New Hires, Promotions, Partners

Ann Hanneman, Marquette 1989, Craig T. Papka, Chicago-Kent 2005, and Robert J. Simandl, Marquette 1987, have joined Amundsen Davis LLP as partners.

Hanneman joins the Milwaukee office with experience representing employers in a variety of forums, including federal jury trials, state court, administrative agencies, and labor arbitration proceedings; and, outside courtrooms, guiding companies on key employment compliance issues, including discrimination and harassment, hiring and termination policies, wage and hour violations, and more.

Papka joins the Brookfield office with experience counseling clients on complex labor and employment issues and a risk-mitigation mindset. He helps employers prevent litigation by providing strategic counsel on issues such as employee terminations, workplace investigations, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and revising and implementing employee handbooks and other procedural manuals and also litigates labor and employment issues.

Simandl brings to the Green Bay office more than 30 years’ experience in the labor and employment landscape, including as a legislative advisor during the drafting of the federal FMLA and as an appointee to the Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Task Force. He represents clients before federal district courts and administrative agencies and counsels employers on workplace discrimination and accommodations, benefits issues, and compliance strategies for the FMLA, ADA, and worker’s compensation.

William D. Bolte, U.W. 2018, has become a director at Bell, Moore & Richter S.C., Madison, and focuses on estate planning and probate and representing businesses.

Julie Dadoun, Belmont 2017, has joined Fuhrman & Dodge S.C., Middleton, as a non-equity shareholder. She practices in family law, juvenile law, elder law, guardianships, landlord and tenant, estate planning and probate, mediation, criminal defense, small claims, and civil litigation.

Three attorneys have joined DeWitt LLP. Kathryn M. Blom, U.W. 2003, is a partner in the Green Bay office and focuses on business and corporate law. Jeffery P. Phillips, U.W. 2006, is a partner in the Madison office and focuses on bankruptcy. Jocelyn S. Gaddini, Marquette 2023, is an associate in the Greater Milwaukee office and focuses on litigation and trusts and estates.

Aaron Eken, North Dakota 2006, has been promoted to partner at Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben, Minneapolis, which concentrates in personal injury matters. Eken has handled all aspects of personal injury law, bringing more than two dozen cases to jury trial and litigating hundreds more to settlement for clients, and is acknowledged as one of Minnesota’s leading lecturers in trial practice and insurance law.

Emily Hall, Marquette 2017, has joined Sage Legal Group LLC, Shorewood, and focuses on elder law, estate planning, probate and trust administration, and family law.

Makayla Johnson, Marquette 2024, and Marianela Smale, U.W. 2023, have joined the Thomas Johnson Law Office, Beloit. Johnson’s practice areas include criminal defense, child welfare law, bankruptcy, personal injury, and estate planning. Smale focuses on immigration law, employment law, family law, and criminal law.

Patrick J. Leigl, Marquette 2014, has joined the Neenah office of von Briesen & Roper s.c. as a shareholder in the Government Law Group and focuses on labor and employment, litigation, and government law. Leigl previously served as a city attorney and an assistant district attorney.

Amy Miller, Notre Dame 2015 cum laude, has been promoted to partner at Eimer Stahl LLP, Madison. Miller focuses on appellate and complex litigation, handling high-stakes appeals and disputes, including commercial and antitrust litigation, and government enforcement and regulatory cases.

Four attorneys have been elected shareholders of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., Milwaukee.

Karyn Durkin, Marquette 2017 cum laude, is with the Employee Benefits Practice, advising on retirement plans for private, single-employer clients and Taft-Hartley multiemployer plans. She helps clients navigate issues such as regulatory compliance, plan and trust design administration, plan mergers and terminations, and the application of fiduciary duties and prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code.

Sara McNamara, Marquette 2017 magna cum laude, is with the Banking and Finance, Litigation, and Business Reorganization practices and counsels clients on matters including corporate governance, capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, asset sales and purchases, and finance transactions for public and private companies, including acquisition financings, asset-based financings, and mezzanine financings. She also represents clients in bankruptcy proceedings, workouts, restructurings, receiverships, and other troubled-debt transactions, including the sale and purchase of distressed businesses.

