DeWitt’s Wisconsin Super Lawyers & Rising Stars Announced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2018

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michelle M. Friedman
262-754-2877 / mmf@dewittross.com

DEWITT’S WISCONSIN SUPER LAWYERS & RISING STARS ANNOUNCED

MADISON|BROOKFIELD|MINNEAPOLIS – The law firm of DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C., and its affiliate DeWitt Mackall Crounse & Moore S.C. today announced that 13 of its attorneys were named by Wisconsin Super Lawyersâ as top attorneys in Wisconsin for 2018. Additionally, six of its attorneys were recognized as Wisconsin Rising Starsâ.

Attorneys selected for inclusion in the 2018 Wisconsin Super Lawyers and Rising Stars are:

Wisconsin Super Lawyers Brookfield:

Shannon A. Allen – Business Litigation

Douglas H. Frazer – Tax

David J. Hase – Business Litigation

Brian R. Smigelski – Business Litigation

Wisconsin Super Lawyers Madison:

Jon P. Axelrod – Business Litigation

Denis P. Bartell – Bankruptcy, Business

Stephen A. DiTullio – Employment and Labor

Eric A. Farnsworth – PI General: Plaintiff

Richard W. Pitzner – Business/Corporate

Ronald R. Ragatz – Insurance Coverage

Joseph A. Ranney, III – Business Litigation

Michael W. Wilcox – Estate and Probate

Wisconsin Super Lawyers Waukesha:

Paul R. Hoefle – Business Litigation

 

2018 Wisconsin Rising Stars Brookfield:

Matthew Hills – Business Litigation

Olivia M. Kelley – General Litigation

2018 Wisconsin Rising Stars Madison:

Chase Horne – Civil Litigation, Defense

Deborah C. Meiners – Business Litigation

Scott M. Paler – Employment and Labor

 

Barret V. Van Sicklen – Employment and Labor
Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a patented multiphase selection process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with independent research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis. The objective is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel. The list is published online and in Wisconsin Super Lawyers Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine and Madison Magazine.
About DeWitt

DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C., including its affiliate DeWitt Mackall Crounse & Moore S.C., is one of the ten largest law firms based in Wisconsin, with an additional presence in Minnesota. It has nearly 140 attorneys practicing in Madison and Metropolitan Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a variety of legal areas and has the experience to service clients of all scopes and sizes. The firm is known for its work in several areas, including civil rights litigation, construction litigation, corporate law, employment, environmental, employee benefits, estate planning, family law, government relations, health care, intellectual property, patents, trademarks and copyright law, litigation, personal injury, real estate, and tax law.
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New President & Chief Executive Officer selected to lead NGL

Contact: Maria Lubick, (608) 443-5284, mdlubick@nglic.com

Online newsroom: nglic.com/newsroom

New President & Chief Executive Officer selected to lead NGL

Madison, Wis. (November 19, 2018) – The Board of Directors for National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL) selected Knut A. Olson as its next President and CEO, effective January 3, 2019, succeeding Mark L. Solverud who announced his retirement for the end of April 2019.
“The Board conducted a nationwide search and established specific criteria to identify a leader who could build upon NGL’s growth, financial strength and connection with its customers and marketing partners. Olson is eminently qualified and has an outstanding reputation in the insurance industry. His many accomplishments and experience will provide NGL with strong leadership to guide us into the future,” stated David G. Walsh, Chairman of the Board.
Most recently, Olson was President of the North American Life and Annuity Division of Foresters Financial, and President of Foresters Life Insurance and Annuity Company, where he oversaw Forester’s life insurance business in the U.S. and Canada and also had responsibility over annuities, investment products and insurance operations.
Prior to Foresters he worked at Thrivent Financial for more than 25 years, beginning as an insurance agent and advancing to General Agent, Managing Partner, Divisional Vice President, and then to the home office position of Chief Distribution Officer and ultimately Senior Vice President of Mission Advancement.
“I share the values that drive NGL’s mission and am impressed with the company’s past achievements. While remaining committed to its primary markets and policyholders, the Board is looking to expand NGL’s marketing and product focus in order to continue its path of growth. I have a background and passion for that challenge, and I look forward to working with the Board and management staff toward that goal,” said Olson.
A native of the Pacific Northwest, Olson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pacific Lutheran University and a Chartered Life Underwriter designation from The American College.

 

NGL, located in downtown Madison, is a rapidly growing, independent mutual life insurance company that currently focuses on select markets, including Preneed, Individual Life & Annuities, and specialty and student group market products. NGL and its subsidiaries have assets of $4.5 billion, annual sales exceeding $800 million and over 1.2 million policyholders. With offices in Madison, WI and Utica, NY there are more than 400 people employed by NGL.

