New Hires, Promotions, Partners

Noelle H. Augelli, U.W. 2019, has joined Wilson Law Group, Madison, as an associate. She previously worked as a tax preparer and a stock analyst, drafted and administered estate plans, and gained experience in business succession planning.

Christy Burg, Marquette 2010 with honors, has joined Falkowski Law Firm LLC, West Bend, as an associate and focuses on estate planning, elder law, guardianships, probate and trust administration, and real estate.

Milton Childs, Marquette 2003, has been appointed by Gov. Tony Evers as a circuit court judge in Milwaukee County, Branch 2. He previously was an attorney manager with the Wisconsin State Public Defender's Office in the Milwaukee Juvenile/Mental Health Office.

Bartlett Durand, Hawaii 2002, has been named director of water quality partnerships at the Sand County Foundation. He facilitates agreements that allow municipalities and utilities to achieve water quality goals by working with farmers and agriculture groups. Durand has experience in academic research, complex litigation, mediation, transactional work, and contract work focused on business outcomes and has started three businesses. He is a graduate of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s G. Lane Ware Leadership Academy.

Jeffrey E. Livingston, U.W. 1989, has joined Collins & Henderson LLP, Beloit, as a partner, focusing on criminal defense, family law, probate, and estate planning.

Benjamin M. Adams, Marquette 1985, and William A. Woodrow, Marquette 1976, have joined McCarty Law LLP, Appleton. Adams and Woodrow concentrate their practices in elder law, special needs planning, guardianship and alternatives to guardianship, nursing home and long-term care issues, advance planning for health-care decision-making, and estate planning. They previously practiced together at Adams & Woodrow, Neenah.

Amy Collins O’Hara, U.W. 2012, Kyle W. Engelke, U.W. 2013, and Vanessa D. Wishart, U.W. 2012, have been named partners at Stafford Rosenbaum LLP. All are based in the Madison office.

Collins O’Hara focuses on family law and guardian ad litem work, including paternity actions, LGBTQ family law matters, third-party visitation, interstate child custody and support litigation, prenuptial and cohabitation agreements, and postjudgment modifications and enforcement. She also provides mediation services for family law actions.

Engelke is a litigator. His trial practice includes commercial litigation, tort and civil rights defense, personal injury matters, and wrongful death claims. He authors chapters on trade secrets and tortious interference with contractual relations for State Bar of Wisconsin publications and is on the State Bar’s Bench and Bar Committee.

Wishart practices environmental law, including WPDES permits and petitions, sewer use ordinances for municipalities, influencing proposed administrative rules and legislation, and preparing for litigation on a broad range of environmental issues. She is on the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Environmental Law Section board.

Sara E. Stertz, U.W. 2012, has joined One Law Group S.C. as an associate, working in the Appleton and De Pere offices. Her primary practice areas are criminal law, family law, guardianships, litigation, personal injury, and wills and estate planning.

Stefanie E. Trinkl, U.W. 2018, has joined Moertl, Wilkins & Campbell S.C., Milwaukee, as an associate and focuses on lifetime and estate planning, elder law, and tax planning.

Mergers, Relocations, New Offices

Sam Bomier, Marquette 1987, has launched Sam Bomier Law LLC, Appleton, which focuses exclusively on helping injured workers trying to receive worker’s compensation benefits in northeast Wisconsin. He also is an instructor for the U.W. Extension’s School for Workers.

Robert Gray, Marquette 1991, has moved Gray Law Firm S.C. to 350 Grand Ave., Wausau. The firm continues to focus on representing injured people in worker’s compensation, personal injury, and Social Security Disability cases.

Ashley C. Lehocky, Mitchell Hamline 2014, and Richard J. Carlson, U.W. 1984, have launched Town Counsel Law & Litigation LLC, 119 N. McCarthy Rd., Appleton. Adam Marshall, Marquette 2016, has joined the firm, which focuses on municipal law issues.

Appointments, Elections

Philip R. O’Brien, Marquette 1984, has been named to the national board for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the advocacy arm of the American Cancer Society. O’Brien is a long-time volunteer with ACS, including serving as chair of the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer team at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. since 2010 and as a member of the ACS Wisconsin Leadership Board since 2011. He is the ACS CAN Ambassador Constituent Lead for Wisconsin’s Congressional District 4, where he guides legislative advocates in the district. O’Brien is a shareholder in the employee benefits practice at Reinhart’s Milwaukee office and focuses primarily on Taft-Hartley clients.

