New Hires, Promotions, Partners

Russell Cunningham, U.W. 2023, has joined Everson, Whitney, Everson & Brehm S.C., Green Bay, as an associate, concentrating in criminal defense. Cunningham, previously a trial attorney with the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Oshkosh office, has extensive experience in criminal defense, juvenile criminal defense, and mental health cases.

Matthew McGuire, U.W. 2015, and Matthew Shackett, Mississippi 2025, have joined Geier Homar & Roy LLP as associates. McGuire practices out of the Sauk City office and focuses on real estate, estate planning, and municipal law. Shackett practices out of the Madison office and focuses on general practice litigation and business organizations.

Kelsey Gunvalson, U.W. 2024, has joined Weld Riley and practices in the firm’s Business, Municipal Law, and Civil Litigation sections in Wausau and Eau Claire. Gunvalson previously worked in house at an HVAC manufacturing company, providing advice on a variety of contractual and corporate legal matters.

Hannah L. Lemke, U.W. 2025, has joined Consigny Law Firm S.C., Janesville, as an associate and focuses on litigation and transactional matters.

Eight attorneys have joined Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.’s Milwaukee and Madison offices.

Milwaukee office: Andre Antreassian, Marquette 2025 cum laude, is with the Tax and Corporate Law practices. Drawing on his accounting background, Antreassian offers counsel on M&A transactions, tax planning strategies, and defending clients against IRS challenges. Lauren Backhaus, Chicago-Kent 2025, is an intellectual property attorney, guiding clients through the development and enforcement of their intellectual property assets. She manages a wide range of patent and patent application processes, from initial filing to issuance, including handling USPTO office actions.

Phil Fons, Marquette 2024 magna cum laude, is with the Litigation and Tax practices. His work spans commercial litigation, breach-of-contract matters, appellate advocacy, and state and local tax litigation. Hunter Kolbus, Marquette 2025 magna cum laude, is with the Corporate Law Practice, where he focuses on mergers and acquisitions for a diverse range of clients.

Caleb MacDonald, U.W. 2025 summa cum laude, is with the Labor and Employment Practice and provides comprehensive advising on workplace compliance and employment-related aspects of corporate transactions, such as business succession planning. Abby Nilsson, Marquette 2025 summa cum laude, is with the Litigation Practice and handles legal research, writing, and discovery support for a variety of civil matters.

Madison office: Max Schneberger, U.W. 2025 cum laude, is with the Trusts and Estates Practice, where he works with high-net-worth clients and business owners on comprehensive estate planning and succession strategies. Migena Vula, U.W. 2025 magna cum laude, is with the Real Estate Practice and counsels clients on a variety of complex real estate matters, including purchase and sale transactions, property development, commercial leasing, and structuring deals using traditional financings.

Sydney Herman, Marquette 2025, Natalie E. Klusman, Drake 2024, and Ella R. Wolle, U.W. 2025, have joined Renning, Lewis & Lacy, a management-side labor and employment law firm. Herman is with the Green Bay office, Klusman is with the Oshkosh office, and Wolle is with the Madison office.

Michael Snider, Marquette 2011, has joined the Milwaukee office of Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. Previously, he practiced at litigation firms in Wisconsin, representing clients in matters involving products liability, premises liability, automobile accidents, catastrophic loss, and insurance coverage.

Nicole Vele, U.W. 2011, LL.M. George Washington Univ., has joined GrayRobinson as a shareholder in its Washington, D.C., office. A U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG) veteran and seasoned litigator, Vele provides clients with strategic guidance on government contracting issues, including pre- and post-award bid protests, performance issues, contract modifications, terminations, and claims; manages multibillion-dollar contracting matters; and delivers clear, practical guidance to acquisition teams.

Mergers, Relocations, New Offices

Jacob R. Gardner, U.W. 2024, has launched a solo law practice based in Monroe, focusing on guardian ad litem work, family law, criminal and traffic defense, and small-business counsel. Gardner is litigation ready in Green, Lafayette, Iowa, Grant, and Rock Counties and assists businesses and organizations across the state.

