New Hires, Promotions, Partners

Hayden Searcy, Louisville 2025 cum laude, and Joshua Topel, U.W. 2024 cum laude, have joined Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice LLC in the Madison office. Searcy focuses on medical malpractice and personal injury matters. Topel represents clients in a variety of civil defense matters, focusing on insurance defense and personal injury litigation.

Sophie Butler, Marquette 2026, has joined Fleet Farm Group LLC in the law department as an assistant general counsel. Fleet Farm is headquartered in Appleton and operates 50 large-format retail stores with over 9,000 employees in five states across the Midwest.

James Casey, Dayton 1988, has been promoted to faculty academic coordinator for the Research Administration and Compliance program at the City University of New York School of Professional Studies. Casey manages all administrative operations of the program, collaborating with program faculty and staff, while continuing in his faculty role as an adjunct associate professor. He is developing a data privacy course for the program, which he will teach in January 2027.

Joshua Konopacki, Marquette 2024, has joined Milwaukee-based Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP’s estate planning and probate team. Konopacki previously worked as an associate at a general practice firm, where he gained experience across a wide range of legal matters and executed cases from intake through final resolution.

Leah Moyer, Marquette 2026, has joined O’Leary-Guth Law Office, S.C., Mequon, as an associate, focusing on estate planning, elder law, and trusts and estates.

Marianna Nichols, Mississippi 2023, has joined Stafford Rosenbaum LLP’s Madison office. Nichols practices business law, focusing on matters involving corporate law, real estate, financing transactions, bankruptcy, and creditors’ rights.

Veronica C. Peterson, U.W. 2024, has joined Bell, Moore & Richter, S.C., Madison, as an associate. She focuses her practice on civil defense litigation, insurance defense, and professional malpractice defense.

Mergers, Relocations, New Offices

Nowlan Injury Law has expanded into Madison, with a new office at 2009 W. Beltline Highway, Suite 300. The expansion allows the firm to more directly serve clients throughout Dane County and surrounding communities with strategic, client-focused representation in matters involving car accidents, truck accidents, workplace injuries, wrongful death claims, and other complex personal injury matters. The firm’s experience handling cases from both sides of the insurance industry gives clients valuable insight into how claims are evaluated, negotiated, and defended.

Attorneys with the firm are Steve Caya, Hamline 1989; John Caucutt, Marquette 2025; and Evan Tenebruso, U.W. 2011.

Appointments, Elections

Jacquelyn Adamicki, U.W. 2024, has been elected to the board of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Construction & Public Contract Law Section. Adamicki is with McCarty Law LLP, based in northeast Wisconsin. Her construction law practice focuses on helping commercial and construction-industry clients, including owners, contractors, subcontractors, and design professionals, navigate litigation, dispute-resolution, and contract matters.

Several attorneys have been elected as board members or executive officers of the Association of Corporate Counsel-WI for 2026-27.

New board members include Karsten Bailey, Marquette 2022, Zywave; Angela Novotney, Marquette 2012, Derse, Milwaukee; and Chad Wiegand, Creighton 2001, Schreiber Foods Inc., Green Bay.

Newly elected executive officers are the following: president – Pranav Shah, Chicago-Kent 1999, WEA Member Benefits, Madison; vice president – René Jovel, Marquette 2014, Versiti Inc., Milwaukee; secretary – Timothy Schmidt, Minnesota 2009, Komatsu, Milwaukee; treasurer – Kavin Tedamrongwanish, Marquette 2014, Badger Meter Inc., Milwaukee; and past president – Anthony Flint, Marquette 2011, Ariens Co., Brillion.

Robert Driscoll, Notre Dame 2007, has been elected president of the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association (EDWBA). The EDWBA, with nearly 700 members, is dedicated to improving the practice of law for attorneys appearing before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Driscoll is a shareholder in the Labor and Employment and Litigation practices in the Milwaukee office of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, s.c. He helps clients navigate a variety of employment laws with an emphasis on discrimination, wage and hour issues, labor relations, and employment contracts, and litigates in federal and state courts and agencies.

