New Hires, Promotions, Partners

Rebecca Bush, Northern Illinois 2006, has joined Amundsen Davis LLP as a partner and leader of the firm’s new Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation & Tax Service Group. Bush previously was in-house counsel for a fintech third-party administrator (TPA). Bush focuses on matters related to ERISA, the Affordable Care Act, HIPAA privacy, health savings accounts, consumer-directed health care, flexible benefit plans, lifestyle spending accounts, 401(k) plans, employee stock option plans, and other types of deferred compensation. She counsels employers on tax compliance issues and employee and executive compensation and handles matters relating to administration and compliance concerns for TPAs.

The Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation & Tax Service Group counsels employers on structuring compensation packages and incentive programs to maximize tax efficiency and minimize liability and defends clients involved in litigation arising out of alleged violations of benefit laws, including ERISA violations, breach of fiduciary duty, denial of benefits, and discrimination in benefit plan administration.

Sara Butler, U.W. 2021, has joined the Milwaukee office of Scopelitis Law Firm as an associate. She works in the Appellate and Injury Defense practices, assisting transportation clients nationwide on a range of litigation issues.

Samantha M. Dorning, Marquette 2024, has joined Borgelt, Powell, Peterson & Frauen S.C., Milwaukee, and concentrates in insurance coverage analysis and litigation, automobile liability (commercial and personal auto) civil litigation, general negligence litigation, construction defect litigation, and tort litigation.

Ciara L. Hudson, Marquette 2024, has joined Godfrey, Leibsle, Blackbourn & Howarth S.C., Elkhorn, as an associate, focusing on litigation and real estate.

Julie E. Piper-Kitchin, Marquette 2008, has joined von Briesen & Roper s.c. in the Madison office and is a member of the Litigation & Risk Management Practice Group. She manages all aspects of trial preparation and defense strategy for clients in state and federal courts. Her practice focuses on civil litigation, product liability, insurance defense, insurance coverage, personal injury, and professional liability.

Michael R. Sherer, Chicago-Kent 2016, has been promoted to shareholder at von Briesen. Sherer is a member of the Labor and Employment Section and practices in the Waukesha office. He has significant experience with wage and hour claims, employment discrimination, Title I of the ADA, wage garnishments, restrictive covenants, and other employment-related claims and is admitted to practice law in both Wisconsin and Illinois.

Four attorneys have joined Turke & Steil LLP (formerly known as Turke & Strauss LLP).

Michael J. Coakley, Northern Illinois 2021, and Alexander M. Evans, Charleston 2016, are with the estate planning team in the Janesville office. Coakley focuses on business succession planning, estate and generation-skipping taxes, wills, and trusts and assists the firm’s real estate team. Evans focuses on business succession planning, estate and generation-skipping taxes, wills, and estate planning.

Emily Dykstra, U.W. 2019, focuses on representing businesses and individuals during various types of disputes, including direct settlement negotiations, mediations, and litigation matters. Amber M. Heidenreich, U.W. 2024, focuses on litigation, including business disputes and creditors’ rights. Dykstra and Heidenreich practice from the Madison office.

Jill Warning, U.W. 2009, has been promoted to director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at SRD Legal Group. Warning concentrates in providing legal services to financial services companies and draws from diversified experiences in nonprofit management, the federal government, and management consulting; executive education in design and public policy; and a certificate in diversity, equity, and inclusion to develop this new role. She continues to lead initiatives to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within SRD and the industry at large.

Mergers, Relocations, New Offices

Kirk Law Office LLC has moved from Superior to Thorp, Wis. Johanna R. Kirk, Hamline 2006, serves clients in elder law, estate planning, probate, real estate, guardianship, and business matters.

Michael Best and venture law firm O&A P.C. formally combined effective July 1, 2024. Through the combination, Michael Best, with offices in Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin, has entered the California legal market. O&A founder Dan Offner serves as managing partner of the new Los Angeles office and head of Venture Best in California. David Krutz, Northwestern 1991, continues as firm managing partner of Michael Best. O&A P.C. was founded in 2015 as a venture and corporate law firm and represented a range of early-stage companies, venture funds, entrepreneurs, and large global companies.

