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  • WisBar News
    September 26, 2024

    Admissions: Welcome to 66 New Wisconsin Lawyers

    The State Bar is happy to welcome 66 new Wisconsin lawyers, most of whom passed the Wisconsin Bar Exam in July 2024. Some are just beginning their careers in law, and others are finding new opportunities in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Congratulations!

    Shannon Green

    three rows of individuals hold their hands up to take an oath

    New admittees take the oath in the 1:30 p.m. ceremony. See more photos on the State Bar of Wisconsin Facebook page for the 11:30 a.m. ceremony and the 1:30 p.m. ceremony​.

    Sept. 26, 2024 – They are from Wisconsin and across the country – and the world, with one thing in common: On Sept. 23, 2024, all 66 individuals became Wisconsin lawyers.

    In two separate ceremonies before the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Sept. 23, they took their final steps, taking the Attorney’s Oath and signing the Supreme Court Roll Book.

    Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler and the other justices hosted the ceremonies in the Supreme Court Hearing Room at the Capitol Building in Madison.

    Jacquelynn B. Rothstein, director of the Wisconsin Board of Bar Examiners, said of the 120 who took the exam in July, 62% passed it, and that 76% of those taking the exam for the first time passed. “The Board extends its congratulations to the men and women here today,” she said.

    They received words of advice from Justice Rebecca Bradley, including a quote from Winston Churchill: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” "In other words," she said, “don't let your failures deter you from taking risks or fighting for something important.”

    two people smile at the camera

    New Wisconsin lawyers William Dix and Kameron Reed pose for a photo outside the Supreme Court Hearing Room after the 11:30 a.m. ceremony.

    The new admittees include William Dix and Kameron Reed, two new lawyers who are engaged to be married. Not only did they attend the same law school – the University of Iowa, where they met – but are starting their legal careers in Milwaukee.

    Both grew up in farm families in Iowa, and both, Dix said, fell in love with the Milwaukee area while interning in the city. “We spent a summer with the firm, and loved every single second of it,” Dix said.

    two men standing among a seated group with one holding a microphone

    Portage attorney Todd Bennett, right, acts as movant for his son, Ryan Bennett.

    Portage lawyer Todd Bennett was movant for his son, Ryan Bennett, who now marks four generations of lawyers in his family – all in Portage. “It’s an exciting day,” Todd said.

    Ryan, who will join his father’s general practice firm in Portage, decided to become a lawyer while helping his father in the office during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I saw the full scope of how it worked, and realized it was something for me,” he said. “It took seeing it to convince me to go to law school.”

    “My generation,” said Todd Bennett, “is retiring and it’s hard finding replacements” in areas outside Madison and Milwaukee. His firm, he knows, will now continue on with his son.

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    Shohreh Kananizadeh signs the Attorney’s Roll book following the 11:30 a.m. ceremony.

    Shohreh Kananizadeh of San Diego, California, moved to the U.S. in 2014 to earn her L.L.M. at Michigan State University. She had practiced criminal law in her native country of Iran. After completing her degree, she worked under an immigration attorney in California. “I gained a lot of experience,” she said, and in doing so, realized she wanted to take the bar exam and become an attorney in the U.S. In July – eight years after earning her degree – she took the bar exam in Wisconsin. She is returning home to San Diego to open her own immigration law firm.

    She is passionate about immigration law, having experienced immigration in the U.S. first-hand. When she helps her clients, because she is an immigrant, “I understand their journey.”

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    Justice Rebecca Dallet administered the oath at both ceremonies.

    Sarah King of Elkhorn earned her law degree from the University of Illinois in Chicago, graduating last May. Her journey to a law degree took six years, mostly via evening classes. She took the Wisconsin bar exam because “my roots are in Wisconsin,” she said, and lives near Lake Geneva.

    King has worked in contracting for the federal government in Chicago for about 20 years. With a J.D., “I can be more effective in contracting, and I find it a good opportunity to teach people about it,” she said.

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    Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler hosted the ceremonies in the Supreme Court Hearing Room.

    “It’s been a long time coming,” said Martha Rose Simmons on becoming a lawyer. She attended the University of Arizona Law School, earning a J.D. and an L.L.M. in Indigenous Law and Policy. Simmons will work with the Ho-Chunk Nation as a legislative attorney. “We’re writing laws and policies to protect our tribal members. It’s pretty exciting.”

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    Martha Rose Simmons and her children, Kaius and Anaiah, point to her name on the list of new Wisconsin lawyers.

    Welcome to These New Wisconsin Lawyers

    Claire Colleen Afable, Milwaukee

    Caitlin Aladham, Milwaukee

    Czarina M. Albanese, Green Bay

    Ryan W. Bennett, Portage

    Anne Mary Busse, Milwaukee

    Peter H. Clemency, Milwaukee

    Maxwell P. Congdon, Hudson

    Liam Conrad, Milwaukee

    Meghan Coughlin, Milwaukee

    Hanna Christine Day, Madison

    William Cletus Dix, Milwaukee

    Samantha S. Downey, Reedsville

    Madison Erlandson, Madison

    Joel Faliski, Madison

    Zachary Stephen Fisher, Minneapolis

    Luke A. Gallion, Cottage Grove

    Adam Larry Lake Gasway, Appleton

    Maura Gingerich, Milwaukee

    Trent Joseph Hagedorn, Sheboygan

    Klara Henry, Madison

    Elizabeth Kalin James, Madison

    Katherine Jens, Racine

    Shohreh Kananizadeh, San Diego, Calif.

    Sarah T. King, Elkhorn

    Hannah Koniar, Grafton

    Karl Langenstroer, Madison

    Zhuohaodi Li, Chippewa Falls

    Zachary Lindner, Grafton

    Brady Loos, Merrill

    Christine E. Mafnas, Pittsburg, Calif.

    Mark Maier, Oshkosh

    Riley McDonough, Brookfield

    Michael Adams Moeller, Milwaukee

    Megan A. Neubauer, Milwaukee

     

    Steven Nowak, Milwaukee

    Alex Pagel, Wausau

    Anthony Pozorski Jr., Lancaster

    Kameron Reed, Milwaukee

    Kayla C. Schmitz, Holmen

    Jakob Seidler, Madison

    Martha Rose Simmons, Black River Falls

    Isabella Spinelli, Chicago

    Jon Shawn Scott Troe, Milwaukee

    James W. VandenBergh, Woodbury, Minn.

    Eddy Villacis Flores, Oconomowoc

    Marianne Vos, East Troy

    Petra Walech, Verona

    Lauryn Wengert, Milwaukee

    Nathan A. Wheeler, Green Bay

    Laurel Wiley, Milwaukee

    Trevor Wilkinson, Madison

    Matthew Williamson, Neenah

    Jonathan Wittman, Madison

    Emma L. Zahner, Wausau

    Amy Zellner, Green Bay

    Via Diploma Privilege

    Arman Badihi, Creve Coeur, Missouri

    Nicholas Bolisay, Milwaukee

    Michael Garcia, Madison

    Charles Heyer, Western Springs, Ill.

    Davis Logan, Schofield

    Quincy Obbin, Madison

    Stephen Olson, Delavan

    Via Foreign License

    Sabina Arutyunyan, Milwaukee

    Jonathan Samuel Goldman, Milwaukee

    Ashley Hogan, De Pere

    Summer Joy Young, St. Croix Falls





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