June 1, 2018 – This class includes an admittee with four movants, one who landed a job in part because of something “nerdy” he wore to the interview, and one dedicated to helping the indigent. Several will work as law clerks, while others are public defenders. And quite a few are continuing a family tradition by becoming Wisconsin lawyers.

They are graduates of the U.W. Law School, who took the Attorney’s Oath and signed the Supreme Court Roll May 30 in Madison, the final steps to becoming Wisconsin lawyers.

At the ceremony in the Supreme Court Hearing Room in the Capitol building, the admittees received a warm welcome from the Wisconisn Supreme Court, and heard advice and bits of wisdom from Justice Daniel Kelly.

People in Wisconsin, he said, have a welcoming nature, with “open hands and generous hearts” – characteristics not to be forgotten when practicing law. “We can be adversaries in the courtroom,” he said. “But we are never enemies.”

‘I Just Want to Give Back’

New lawyer Marisol Gonzalez Castillo, is setting out to work in immigration law in Milwaukee.

Zhenlan Hu, from Nanjing China, hopes to practice patent law in New York – his background is in computer science.

Daniela Hernandez plans to return to her native California to take the bar exam and practice in public interest and immigration law – perhaps also helping sexual assault victims.

Nancy Younan arrived in the U.S. from Egypt at age eight months. The first lawyer in her family, she is “smart and engaged,” and is aiming to practice in health law, said her mother, Sherein Younan. “I am beyond proud.”

Kevin Miller is also headed to California – specifically, Silicon Valley, to work for a patent firm. Turns out, a certain tie clip may have helped him land the job. At the interview, he wore a tie clip with a Star Trek logo. “The interviewer was a huge Star Trek fan,” Miller said. “He said, ‘We are a firm full of nerds. You’ll fit in perfectly here.’”

Jeffrey Ocwieja wanted to become a lawyer ever since he participated in a Law Day program as an eighth-grader, said his mother, Julianne. He grew up in the Kenosha area, and is headed to Grant County to work as a public defender. “He wants to work in social justice,” his mother said. “He said, ‘I just want to give back.’”

Family Traditions and Family Movants

There’s Nicholas DeSantis, whose movant was none other than Chief Justice Pat Roggensack – he will work as her law clerk. Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Michael Fitzpatrick moved for admission Andrew Fabianczyk, who also will be his law clerk.

Justin Padway, who became a Wisconsin lawyer in 2017, acted as movant for his brother Jared Padway – together they represent the third generation of Wisconsin lawyers. Their grandfather Milton Padway and father Will Padway practiced law together for more than two decades at Padway and Padway Ltd., Milwaukee, where their uncle, Nick Padway, is now a partner. Jared – with a science background – intends to pursue environmental law.

Ellen Atterbury is following in her parents’ footsteps: Both parents, Lee Atterbury and Sally Atkinson, are Wisconsin lawyers. They agree that Ellen has the skills to be a trial lawyer. “She likes to argue,” her mother said. “And she will be a great lawyer,” said her father.

Brenna McLaughlin is the fourth generation lawyer in her family. William Bolte as well as Nathanial Katz have both parents as lawyers, and are each following in their parents’ footsteps. Carolyn Friedman’s mother, a lawyer in Georgia and Illinois, moved her admission.

Understanding the Good and the Bad

New lawyer Anna Collins Peterson had four movants speaking on her behalf: father, James Peterson, a federal district judge; mother Susan Collins, an attorney with Associated Bank; father-in-law Darrell Behnke, an attorney with U.S. Bank; and mother-in-law, Michelle Behnke – former State Bar president and current treasurer of the American Bar Association.

Perhaps a law degree was always in the cards for Peterson. Law as a practice was a constant dinner-table discussion while she was growing up, said Collins. “By the time Anna was 8 years old, she had attended Federal Jurisdiction classes, read Harry Potter books in the law review office, and learned that the Lexis representative always had chocolate,” Collins said. “When she decided to attend law school, she did so understanding both the good and the bad.”

Anna chose law despite being warned away from the profession at first by her father. But she eventually came to realize that a career in law was her path. “It can be a service profession, but also intellectually interesting,” said Anna, who will be clerking for a U.S. District Court judge in Iowa for the next year and hopes to become a litigator.

“Anna is a very deep thinker and an excellent writer,” said her mother-in-law, Michelle Behnke. “What will serve Anna best in the legal world is her willingness to read, re-read, and then read again.”