Three attorneys and two legal assistant paralegals formerly with Palmersheim Dettmann S.C. have joined the Madison office of Stafford Rosenbaum LLP. Kevin Palmersheim, U.W. 1992, Cathleen Dettmann, U.W. 2009, and Erin Rome, U.W. 2013, have joined the firm as partners, and Lori Hanson and Ellie Thompson have joined as legal assistant paralegals. Palmersheim, Dettmann, and Rome bring a wealth of experience in business law, including litigation and appeals, and have significant trial experience, including recent cases involving claims for breach of fiduciary duty, business break-ups, and violations of the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law.

von Briesen & Roper s.c. has opened a new office in Naples, Florida, at 3555 Kraft Road, Suite 402. Attorneys with the office focus on estate planning, tax, probate and trust administration, and business and succession planning.

Appointments, Elections

Amy Ebeling, U.W. 2008, has been appointed to the U.S. Leadership Committee for Meritas, the leading alliance of independent law firms that serves the legal needs of companies doing business across markets worldwide. Leadership committee service includes building relationships throughout the organization on behalf of the U.S. membership, furthering the mission of the organization, and participating in strategic planning, member recruitment, retention, and development for the region. Ebeling is with Ruder Ware LLSC, Wausau, and advises business owners, high-net-worth individuals, and nonprofit organizations on a wide range of business and tax law matters. Her practice emphasizes mergers and acquisitions, business succession planning, and the structuring of tax-exempt entities.

Ben Kurten, U.W. 1997, has been appointed to the executive board of Scouting America’s Three Harbors Council. Kurten began his Scouting journey as a child, reconnected with the organization when his two sons (both now Eagle Scouts) joined, and went on to serve in a wide range of leadership roles at the unit, district and council levels. Kurten is chair of the Immigration Law Group at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., Milwaukee, and a shareholder in the firm’s Labor and Employment and International practices. He advises large multinational corporations, small private companies, and individual investors on transferring international personnel, hiring foreign-born talent with hard-to-find skill sets, and establishing new investment enterprises or branch operations.

Al Schlinsog, University of Illinois Chicago 1991, has been elected vice president of the Milwaukee Bar Association. He will assume the role of president in 2027. Schlinsog is a shareholder with Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., co-chair of Reinhart’s Product Liability, Safety and Recalls Group, and past chair of the firm’s Litigation Practice. He handles complex commercial litigation and intellectual property cases and focuses primarily on the defense of complex product liability claims involving regulated products, including those of the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.

Authors, Speakers

Authors of the recently revised A Guide for Wisconsin Nonprofit Organizations (State Bar of Wis. 5th ed. 2025) are the following: Brian L. Anderson, U.W. 1980, DeWitt LLP, Madison; Daniel D. Barker, U.W. 1996, Jackson Lewis P.C., Madison; Jane D. Clark, U.W. 1995, Lake Effect HR & Law, Madison; Thomas L. Frenn, Marquette 1976, Frenn Law Office, Wauwatosa; Jessica Y. Harrison, U.W. 2000, and Melissa Auchard Scholz, U.W. 1995, Scholz Nonprofit Law, Madison; Emmaline S. Jurgena, Chicago 2019, and Jason J. Kohout, Harvard 2007, Foley & Lardner LLP, Milwaukee; Adie J. Olson, Marquette 2003, Steptoe LLP, Chicago; Paul J. Polaski, Marquette 1976, Republic Associates of Wisconsin Inc., Elm Grove; Sandy Swartzberg, U.W. 1977, Swartzberg Law, Milwaukee; and Daniel S. Welytok, U.W. 1986, von Briesen & Roper s.c., Milwaukee.

Thomas J. Erickson, Marquette 1985, coedited the recently released Songs of Summer: Poems About Baseball (Water’s Edge Press 2025). Erickson operates Thomas J. Erickson Law Office, Milwaukee.

