for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin and AIDS Network, now Vivent Health.

Natalie L. Gerloff, U.W. 2020, and Marisol González Castillo, U.W. 2018, have joined Hawks Quindel S.C. as associates in the Madison office. Gerloff focuses on Social Security disability, wage and hour, and employment litigation. González Castillo practices in worker’s compensation and personal injury and provides representation in Spanish and English. Previously, she practiced with the Milwaukee County Child Support Office and the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee Inc.

Mary Polson Haefer, Marquette 1989, has been promoted to chief claims officer-property and casualty for CapSpecialty Inc., Middleton, a part of Alleghany Insurance Holdings.

Michelle Hockers, Marquette 2015, has been promoted to partner at Murphy & Prachthauser S.C., Milwaukee, and continues to focus on personal injury law, including motor vehicle accident, serious personal injury, and product liability cases.

Jordyn Janikowski, Marquette 2020 cum laude, has joined Axley in the Waukesha office and concentrates on general business, contract negotiation and drafting, business start-ups, mergers and acquisitions, limited liability companies, and succession planning.

Jason W. Martell, Minnesota 2008, has joined Wiley Law S.C., Chippewa Falls, and continues to practice in family law, probate, estate planning, real estate, and business transactions.

Four attorneys have been promoted to partnership at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP. Daniel J. Gawronski, U.W. 2013 cum laude, is with the corporate practice group and the Venture Best® team in the Milwaukee office, focusing on matters including early-stage planning and formation, venture capital and angel fund-raising, commercial licensing and contracting, and mergers and acquisitions.

Nicholas J. Herdrich, U.W. 2015 summa cum laude, is with the corporate practice group and the Venture Best® team in the Madison office, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financings, securities, and other transactional matters. Tanya M. Salman, U.W. 2012, is with the litigation practice group in the Madison office, focusing on complex business litigation matters, including contracts, business torts, real estate, and trademark infringement.

Kevin J.T. Terry, Marquette 2011, is with the labor and employment relations practice group in the Milwaukee office and has expertise in issues related to the National Labor Relations Act, including union organizing and unfair labor practices brought by or against labor organizations, NLRB proceedings, and arbitrations.

Westen O. Newman, U.W. 2020, has joined Godfrey, Leibsle, Blackbourn & Howarth S.C., Elkhorn, as an associate, focusing on business and real estate.

Kelly J. Schwab, Hamline 1999, has joined Strang, Patteson, Renning, Lewis & Lacy s.c. as a shareholder with the Oshkosh office, concentrating on business, corporate, collection, landlord-tenant, tax, estate planning, and real estate law for private- and public-sector clients. She previously operated Schwab Legal Group LLC.

Seep Paliwal, U.W. 2015, and Rachel Snyder, U.W. 2014 cum laude, have joined the Madison office of Stafford Rosenbaum LLP as senior associates. Paliwal focuses on intellectual property and entertainment law, nonprofit law, probate, guardianship, and trusts and estates. She previously worked with Community Justice Inc. Snyder focuses on government and municipal law. She previously worked with the Wisconsin Legislative Council and was involved in developing statutes and administrative rules on topics such as local government, education, taxation, tourism, rural development, housing, real estate, and state-tribal relations.

Erika Strebel, U.W. 2020, has become an assistant district attorney with the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.

Michael W. Taibleson, Chicago-Kent 1990, has joined Godfrey & Kahn S.C., Milwaukee, as special counsel with the employee benefits and tax practice groups, advising employers, retirement plan fiduciaries, insurers, and plan administrators. He previously was with Jackson Lewis P.C., Milwaukee.

Jacob M. Bibis, Marquette 2013, and Devin S. Hayes, Marquette 2013, have been promoted to shareholder at von Briesen & Roper s.c., Milwaukee. Bibis is with the litigation and risk management practice area and focuses on toxic tort, insurance coverage, and general litigation matters. Hayes is with the labor and employment practice area, defending clients in discrimination, FMLA, wage and hour (including class and collective actions), and OSHA cases and providing employment-litigation-avoidance strategies.

Benjamin D. Ludeman, William Mitchell 2015 with honors, and Sven W. Strutz, U.W. 2002 with honors, have been elected shareholders of Weld Riley S.C., Eau Claire. Ludeman is with the business and corporate, probate and estate planning, and municipal law practice areas. Strutz is with the labor and employment practice area, working primarily in school law.

Mergers, Relocations, New Offices

Aplin & Ringsmuth LLC has opened a branch office in Hudson. Ken Kucinski, U.W. 2013, a senior associate, works from the new office and continues to defend insurers and employers in worker’s compensation claims. He is an instructor in the worker’s compensation course at the U.W. Law School and a frequent presenter at worker’s compensation seminars and at the Wisconsin Worker’s Compensation College.

