New Wisconsin lawyers are sworn in. From left: James, J. Irvine, Angela L. Johnson, Philomena Kebec, Jason A. Lambright, James L. Ling, and Donald J. Marksteiner.
Justice Roggensack chats with new admittees Philomena Kebec.
Jason Lambright chats with State Bar Member Services representative Pat Ruppert.
By Deb Heneghan, State Bar Reporter
April 26, 2012 – Surrounded by family and friends, 34 lawyers who passed the bar exam were admitted to practice in Wisconsin earlier today. In February, 95 people took the bar exam representing 52 law schools and 27 jurisdictions; 76 percent passed.
The lawyers were welcomed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson and justices David T. Prosser, N. Patrick Crooks, and Patience D. Roggensack; Board of Bar Examiners (BBE) director Jacquelynn Rothstein; and State Bar President-elect Kevin Klein.
Congratulating the new lawyers, Rothstein quoted former ABA President Martha Barnett who said “One vote, one act, one person can change the course of history. I think the lawyers who daily and tirelessly labor in the vineyards of justice, men and women who represent their clients with integrity, ethics, and professionalism, and who think nothing of it because that’s what lawyers do yet often those individuals are the very people who change the world.” Rothstein told the new members, “You can be that one person. You can be the one who can help change the course of history and help preserve our system of justice for future generations.”
Following the swearing-in ceremony, Justice Patience Drake Roggensack spoke to the new lawyers. Roggensack began with a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Roggensack said, “You are the future, at least a part of it, for the legal community and for the State of Wisconsin. What is your dream? What do you hope the future will hold for you?”
Referencing Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech,” Roggensack noted much has changed since that speech in 1963, but there is still so much to do. “Whatever your dream is, the way in which you approach it is very important. Attitude is a very little thing but it can make quite a big difference.
“Be optimistic. You’ll be amazed what you can accomplish if you think you can succeed,” she said noting that even great lawyers don’t always succeed the first time they try something. “Truly great lawyers are those who commit themselves to work on behalf of their clients, to work on behalf of service to the public, and when they don’t succeed they pick themselves up and try again.”
Quoting Winston Churchill: The truth is in incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is. Roggensack summed up, “Value truth and don’t give your word lightly, but once you have given it, don’t abandon it. As a lawyer, the greatest single quality you have is your word … even when truth is not what others want to hear. Don’t shade the truth and in the process become an appeaser for those who do not value the truth.”
State Bar President-elect Kevin Klein welcomed the new members, “You are in a unique position to shape the profession though your work, your professional lives and through the manner in which you address challenges.” Klein urged the new members to get involved in State Bar activities and look to the bar as their first resource when in need help or information. “If you are involved in the State Bar and its governance it will enrich your practice and allow you to fulfill your dreams and goals,” he said.
The State Bar welcomes the following new attorneys:
New member Doua Yang (center) enjoys the reception with his family. Yang is in-house counsel at a dental clinic.
New member Jacob Brunette has his own consulting firm. His wife Lyndsey is Corporate Counsel for Clark County.
Steven J. Bersell, Mequon
Jacob C. Brunette, Neillsville
Alex M. Cahill, Donahue, Iowa
Jeremy T. Chavez, Racine
Megan J. Claucherty, Milwaukee
Nicholas W. Clifford, Sun Prairie
Laura L. Colt, Reedsburg
Jamieson William Fish, Spooner
Karl Joseph Foster, Milwaukee
Katherine Marie Gaumond, Waukesha
Joseph Geraldson, Genoa
Abigail Goins, Madison
Chase Tolman Gunnell, Royce City, Texas
Anna Marie Hassler, Sun Prairie
Joshua J. Hermes, Little Chute
James J. Irvine, Milwaukee
Angela L. Johnson, De Pere
Philomena Kebec, Ashland
Jason A. Lambright, New York, N.Y.
James Ling, Milwaukee
Donald J. Marksteiner, Neillsville
Lui HK. Moefu, Lancaster
Laura E. Nogrady, Oak Creek
Lucia Orozco, Madison
Karl A. Schmidt, Wisconsin Rapids
Amilyn M. Skelton, Rockford, Ill.
Kevin Eric Skogg, New Berlin
Courtney Kay Smaby, La Crosse
Mary Eve Trzebiatowski, Somerset
Carrie Werle, Delafield
Lindsay M. White, Kenosha
Richard J. Wirtz Jr., Plymouth
Doua Yang, Milwaukee
Jason Robert Zapf, Kenosha
Visit the State Bar’s Facebook page for more admissions photos, or click here.
