Accompanied by his daughter Gabriella, 3 1/2, Gregory James Mayew signs the Attorneys Roll book following an admissions ceremony in the Supreme Court Hearing Room on April 12, 2022.

April 15, 2022 – Two U.S. Navy veterans. A former paralegal. A Madison native happy to return after practicing in Chicago. A lawyer headed to rural practice.

These are among the 19 new Wisconsin lawyers, taking the final steps April 12 after passing the bar exam. Seventeen passed the Wisconsin Bar Exam in February and two in July 2021 – becoming Wisconsin lawyers in a ceremony before the Wisconsin Supreme Court on April 12, 2022, taking the Attorney’s Oath and signing the Wisconsin Supreme Court Roll book.

Jacquelynn B. Rothstein, director of the Board of Bar Examiners, said 41 percent of the 71 individuals who took the bar exam in February passed it, and that 56 percent of those taking the exam for the first time passed the exam. “The Board extends its congratulations to the men and women here today who passed the exam,” she said.

Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler welcomed the new Wisconsin lawyers, offering words of advice. “The practice of being a lawyer is one where you have a lot of moments where you’re there, alone. Your reputation will be built on what you do in those moments,” she said. “Your life will be a lot better if you are one of those lawyers where your word is your bond and you can be trusted. Having made that commitment, stick to it. It’s important.”

Developing a strong reputation – in small as well as large matters – will have a significant impact on that lawyer’s success, Justice Patience Roggensack told the new admittees.

“Truth takes courage,” and the definition of courage is grace under fire. “To me, that fits the practice of law, because in this profession, you’re going to be the target at some point in time – you stand in conflict, and you stand on behalf of someone else. And that takes personal courage” to do so.

Nineteen new lawyers take the Attorney's Oath in a ceremony before the Wisconsin Supreme Court on April 12, 2022.

The new Wisconsin lawyers include:

Greg Mayew, who joins his father, a Kenosha lawyer who was Greg’s movant, as a Wisconsin lawyer, after practicing in the state from New York.

California native Ryan Burroughs, who earned his law degree from the University of Illinois, and will practice in estate planning in Lake Geneva as well as Illinois.

Austin Mogard, who discovered that the jobs that interested him required a law degree. After graduating with his undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota, Mogard “took a leap” to law school. “I didn’t even know what a J.D. was,” Mogard said. He hopes to focus on child abuse issues – he was inspired by his mother, who works for a county human services department in rural Minnesota.

Rice Lake native Martin Sandberg,who always wanted to be a lawyer. “I realized that my calling was to be an advocate in the courtroom representing people, especially people that can’t represent themselves,” Sandberg said.

Lauren Calamari of Milwaukee, who took the Wisconsin bar exam to further her career in the insurance industry. She went to law school in Arizona, and friendships pulled her to Wisconsin. A lot of her friends are in Milwaukee, “so this is where I ended up.”

Frank Quattromani, who practiced law in California before deciding on a midcareer move to Wisconsin. He and his family found themselves visiting the Badger State whenever they could. “We just absolutely love it,” Quattromani said. A U.S. Navy veteran, he and his family are used to moving to new areas.

Ashley Kiner signs the Attorney Roll book, the last step in becoming a Wisconsin Lawyer, following a ceremony before the Wisconsin Supreme Court on April 12, 2022.

Minnesota lawyer Ashley Kiner, who has spent a lot of time working in her Minneapolis firm’s Hudson office in the last year. All those trips across the Mississippi River, said Kiner, convinced her to take the Wisconsin Bar Exam.

Caleb Loschen, who joins the transactions practice group at Foley & Lardner, Milwaukee. He practiced in New York and Los Angeles before coming to Wisconsin. A civil engineering graduate of U.W. Madison, he used to work as an airport engineer in Madison.

Nicole Swails, who “was already in a house, had a mortgage, had a husband, and had a job” when she realized she wanted to become a lawyer. Thanks to the hybrid program at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, she attended classes online without leaving Madison.

Illinois lawyer Kyndle Bennett, who moved to Wauwatosa with his wife, a medical student at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Now a Wisconsin lawyer, he said he became a lawyer because he wanted to help people and because he is good at writing.

Dan Bottjen, licensed in Florida, South Dakota, and now Wisconsin. He took the Wisconsin Bar Exam in part because he has family in the state. “I want to return to document drafting and review, and since I have family in this area, it just seemed like a good fit.”

Nicholas Smith, originally from Madison, who is happy to be back after getting his law degree in Chicago. He’ll be doing tax law with Baker Tilly. “I’m really happy to be back,” he said.

