Court appoints Keith L. Sellen Office of Lawyer Regulation director

Aug. 7, 2000

On Aug. 3, the Wisconsin Supreme Court appointed Keith L. Sellen, U.W. 1984, director of the newly created Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR), effective Sept. 11. Sellen replaces James L. Martin, who has been the acting interim administrator of the Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility (BAPR). Martin anticipates returning to the Madison City Attorney's Office, from which he has been on loan, on Oct. 1.

Sellen, a retired Army legal officer, grew up on a dairy farm north of Green Bay. He was most recently chief of doctrine and training development at the JAG's School in Charlottesville, Va. In this position, he designed, developed, coauthored, and published the future legal services program for 4,200 lawyers serving worldwide. The program is a five-year plan that sets out fundamental principles and provides guidance to Army legal offices.

Prior to this, Sellen spent three years in Germany managing legal staff, supervising professional misconduct investigations, advising government ethics investigators, mediating disputes between the State Department and foreign legal officials, and performing other duties. While in the Army, Sellen also served as a criminal defense counsel at Fort Benning, Ga.; chief command counsel in Seoul, Korea; and chief prosecutor at Fort Gordon, Ga.

While studying at the U.W. Law School, Sellen worked as an intern with the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He completed his undergraduate studies at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduating in the top five percent of his class, and teaching law there from 1988 to 1991.

The Supreme Court rules creating the OLR, which replaces BAPR, are anticipated to take effect in September.