Members Recognized as Influential Black Attorneys
John W. Daniels Jr., Harvard 1974, Clyde Tinnen, Columbia 2006, and Walter White Jr., Berkeley 1980, have been named to the 2018 Most Influential Black Attorneys list, published by Savoy magazine.
Daniels is chair emeritus of Quarles & Brady LLP. As an active leader of business and civic change, he transformed the firm while also establishing a legacy for the legal profession and his community. John has been recognized as the first African-American attorney in a major law firm to move from an entry associate to chair. He was the first African-American president of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, and he founded the African-American Managing Partners Network to share ways the legal profession can become more inclusive. His accomplishments include the urban Milwaukee revitalization projects he helped navigate, the Boys & Girls Club that bears his name, and the annual Fellowship Open Golf Tournament he founded and hosts, which has donated more than $2 million to 100 youth organizations. The ABA Legal Opportunity Fund, created in John’s honor, has granted scholarships to 350 incoming diverse law students.
Tinnen is a partner of Withers Bergman LLP. He focuses on corporate finance, securities, and mergers and acquisitions. He has represented several public companies, served as the corporate secretary of three public companies, and represented private equity sponsors and has structured and negotiated domestic and cross-border financing transactions, including public offerings, private placements, joint ventures, secured and unsecured credit facilities, acquisition financings, capital leases, leveraged buyouts and private equity funds. He is a Fellows alumnus of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, a member of the Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship Advisory Committee, and on the board at Capitol West Academy, which was featured in a recent 60 Minutes episode reported by Oprah Winfrey.
White is a partner and member of the international dispute resolution and arbitration practice at McGuireWoods, London. He has argued cases before the Supreme Arbitrage Court of the Russian Federation and has handled some of the largest litigation matters in Europe and Central Asia, along with a variety of multibillion-dollar energy and resource transactions. He was the Wisconsin Commissioner of Securities (1988-91). He is a director of Church Mutual Insurance Co., a financial expert on the Panel of Recognized International Market Experts in The Hague, Netherlands, and has chaired the ABA Center for Human Rights, the African Rule of Law Initiative, the Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, the Young Lawyers Division, and the Milwaukee Urban League. He served on the ABA Board of Governors and as a trustee of the African Presidential Center and Hampshire College.
New Hires, Promotions, Partners
Louis Thomas Agnello, U.W. 2011, has joined the Washington, D.C., office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as an associate in the public law and policy practice and focuses on health care and life sciences. Previously, he was senior counsel to U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich.
Kirsten Cooper, Marquette 2017, has joined the Wisconsin office of Codilis, Moody & Circelli P.C. as an associate practicing in foreclosure and real estate.
Peggy Crooks Nowicki, U.W. 1996, has joined the State Bar of Wisconsin as an attorney editor. She most recently clerked for Judge Brian W. Blanchard at the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and has a varied background that includes clerking for other state and federal courts, teaching at the U.W. Law School, and private practice.
Eileen I. Dorfman, U.W. 2015 cum laude, has joined Bell, Moore & Richter S.C., Madison, as an associate and focuses on civil litigation, insurance coverage, and worker’s compensation.
Colleen Foley, North Carolina Central 1993, has been named executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Wisconsin. She formerly was a Milwaukee County deputy corporation counsel and before that worked for the Legal Aid Society as a staff attorney. She replaces recently retired Mike Gonring.
Manuel R. Galang, Syracuse 1989, has joined Probst Law Offices, Milwaukee, as a senior associate attorney. Galang has practiced law in Wauwatosa for nearly 20 years, primarily in the Law Offices of Manuel R. Galang S.C. He has handled hundreds of cases involving family law, criminal defense, personal injury, and business litigation.
Henry J. Weiner, U.W. 2014 cum laude, has joined Godfrey & Kahn S.C. as an associate. His areas of practice include stock purchases, asset sales, mergers, and reorganizations as well as general governance and corporate matters. He is with the corporate law group in the Milwaukee office.
Catherine M. Leonard, DePaul 2013, and Amardeep Singh, Marquette 2017, have joined the Milwaukee office of Grzeca Law Group S.C., a full-service immigration law firm. Both focus on corporate immigration law.
Kathleen Chung, Marquette 2001, has joined Hawks Quindel S.C., Madison, as attorney of counsel. She practiced in Milwaukee as a public defender and in Madison as assistant general counsel for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and is currently a District 9 State Bar Governor serving on the executive committee. She has been counsel for Porchlight Inc., a nonprofit serving homeless persons, and with support from Hawks Quindel, she will continue her representation of Porchlight.
Three attorneys have joined the Madison office as associates. Hayley I. Archer, U.W. 2018, practices in labor & employment, Social Security disability, and personal injury litigation. Jakob E. Feltham, U.W. 2017, practices in worker’s compensation, personal injury, and employment litigation. Jessa L. Hackman, U.W. 2016, practices in long-term disability and family litigation.