About NGL
Since 1910, National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL), a mutual insurance company, has been located in Madison, Wis. Licensed to do business in 49 states and the District of Columbia, NGL markets preneed and individual life and annuities, as well as group markets products including specialty and student insurance. Information about NGL can be found at www.nglic.com; Facebook: Facebook.com/NGLIC and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-guardian-life-insurance-company
NGL reported $3.9 billion in consolidated liabilities for 2017. Financials current as of 12/31/17.
National Guardian Life Insurance Company is not affiliated with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America a/k/a The Guardian or Guardian Life.
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That’s a Fine Idea! State Bar Reveals 2018 Top Legal Innovators

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOV. 9, 2018
Contact:
Kristen Durst
(608) 250-6025
kdurst@wisbar.org
That’s a Fine Idea! State Bar Reveals 2018 Top Legal Innovators
Madison, WI – For the fifth year, the State Bar of Wisconsin is honoring the state’s top legal innovators through the organization’s “That’s a Fine Idea: Legal Innovation Wisconsin” initiative. This year the State Bar honors six legal innovator big ideas, including one lifetime-award winner.
–Lifetime Innovator Emerly Harlan: Champion of Diversity
Diversity in the legal profession is a challenge that might never be solved outright, but Milwaukee attorney Emery K. Harlan, a partner with MWH Law Group LLP, is doing his part to help. Harlan’s current firm has 16 attorneys, including eight African Americans, one Hispanic, and 10 females. Harlan was a founder of the National Association of Women and Minority Owned Law Firms, created in 2001 to promote diversity by fostering successful relationships between diverse attorneys and both private and public legal clients. During the past couple years at MWH and for many years before that at his previous firm, Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan, Harlan worked to hire and promote minority and female attorneys.
–Sheila Sullivan and Team: Standing Up for Crime Victims
The state’s Legal Services Corporation-funded civil legal aid providers, Legal Action of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Judicare, have established a victim rights project aimed at helping those who have survived crimes, particularly domestic violence and sexual assault. The pilot project began in fall 2017 with funding and support from the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Office of Crime Victim Services, and thanks to a partnership with Wisconsin Judicare, the services are available statewide. The team includes project supervisor Sheila Sullivan and project attorneys Ann Rufo, Becca Donaldson, Kori Ashley, Susan Lund, and Rachel Sattler of Legal Action Wisconsin as well as attorneys William Baynard and Amanda Rabe and supervising attorney Beth Ann Richlen of Judicare. More than 200 people from nearly half of Wisconsin’s 72 counties have received information, advice, or full legal representation since last December, and 91 cases were open as of mid-September.
–Abby Churchill: Helping Transgender Clients
Transgender people face unique legal challenges, and Abby Churchill founded the nonprofit law center Trans Law Help Wisconsin to assist. The Trans Law Help Team has held six clinics to provide general legal information about the name and gender change process, which is more complicated than most clients think. The Trans Law Help team also is developing a statewide attorney referral network, with an eye toward developing resources outside of Madison and Milwaukee. The issue of inaccurate documents such as birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and passports can affect transgender people in any number of realms, from obtaining employment, to securing a loan, to providing proof of identity to law enforcement.
–Heidi Wegleitner, Rebeka Pritchett, Raphael Ramos, Don Tolbert, Maggie Niebler-Brown, and Sofia Ascorbe: Eviction Defense for Low-Income Tenants
Tenants facing eviction, most of whom typically self-represent and lose their cases, have a better chance of gaining legal help in the Milwaukee and Madison areas thanks to the efforts of the respective local offices of Legal Action of Wisconsin, which have launched twin Eviction Defense Projects during the past couple of years. The Milwaukee County effort, staffed by project director Raphael Ramos, staff attorney Sofia Ascorbe, and paralegal Don Tolbert, has served 966 clients since early 2017 with help from 73 volunteer attorneys and 25 Marquette University Law School students. The Dane County project, begun in early 2018 and run by attorney Heidi Wegleitner and paralegal Rebeka Pritchett, has served 210 clients with 361 hours from 16 active pro bono attorneys and more than 100 hours of student help. Attorney Maggie Niebler-Brown coordinates the organization’s overall Volunteer Lawyers Project, while Deedee Peterson supervises its development.
–Collin Schaefer, Anne Smith, Eric Englund, and Louis Condon: Seeding Success for Startups
Entrepreneurs starting companies often focus on their product or service ideas and the funding they need to birth those ideas. But they’re sometimes less mindful of careful planning around corporate governance, such as formation of necessary advisory and governance boards and the completion of proper legal forms. Madison-area attorneys Anne Smith, Eric Englund, and Louis Condon and angel investor and entrepreneur Terry Sivesind founded an organization called Madison Seed Accelerator, Inc. (aka Madworks) in 2014 that has evolved to tackle this set of governance challenges, prompted by the need they saw and encouragement from the entrepreneurial community. Madworks has since worked with several dozen startup companies to ensure they build a solid foundation. Program manager Collin Schaefer, who is also an attorney, says the goal of the pro bono program is to build companies that last.
–Karen Renee: Creating a One-stop Shop for Finding Court Reporters
Karen Renee has been a court reporter in the Milwaukee area for about a decade and has owned Milwaukee Court Reporters for the past five years. She created eCourtReporters.com to provide a platform where attorneys and paralegals can, with the click of a few buttons, choose court reporters and videographers based on their qualifications, certifications, years of experience, pricing, availability, and customer ratings. The database now has nearly 7,000 entries in almost all 50 states.
More information about our 2018 Wisconsin Legal Innovators and their work is available here.
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The State Bar of Wisconsin is the mandatory professional association, created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, for attorneys who hold a Wisconsin law license. With more than 25,000 members, the State Bar aids the courts in improving the administration of justice, provides continuing legal education for its members to help them maintain their expertise, and assists Wisconsin lawyers in carrying out community service initiatives to educate the public about the legal system and the value of lawyers. For more information, visit www.wisbar.org.

