New Hires, Promotions, Partners

Steven R. Beckham, U.W. 2020, and Alexandra N. Don, Marquette 2016, have joined the Milwaukee office of von Briesen & Roper s.c. Beckham is an associate in the Litigation & Risk Management Practice Group and focuses on commercial and business litigation, insurance coverage, and liability defense. Don is a shareholder in the Real Estate Section and focuses on transactional real estate, real estate lending and finance, development, and business law.

Samuel Bach-Hanson, U.W. 2019, and Nathan Miller, Minnesota 2015, have been elected shareholders at Weld Riley S.C. Bach-Hanson practices in the firm’s Municipal & Government, Cooperative, and Business sections and is based in the Eau Claire office. Miller practices in the firm’s Labor & Employment and Municipal & Government sections and is based in the Wausau office.

Mergers, Relocations, New Offices

Russell Jones, Marquette 2002, and Kerri Cleghorn, Marquette 2003, have merged their firms to form Cleghorn Jones, and they continue to focus on criminal defense work throughout southeastern Wisconsin.

Graham Wiemer, Notre Dame 2006, Sarah Whiting, Marquette 2008, Brian Hartley, Marquette 2009, and all the lawyers at MacGillis Wiemer LLC, Wauwatosa, have created Wisconsin Family Law Resources, a subdivision of the firm dedicated to an interdisciplinary approach to divorce and family law. Wisconsin Family Law Resources provides access and referrals to a highly skilled and committed group of child specialists, financial experts, lawyers, and mediators who are focused on confronting and resolving conflict to provide the best outcomes for families, most importantly children.

Appointments, Elections

The following individuals are officers of the La Crosse County Bar Association for 2024-25: past-president – Renee Dehn, Illinois-Chicago 2004, Bosshard Parke Ltd., La Crosse; president – Rachel Krueger, U.W. 2013, State Public Defenders Office, La Crosse; president-elect – Joseph G. Veenstra, U.W. 1998, Johns, Flaherty & Collins S.C., La Crosse; secretary – Peyton Phillips, Marquette 2023, Bosshard Parke Ltd., La Crosse; and treasurer – Emily Iverson, U.W. 2021, Hale, Skemp, Hanson, Skemp & Sleik, La Crosse.

Andrew Wronski, Minnesota 1994, has been named chair of Foley & Lardner LLP’s Manufacturing Sector, consisting of more than 215 attorneys across the firm’s 25 offices. He succeeds James McKeown in this role. Wronski continues as Milwaukee office managing partner. He is a member of Foley’s Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Securities Enforcement & Litigation practice groups and has a national practice focused on complex litigation and trial work, representing corporate and manufacturing clients involved in sophisticated, high-stakes commercial and financial disputes.

Authors, Speakers

Authors of the recently revised Advising Older Clients and Their Families volume I (State Bar of Wis. 6th ed. 2024) are the following: Nicholas E. Fairweather, Case Western Reserve 2000, and Colin B. Good, Montana 2004, Hawks Quindel S.C., Madison; Mark T. Johnson, U.W. 2008, Johnson Teigen LLC, Fitchburg; Jessica A. Liebau, Marquette 2011, Wessels & Liebau LLC, Mequon; Theresa L. Roetter, Marquette 1993, DeWitt LLP, Madison; Dana M. Roth, U.W. 2018, Legal Action of Wisconsin, Oshkosh; Kate Schilling, Univ. of Detroit 2008, Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources Inc., Madison; and Christopher T. Schmidt, U.W. 2013, and Paul M. Schmidt, Kansas 1990, Boardman & Clark LLP, Madison.

