New Hires, Promotions, Partners

Sara B. Andrew, Marquette 2006, succeeds her father, Louis J. Andrew Jr., as president and CEO of Andrew Law Offices S.C., Fond du Lac. He has become of counsel to the firm. The firm is expanding its estate planning, real estate, and corporate law practice to include mediation and family business succession planning.

Eric Beyer, William Mitchell 1998, has joined the Duluth, Minn., office of SiebenCarey and continues to represent clients with personal injury and worker’s compensation claims. He previously was with Falsani, Balmer, Peterson, Quinn & Beyer.

Kristy A. Christensen, Thomas M. Cooley 2003 cum laude, has been promoted to partner at McCarty Law LLP, Appleton. Her practice focuses on civil litigation and mediation, intellectual property law, and construction law and she leads the firm’s mediation practice.

Michael R. Godbe, Northeastern 2016, has joined the Madison office of Hawks Quindel S.C. as an associate and concentrates on employment law and consumer law matters.

Luke B. Kingree, Marquette 2007, has joined Hawks Quindel S.C. as an associate in the Madison and Eau Claire offices. His practice focuses on worker’s compensation law on behalf of injured workers.

Jeffrey Mandell, Chicago 2006 high honors, has been promoted to partner at Stafford Rosenbaum LLP, Madison. He is a litigator with extensive trial and appellate experience in federal and state courts and co-chair of the firm’s appellate practice group, and he counsels businesses and individuals on handling litigation risk and navigating administrative regulations.

Lia E. Moeser, U.W. 2007, has joined Amazon.com, Seattle, and supports Amazon’s North American retail businesses. She advises on regulatory, transactional, and intellectual property matters.

Eleven new associates have joined Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. In Milwaukee: Hana Cho, Marquette 2016 cum laude, and Christopher M. Hruska, Michigan 2016 cum laude, arewith the corporate law practice. Cho is also a member of the Diversity Committee.

Benjamin B. Genzer, Duke 2016, is with the tax practice. Katherine R. Krutcha, U.W. 2016 cum laude, is with the employee benefits practice.

Kilian P. Murphy, U.W. 2016 cum laude, is with the real estate practice. Andrew L. Otto, Marquette 2016 cum laude, is with the trusts and estates practice.

Jeffrey D. Roeske, Marquette 2014, Jeunesse M. Rutledge, U.W. 2015 cum laude, and Sarah Sargent, Iowa 2016 with distinction,are with the litigation practice. Roeske and Rutledge previously were law clerks with Reinhart.

Christopher K. Schuele, U.W. 2016 cum laude, is with the labor and employment practice.

In Madison: Monica A. Mark, U.W. 2013 summa cum laude, is with the litigation practice. She previously clerked with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin and with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Christina M. Tenuta, City University of New York 2010, has joined Schuster Law Offices, Madison, as an associate and focuses on family law. She previously practiced family law at Community Justice Inc. and worked for the Wisconsin Legislature.

The Hon. Marcus S. Zelenski, Tulsa 2009, has been appointed Family Court Judge for the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. He previously was a Brown County assistant corporation counsel.

Mergers, Relocations, New Offices

Melissa Cover Selinger, Washington Univ. 2003, and Benjamin P. Brunette, Michigan 2012, have opened Selinger & Brunette LLC, 10 E. Doty, Suite 702, Madison, concentrating on trusts and estates, transfer tax planning, and business planning. Selinger previously worked in Chicago firms and maintains her Illinois license, and she and Brunette previously practiced with Husch Blackwell (formerly Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C.) in Madison.

Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary PC, a full-service national transportation law firm based in Indianapolis and with an office in Milwaukee, has created a wholly owned subsidiary, Scopelitis Transportation Consulting LLC, a business consulting venture that provides advisory services and implementation programs to companies in the transportation industry.

Substantially all lawyers and staff members from the Milwaukee law firm Weiss Berzowski LLP joined von Briesen & Roper s.c., effective Nov. 30, 2016.

Appointments, Elections

Ron Tusler, Marquette 2010, has been elected to the State Assembly, District 3, comprising northern Calumet County and eastern Outagamie County. He is a solo practitioner at Tusler Law LLC, Appleton, representing accident victims.

James C. Wenzler has been appointed to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene board by Gov. Scott Walker. He is a public member of the State Bar’s Board of Governors, a member of the Wisconsin State Auctioneer Board, and a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Lawyer Disciplinary Committee.

Authors, Speakers

Michael S. Heffernan, U.W. 1977, authored the recently revised Appellate Practice and Procedure in Wisconsin (State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE, 7th ed. 2016). Heffernan, of Madison, is retired and limits his practice to appellate consultation and divorce mediation. The Hon. Thomas Hruz, Marquette 2002, updated the book’s Standards of Appellate Review appendix. Judge Hruz sits on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Wausau.

Awards, Degrees, Honors

Michael Best & Friedrich LLP received a perfect score of 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2017 Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees. The perfect score earns Michael Best distinction among the “Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality” and reflects a commitment to workplace equality with respect to tangible policies, benefits, and practices.

Nancy Pirkey, Valparaiso 1993, is a recipient of the 2016 George Tipler Award, presented at the Wisconsin School Attorneys Association (WSAA) membership meeting, in recognition of her high achievement and dedication to the representation of school districts in the state. She is retired from Buelow Vetter Buikema Olson & Vliet, Waukesha.

Anniversaries, Retirements

Joseph A. Bielinski, U.W. 1977, retired from Menn Law Firm Ltd., Appleton, on Dec. 31, 2016. He is now of counsel to the firm.

Greg Cook, Marquette 1976, of the Greg Cook Law Offices S.C., Milwaukee, recently marked his 40th year as an attorney and 150th civil jury trial.

In Memoriam

Peter W. Bunde, U.W. 1959, Wisconsin Rapids, March 18, 1931 – Sept. 21, 2016.

John M. Clair, Marquette 1987, Delavan, Oct. 18, 1961 – Nov. 18, 2016.

Jacqueline H. Dee, Marquette 1983, Oak Creek, May 11, 1944 – Nov. 10, 2016.

James J. Fetek, U.W. 1957, Racine, Nov. 2, 1932 – Sept. 9, 2016.

Henry J. Gefke, Marquette 1954, Glendale, Aug. 4, 1930 – July 27, 2016.

Nicole Lynn Kieper, U.W. 2010, Las Vegas, Aug. 6, 1984 – May 9, 2016.

Hon. Robert Pfiffner, U.W. 1942, Chippewa Falls, March 20, 1918 – March 30, 2016.

Andres Velez, Marquette 1998, Milwaukee, Nov. 11, 1968 – Nov. 23, 2016.

Douglas J. Wadsworth, Texas 1962, Madison, July 11, 1936 – April 9, 2016.

Peter Wilson, John Marshall 1988, Fontana, May 9, 1948 – Nov. 5, 2016.

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