Husch Blackwell has opened The Link Virtual Office, the firm’s 21st office. The Link fuses location flexibility with a robust technology infrastructure to build a new way of working for its attorneys and staff. Gabrielle Baumann Adams, U.W. 2008, and Ketajh Brown, U.W. 2016, are among the 50 firm professionals located in eight cities who have joined The Link.

Steven E. Badciong, Marquette 1987, has assumed ownership and management of Libera Knapp PA, Winona, Minn. Jennifer Knapp, Iowa 2006, will continue practicing with the firm part time.

Elizabeth Ruthmansdorfer, Marquette 2003, has opened Ruthmansdorfer Law Group S.C., 2211 10th Ave., Suite B, South Milwaukee. Formerly a shareholder at Moertl, Wilkins & Campbell S.C., she continues to focus on estate planning with an emphasis in special needs trusts, probate, adult guardianships, and elder law.

Appointments, Elections

Grady (Trey) Crosby III, Marquette 2018, has been selected to serve on the board for College Possible Milwaukee, which, through an intensive coaching and support program, aims to make college admission possible for more than 800 students in Milwaukee at 14 partner high schools. Crosby is with the Milwaukee office of Ogletree Deakins, a nationwide management-side labor and employment law firm, and represents employers in employment discrimination matters before federal and state courts in Wisconsin and administrative agencies in multiple state jurisdictions.

James D. Friedman, Notre Dame 1972, has been appointed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a four-year term as a referee to preside over attorney disciplinary matters. Friedman, a retired partner of Quarles & Brady LLP, also is a member and a Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation and previously served for seven years as a member and vice chair of the Wisconsin Court System’s Preliminary Review Committee.

Jeff Goldman, U.W. 1972 cum laude, has been elected to the State Bar of Wisconsin executive committee and as a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Goldman is chair of the trust and estates group at DeWitt LLP, Madison, and focuses on estate planning, probate, trust administration, and trust, estate, and fiduciary litigation. He has served as an adjunct professor of law at the U.W. Law School, teaching estate and trust administration and dispute resolution.

Michelle Murphy, Marquette 2008, has been appointed as policy advisor to former vice president Joe Biden’s Health Policy Committee. She is in charge of submitting, with physicians and public health experts, health policy initiatives for Biden.

Renee Ruffin Nawrocki, Marquette 2010, has been elected president of the Association for Women Lawyers. She is with Petrie + Pettit SC, Milwaukee.

Albert S. Orr, Ohio State 1986, has begun his term as chief executive officer of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., succeeding Jerome M. Janzer, Marquette 1982, who will serve as chairman emeritus and continue his law practice with the firm. Orr previously co-chaired the firm’s corporate law practice, led the private equity group, and was on the firm’s board.

Gov. Tony Evers recently appointed Suzanne O’Neill, DePaul 1991, to the Marathon County Circuit Court, and Katie Sloma, Ohio Northern Univ. 2004, to the Shawano-Menominee Counties Circuit Court. O’Neill previously was a public defender in Marathon County. Sloma had a general practice in Shawano and was Shawano city attorney. These appointments fill vacancies created by the retirements, respectively, of Judge Jill N. Falstad, U.W. 1986, and Judge James R. Habeck, Marquette 1979.

Kristine A. Snow, U.W. 1992, has been elected Dodge County Circuit Court judge. She is the first woman to be elected and serve as judge in Dodge County. She previously practiced with her husband Todd A. Snow, at Snow Law S.C., Waupun.

Deborah C. Tomczyk, U.W. 1994, has been elected to the board of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. for a three-year term. She is chair of the real estate practice and the entitlement subpractice group and focuses on all aspects of real estate development, including governmental relations, zoning, land use, eminent domain, licensing, tax increment financing, and business improvement districts.

The Hon. Robert P. VanDeHey, U.W. 1985, Grant County Circuit Court and chief judge of the Seventh Judicial Administrative District, has been elected chair of the Committee of Chief Judges. He replaces the Hon. James M. Morrison, Minnesota 1973, Marinette County Circuit Court and chief judge of the Eighth Judicial Administrative District. VanDeHey was selected “Judge of the Year” by the State Bar of Wisconsin in 2016.

Teirney Christenson, U.W. 2008, and Steve Theesfeld, U.W. 1990, have been named executive officers at Yost & Baill LLP, a subrogation law firm based in Minneapolis and Milwaukee. Christenson is managing partner of the Wisconsin office, and Theesfeld is human resources partner.