Authors of the recently revised Attorney’s Guide to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (State Bar of Wis. 8th ed. 2024) include the following Wisconsin attorneys: Christopher J. Blythe, U.W. 1995, Jenner & Block LLP, Chicago; Joseph A. Bugni, Ave Maria 2006, Hurley Burish S.C., Madison; James D. Dasso, Foley & Lardner LLP, Chicago; AJ Fabianczyk, U.W. 2018, Husch Blackwell LLP, Madison; Jason R. Fathallah, U.W. 2006, Husch Blackwell LLP, Milwaukee; Jed W. Glickstein, Kaplan & Grady LLC, Chicago; Linda S. Isnard, Marquette 1988, Isnard Law Offices LLC, Mequon; Avi M. Kupfer, Michigan 2015, Mayer Brown LLP, Chicago; Michael D. Leffel, Michigan 1997, Foley & Lardner LLP, Madison; Daniel A. Manna, Columbia 2008, Gass Turek LLC, Milwaukee; and Anne-Louise T. Mittal, Marquette 2015, and Eric G. Pearson, Marquette 2007, Foley & Lardner LLP, Milwaukee.

Awards, Degrees, Honors

Jina Jonen, U.W. 1999, Order of the Coif, received the George Tipler Award for Distinguished Service in School Law from the Wisconsin School Attorneys Association (WSAA). The award honors the efforts of George Tipler, former Wisconsin Association of School Boards executive director, and is presented annually at the WSAA membership meeting to an individual nominated by school officials or member attorneys and selected by the WSAA board. Jonen serves as the in-house counsel for the Oregon School District.

Miriam Seifter, Harvard 2007, received the 2024 Ruth Bader Ginsburg Scholar Award from the American Constitution Society. Seifter is professor of law, co-director of the State Democracy Research Initiative, and Rowe Faculty Fellow in Regulatory Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School. The award recognizes an outstanding scholar in the early stages of an academic career who has demonstrated the qualities exemplified by Justice Ginsburg: scholarly excellence, the ability to imagine how society might be more just and more equal, and the determination to use the law and one’s scholarship to creatively and strategically make the imagined real. Seifter created the State Democracy Research Initiative in 2021, with fellow U.W. Law School faculty member Rob Yablon.

Before joining the U.W. Law School faculty, Seifter served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Merrick Garland on the D.C. Circuit and for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the U.S. Supreme Court, was a visiting researcher and adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, and worked in private practice at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, San Francisco.

In Memoriam

Kenneth H. Conway Jr., U.W. 1960, Baraboo, Jan. 8, 1931 – April 4, 2024.

Michael J. Devanie III, Vermont 1979, Hayward, Nov. 23, 1947 – July 20, 2023.

Ruth S. Downs, Washington Univ. 1955, Madison, Nov. 13, 1926 – April 10, 2024.

Nathaniel A. Hoffman, Michigan 1975, Milwaukee, March 4, 1949 – May 16, 2023.

Hon. Duane M. Jorgenson, Northern Illinois Univ. 1991, Darlington, July 5, 1952 – April 21, 2024.

Martin J. Lipske, Hamline 1979, Hurley, Oct. 30, 1954 – Jan. 23, 2024.

Yvonne A. Ochilo, Marquette 2011, May 17, 1982 – March 22, 2024.

Joel J. Rabin, U.W. 1961, Baltimore, Nov. 26, 1935 – June 16, 2023.

Gregory Louis Schneider, Marquette 1988, Sept. 17, 1950 – April 23, 2024.

Stuart G. Urban, U.W. 1964, Lancaster, May 29, 1940 – April 28, 2024.

Congratulations to Recent Certified Paralegals

Through a State Bar program, paralegals in Wisconsin are eligible to be certified – a credential that demonstrates a paralegal’s dedication to professional development and excellence. The State Bar of Wisconsin Certified Paralegal™ program is a self-funded, voluntary program for all paralegals in Wisconsin who meet the program’s criteria. For information about the program, visit wisbar.org/paralegal.

The following individuals were newly certified or recertified as of April 15, 2024. For a full list of Certified Paralegals, visit wisbar.org/Paralegal.

Erica R. Butler, Keller & Associates, Appleton.

Jacqulyn A. Clark, Sentry Insurance, Stevens Point.

Teresa Halbach, Godfrey & Kahn SC, Madison.

Lisa M. Rave, Gimbel Reilly Guerin & Brown LLP, Milwaukee.

Tashina M. Weber, City of Oshkosh.

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.