New Hires, Promotions, Partners

Jason G. Brasch, U.W. 2015, and Kyle R. Schaffer, St. Thomas 2016, have joined Bakke Norman S.C., New Richmond. Brasch is with the transactional and municipal groups and focuses on commercial real estate, estate planning, municipal consulting, and business law. Schaffer is with the litigation group and focuses on civil and family litigation.

Zachary D. Brenner, Loyola-Chicago 2015 cum laude, has joined Conway & Josetti LLC, Brookfield, as an associate. He previously was a staff attorney for the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

Carol A. Chapman, Marquette 2006, has been promoted to business and content development manager for the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Professional Development Department. Carol joined the State Bar as an attorney-editor in July 2016 after serving for four years as law clerk to the Hon. Mark Gundrum of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. She concentrates on employment, landlord-tenant, health law, and litigation and e-discovery, and is responsible for assisting State Bar members regarding questions using the wisbar.org legal research resources.

Sarah DeKraay, U.W. 2001, has been promoted to shareholder at Murphy Desmond S.C., Madison. Her practice focuses on divorce and family law, including child custody, child support, post-divorce issues, marital agreements, grandparents’ rights, collaborative divorce proceedings, and mediation.

Sarah J. Griffiths, Minnesota 1998, has joined the Green Bay office of Grzeca Law Group S.C., a full-service immigration law firm, and focuses on family immigration law and deportation defense.

Marybeth Herbst-Flagstad, Marquette 2003, has been named the first general counsel for Rogers Behavioral Health, Oconomowoc, overseeing risk management and providing general counsel on legal matters for Rogers Behavioral Health System and Rogers Memorial Hospital. She most recently served as attorney for the Forest County Potawatomi Community and, before that, was senior counsel for Assurant Health, Milwaukee.

Fred Lautz, U.W. 1985, has become executive director of St. Marcus Ministries, Milwaukee. He will continue in a limited role with the Milwaukee office of Quarles & Brady S.C. Fred will lead St. Marcus’s efforts in providing education to Milwaukee’s children and families, with a focus on serving as a catalyst for school reform and community-wide transformation and reaching children, families, and the community with ministry-focused outreach and offering diverse worship opportunities. 

Jessica A. Liebau, Marquette 2011, has joined Wessels Law Office LLC, Mequon, as an associate and focuses in elder law, guardianships and protective placements, estate planning, and special-needs planning. She is editor of the Elder Law Journal of Wisconsin.

Jonathan Nagy, Southern Methodist 2000, has become chief deputy of the Civil Litigation Section, Office of the Indiana Attorney General, Indianapolis, overseeing 45 attorneys and paralegals and managing all civil litigation for and against the state of Indiana. Previously, he was staff counsel at American Family Insurance, Madison.

Elizabeth Neal, Houston 2005, has joined the Brookfield office of DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C. as a member of the intellectual property group. She concentrates her practice on protecting intellectual capital, conducting patentability and infringement searches, and prosecuting patent applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and foreign patent offices.

Appointments, Elections

Brett H. Ludwig, Minnesota 1994 magna cum laude, has been appointed to a 14-year term as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, headquartered in Milwaukee. He will also sit in Eau Claire and Madison. Previously he was a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP, Milwaukee, and was chair of the Milwaukee Office Pro Bono Committee. He also is an adjunct professor at Marquette University Law School.

Jessica P. Culotti, U.W. 2008, and Justin P. Webb, Marquette 2013, have been named to the Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS) Young Leaders Advisory Board, a fundraising and event-planning arm of the WHS development staff that plans and executes the WHS annual Tails on the Trail Dog Walk/5k and assists with other events and fundraising activities. Culotti is with the employee benefits practice at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. Webb is with Reinhart’s litigation practice and a member of the data privacy and security, and patent and intellectual property litigation practice groups.

Daneille Strong, Hamline 2009, has been appointed chair of the Young Professionals of the Chippewa Valley (YPCV) for the 2017-18 term. As chair, she will also serve on the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce board. She is with the litigation section at Weld Riley S.C., Eau Claire, and focuses on worker’s compensation defense, creditor’s rights, foreclosures, and collection efforts on behalf of credit unions, banks, and businesses; represents landlords in various matters; and also handles insurance defense claims.

Benjamin S. Wagner, U.W. 2003, has been inducted as president of the Wisconsin Association for Justice. He is a shareholder with Habush Habush & Rottier S.C., Milwaukee, and is certified as a civil trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. His practice focuses on plaintiff’s tort trial law.

MaiVue Xiong, U.W. 2010, has been appointed to the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce board. She is with Weld Riley S.C., Eau Claire, and focuses on business formations and sales and purchases, banking and financing services, real estate and landlord-tenant law, and trademark and copyright law. She also counsels on nonmetallic (frac sand) mining issues for companies and landowners.

