Candidate for Secretary

William Wallo

Bakke Norman S.C., Eau Claire
Email: wwallo@bakkenorman.com

Platform Statement

I am honored to be nominated to run for secretary of the State Bar of Wisconsin. From my tenure in section leadership (as a former member and chair of the Bankruptcy, Insolvency, and Creditor Rights Section Board, and a present member of the Business Section Board), I recognize the value that the State Bar provides to its members. In addition, as a former chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee and former member of the Finance Committee, I have seen the commitment the State Bar has to lawyers, the public, and the legal system itself. I am likewise committed to furthering the State Bar’s ongoing commitment to public service and equality of access.

Like all of us, my perspectives are shaped by experience. As a transplant to Wisconsin who originally practiced elsewhere (i.e., Oklahoma), then worked as a career clerk to a federal judge, and now has spent more than a decade back in private practice in the “north woods,” I recognize the State Bar’s crucial role in both the Wisconsin legal system and in helping each of us handle our responsibilities as attorneys. If elected secretary, I will work to further the priorities of the State Bar and look forward to contributing toward those efforts. I would be honored to have your support.

Biography

I am presently a shareholder with the firm of Bakke Norman, S.C., which has offices in New Richmond, Menomonie, Baldwin, and Eau Claire. I have been an attorney since 1992, when I began practicing complex commercial law and litigation at a firm in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I moved to Wisconsin to become the career law clerk for a federal bankruptcy judge stationed in Eau Claire. In 2013, I returned to private practice in the Eau Claire area.

My primary areas of practice include business and commercial transactions, business litigation, and bankruptcy and insolvency matters. Since 2020, I have also served as a Subchapter V Trustee in small business bankruptcy cases in both eastern and western Wisconsin. In addition to my involvement in section activities, I periodically speak at CLE seminars, such as the annual bankruptcy/creditors’ rights update where I coordinate the national case law update.

Professional Leadership and Honors

State Bar of Wisconsin, Bankruptcy Insolvency and Creditor Rights Section Board (Member, 2014-17, Vice-Chair 2017-19, Chair 2019-21, Immediate Past Chair 2021-23)

State Bar of Wisconsin, Business Section Board (Member, 2022-present)

State Bar of Wisconsin, Continuing Legal Education Committee (Member, 2017-22, Chair, 2022-23)

State Bar of Wisconsin, Finance Committee (Member, 2022-23)

Fellow, Wisconsin Law Foundation

Super Lawyer, as designed by Wisconsin Super Lawyers (2016-present)

Americas’ Best Lawyers, as designed by Best Lawyers and U.S. News & World Reports (2016-present)

Martindale Hubbell AV-Preeminent Ranking

Recent Community Service

Member and Vice-President, Eau Claire Regional Arts Council Board of Directors

Member, Board of Directors, Eau Claire Economic Development Corporation