Dan Murphy, Marquette 2016 cum laude, is with the Litigation and Regulatory and Administrative Law practices, counseling and representing companies and individuals in complex legal matters. Murphy handles a variety of matters, including ERISA and employee benefits litigation, white-collar-crime matters, health-care litigation, shareholder disputes, product-liability and environmental claims, and real estate litigation.

Melissa Reynebeau, U.W. 2017 summa cum laude, is with the Corporate Law Practice and advises public and closely held companies with mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, contract drafting and negotiations, equity issuances, early-stage structuring and financing, general corporate governance and entity formation, and a wide array of other transactional matters. She has extensive experience working with private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, as well as strategic investors across various industries, including manufacturing, technology, consumer products, construction, and professional services.

Two attorneys have joined Reinhart with the Trusts and Estates Practice. Nicholas Smith, Chicago-Kent 2021, works with high-net-worth individuals, families, and business owners to craft specialized estate plans. He has extensive background working with governmental taxing authorities, tax advocacy, and controversy. Stella Furlano, U.W. 2023, counsels clients facing intricate estate planning and family law issues and has a deep understanding of trust law and fiduciary duties, combined with the ability to handle complex trust disputes, probate litigation, and fiduciary disputes.

Patrick Campbell, U.W. 2021, has joined Milwaukee-based trial and litigation firm Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown LLP with the firm’s criminal defense and appellate team. Campbell previously worked as an assistant district attorney in Sheboygan County, as a prosecutor in the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office, and as a defense attorney in Milwaukee and Madison, handling felony and misdemeanor cases of all types.

Appointments, Elections

Gov. Tony Evers has appointed Gregory Jerabek, Hamline 2004, to the Wood County Circuit Court – Branch 1, filling the vacancy created by Judge Gregory J. Potter’s retirement.

Jerabek previously was with Nash Law Group S.C., Wisconsin Rapids. He had a general practice, which gave him broad experience in numerous areas of law, including bankruptcy, civil litigation, family law, criminal defense, and estate matters; and extensive trial experience with civil and criminal cases. Additionally, he was counsel for the South Wood County Airport Commission.

Awards, Degrees, Honors

John Rejowski, U.W. 2018, has been named Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.’s 2024 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. Rejowski was chosen because of his significant participation in Reinhart’s pro bono program and outstanding service work, including mentoring students in Pathways High‘s mock trial program and representing victims of domestic abuse during complex injunction proceedings. At the firm, Rejowski represents clients in a variety of litigation matters, including breaches of contract, product liability, and shareholder disputes. Before joining Reinhart, he was a Milwaukee County assistant district attorney.

Reinhart initiated its Pro Bono Attorney of the Year award program in 2009 to recognize the exceptional efforts of attorneys within the firm who demonstrate a long-standing and devoted commitment to pro bono work.

In Memoriam

Richard B. Bilder, Harvard 1956, Madison, Nov. 3, 1927 – Jan. 18, 2025.

Lawrence W. Crouse, Illinois 1982, Wisconsin Rapids, June 18, 1955 – Aug. 12, 2024.

Erica Titania Gittings, U.W. 2008, Middleton, Jan. 10, 1983 – Dec. 16, 2024.

Jevon Jones Jaconi, Dayton 1998, Green Bay, Feb. 15, 1973 – Jan. 10, 2025.

Natalie Black Kohler, Marquette 1978, Oostburg, Dec. 19, 1949 – Sept. 10, 2024.

Roger T. Lambert, Marquette 1974, Brookfield, May 12, 1945 – Nov. 27, 2024.

Gary R. McCartan, Georgetown 1974, Fitchburg, Dec. 18, 1948 – Jan. 17, 2025.

Milton E. Neshek, U.W. 1955, Lake Geneva, Oct. 26, 1930 – Jan. 5, 2025.

Benjamin E. Noffke, St. Thomas 2011, Minneapolis, June 14, 1985 – Jan. 8, 2025.

Ned Evan Ostenso, William Mitchell 1994, Hopkins, Minn., Oct. 11, 1959 – Nov. 17, 2024.

William R. Slate, U.W. 1959, Markesan, May 2, 1933 – Jan. 20, 2025.

David A. Suemnick, Marquette 1964, Green Bay, Sept. 14, 1939 – Jan. 8, 2025.

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.

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