New Hires, Promotions, Partners

Kelsey Bailey, Marquette 2015, has joined Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. as an associate with the trusts and estates practice in the Milwaukee office and focuses on wills, trusts, marital property agreements, and guardianships. She previously was a staff attorney at Centro Legal, which provides free and low-cost legal services for individuals and families in Milwaukee County

Terence J. Bouressa, Pepperdine 1983, has joined Menn Law Firm Ltd., Green Bay, and continues practicing in general litigation, focusing on personal injury, worker’s compensation, employment law, Indian law and tribal relations, and lawyer discipline matters.

Andrew Briggs, U.W. 2011, has joined Trifecta General Counsel, Madison, serving the needs of information technology startups, with a particular focus on innovators in the healthcare industry. He previously worked on the compliance team of a large, healthcare-information-technology vendor.

Erin Block, Marquette 2015 cum laude, and Eric Hansch, U.W. 2014 cum laude, have joined DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C. as associates. Block is a member of the intellectual property group in the Metro Milwaukee office. She concentrates in the software and life science fields, preparing domestic and international patent applications and assisting clients in patent licensing, trademark evaluation, patent infringement litigation, design patent prosecution, and intellectual property research. Hansch is with the business practice group in the Madison office. He focuses on corporate and real estate law, including entity formation, mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions, contract negotiations, real estate acquisitions and dispositions, development, leasing, financing, and zoning and entitlement approvals.

Kimberly Fleming, Minnesota 1998, has become a shareholder with Cousineau, Van Bergen, McNee & Malone P.A., Minnetonka, Minn., and continues to practice in personal injury defense, including motor vehicle liability, premises liability, and general liability. She also handles employment claims for employers, Fair Credit Reporting Act defense, and election law claims.

Raymond C. Gamez, U.W. 2008, has joined Pruitt Law Offices S.C., Racine and concentrates in family law, real estate, criminal defense, and traffic (including driving under the influence) matters and offers legal services to Spanish-speaking clients. He previously was a solo practitioner and public defender.

Megan O. Harried, U.W. 2011, has joined Averbeck, Hammer & Slavin S.C., Fond du Lac, as an associate. Her practice includes estate planning, probate, real estate, and business law. She previously was a transactional attorney for a mid-sized Milwaukee firm and taught business law at U.W.-Oshkosh.

Timothy H. Hassell, Marquette 2010, has been promoted to partner at Watton Law Group, Milwaukee. He practices primarily in bankruptcy and debtors’ rights.

Cate M. Heerey, Marquette 2010, has been named a partner at Rose & deJong S.C., Milwaukee. She continues to focus on corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance and capitalization.

Todd J. Liebman, U.W. 1990, has joined the U.S. Army Materiel Command as an attorney-advisor. He previously was the Sauk County corporation counsel and is the immediate past president of the Sauk County Bar Association.

Christopher R. Liro, Michigan 2000 magna cum laude, has become a partner in Andrus Intellectual Property Law LLP, Milwaukee. He focuses on intellectual property litigation and counseling clients in transactional matters, including licenses, joint development agreements, and dispute resolution.

Three attorneys have been named shareholders with Murphy Desmond S.C., with offices in Madison, Janesville, and Appleton.

Roy Fine, U.W. 1982, focuses on business matters, estate planning, and real estate, including tax legal matters for businesses and families and business succession planning. He oversees the firm’s Appleton office. Mark Maciolek, U.W. 2005, works primarily with clients in criminal defense, juvenile defense, and bankruptcy. He is bilingual and assists the firm’s Spanish-speaking clients. Jason Reed, U.W. 2014,is a business lawyer assisting start-up companies and established businesses with contracts, tax matters, and securities issues.

Jonathan M. Esp, Marquette 2013, has joined the firm as an associate in the Madison office. He has experience litigating insurance coverage disputes, personal injury claims, business disputes, and construction controversies.

Alison Petri, Oregon 2005, has been named a partner in Steimle Birschbach LLC, Manitowoc, and continues to focus on Medicaid (nursing home) planning, wills, trusts and estates, and elder law.

