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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    September 01, 2003

    Team Doyle 2

    Of Governor Doyle's 20 top appointees in his administration, 12 are attorneys. Read how their legal training and prior experience have proved useful to them in their positions ... from analyzing problems from multiple perspectives to evaluating the effect of laws and policies on Wisconsin individuals and corporations.

    Dianne Molvig

    Wisconsin Lawyer
    Vol. 76, No. 9, September 2003

    Just What Is the "New Economy"?

    Cory Nettles
    Nettles
    Michael Morgan
    Morgan

    Economic development is one of the major initiatives of the Doyle administration. Key players in developing an economic development strategy are attorneys Cory Nettles, Secretary of Commerce, and Michael Morgan, Secretary of Revenue.

    Morgan, a 1984 graduate of the U.W. Law School, has experience in economic development work in the city of Milwaukee. Most recently he handled investments for the Helen Bader Foundation, which focuses on supporting economic development, education, and Alzheimer's research.

    Before that he headed Spirit of Milwaukee, a nonprofit organization that aims to promote the city's cultural, educational, and historic assets. He also served as a commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of City Development, as well as in other city government departments, and he was a Milwaukee County assistant district attorney.

    All along in his career, his law school education has been a plus, in Morgan's view. "A good legal education is flat-out a good education," he says, "and an excellent course of graduate study. The analytical skills you're encouraged to hone during law school serve you well."

    Those analytical skills are highly useful now that Morgan finds himself in what he describes as "the rarified air of tax codes." Indeed, tax policy is integral in designing the state's economic development plan, he points out.

    "Having a good, sound tax policy has a lot to do with the economic health of the state," he explains. "For instance, there's the whole debate over single sales factor apportionment in terms of taxation on corporations. The passage of that law will have an impact on economic development. So it makes sense for the secretary of revenue to have some say in this. Cory and I work well together."

    Nettles earned his law degree at the U.W. Law School in 1996. He then joined Quarles & Brady in Milwaukee, where he concentrated as a business lawyer. Working with some of the best businesses in the state and in the country, he learned firsthand about companies' business objectives, the kinds of policies that help or hurt them, and the thinking that drives business strategies.

    "It was through that experience," Nettles says, "that I developed an abiding interest in helping businesses to succeed." Now he'll use what he's learned to help shape Wisconsin's approach to the "new economy" - a much-used term these days that Nettles says holds different meanings for different people.

    "I think what it means for us," he says, "is that our state economy is in a transition to a knowledge-based economy, where knowledge is king. We have to make sure we're educating the future workers in our state to perform well in that kind of economy."

    Leaving Quarles & Brady was a difficult decision, Nettles says, and adjusting to his new role in government naturally has had a few bumps. "I've had to get used to the nuances in the way government functions," he notes, "and the fact that this is extremely political. Sometimes to get from point A to point B you have to go through C, D, and E. It can be extremely circuitous, and that can be challenging and frustrating."

    Along the way, he turns to his legal training and experience regularly. In fact, he feels that the hefty concentration of attorney skills among the people in this administration translates into improved decision making.

    "Whether it's the ability to think on our feet," Nettles says, "or to solve problems, to negotiate, to question, to see both sides of complicated issues - all those skills serve us well as managers and policy-makers in this administration. I think that makes us a strong team."

    Other Top Appointees

    Stan DavisStan Davis, Deputy Chief of Staff/Legal Counsel. Most recent prior position: Associate attorney at Wickwire Gavin, Madison. Other experience: Wisconsin assistant attorney general, where he worked in civil litigation. He acted as the state's lead contact attorney for implementing and enforcing the settlement with tobacco companies; legislative correspondent for the late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone; worked in the congressional office of the late U.S. Rep. Bruce Vento; high school teacher. Law degree: George Washington University Law School, 1998.

    Scott HassettScott Hassett, Secretary of Natural Resources. Most recent prior position: Partner, Lawton & Cates, Madison, where for 22 years he handled civil, criminal, employment, and environmental litigation cases. Other experience: Chair of the board of directors of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, which awards grants for environmental and educational projects; managing editor, Jefferson Banner, Jefferson, Wis. Law degree: Rutgers School of Law, 1980.

    Rod NilsestuenRod Nilsestuen, Secretary of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Most recent prior position: President/CEO, Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives for 24 years. Other experience: Founded Cooperative Development Services, a first-of-its-kind model for cooperative development, which resulted in the creation of hundreds of cooperative development projects nationwide; founding chair of the National Rural Cooperative Development Task Force; helped create the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, the Midwest Dairy Marketing Initiative, the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board, and the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board. Law degree: U.W. Law School, 1974.

    David RiemerDavid Riemer, Administrator, Division of Executive Budget and Finance (aka budget director). Most recent prior position: Director, city of Milwaukee Department of Administration. Other experience: Worked in Milwaukee city government for 15 years in various positions - administration secretary, chief of staff for the mayor, and director of budget and management; legal adviser to former Gov. Patrick Lucey; counsel to U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy; counsel for Time Insurance Co. Law degree: Harvard Law School, 1975.

    Karen TimberlakeKaren Timberlake, Director, Office of State Employment Relations. Most recent prior position: Deputy Administrator, Department of Justice's Division of Legal Services. Other experience: Assistant attorney general in the government operations and administrative law unit, and an attorney in the employment litigation unit; Attorney General's representative to the state Group Insurance Board; counsel to the Crime Victim Rights Board. Law degree: Harvard Law School, 1995. [Editor's Note: The biennial budget bill (Act 33) created the new Office of State Employment Relations, attached to the DOA for administrative purposes, to replace the Department of Employment Relations, which was eliminated as a separate agency. Gov. Doyle recently appointed Timberlake as Director of the new office; she had been Secretary of the DER.]


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