Jerry Grzeca, Marquette 1988, managing partner of Grzeca Law Group SC, Milwaukee, spoke at the American Immigration Lawyers Northern Border Conference in Buffalo, N.Y., in September. He served as a discussion panelist for “Plan B (and C): Future-Proofing Talent Strategies Amid H-1B and OPT Uncertainty.”

Gregory A. Pitts, University of Illinois Chicago 2003, and Samuel H. Weinberg, Marquette 2015, authored the recently revised Worker’s Compensation Handbook (State Bar of Wis. 11th ed. 2025). Pitts practices with Schoone, Leuck, Kelley, Pitts & Pitts S.C., Racine. Weinberg is deputy director at the Division of Hearings and Appeals-Office of Worker’s Compensation Hearings, Madison.

Awards, Degrees, Honors

Thomas H. Boyd, Iowa 1987, received the Richard S. Arnold Award for Distinguished Service from the Eighth Circuit Bar Association. Boyd joined the Minneapolis law firm Winthrop & Weinstine in 1989 and became a shareholder in 1995. He represents clients in all types of complex commercial litigation, at trial and on appeal. Boyd is active in federal and bar affairs, serving on numerous committees and providing leadership in the Eighth Circuit Historical Society and the Minnesota Humanities Committee. Boyd also has served as a legal writing instructor at the University of Minnesota Law School and as an adjunct professor at the William Mitchell College of Law and as Special Assistant Attorney General for the North Dakota Attorney General’s office (2009-19, 2023-present). He helped found the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Unemployment Insurance Appeal pro bono program, has served on the Minnesota Federal Pro Se Project, and chairs his firm’s Pro Bono Committee.

Jason Luczak, Chicago-Kent 2008, a partner with Milwaukee-based trial and litigation law firm Gimbel Reilly Guerin & Brown LLP, has become a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility, and collegiality.

C. Kevin McCrindle, Loyola Chicago 1975, was recognized by the Iowa State Bar Association as a 50-year licensed member. He operates the Law Offices of C. Kevin McCrindle, Waterloo, Iowa.

Jeffrey M. Montpetit, Mitchell Hamline 1998, a personal injury attorney and partner at SiebenCarey, Minneapolis, was recently inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

In Memoriam

Glenn D. Ahrens, DePaul 1980, Spanish Fork, Utah, July 2, 1946 – Jan. 30, 2025.

Roger L. Boerner, U.W. 1952, Milwaukee, Nov. 8, 1928 – Oct. 10, 2025.

Julie Brunette, U.W. 1985, Middleton, Dec. 22, 1942 – Dec. 18, 2024.

Sara Darcy Seaborg, Gonzaga 1995, Marinette, Aug. 10, 1968 – May 12, 2025.

Jeffrey J. Davison, Marquette 1978, Kenosha, Sept. 30, 1953 – Sept. 20, 2025.

Karl Dovnik Jr., Marquette 1981, Green Bay, April 28, 1952 – Oct. 29, 2024.

John H. Hoff, U.W. 1949, Waukesha, Aug. 24, 1921 – Aug. 13, 2024.

Stanley S. Jaspan, Yale 1971, Milwaukee, April 13, 1946 – July 27, 2024.

Richard P. Klinkowitz, Marquette 1966, Greendale, Aug. 24, 1934 – Nov. 17, 2024.

Donald A. Losby, U.W. 1955, Eau Claire, July 17, 1929 – Jan. 25, 2025.

Louis J. Molepske, Marquette 1966, Minocqua, Dec. 30, 1940 – June 30, 2025.

Amy K. Moran, U.W. 1997, Madison, Aug. 7, 1945 – June 16, 1925.

Andrew J. Nosacek, U.W. 1957, Bowie, Maryland, Apr. 15, 1930 – Oct. 10, 2025.

James R. Sperstad, Texas 1972, Menomonie, June 27, 1939 – Dec. 24, 2024.

Hon. Margaret J. Vergeront, U.W. 1975, Madison, May 6, 1946 – Oct. 9, 2025.

Robert A. Yingst, Howard 1969, Santa Fe, N.M., July 22, 1943 – Oct. 13, 2024.

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.

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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.