David G. Ress, Marquette 2011, has been named a shareholder in Bell, Moore & Richter S.C., Madison. His practice areas include defense-side civil litigation, worker’s compensation, appellate, business litigation, and family law.

Kathleen A. Rinehart, Marquette 1993, has been named ninth president of Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee. She previously was interim president at Cardinal Stritch and before that was general counsel and secretary of the corporation for Saint Xavier University, Chicago.

Meghan O’Connor, Marquette 2010 cum laude, has joined the Milwaukee office of Quarles & Brady LLP as a partner in the health law practice group. O’Connor focuses on data privacy and security, data breach, health information technology, and internet of things and connected medical devices, with special emphasis on HIPAA, HITECH, and state law compliance. She previously was a shareholder and chair of the health information privacy and security team at a Milwaukee law firm. Also joining the Milwaukee office, as associates, are Sarah Erdmann, Marquette 2015, and Elizabeth Wamboldt, U.W. 2009. Erdmann is a member of the health law practice group, focusing on data privacy and security, regulatory compliance, transactional, and general corporate matters within the health care sector. Wamboldt is a member of the intellectual property practice group and focuses on negotiating and drafting commercial software licensing contracts and IT professional service agreements, as well as data privacy and security.

Benjamin J. Quackenbush, Hamline 2010, has been promoted to shareholder at Arndt, Buswell & Thorn S.C., Sparta. His general practice concentrates on civil litigation, real estate, estate planning, business planning, personal injury, and worker’s compensation.

Andrew J. Schlidt III, Marquette 1995, has joined Godfrey & Kahn S.C., Milwaukee, as a shareholder and a member of the corporate practice group and leader of the technology law team. He guides technology companies through all phases of growth, including due diligence in preparation for a company’s investment, acquisition, or sale, and advises clients on complex IT procurement and sourcing transactions and works closely with clients on IT compliance planning in areas such as data privacy and security. He previously was a partner at a large Midwestern law firm.

Jason Scoby, Marquette 2009, has been elected a shareholder at O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing, Milwaukee. He is a member of the business practice group and the banking & creditors’ rights practice group and advises and represents individuals, businesses, and banks on issues including mergers and acquisitions, commercial loan transactions, corporate issues, contract negotiation and preparation, and business entity selection and formation.

J.B. Van Hollen, U.W. 1990, has joined Michael Best Strategies as a senior advisor and will lead the Attorneys General Practice. He served two terms as Wisconsin attorney general and before that was U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.

John B. Wagman, U.W. 2000, has joined Weld Riley S.C., Eau Claire, and focuses on business matters, including real estate, financing, corporate formation, mergers, acquisitions, nonmetallic mining, and other business specialties. He previously was with Mallery & Zimmerman, Wausau.

Mergers, Relocations, New Offices

Sturgul & Long has opened a new office at 209 E. Hughitt St., Iron Mountain, Mich., and continues to focus exclusively on estate planning, nursing home planning, Medicaid planning, asset protection, and Medicare. The firm’s attorneys include Paul Sturgel, U.W. 1993, and Ryan J. Long, Hamline 2012 cum laude.

Appointments, Elections

Donald Leo Bach, U.W. 1974, has been appointed adjunct professor at the U.W. Law School and will teach Introduction to American Law to international law students. He recently participated as a faculty member teaching a group of 19 visiting Shanghai, China, judges as part of the East Asian Legal Studies program. Bach is with the Madison office of DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C. and focuses on administrative, environmental, and governmental law and litigation.

John Gardner, Marquette 2004 magna cum laude, has been named chair of the labor and employment relations group at DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C. and its affiliate DeWitt Mackall Crounse & Moore S.C. Gardner, a shareholder in the Madison office, represents employers in matters including discrimination, retaliation, disability accommodations, breach of contract, wage and hour laws, the Family and Medical Leave Act, ERISA, restrictive covenants, and potential misappropriation of trade secrets, and handles labor-management issues and disputes, including collective bargaining.