Amanda K. Klobucar, Southern Illinois 2016, has joined the Consigny Law Firm S.C., Janesville, as an associate.
Aaron Kornblum, U.W. 1996, has been named general counsel of videogame developer Bungie Inc., Bellevue, Wash. He joined Bungie after 14 years at Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Wash., leading engineering and legal teams across cybercrime enforcement, regulatory compliance, and security policy initiatives.
Kevin A. Martin, Boston College 2009 cum laude, has joined Michael Best & Friedrich LLP’s real estate team as a partner in the Madison office. Most recently, Martin served as senior counsel at Foley & Lardner LLP. He represents lenders and developers in a variety of commercial real estate transactions. His experience also includes the real estate aspects of renewable and traditional energy projects and aviation and port authority real estate work.
Two lawyers with Michael Best’s Milwaukee office have been promoted to partner. Patricia Linn Jenness, Case Western Reserve 2010, is with the litigation practice group and focuses on advocating for clients in federal and state court at all stages of litigation. She handles trademark and copyright protection, contract disputes including shareholder agreements, commercial contracts, and challenges to insurance policy coverage. Paul R. Jonas, Marquette 2013, is with the real estate practice group, focusing on all aspects of commercial real estate. His experience includes representing buyers and sellers in purchases and sales, complex leasing, public financing, and zoning, as well as other entitlements and approvals.
Craig B. Miller, Suffolk 2006, and Maggie Premo, U.W. 2009, have become shareholders at Neider & Boucher S.C., Madison. Miller focuses on business transactions, business organizations, and real estate. Premo concentrates in estate planning, probate, and trust administration.
Kristen N. Nelson, DePaul 2012, has joined the health law section of Milwaukee-based Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown. She formerly was with another private practice focusing in criminal, civil, and regulatory representation of health-care providers.
Daniel M. Olson, U.W. 1993, has become Sauk County corporation counsel in Baraboo. He previously served as Barron County assistant corporation counsel, Portage County assistant corporation counsel, Green Bay assistant city attorney, and as assistant legal counsel for the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. He leads a four-attorney office that provides legal services to all Sauk County government departments.
Beauregard William Patterson, U.W. 2018, has joined Pines Bach, Madison, as an associate with the litigation practice group. He has a general law practice.
Patrick O’Neill, U.W. 1992, Benjamin Reyes, Marquette 2011, and Katherine Metzger, Marquette 2015, have joined Pitman, Kalkhoff, Sicula & Dentice S.C., Milwaukee, working on the nursing home litigation team. PKSD handles nursing home cases in Wisconsin, New Mexico, Iowa, and Illinois.
Three lawyers have joined Quarles & Brady LLP in the Madison office. Brian D. Anderson, Maryland 2000, is of counsel with the real estate practice group. He focuses on commercial real estate and mortgage finance. His experience includes real estate sale and purchase, commercial leases, real estate development, stadium financing, tribal real estate, project financing, public-private partnerships and more.
Jeffery P. Phillips, U.W. 2006, is senior counsel with the bankruptcy, restructuring, and creditor’s rights practice group. He represents debtors and creditors in Chapters 7, 11, 12, and 13 proceedings; negotiates terms for creditors in Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 plans and vendor agreements in receivership proceedings; advises clients on Wisconsin Consumer Act and Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection matters; and litigates foreclosure matters.
Thomas J. Springer, U.W. 2001, is a partner with the real estate practice group. He focuses on federal Indian law, representing tribes and tribal businesses on issues including economic development, infrastructure and transportation facilities, and land acquisitions and exchanges. He has negotiated tribal gaming compacts and intergovernmental agreements, appeared before federal advisory committees, and advocated the tribal position on legislation at the state and federal levels. Springer served four terms as a Wisconsin state representative.
Richelle Ladwig, U.W. 2008, has been promoted to deputy general counsel – legal services and Kristie Meier, Drake 2003, has been promoted to deputy general counsel – compliance services at Quartz Health Solutions, a health insurance provider. Ladwig oversees general legal services, vendor contract coordination, certificate drafting, and strategic expansion efforts. Meier focuses on commercial compliance responsibilities, grievance and appeals, and corporate governance. Gundersen Health Plan, Unity Health Insurance, and Physicians Plus have joined forces under the Quartz brand name.
David A. Richie, Marquette 2018, has joined Weld Riley SC, Eau Claire, with the labor and employment section, representing private and governmental entities.
Vanessa Kuettel, U.W. 2014, and Colin Lane, U.W. 2018, have joined the Madison office of Strang, Patteson, Renning, Lewis & Lacy and represent both public and private sector clients in school and higher education law, labor and employment law, and municipal law. Kuettel previously was a staff attorney with Legal Action of Wisconsin.