Michael Best has acquired, from Offner and O&A P.C. employees, www.StartupProgram.com, a proprietary online software service and set of educational tools to enable entrepreneurs to form their venture-ready corporations efficiently, cost effectively, and in a legally sound way.

Sarah Wong, Marquette 2012, Brad Meyer, Marquette 2013, Billie Jean Smith, U.W. 1992, and Andrew McConnell, U.W. 1985, have formed the Milwaukee IP boutique firm Wong Meyer Smith & McConnell. The firm is dedicated to bringing unique viewpoints and experiences to tackle clients’ business challenges with intelligent intellectual property solutions focused on the competitive landscape and fast-paced business world.

Appointments, Elections

The Association of Corporate Counsel-WI has elected new board members and executive officers.

New board members are the following: Richard Esparza, Marquette 2021,is counsel at Fiserv Inc., a global technology leader enabling money movement for thousands of financial institutions and millions of people and businesses. Jessica Miller, U.W. 2016,is assistant general counsel in Corporate Legal at American Family Insurance, where she provides counsel and guidance to internal clients on various legal issues and primarily supports the Marketing, Sponsorships, and Communications teams. Britta Sahlstrom, U.W. 2014, is corporate counsel at REV Group Inc., providing a broad range of business advice and legal counsel to all levels of employees and leadership in the organization, with a focus on supporting commercial contracts and providing legal advice pertaining to REV commercial relationships.

Newly elected executive officers include the following: president – Jascha Beck Walter, Marquette 1999, assistant general counsel & assistant secretary, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.; vice-president – Anthony Flint, Marquette 2011, vice president legal, Ariens Co.; treasurer – Pamela G. Stokke-Ceci, Marquette 2013, SC2Law LLC, and retired assistant general counsel, Badger Meter Inc.; and past president – Daniel J. Posanski, Hamline 2003, senior counsel, U.S. Venture Inc.

Two attorneys with Milwaukee-based trial and litigation law firm Gimbel Reilly Guerin & Brown have joined bar association boards. Jaclyn Kallie, Marquette 2012, is on the board of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Labor & Employment Law Section. Zak Wroblewski, Marquette 2022, is on the Milwaukee Young Lawyers Association board.

Kendall Harrison, U.W. 1995, with Godfrey & Kahn S.C., Madison, has been elected to the board of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), an invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests. The IADC board oversees activities that benefit the organization’s members and their clients, the civil justice system, the legal profession, and society in general. In addition to its core purpose involving professional development for members, the IADC takes a leadership role in many areas of legal reform.

Governor Tony Evers has appointed Douglas Hoffer, Marquette 2010, to the Eau Claire County Circuit Court – Branch 2, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Michael A. Schumacher, Nebraska 1981. Hoffer will complete a term ending July 31, 2025. Hoffer previously was the deputy city attorney for Eau Claire. In this role, he provided legal advice, counsel, and representation to the city council and city departments. Before that, he spent three years as an associate at De La Mora & De La Mora, Elm Grove, where he was a municipal attorney for five communities and represented private clients in land use litigation.

He is a recipient of the International Municipal Lawyers Association’s Brad D. Bailey Assistant City/County Attorney Award (2017) and the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Charles Dunn Author
Award (2020).

Christina M. Lucchesi, Marquette 1990, was recently named a magazine board member of the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law for the 2024-2025 association year. She will serve on the editorial board for Landslide, which publishes articles on contemporary issues in intellectual property. She also was recently interviewed for an article, “‘Are We Dating the Same Guy’ Federal Lawsuit Moves Forward,” published in Wisconsin Law Journal. Lucchesi provided information on copyright infringement and the fair use defense in relation to photographs and social media. Lucchesi practices in intellectual property law, entertainment and art law, and commercial transactions at von Briesen & Roper S.C., Milwaukee.

James Borchardt, Iowa 2007, and Gordon Wright, U.W. 2007, have been named co-chairs of the Intellectual Property Practice at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.