Mead & Hunt announces change in top leadership: Marconnet and Mason named Group Leaders

Greg Marconnet and Jeff Mason, PE, were promoted to Group Leaders on October 1st. These corporate vice president roles will lead the marketing, sales and operations teams of these two high growth markets for Mead & Hunt.
Marconnet was selected to be the Group Leader for the newly created Food & Beverage Group. Mason will be taking the helm as Group Leader for the Architecture & Building Engineering Group.
“The time was ripe to transition our Food & Beverage team into a stand-alone group. They are bringing in new clients and projects at an ever-increasing rate. The addition of the Fenton, MO, engineering team last year has pushed the growth even faster,” said Andy Platz, CEO/President of Mead & Hunt. “Greg brings a wealth of industry knowledge after a long career with Kraft Foods and his current role as Business Unit Leader for our Food & Beverage team.”
Prior to his promotion to Group Leader, Mason was the Western Business Unit Leader within the Architecture & Building Engineering Group. He has been with Mead & Hunt for more than 20 years. The Architecture & Building Engineering Group focuses on aviation, military and other public and government facilities.
“Jeff is client-focused and strategic making him the perfect fit for the large and diverse Architecture & Building Engineering Group. The breadth of this group’s capabilities is increasing more and more. We need a leader who embraces the Mead & Hunt culture and will help this group continue to evolve and grow,” said Platz. “We anticipate continued growth and expansion of these markets under the new leadership.”
Platz continued that Jeff and Greg are a united front, prepared to deliver what our clients want and support our employees’ careers, adding that Mead & Hunt is wrapping up a very successful 2018 and looking forward to a promising 2019.

 

Marconnet

 

Mason

 

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Media Contacts:
Andy Platz, CEO and President, andy.platz@meadhunt.com 608-443-0600
Greg Marconnet, Vice President and Food & Beverage Group Leader, greg.marconnet@meadhunt.com 608-443-0550
Jeff Mason, Vice President and Architecture & Building Engineering Group Leader, jeff.mason@meadhunt.com 971-717-6504
Kary Beck, Corporate Communications, kary.beck@meadhunt.com 608-443-0370

 

 

Capitol Bank Announces New Hires

Madison, WI: Ken Thompson, President and CEO of Capitol Bank, is pleased to announce three new hires: Heather Flood (Assistant Vice President of Deposit Operations), Natalie (Braun) Gregerson (Director of Marketing) and Briel Kohl (Portfolio Manager).

 

 

Heather Flood has 24 years of banking experience in Dane County making her well-respected in the industry. Her experience ranges from relationship banking and customer service, to branch management and deposit operations management. She is a native of Whitewater, Wisconsin and currently resides in Evansville. She earned a Bachelor of Letters & Science/English literature from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Heather spends time with her family at school functions and sports activities, as well as attending various events in the local and greater Madison communities.

 

 

Natalie Gregerson brings five years of experience from the technology and construction sectors, where she worked for national and international companies. Natalie’s broad skillset includes a commercial drone pilot license. She is a native of northern Iowa and now resides in Southwest Wisconsin. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and a Bachelor of Communications/Public Relations with a minor in social media. Relatively new to the Madison market, Natalie is eager to become an active member of the community and has already supported local events, such as The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s®.

 

 

Briel Kohl adds four years of commercial and retail banking knowledge to the already talented and diverse Commercial Lending Group at Capitol Bank. Briel’s banking experience includes credit analysis, treasury management marketing and portfolio management. She is a native of Wisconsin and currently resides in Baraboo. She has degrees in International Business, Accounting and Management from Upper Iowa University, where she also played soccer and spent time studying abroad. Briel is active in the local area, including organizations such as Baraboo Young Professionals and Baraboo Kiwanis.

About Capitol Bank: Capitol Bank, locally-owned and operated, is committed to serving the communities in which we live, work and do business. We are proud of the partnerships we have established with organizations, businesses and individuals in the Madison and Verona communities. Our philosophy of community support is demonstrated at the corporate level, as well as in the time and energy our employees devote to our community each year.