Authors, Speakers

Gregg M. Herman, U.W. 1977, is author of the recently revised Family Law in Wisconsin: A Forms and Procedures Handbook (State Bar of Wis. 8th ed. 2020). He practices at Loeb & Herman S.C., Milwaukee.

Authors of the recently revised Advising Older Clients and Their Families Volume 1 (State Bar of Wis. 4th ed. 2020) are the following: Nicholas E. Fairweather, Case Western Reserve 2000, and Colin B. Good, Montana 2004, Hawks & Quindel S.C., Madison; April A. Hartman, U.W. 2007, and Brittany D. Schoenick, U.W. 2017, Legal Action of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Mark T. Johnson, U.W. 2008, Johnson Teigen LLC, Fitchburg; Angel R. Kwaterski, John Marshall 2016, Legal Action of Wisconsin, Racine; Jessica A. Liebau, Marquette 2011, Wessels & Liebau LLC, Mequon; Greg W. Renz, Chicago 1975, Foley & Lardner LLP, Milwaukee; Theresa L. Roetter, Marquette 1993, DeWitt LLP, Madison; Kate Schilling, Detroit-Mercy 2008, Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources Inc., Madison; and Paul M. Schmidt, Kansas 1990, Boardman & Clark LLP, Madison.

Awards, Degrees, Honors

Gov. Tony Evers has signed Executive Order #83, recognizing the career and legacy of retired Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson, Indiana-Bloomington 1956, by naming the Wisconsin Historical Society Library Reading Room in her honor. Abrahamson was the first woman to serve on the court and the first woman to serve as chief justice when she assumed the role in 1996. She retired from the court in 2019, making her the longest serving Wisconsin Supreme Court justice. Habush Habush & Rottier announced a $10,000 contribution to help fund a virtual exhibit focusing on the life and contributions of Justice Abrahamson and a scholarship fund for law students.

Pro Bono

DeWitt LLP is donating $100,000 toward assisting with the pursuit of greater access to justice for communities in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The law firm is committing $20,000 annually for the next five years to organizations that assist individuals who have historically been underrepresented in the justice system. DeWitt’s pledge is a commitment to support local communities and an acknowledgement of calls for change, equality, and justice.

Retirements

Barbara S. Hughes, U.W. 1986, has retired from client law practice with Johnson Teigen LLC, Fitchburg, to which she will serve as a consultant.

In Memoriam

Hon. Richard T. Becker, Marquette 1959, Hartford, July 24, 1935 – June 22, 2020.

Kurt V. BlueDog, Minnesota 1977, Minneapolis, Feb. 25, 1950 – May 12, 2020.

Hon. Warren A. Grady, U.W. 1950, Baraboo, March 3, 1924 – Dec. 14, 2019.

Perry S. Granof, U.W. 1979, Glencoe, Ill., Oct. 23, 1952 – March 9, 2020.

Janet M. Hoehnen, Marquette 1981, Brookfield, Aug. 7, 1956 – May 20, 2020.

Thomas J. Lose, Marquette 1953, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Sept. 3, 1927 – May 26, 2020.

Laurence J. Love, Marquette 1967, Gaithersburg, Md., Aug. 4, 1942 – June 27, 2019.

David B. Neimark, Concord 2007, Brookfield, May 31, 1958 – June 5, 2020.

Robert D. Repasky, Duquesne 1963, Rockport, Texas, Aug. 3, 1934 – Dec. 18, 2019.

H. Keith Schoff, U.W. 1959, Madison, May 13, 1930 – April 14, 2020.

Erwin H. Steiner, U.W. 1969, Eau Claire, Oct. 12, 1943 – Sept. 2, 2019.

Vernon A. Swanson, U.W. 1950, July 30, 1922 – June 23, 2020.

Mark C. Veldey, U.W. 1989, Middleton, Jan. 29, 1963 – June 14, 2020.

William Wells, Illinois 1955, Santa Monica, Cal., April 22, 1931 – March 30, 2020.

James Michael Yatso, John Marshall 1986, Waukesha, Oct. 1, 1957 – July 13, 2020.

How to Place your Announcement

If you have moved, become a partner or an associate, or received a promotion or an award, let us know! Email announcements to: MembersOnly@wisbar.org. Notices about State Bar members in good standing are printed as space is available, and subject to editing. Writing guidelines are available here. Questions? Email us or call (608) 250-6139.

Photo placement: Submit a professional-quality photo. If the photo is used, the State Bar will issue an invoice ($35 each). Group photos are not accepted. High-resolution electronic photos are preferred.

Deadline: The first of the month preceding publication. For example, to place an announcement in the May issue, it must be received before April 1.

Ineligible announcements: Talks, speeches (unless they are of national stature), honors from other publications, and political announcements are not accepted.