Borchardt is a shareholder and registered patent attorney in the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice. He works with clients to develop utility and design patenting strategies to protect new products in the United States and abroad; counsels on product clearance, patent infringement analysis, and patent validity analysis; and prepares and prosecutes patent reexaminations before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Wright is a shareholder and registered patent attorney. He has experience counseling clients in patent and trademark matters and has assisted national and international clients with the clearance, registration and maintenance of domestic and international trademarks. Wright’s experience also includes preparing and prosecuting patent applications in the electrical, electronic, software, and mechanical arts.

Authors, Speakers

“The Milky Way,” a short story by Scott Winkler, U.W. 1984, about two immigrants to the U.S. from Mexico, has won the Slippery Elm Literary Journal 2024 prose contest. The publication is associated with the Department of English Literature at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio. “The Milky Way” was also previously short listed for an award in another short fiction contest. Two other short fictions by Winkler, “A Couple’s Guide to Racquetball and Yoga” and “Winter Squall,” were long listed by the Creative Writing New Zealand Short Story Prize 2024.

Winkler operates Winkler Law Firm SC, Glendale.

Awards, Degrees, Honors

Elisabeth Townsend Bridge, Nebraska 1981, is a recent recipient of the Order of Leopold – a Belgian honorary order of knighthood. The award is given in recognition of services provided to the country of Belgium. Bridge is an intellectual property attorney at Amundsen Davis LLP, Milwaukee, and a 15-year Honorary Consul of the country of Belgium. Bridge’s service has included assistance with business operations within the United States, immigration, and other legal needs that Belgian citizens encounter while in the U.S.

Bridge advocates the intellectual property rights of businesses of all sizes internationally, aiding clients with licensing and distribution agreements, dispute resolution and related litigation, administrative proceedings, due diligence in corporate transactions, and advertising concerns.

Retirements

Geri A. Wilkinson, Marquette 1982, retired from the practice of law on March 29, 2024. She primarily practiced insurance law, most recently as assistant general counsel – legal manager of corporate litigation for American Family Insurance, Madison.

In Memoriam

John J. Balistrieri, Valparaiso 1973, Milwaukee, Aug. 25, 1948 – June 7, 2024.

Michael G. Dombrowski, Univ. of Pittsburgh 1979, Whitefish Bay, Dec. 25, 1954 – Jan. 17, 2020.

Emily A. Fey, Drake 2004, Milwaukee, June 27, 1979 – June 16, 2024.

Vance S. Gruetzmacher, U.W. 1972, Shawano, Dec. 27, 1943 – July 19, 2024.

Robert J. Jursik, Marquette 1968, Cudahy, July 19, 1944 – Nov. 3, 2023.

Keith J. Kerfeld, William Mitchell 1982, White Bear Lake, Minn., Jan. 12, 1956 – June 2, 2024.

Kenan J. Kersten, Marquette 1961, Mequon, Aug. 2, 1936 – March 22, 2024.

Edward D. Main, U.W. 1964, Madison, Jan. 15, 1937 – Dec. 11, 2023.

William E. McCarty, Marquette 1962, Mequon, Jan. 30, 1937 – June 12, 2024.

Jose A. Olivieri, Marquette 1981, Milwaukee, Aug. 28, 1957 – June 9, 2024.

Hon. Earl W. Schmidt, U.W. 1972, Birnamwood, March 11, 1936 – July 14, 2024.

Robert C. Skemp, Marquette 1952, La Crosse, Nov. 6, 1927 – June 9, 2024.

Guy M. Taylor, U.W. 1987, Verona, Feb. 18, 1957 – April 13, 2024.

William G. Thiel, Marquette 1975, Eau Claire, Sept. 3, 1950 – June 3, 2024.

Clay R. Williams, Michigan 1960, Spring Green, Sept. 25, 1935 – Jan. 14, 2024.

John Orrin Basil Wills, U.W. 1998, North Las Vegas, Nevada, June 23, 1946 – May 5, 2024.

William A. Wiseman, Marquette 1973, Verona, Nov. 10, 1948 – June 30, 2024.

Lydia M. Witte, Marquette 2014, March 7, 1989 – July 3, 2024.

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) 250-6127.

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.