Candidate for Judicial Council Representative
Margo S. Kirchner
Wisconsin Justice Initiative Inc., Milwaukee
Email: margo@wjiinc.org
Platform Statement
I have several valuable strengths for service on the Wisconsin Judicial Council, most notably my in-depth knowledge of court practice and procedure (civil and criminal) from decades of experience processing cases through the federal trial court. I have analyzed a wide range of state and federal constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law. And I have extensive experience managing cases involving pro se litigants trying to navigate the judicial system. I look for practical solutions, and I prefer plain language rather than complicated legalese. If elected, I will advocate for clear and understandable rules and procedures for the benefit of attorneys, pro se litigants, judges, and court staff.
Public service is important to me. I am honored to be nominated for the Judicial Council position and look forward to serving as your representative.
Biography
Margo Kirchner is general counsel and development director of Wisconsin Justice Initiative Inc. (WJI), a nonprofit seeking to improve the Wisconsin justice system and educate the public about important justice-related issues.
Prior to joining WJI, Kirchner spent 23 years in public service in the federal courts, most recently serving as career law clerk to the Honorable Charles N. Clevert, Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. She also clerked for the Honorable William C. Griesbach, the Honorable Lynn Adelman, the Honorable Robert W. Warren, and the Honorable Terence T. Evans (in the Eastern District and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals). Kirchner served on the Eastern District’s Local Rules Committee in 2009 and 2010 and co-authored A Guide to Civil Judgments for use by district-court clerk’s office and chambers staff. Early in her career she practiced at the law firm of Gammage & Burnham PLC in Phoenix, Arizona.
Trained and certified as a mediator by the Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies, Kirchner mediates Milwaukee County foreclosure cases on a pro bono basis for the Metro Milwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Program.
The Wisconsin Law Journal named Kirchner as a Women in Law Award winner in 2010. She was inducted as a Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation in 2017 in recognition of her accomplishments in the legal profession and her leadership and service in her community.
Kirchner is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Association for Women Lawyers (past president), the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association, and the Thomas E. Fairchild Chapter of the Inns of Court. She sits on the board of the Association for Women Lawyers Foundation and is president of the Concord Chamber Orchestra.
Kirchner graduated from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Michigan Law School.