Authors, Speakers

Linda Roberson, U.W. 1974, and Howard S. Erlanger, U.W. 1981, authored the recently revised Marital Property Classification Handbook (State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE 4th ed. 2017). Roberson is retired after more than 40 years of practicing law. Erlanger is Voss-Bascom Professor of Law, Emeritus at the U.W. Law School, and teaches and consults in the areas of wills, trusts, marital property, and estate planning.

Aaron R. Gary, California-Davis 1992, authored the recently revised Alcohol Beverages Regulation in Wisconsin (State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE 2d ed. 2016). He is an attorney at the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, Madison.

Authors of the recently revised Real Estate Transactions System (State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE 7th ed. 2017) are Bruce T. Block, Boston Univ. 1979, Adam F. Jardine, Michigan 2015, and Carolyn A. Schwerman, U.W. 1991, all with Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. Block and Jardine are with the Milwaukee office. Schwerman is with the Waukesha office.

Carlton D. Stansbury, Iowa 1990 with distinction, presented “Hearing Without Listening: A Child’s Voice in the Court System,” at the National CLE Conference in Snowmass, Colo., in January. He is a shareholder with Burbach & Stansbury S.C., Milwaukee, and concentrates his practice in family law.

Mark S.Zimmer, U.W. 1985, has announced the discovery of a lost song by Ludwig van Beethoven that has long been known only from a reference to it in a price list sent by the composer to a prospective publisher in 1822. The song “Ich wiege dich in meinem Arm” (“I cradle you in my arms”), catalogued as Hess 137, otherwise vanished without a trace. Zimmer and his Dutch associate, A. Willem Holsbergen, conclusively identified the poem that was the basis of Beethoven’s song: “Liebe” by Friedrich Wilhelm August Schmidt. The song was premiered at the Chicago Beethoven Festival. The story of how the poem and the music were identified and reunited at long last has been published in the Winter 2016 issue of the Musical Times, a British musicological journal. Zimmer is the project director of The Unheard Beethoven website as well as an attorney at the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Madison.

Awards, Degrees, Honors

James Bolgert, U.W. 1979, has been accepted to the American Arbitration Association Distinguished Roster. He established Bolgert Mediation in August after 22 years as a circuit court judge. His practice focuses on civil and family mediation in eastern Wisconsin.

Jerome F. Buting, North Carolina 1981, a shareholder in Buting, Williams & Stilling S.C., Brookfield, was awarded the John Jay College 2016 Fierce Advocate Award along with Madison lawyer Dean Strang, Virginia 1985. This award is bestowed on individuals who have shown “outstanding leadership in the pursuit of justice”; Buting and Strang were honored for their advocacy on behalf of Steven Avery, chronicled in the series Making a Murderer.

Malinda J. Eskra, Marquette 2007, has been named Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.’s 2016 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. Eskra was recognized for her dedication and commitment to several pro bono cases throughout 2016. She was also honored for her role in handling appellate issues for pro bono clients. She is with the firm’s litigation practice.

Dianne Post, U.W. 1980, was one of six Martin Luther King Jr. Living the Dream Awardees at the City of Phoenix-OIC annual MLK breakfast on Jan. 13, 2017, in recognition of her years of work toward helping society reach that dream.

Randy Rozek, U.W. 1996, was named 2016 Robert L. Habush Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Wisconsin Association for Justice. He received the award at the Presidents’ Reception and Dinner in Milwaukee in December. He is the founder of Rozek Law Office S.C., Milwaukee, and focuses on representing children and adults suffering from catastrophic, life-changing injuries, particularly traumatic brain injury litigation.

Kathleen B. Stilling, U.W. 1981, a shareholder with Buting, Williams & Stilling S.C., Brookfield, was awarded the 2016 William Coffey Memorial Award by the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. This award recognizes exceptional contributions to professionalism in the field of criminal justice.

Anniversaries, Retirements

John D. Osinga, founder of Osinga Law Offices S.C., Brookfield, will celebrate 40 years as a lawyer, 30 years in private practice, and 20 years’ operating his own law office in 2017. He concentrates on representing individuals, families, and businesses, including in estate, asset protection, and retirement risk planning, and public records law

In Memoriam

Hon. John Jude, Marquette 1977, Racine, December 22, 1945 – Feb. 11, 2017.

William F. Mundt, U.W. 1967, Madison, April 25, 1942 – Jan. 15, 2017.

Lloyd S. Peters, U.W. 1939, Milwaukee, May 3, 1915 – Jan. 24, 2017.

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. Talks, speeches (unless they are of national stature), honors from other publications, and political announcements are not accepted. Notices about State Bar members in good standing are printed as space is available, and at no cost, must be submitted in writing, and may be edited. Questions: (608) 250-6139.

Photo placement: Submit a professional-quality photo. If the photo is used, the State Bar will issue an invoice ($30 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. Email to: MembersOnly@wisbar.org. Include your State Bar membership number.