Derek J. Taylor, Southern Methodist 2009 cum laude, has joined Husch Blackwell as a partner in the firm’s financial services and capital markets industry group. Based in Milwaukee and Madison, Taylor serves financial institutions, real estate developers, and investors in financial transactions. He previously was in-house counsel at Johnson Controls Inc. The Wisconsin chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association recognized Taylor as its 2017 Associate Member of the Year.
Andrew T. Frost, Marquette 2010, Melanie L. Persich, Marquette 2006, Danny G. Thomas, Marquette 2003, and Peter J. White, U.W. 2009 cum laude, have been promoted to shareholder at von Briesen & Roper s.c.
Frost focuses on mergers and acquisitions/capital markets, executive compensation, and employee benefits in the Milwaukee office. Persich focuses on toxic tort, insurance coverage, and general litigation matters in the Milwaukee office. She previously handled litigation defense matters in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey and also worked for the special litigation unit of the New York City Law Department.
Thomas is with the New York office, where he focuses on toxic tort, civil litigation, and corporate investigations and conducts and advises on ethics policy investigations, and builds compliance programs relating to anti-corruption, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, export compliance, and sanctions matters. White is with the Milwaukee office and focuses on business, tax, and mergers and acquisitions. He is a Certified Public Accountant and provides clients with tax planning advice, including advising clients with international sales in establishing IC-DISCs.
Brian Waterman, Marquette 2006, has rejoined Buelow Vetter Buikema Olson & Vliet LLC, Waukesha, after five years of successfully building Indulgence Chocolatiers with his business partner and wife, Julie. He focuses on advising public and private employers on a variety of labor and employment issues. In addition, Waterman has counseled public school clients on discipline, public records and open meetings, school board policies, and other general school matters.
Mergers, Relocations, New Offices
Crystal A. Banse, U.W. 2010, has established Banse Law Group, Madison, a technology-based full-service firm designed to provide service and representation without the traditional financial barriers to access quality legal representation. She concentrates in litigation, specifically criminal defense, victims’ rights, family law, and civil rights. Banse was one of the first Regional Special Victims’ Counsel for the National Guard Bureau, representing victims of sexual assault in the military, and also has been a Wisconsin assistant attorney general and a Washington County (Wis.) prosecutor.
David J. Bischmann, U.W. 1991, and Miles G. Lindner, U.W. 1994, have opened Lindner Law LLC, dedicated to representing personal injury victims throughout Wisconsin. Bischmann and Lindner were previously long-time shareholders of Hausmann-McNally S.C. and have taken over its Wisconsin personal injury practice. Charles Hausmann and John McNally will serve as of counsel to Lindner Law LLC, whose primary office remains at 633 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2000, Milwaukee.
Ken Quincey, Marquette 1970, has founded Quincey Injury Law Office S.C., 222 S. Spring Street, Beaver Dam, a personal injury practice. Quincey was previously with QBS Law S.C.
Appointments, Elections
James Casey, Dayton 1988, has been appointed a vice-chair of three committees in the ABA Section of Science and Technology Law – Rights and Responsibilities of Scientists, AI and Robotics, and the International and Domestic Policy Advisory Group. He is a global R&D advisor in Washington, D.C.
Roy Evans, U.W. 1979, has been appointed to the board of Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin Inc. by the chief judges of the U.S. District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Wisconsin. Evans maintains a solo practice in Milwaukee, focusing in business development and contract law.
William Gleisner, Marquette 1974, has been elected chair of the Wisconsin Judicial Council. He has served as one of the State Bar’s representatives on the Judicial Council since 2008. With Marquette Law Professor Jay Grenig, Gleisner has coauthored a Thomson Reuters treatise on e-discovery since 2005
Beth Kushner, Virginia 1979, is one of 34 new members elected to the American Law Institute (ALI) in 2018. The ALI is the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and improve the law. Members have the opportunity to influence the development of the law in both existing and emerging areas. Kushner is a shareholder in the litigation and risk management practice group and chairs the appellate section of von Briesen & Roper s.c., Milwaukee. She concentrates in complex litigation and has handled a broad range of business and commercial disputes.
Marc Johannsen, Minnesota 1989, has been elected president of Lommen Abdo, Minneapolis. He focuses in family law, handling divorce, business valuation, custody disputes, child support and spousal maintenance, alternative dispute resolution, domestic abuse hearings, antenuptial agreements, paternity actions, adoption, grandparent rights, and post-trial motions. He formerly served as mayor and acting mayor of Vadnais Heights, Minn. He recently was recognized by the Northern Star Council of the Boy Scouts of America for his volunteer work and awarded the nomination-only Silver Beaver Award.
Newly elected members of the firm’s board include Kathleen Loucks, William Mitchell 1999. She practices in legal malpractice defense, plaintiff's medical malpractice, vaccine injury law, and construction litigation and is on the Minnesota Innocence Project advisory board.