C. Thomas Sylke, U.W. 1985, has been appointed chair of the advisory board of the Grainger Institute for Engineering at the U.W.-Madison College of Engineering. Sylke is of counsel at the intellectual property firm of Setter Roche LLP in Wisconsin and Colorado and is general counsel for Bright Acceleration Technologies LLC.

Awards, Degrees, Honors

Christine Bremer Muggli, Loyola Chicago 1978, a personal injury attorney and major shareholder in Bremer & Trollop Law Offices S.C., Wausau, received the President’s Award from the Wisconsin Association for Justice. The President’s Award bestows special recognition to a person who, in the course of zealously representing clients or in the advocacy for the voiceless, pursues and helps achieve substantive changes in the law, improves the civil justice system, enhances the rights of citizens’ access to the courts, preserves the right of trial by jury, or enhances the right of everyone to attain full, fair, and timely remedies for civil wrongs.

Bremer Muggli has been president of the Wisconsin Association for Justice and served on its board, chaired its justice fund, founded its women’s caucus, and written and served on the editorial board for The Verdict and is a previous recipient of the Robert L. Habush Trial Lawyer of the Year award.

Jerome F. Buting, North Carolina 1981, a shareholder in Buting, Williams & Stilling S.C., Brookfield, was the 2017 recipient of the William Coffey Memorial Award, bestowed by the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. This award recognizes exceptional contributions to professionalism in the field of criminal justice.

Howard Schoenfeld, U.W. 1971, and David J. Schwartz, South Dakota 1978, litigators at DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C., have been recognized as among the National Trial Lawyers Association’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Wisconsin. Schoenfeld, with the Metro Milwaukee office, represents clients in litigation matters ranging from civil rights issues to violation of constitutional rights, building defects, and personal injuries. Schwartz, with the Madison office, represents clients in a variety of civil litigation disputes, including personal injury, medical negligence, worker’s compensation, and commercial and real estate litigation.

Michael Hupy, Marquette 1972, received the Salvation Army Chaplaincy Program Outstanding Individual Award at the 69th annual Crime Prevention Awards Luncheon at the Wisconsin Club in Milwaukee. The Crime Prevention Awards recognize private citizens and law enforcement professionals who, through their special contributions to crime prevention, make the local community a better place to live and to work. To seek justice and awareness for gun violence and pedestrian safety in the community, Hupy, with Hupy and Abraham S.C., Milwaukee, has personally offered monetary rewards to assist police with their search for perpetrators.

Anthony Steffek, Marquette 2006, has been selected by the Greater Green Bay Chamber as one of its Future 15 Young Professionals for 2018, in recognition of his volunteer work for entities including the Miracle League of Green Bay, Cerebral Palsy Inc., and the Ashwaubenon Fun in the Sun Camp. As a member of the labor and employment team at Davis & Kuelthau s.c., Green Bay, he focuses on matters including hiring and firing, noncompetition agreements and other restrictive covenants, disability and ADA issues, FMLA and other leave matters, employee handbook review and revision, sensitive personnel matters and investigations, OSHA compliance, wage and hour issues, and labor negotiations.

In Memoriam

Irvin B. Charne, U.W. 1949, Milwaukee, Aug. 29, 1922 – Jan. 10, 2018.

Ariana J. Cox, U.W. 2003, Plano, Tex., Oct. 12, 1965 – Jan. 29, 2018.

Joseph R. Filachek, U.W. 1942, Milwaukee, April 12, 1915 – Jan. 1, 2018.

James W. Flory, Minnesota 1990, Eau Claire, Sept. 4, 1964 – Dec. 12, 2017.

Even M. Kjellenberg, Chicago 1960, Sister Bay, Sept. 20, 1935 – Jan. 18, 2018.

Robert E. Koutnik, Marquette 1949, Two Rivers, May 11, 1923 – Feb. 11, 2015.

John E. Raftery, U.W. 1977, Sheboygan, April 28, 1945 – Dec. 7, 2017.

Randall J. Sandfort, U.W. 1974, Baldwin, Nov. 22, 1949 – Feb. 6, 2018.

David H. Sinner, U.W. 1952, Milwaukee, Sept. 5, 1926 – Dec. 25, 2017.