Josh LeNoble, Marquette 2022, has been appointed to SHARP Literacy Inc.’s Young Professionals Board. SHARP Literacy is a Milwaukee-based nonprofit organization that provides science and technology-focused programs to 8,500 students in 51 urban schools in Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Racine counties, partnering with schools, teachers, and youth-serving agencies to build students’ skills in reading, math, and science. LeNoble is a member of the Trusts and Estates Practice at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, s.c., Milwaukee, focusing on estate plans for high-net-worth individuals and families.

Jason Luczak, Chicago-Kent 2008, has been elected to a three-year term on the Wisconsin Judicial Council as a State Bar of Wisconsin representative. Luczak is with Milwaukee-based trial and litigation firm Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown.

The Judicial Council is a nonpartisan governmental body whose tasks include observing and studying the state courts’ rules of pleading, practice, and procedure and organization, jurisdiction, and methods of administration and operation; recommending to the Wisconsin Legislature changes in the organization, jurisdiction, operation, and methods of conducting the courts’ business, including statutes governing pleading, practice, and procedure; and recommending to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the legislature, or the governor changes in the organization, operation, or methods of conducting the courts’ business.

Kevin McCrindle, Loyola-Chicago 1975, with C. Kevin McCrindle Law Offices, Waterloo, Iowa, has been elected a Fellow of the Iowa State Bar Association Foundation. Membership is by nomination only and limited to those members of the Iowa State Bar Association who have demonstrated adherence to the highest principles and traditions of the legal profession as well as service to the public and to the community in which they live.

Rob Misey, Vanderbilt 1987, has been appointed chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) International Law Section’s Ethics Committee, composed of more than 500 attorneys worldwide. The International Ethics Committee informs members about ethical and professional responsibilities affecting cross-border practice, responds to ethical questions from the International Law Section, develops policy recommendations on issues of professional responsibility, and provides a forum to improve professional practices. Misey is a member of the Tax and Corporate Law Practices at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, s.c., Milwaukee, and serves clients in industries such as manufacturing, distribution, securities, and sports and entertainment with international taxation and tax controversy matters. He is chair of the firm’s International Practice, president of the Milwaukee Tax Club, and a member of the Wisconsin Accounting Examining Board.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has reappointed the Hon. Catherine J. Furay, U.W. 1980, and the Hon. G. Michael Halfenger, Chicago 1991, to 14-year terms on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Judge Furay is on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Madison. Before her appointment, she taught a lawyering skills class at the University of Wisconsin Law School and was a partner at Murphy Desmond, Madison, concentrating in bankruptcy law.

Judge Halfenger is on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Before his appointment, he served as a law clerk to Judge Frank H. Easterbrook and was a partner at Foley & Lardner, Milwaukee, concentrating in commercial litigation and business disputes.

Authors, Speakers

Authors of the new book Representing Immigrants in Wisconsin Family Court (State Bar of Wis. 2026) are the following: Robin Dalton, U.W. 2007, End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin, Madison; Kari Niesen-LaScala, Northern Illinois 1999, End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin, Madison; and Gricel Santiago-Rivera, U.W. 1999, Santiago Family Law and Mediation Services LLC, Madison.

In Memoriam

Paul A. Boltz, Hamline 1992, De Pere, April 26, 1960 – May 22, 2023.

John P. Brady, Marquette 1973, Brookfield, Oct. 21, 1946 – Oct. 9, 2025.

Richard C. Brodek, U.W. 1959, Waterford, July 28, 1932 – Feb. 20, 2026.

Raymond G. Clausen, Emory 1980, Madison, Nov. 27, 1953 – May 28, 2026.

Thomas Francis Finegan, Loyola-Chicago 1972, Fontana, Sept. 25, 1940 – Nov. 9, 2025.