Laurie Petersen, Marquette 1986, has been chosen as president of Worklaw^® Network and will serve a one-year term. Petersen is a shareholder and member of the board at Lindner & Marsack S.C., Milwaukee, and focuses on labor and employment law. Worklaw^® Network is a nonprofit association comprised of independent law firms. Member firms and their clients can use the resources of more than 350 lawyers, all of whom practice exclusively in employer-side labor and employment law.

Authors, Speakers

Thomas Domer, U.W. 1983, presented “Workers’ Comp Ethics: 3rd Party Referrals,” at the national conference of the Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group (WILG) in October in Santa Barbara, Cal., where he received WILG’s Weissman Award for Service. Domer and his son and law partner Charlie Domer, U.W. 2002, recently revised the 2020 edition of Thomson Reuters’ Wisconsin Workers’ Compensation Law. They represent injured workers at Domer Law, Milwaukee.

Eunice Gibson, U.W. 1973, presented an analysis of the Colombia Peace Agreement and its implementation at a conference of the International Committee of the International Municipal Lawyers Association in Berlin, Germany. The conference was held in connection with observation of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Authors of the recently revised Wisconsin Condominium Law Handbook (State Bar of Wis. 5th ed. 2019) are the following: Michael Altman, Washington Univ. 1992, Jonathan Luljak, Loyola-Chicago 2014, Vincent Morrone, Marquette 2014, and Brent A. Stork, Marquette 1998, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Milwaukee; Erika Tribuzi, Indiana-Maurer 2018, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Madison; William Pharis Horton, Georgetown 1963, Horton Law Office, Madison; Scott L. Langlois, U.W. 1986, Quarles & Brady LLP, Milwaukee; John L. Maier Jr., U.W. 1973, and Robert T. VanScoyoc, Loyola-Chicago 2009, Sweet & Maier S.C., Elkhorn; and Timothy C. Smith, U.W. 2011, Godfrey & Kahn S.C., Milwaukee.

Awards, Degrees, Honors

Andrew Christianson, U.W. 2005, has been named a Fellow of the American College of Investment Counsel. He is a shareholder in the employee benefits, institutional investor services, corporate law, and securities practices at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., Milwaukee, focusing on these areas and corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity.

Kathryn Westfall, Marquette 2013, has been chosen for Harvard University’s Varsity Club Class of 2019. During Westfall’s years at Harvard, she led the women’s soccer team to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. She was named a Division I All-American in 2001, Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2000, and a four-time All-Ivy League first team member and ranks second in career assists for Harvard women’s soccer. Westfall is a member of the corporate law practice at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., Milwaukee, and focuses on private equity deals and matters involving technology and emerging business practices.

Retirements

Thomas J. Kapusta, Marquette 1979, retired in 2019 after 20 years as vice president and chief legal officer at a national healthcare provider. He is an adjunct professor of law at Southeast Technical Institute, Sioux Falls, S. Dak.

In Memoriam

Jeremiah A. Bryar, Marquette 2008, Alexandria, Va., June 27, 1983 – Nov. 20, 2019.

Heidi L. Habel, Idaho 1978, Hayward, Nov. 9, 1951 – Nov. 14, 2019.

Douglas H. Lenicheck, Marquette 1962, Wauwatosa, April 12, 1933 – Oct. 14, 2019.

Michael A. Loduha, Marquette 1972, Butternut, March 22, 1947 – Oct. 5, 2019.

Philip G. Meyers, Northwestern 1952, West Lafayette, Ind., May 6, 1925 – Sept. 20, 2019.

Kenneth L. Port, U.W. 1989, Saint Paul, Minn., Oct. 18, 1960 – Sept. 27, 2019.

Peter W. Zeeh, U.W. 1973, Monona, Jan. 15, 1948 – Nov. 28, 2019.

How to Place your Announcement

If you have moved, become a partner or an associate, or received a promotion or an award, let us know! Email announcements to: MembersOnly@wisbar.org. Notices about State Bar members in good standing are printed as space is available, and subject to editing. Writing guidelines are available here. Questions? Email us or call (608) 250-6139.

Photo placement: Submit a professional-quality photo. If the photo is used, the State Bar will issue an invoice ($35 each). Group photos are not accepted. High-resolution electronic photos are preferred.

Deadline: The first of the month preceding publication. For example, to place an announcement in the May issue, it must be received before April 1.

Ineligible announcements: Talks, speeches (unless they are of national stature), honors from other publications, and political announcements are not accepted.