Candidate for Judicial Council Representative
Thomas W. Bertz
Anderson, O'Brien, Bertz, Skrenes & Golla LLP, Stevens Point
Email: tombertz@gmail.com
Platform Statement
With your support, in 2009, I was elected as your State Bar representative on the Wisconsin Judicial Council. The Council elected me its Chair in 2011, and I have served as its Chair since that time. The Council has had significant accomplishments from 2009 to the present. For example, the Council drafted and filed a supreme court rule change petition amending Wis. Stat. §809.23(3) to permit parties to cite to unpublished court of appeals’ decisions. Prior to the amendment, certain areas of practice (for example, small claims, termination of parental rights, juvenile, mental commitment, etc.) suffered from limited citable case law because opinions generally issued by a single judge were routinely not published. The rule promotes consistency in court proceedings. See 2009 WI 2.
This year the Council is in the process of finalizing its work on the Criminal Law Procedure Bill to be introduced in January of 2015. The Appellate Procedure Committee is studying amending rule 809.15 to promote greater consistency and completeness of record on appeal. The Evidence & Civil Procedure Committee is studying a possible update to Wisconsin’s class action statute (§803.08) to bring it more closely aligned with the Federal Class Action Rule.
Biography
Practice
Private practice of law with Anderson, O’Brien, Bertz, Skrenes & Golla since 1973; partner 1974.
Education
University of St. Thomas – with Honors (1959)
Marquette University (J.D. 1962), Assistant Editor Marquette Law Review
Judicial Clerkship
Law Clerk to Chief Justice Timothy Brown, Wisconsin Supreme Court (June 1962 - January 1964)
Admissions to Practice
- State Bar of Wisconsin
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
- United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
- United States Supreme Court
Professional Activities
- Member, Wisconsin Judicial Council (2009 to present, Chair 2011 to present)
- Inducted as a Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation, 2014
- Former member of the Board of Governors, State Bar of Wisconsin (Executive Committee 2005-2009) – Former Liaison to Professional Ethics Section and Office Management Section
- Western District of Wisconsin Bar Association, Past President (2001-2002) (Federal Bar Association)
- Charter Member, Wisconsin Supreme Court Preliminary Review Committee (Office of Lawyer Regulation) (2000-2006)
- Litigation Section, State Bar of Wisconsin
- American Bar Association
- Portage County Bar Association, Past President
- Wisconsin Association of Worker’s Compensation Attorneys, Past President (2006)
Certifications
- Received an AV® Preeminent™ rating from his peers in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
- Named a Wisconsin Super Lawyer in 2008, 2009 and 2010