Alvin H. Kriger, U.W. 1967, Brookfield, Oct. 10, 1942 – April 25, 2026.

Joseph R. Marconi, University of Illinois Chicago 1976, Chicago, Nov. 3, 1949 – Nov. 10, 2025.

Mac A. McKichan Jr., U.W. 1963, Platteville, Dec. 23, 1938 – March 22, 2026.

Caroline B. Niemann, Marquette 2012, Hartland, Feb. 5, 1982 – Dec. 11, 2025.

Michael J. Pfau, Marquette 1964, Wauwatosa, Feb. 21, 1939 – Sept. 15, 2025.

Hon. Benjamin D. Proctor (ret.), U.W. 1971, Eau Claire, Jan. 23, 1945 – May 6, 2026.

Pamela J. Rasche, U.W. 1979, Milwaukee, July 23, 1951 – Oct. 24, 2025.

Eric James Rietz, Northwestern 1992, East Troy, Jan. 14, 1967 – April 28, 2026.

James P. Samster, Marquette 1964, Wausaukee, Dec. 4, 1936 – Feb. 20, 2026.

Kedar Uday Sukhatme, Iowa 1996, Rolling Meadows, Ill., Nov. 21, 1971 – Sept. 6, 2025.

Henry A. Tessmer, Marquette 1957, Milwaukee, Nov. 21, 1930 – Feb. 20, 2026.

Donald J. Wall, Marquette 1977, Chicago, Oct. 4, 1952 – May 20, 2026.

Congratulations to Recent Certified Paralegals

Through a State Bar program, paralegals in Wisconsin are eligible to be certified – a credential that demonstrates a paralegal’s dedication to professional development and excellence. The State Bar of Wisconsin Certified Paralegal^™ program is a self-funded, voluntary program for all paralegals in Wisconsin who meet the program’s criteria. For information about the program, visit wisbar.org/paralegal.

The following individuals were newly certified or recertified as of June 1, 2026. For a full list of Certified Paralegals, visit wisbar.org/Paralegal.

Carrie L. Amaya, Crisis Prevention Institute Inc., Milwaukee

Donna Benson, Menn Law Firm Ltd., Fremont

Bethany J. Berndt, Sandra J. Bilderback, and Sarah E. Leanna, Crivello Nichols & Hall, S.C., Milwaukee

Alyx K. Bloom, Nelson & Lindquist, S.C., Hudson

Stefanie Coleman

Jennifer Haefner, Regal Rexnord Corp., Beloit

Meghan E. Hodge, Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., Milwaukee

Valerie Lardinois, One Law Group, S.C., Green Bay

Maranda Oliver, Kwik Trip Inc., La Crosse

Veronica Rodriguez, Stafford Rosenbaum LLP, Madison

Jennifer L. Schmidt, Quarles & Brady LLP, Milwaukee

Doug Theran, Theran Law Firm LLP, Madison

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! Writing guidelines are available here. Questions? Email us or call (608) 250-6127.

Email announcements to: MembersOnly@wisbar.org. Notices about State Bar members in good standing are printed as space is available, and subject to editing.

Ineligible announcements: Talks, speeches (unless they are of national stature), honors from other publications (including “Best of...,” “Rising star...,” and other lists), and political announcements are not accepted as announcements.

Photo placement: Submit a professional-quality photo with your announcement. If the photo is used, the State Bar will issue an invoice for $35 per photo. Please acknowledge the photo placement fee in your submission. Group photos and photos copied from websites are not accepted. High-resolution electronic photos are preferred to ensure high-quality production. Images should be sized at least 4”x6”, with a resolution no less than 150 dpi, although 300 dpi is preferred. Print photos will not be returned.

Deadline: Submit announcements by the first of the month preceding publication. For example, to place an announcement in the November issue, it must be received before October 1. Email to: MembersOnly@wisbar.org. Include your State Bar membership number.