See more photos of the event on the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Facebook Page:

• 9 a.m. Ceremony
• 10 a.m. Ceremony
• 11 a.m. Ceremony
• 1 p.m. Ceremony

Welcome to these New Wisconsin Lawyers

Alexandra Regan Abernethy, Madison Andrew Adams, Madison Lucas Allen, Gladwin, Michigan Allison V. Andrew, Loves Park, Illinois Hayley Irene Archer, Madison Adriana Aristeiguieta, Ashland Matthew Atkins, Madison Ellen Atterbury, Madison Andrew Baker, Madison Bela Ballo, Green Bay Caitlin Barden, Milwaukee Benjamin Becker, Madison Jessica Behling, Madison Nicholas Stephen Behrens, Chicago, Illinois Hannah M. Berkowitz, Madison Nicholas Bezier, Milwaukee Jenifer M. Bizzotto, Madison William David Bolte, La Crosse Alyssa Brandvold, Hammond Laura R. Brewer, Craigville, Indiana Allysa B. Brown, Madison Derek Brown, Madison Andrew J. Burdick, Madison Jaclyn Ann Ciano, Madison Tomas Clasen, Milwaukee Sherry Clay, Madison Jonathon Davies, Madison Cole Demeny, Madison Nicholas DeSantis, Madison Bradley J. D’Orazio, Verona Daniel Docter, Milwaukee Francis Donahue, Madison Ashley Duffy, Bayfield Olivia Ann Katherine Esser, Madison AJ Fabianczyk, Madison Michael Falk, New York Ray Feliz, Madison Carolyn Eve Friedman, Madison Rachel Gallagher, Madison Zachary Gautier-Klos, Madison Annie Getsinger, Windsor Katrina Geurts, Green Bay Marisol Gonzalez Castillo, Waukegan, Illinois Lance J. Goodman, Neenah Logan Hamilton, Washington, D.C. Randall Godfrey Born Hanson, Aberdeen, South Dakota Jonathan C. Heiden, Madison Daniela I. Hernandez, Madison Aubrey Davis Hetznecker, Brookfield Zhenlan Hu, Madison Shannon E. Huberty, West Allis Amy M. Johnson, Middleton Nathaniel L. Katz, Kenosha Sloan Evelyn Kessler, Madison Barbra Anna Klug, Madison Ena Kovacevic, Wauwatosa Ashley Anne Brown, Madison Laura Lamansky, Madison

Colin M. Lane, Madison Storm Larson, Madison Sarah Lentes, Elmwood Park, Illinois Riley Leonard, Madison Afton Brianna Lewis, Madison Emily Liebman, Minneapolis, Minnesota Andrew M. Lorenz, Madison Maria Lyon, Madison Greta Mattison Megna, Madison Gage Maurer, Verona Brenna R. McLaughlin, Madison TJ McNulty, Chicago, Illinois Jared Roger Mehre, Madison Jake Mertes, Macomb, Michigan Katlynn Michalski, Madison Brian Charles Miller, Chicago, Illinois Kevin Worthington Miller, Madison Riyad E. Moe, Madison Rei Morikawa, Tokyo, Japan Lillian Rose Nelson, Madison Nathaniel Niemeyer, Madison Timothy P. O’Connor, Madison Jeffrey Ocwieja, Mount Horeb Jared E. Padway, Madison Dustin Bradley Page, Chicago Mary Parmeter, Madison Emi Passini, Verona Beauregard William Patterson, Madison Rachel Marie Paulus, Milwaukee Emily Pellegrini, Madison Anna Collins Peterson, Madison Rachel Potter, Madison Justin Randall, Kalamazoo, Michigan John Rejowski, Burr Ridge, Illinois Joseph Alexander Roman, Chicago Dana Roth, Madison Michael Roy, Madison Joia Sanders, Madison Michelle Saney, Queens, New York Sarah E. Schuchardt, Verona Mason B. Schultz, La Crosse Patrick Shirley, Madison Connor Slivocka, Milwaukee Shane Solinger, Pierz, Minnesota Morgan Kathleen Stippel, Madison Matthew Stoiber, Madison Elizabeth Stone, Elm Grove Lucas Swank, Sharon Ailani Taylor, Madison Steven Thompson, Madison Khanh Tran, Greenfield Olga Tymouch, Chicago, Illinois Sydney VanBerg, Madison Laura Voegeli, Madison Galen Wang, Fullerton, California Chelsea Wilfong, Madison Hannah Wilson, Madison Nancy Younan, Madison Bole Yuan, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Chelsea Therese Zielke, Madison