Ryan Ruzziconi, Marquette 2003, has been appointed to the board of the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation, Michigan’s largest funder dedicated solely to children’s health and wellness. He is with Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, Flint, Mich.
The following lawyers have been elected to positions with the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers: president – Chad Lanning, U.W. 1997, Lubar & Lanning LLC, Milwaukee; president-elect – Aaron Nelson, U.W. 1996, Nelson Defense Group LLC, Hudson; vice president – Michael R. Cohen, U.W. 1991, Cohen Law Offices SC, Eau Claire; and secretary – Sarah Schmeiser, U.W. 2004, Tracey Wood & Associates, Madison.
Christopher Ehrfurth, Marquette 2012, Kuchler & Cotton S.C., Waukesha, has joined the board. Reelected board members (in WACDL district order) are the following: Aneeq Ahmad, U.W. 2011, Aneeq Ahmad Attorney at Law, Milwaukee; Rebecca Coffee, Marquette 2002, Mastantuono & Coffee S.C., Milwaukee; Greg Petit, Marquette 1993, Petit & Dommershausen S.C., Menasha; Michele Tjader, Marquette 1996, Tjader Law Inc., Madison; David Bolles, U.W. 2008, Bolles Law Office LLC, Madison; John Matousek, Hamline 1984, Matousek, Laxton & Davis Law Office LLC, Sparta; Eric Maciolek, DePaul 2007, Kirk Obear & Associates, Sheboygan; Steve Lucareli, U.W. 1984, Lucareli Law Offices LLC, Eagle River; and Tyler Wickman, Marquette 2008, Dallenbach Anich & Wickman SC, Ashland.
Awards, Degrees, Honors
Jason Knutson, U.W. 2000, and Eric Ryberg, U.W. 2006, have become fellows of the Wisconsin Law Foundation. Both practice with Habush Habush & Rottier in the Madison office.
Pro Bono, Public Service
Hupy and Abraham S.C. president Michael Hupy has announced a new commitment to the Milwaukee Bar Association. This pledge, in the form of a $25,000 donation, will help accommodate the organization’s move to a larger location, which will make space for resources including technologically equipped board rooms, meeting spaces for attorneys to see clients, and an area where continuing legal education classes or other legal proceedings could occur.
Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. has been named a sustaining sponsor of the Wisconsin School of Business Family Business Center (FBC). The FBC, a membership organization for family businesses and their owners, provides educational programs and events, peer-to-peer learning and support, and access to a network of relevant and effective family business resources.
In Memoriam
Julian L. Berman, U.W. 1948, Glencoe, Ill., Aug. 26, 1921 – April 19, 2018.
Thomas B. Burke, St. John’s 1977, Brookfield, Sept. 10, 1953 – July 19, 2018.
Robert A. Christensen, U.W. 1968, Madison, Nov. 5, 1943 – July 24, 2018.
Kevin D. Corrigall, Marquette 1981, Kenosha, Oct. 1, 1954 – June 25, 2018.
Robert G. Craig, Marquette 1969, Dec. 8, 1935 – June 20, 2018.
Michael J. Duginski, Marquette 1958, South Milwaukee, July 13, 1930 – Dec. 29, 2017.
Karen S. Fowell, U.W. 1982, Richland Center, Aug. 21, 1957 – March 20, 2018.
Hon. Richard G. Greenwood, Marquette 1958, Green Bay, Nov. 4, 1927 – July 1, 2018.
Mikael G. Hahner, Detroit-Mercy School of Law 1980, Florence, June 19, 1954 – May 20, 2018.
James A. Hemmer, Marquette 1952, Milwaukee, April 6, 1921 – June 8, 2018.
Hon. Ronald D. Keberle, U.W. 1951, Wausau, Sept. 2, 1927 – June 22, 2018.
Hon. Robert W. Landry, U.W. 1949, Milwaukee, June 22, 1922 – Nov. 13, 2017.
Roderick M. Mett, U.W. 1968, Port Saint Lucie, Fla., Oct. 15, 1939 – March 22, 2018.
Allen E. Schatz, Tulsa 1984, Whitefish Bay, Oct. 24, 1956 – Aug. 27, 2015.
Archie E. Simonson, U.W. 1952, Madison, Dec. 25, 1924 – June 15, 2018.
J. Stewart Smith, Indiana Univ. 1957, June 28, 1927 – June 21, 2018.
Michael E. Taken, Marquette 1975, April 22, 1947 – July 20, 2018.
Robert W. Weber, U.W. 1952, Racine, Feb. 21, 1922 – Dec. 21, 2014.
Thomas E. Zablocki, Marquette 1968, Milwaukee, Feb. 24, 1940 – July 15, 2018.
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