Dec. 1, 2021 – Ask Steve R. Sorenson, and he will tell you: the concept of working as a lawyer in “a spirit of service” is what has guided his career. “That’s what my mantra has always been.”

Sorenson of von Briesen & Roper in Neenah is recipient of the Wisconsin Law Foundation’s 2021 Charles L. Goldberg Distinguished Service Award, which is presented annually in recognition of a lifetime of service to the profession, and service to their communities over the course of their career.

“Steve is an accomplished lawyer, an admired professor, a dedicated public servant, an active community leader and has held almost every position of leadership in the profession that one can hold,” said John Macy, one of several who nominated Sorenson for the award. “Practicing law was never enough for Steve. He had to do much more.”

“I’m extremely pleased,” Sorenson said of receiving the award,” because the Bar means the world to me. I have devoted most of my entire professional career in service to the State Bar and other bar associations.”

Small-firm Mentoring, Service to the Bar, Teaching the Next Generation

Prior to law school, Sorenson briefly worked as a journalist and newspaper editor. Following graduation from Marquette University Law School in 1977, Sorenson worked in the Waukesha County District Attorney’s office, but soon moved to Ripon. “I wanted to work in a small town, to help the local residents with their legal needs,” he said.

Over the past 36 years, he’s worked in Ripon as a solo and a small-firm attorney. Sorenson used his small-firm practice to help young lawyers launch their careers. He hired about 29 lawyers out of law school who are now practicing in east-central Wisconsin.

While he considered himself a generalist, his focus included real estate, water law, and municipal law. “Every small-town lawyer has those as specialties,” he said. He also has practiced in family and criminal law. “I’ve been through them all.”

Ten years ago, he transitioned to working in the large firm of von Briesen & Roper. An impetus for the move was to increase his interactions with colleagues with the same level of experience.

While he works at a large firm, he works from his Ripon home and remains active in his community. “I have now the best of both worlds as I look at it,” he said.

Along the way, Sorenson has continued a commitment to teaching – primarily at local technical colleges. Currently, he teaches at Ripon College and U.W.-Oshkosh.

“I love to teach. It’s the way you give the message of what the legal system’s about,” he said. “Give me a roomful of students and I can help them understand how the legal system is an important part of their lives. I teach them about respect for the law – and that if you don’t like it, you can change it.”

Community service is also a dedicated part of his career. While his participation is too long to list, he has a significant positive impact on such programs as Badger Boys State and Leadership Oshkosh.

Dedicated to the State Bar

Sorenson began his involvement with the State Bar in 1979, through the Communications Committee – a natural fit with his journalism background. Over the next decades, he served in leadership positions on many different State Bar committees and groups.

Sorenson was State Bar president 1997-98, served multiple terms on its Board of Governors, including a term as secretary, and on the Executive and Finance committees.

He served three terms on the Wisconsin Law Foundation board and on multiple Foundation committees. He had a hand in developing the Fellows of the Wisconsin Law Foundation, served as president on the Wisconsin Law Foundation Fellows Board of Trustees 2007-08, and served on multiple Fellows board committees.

“I loved bar work and I always have – that’s my passion. Why this award is significant to me. It shows that if you put time and effort in, you can make a difference. I try to continue to make a difference.”

Currently, he is working with Dean Dietrich in the Senior Lawyers Division to create and present educational programs for the benefit of senior lawyers of Wisconsin. The programs include not only ethics and transitioning out of practice, but substantive law as well.

Ask him about his commitment, and he sees it as service to his colleagues as well as the greater community. “It’s all about service. When I was State Bar president, my motto was ‘a spirit of service.’ That’s what my mantra has always been. That spirit is all about willing to serve.”

See the past recipients of the Charles L. Goldberg Distinguished Service Award from the Wisconsin Law Foundation.

More About the Wisconsin Law Foundation

The Wisconsin Law Foundation is the charitable arm of the State Bar of Wisconsin, and through its mission has a rich history of promoting:

• public understanding of the law,

• improvement of the administration of justice, and

• law-related public service through funding of innovative and creative programs that improve the vision of the American justice system.

The Foundation is a nonprofit, nonstock organization, and is open to all State Bar of Wisconsin members. Founded by five visionary attorneys, it was incorporated in 1951 as the Wisconsin Bar Foundation, and through the charitable contributions of our members, has grown into the vital philanthropic law-related organization it is today.

All donations from individuals who donate to the Wisconsin Law Foundation for the first time and those who have not donated since July 1, 2018, will be matched for a cumulative dollar total of up to $25,000. See more about the matching program.

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