Tom Bright, who said passing the Wisconsin Bar Exam was about expanding his practice. A lawyer in Dubuque, Iowa, the bulk of his practice is handling guardianships and conservatorships. Bright said branching out across the Mississippi River is as much about helping people as it is about adding to his practice. “I’d like to be able to help people in Wisconsin take care of their families too. That’s the best part what I do on a daily basis.”

Douang See Lee-Sanders, who said she’s always been interested in law. A graduate of the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, she works for the St. Cloud City Attorney’s Office. Lee-Sanders said she took the Wisconsin Bar Exam because she and her husband, who recently took a job with the Hudson Police Department, are contemplating a move to Wisconsin.

Daniella Villati (left) takes a photo with her phone as Enrique Ramentol signs the Attorneys Roll book to become a Wisconsin lawyer on April 12, 2022.

Enrique Ramentol, a native of Venezuela and a lawyer in Miami – almost. He’ll take the Florida Bar Exam in July. Ramentol, who holds an L.L.M. degree, said he took the Wisconsin Bar Exam based largely on reciprocity rules.

Ransome Springer, who decided to go law school after serving in the U.S. Navy for 11 years and getting married. He and his wife bought his grandmother’s house in La Crosse. “We moved back here to renovate it,” Springer said. He works in the State Public Defender’s Office in La Crosse. The Navy posted Springer to bases in Texas and the West Coast. He spent much of his naval career flying the Lockheed P-3 Orion, a four-engine sub-hunting airplane bristling with radar and other sensory equipment. His last posting was the Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia, where he served as a catapult officer or “shooter” on an aircraft carrier.

Samuel Ward-Packard, who grew up Lake Geneva, and chose law “because I thought it would be the best profession to fight for the communities I care about.” A graduate of Stanford Law School, he is serving a clerkship with Judge Diane Wood on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler (left) speaks to 19 soon-to-be Wisconsin lawyers in an admissions ceremony in the Supreme Court Hearing Room on April 12, 2022.

From Paralegal to Lawyer via Two Bar Exams

The path Carly Fish has walked to become a Wisconsin lawyer has been a steep one. After working as a paralegal for nine years at Matousek, Laxton and Davis Law Office LLC, Sparta,

she was accepted at a law school in California.

Fish attended law school class via Zoom. Because she hadn’t physically attended classes, she wasn’t eligible to take the Wisconsin Bar Exam until she was licensed to practice in another state. So, Fish took and passed both the ‘baby bar’ and bar exams in California.

“I took the California bar last July, and I took the Wisconsin bar this February – now it’s finally all done,” Fish said. Fish will continue working for her law firm, only now as a partner instead of a paralegal.

New Wisconsin lawyer Knute Norenberg of Grantsburg poses with his wife Dagny and sons Kian, 8, and Brae, 5, in the Supreme Court Hearing Room on April 12, 2022.

Filling the Need in Rural Wisconsin

Knute Norenberg grew up in Grantsburg, a town of 1,100 located 70 miles south of Superior.

When he was growing up, Norenberg wanted to be a lawyer. But he didn’t pursue the profession after college because he “met too many lawyers who hated their jobs.”

Instead, Norenberg went to Baylor University in Texas and got an MBA. Despite saying he’d never move home, Norenberg returned to Grantsburg in his 30s, to work at the family business.

That was until a conversation with a family friend, Grantsburg attorney Todd Anderson, inspired Norenberg to rethink a career in law. After 3 ½ years at Mitchell​​ Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, he passed the February 2022 bar exam.

Celebrating in Madison with his wife, Dagny, and sons Kian, 8, and Brae, 5, Norenberg took the Attorneys Oath and, finally, became a Wisconsin lawyer.

While he could practice anywhere in Wisconsin, the Norenbergs chose to stay in Grantsburg – recognizing the shortage of rural lawyers in the state. “It’s a need,” Dagny said. “We decided to stay, because we want to help our community.”

Welcome to These New Wisconsin Lawyers

• Kyndle Richard Bennett, Wauwatosa

• Daniel Benjamin Bottjen, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

• Thomas Martin Bright, Dubuque, Iowa

• Ryan James Burroughs, Antioch, Illinois

• Lauren Michelle Calamari, Milwaukee

• Carly Renee Fish, Sparta

• Ashley Lynn Kiner, Saint Paul, Minnesota

• Douang See Lee-Sanders, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota

• Caleb Loschen, Milwaukee

• Gregory James Mayew, Kenosha

• Austin James Mogard, Rothschild

• Knute John Norenberg, Grantsburg

• Frank Scott Quattromani, Parker, Colorado

• Enrique Ramentol, Miami, Florida

• Martin Andrew Sandberg, Hudson

• Nicholas Allen Smith, Sun Prairie

• Ransome Nathaniel Springer, La Crosse

• Nicole Amber Swails, Verona

• Samuel Tucker Ward-Packard, Chicago