Nineteen lawyers from DeWitt Ross & Stevens have been named to the second edition of Wisconsin Super Lawyers, as a result of a survey conducted by the national publication Law & Politics. DeWitt Ross & Stevens is a full-service law firm with offices in Madison and Metro Milwaukee.
Selected are Michael W. Wilcox, Nancy C. Wettersten, Anne T. Wadsack, Timm Speerschneider, Wrede H. “Bud” Smith, Karen M. Schapiro, Ronald R. Ragatz, Peter A. Peshek, Todd E. Palmer, William E. McCardell, Troy A. Mayne, Daniel W. Hildebrand, Henry J. “Hank” Handzel, Eric A. Farnsworth, Stephen A. DiTullio, Dennis P. Birke, Donald Leo Bach, Jon P. Axelrod and Brian L. Anderson.
Wilcox is an estate planner regarded among the banking and legal industries as an authority on Wisconsin law in this area; Wettersten is a family lawyer who handles divorce, juvenile and guardianship matters; Wadsack is a family lawyer recognized for her work in divorce and business litigation; Speerschneider is an environmental attorney versed especially in municipality and land use issues; Smith, with a special focus on family business, practices in estate planning and probate; Schapiro is a litigator active in prominent environmental and land use cases; Ragatz is an environmental litigator experienced in complex, multi-party cases; Peshek is an environmental lawyer and lobbyist who served as the state’s Public Intervenor for environmental affairs; Palmer is an environmental lawyer and lobbyist with a number of agriculture clients; McCardell is an employment and labor attorney with an emphasis in construction; Mayne, whose practice focuses on real estate and development, is recognized as a business/corporate lawyer; Hildebrand is a lawyer whose practice focuses on business litigation and appeals; Handzel is an environmental lawyer who helped develop Wisconsin’s air pollution control laws; Farnsworth is a well-known personal injury and medical malpractice lawyer who secured one of Wisconsin’s largest jury verdicts; DiTullio, the firm’s managing partner, practices in employment law with a special interest in handbooks and preventative measures; Birke, an environmental and business attorney, is chairperson of the environmental practice group; Bach, an environmental attorney and litigator, includes water law issues in his practice; Axelrod is a litigator with a long-time courtroom reputation for ethics and tenacity, and Anderson practices in employee benefits, business law, tax law, nonprofit organizations, and estate planning.
Schapiro practices out of the law firm’s Metro Milwaukee office in Brookfield; Wilcox and Smith are based in the firm’s Madison West office; Wettersten, Wadsack, Speerschneider, Ragatz, Peshek, Palmer, McCardell, Mayne, Hildebrand, Handzel, Farnsworth, DiTullio, Birke, Bach, Axelrod and Anderson are located in the firm’s Capitol Square office in Madison.
Selection for Wisconsin Super Lawyers involves peer nominations, a panel-review process, and independent research. Nominations from lawyers in other law firms carried more weight than nominations from lawyers in the same law firm. Each candidate’s record was reviewed to assure good standing with the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Only 5 percent of Wisconsin’s 15,214 attorneys were accorded this honor. All Super Lawyers will be recognized in a special section of December issue of Milwaukee Magazine, as well as published in the Wisconsin Super Lawyers magazine/directory sent to lawyers in Wisconsin. In addition, all Super Lawyers are listed on the web site www.superlawyers.com. Produced by Law & Politics magazine, annual Super Lawyers surveys are now conducted in 48 states.
