DeWitt Ross & Stevens: Peshek Acquires Senior Counselor Status

Peter Peshek, a prominent attorney in environmental law and government relations at DeWitt Ross & Stevens, has been appointed to senior counselor status, announced the law firm’s managing partner, Stephen A. DiTullio.

Peshek, considered by some to be the current dean of Wisconsin environmental law, has been a steady influence ensuring the coexistence of nature and business. He has played a major role in creating laws and regulations affecting mining, landfill siting, groundwater standards and remediation, recycling, upland sand and gravel mining, and brownfields remediation.

DiTullio observed that Peshek has had a major impact on Wisconsin for decades. “Peter is known for his vigorous independence and his insistence upon intellectual integrity,” DiTullio said. By way of example, DiTullio noted that Peshek was named Citizen of the Year for “unstinting efforts, privately and publicly for children’s rights,” and editorials have characterized him as a “feisty, fine public servant.”

Peshek’s senior counselor status will permit him to focus on a select number of major public policy issues involving Wisconsin’s environment. The appointment will also allow him additional opportunities to undertake volunteer activities with organizations he has “long admired for advancing the quality of life in Wisconsin.” Noted Peshek, “I certainly have had wonderful opportunities to work with outstanding people both within and outside of government over the last many decades.”

A 1968 graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, Peshek’s career includes several significant roles. He directed the Criminal Prosecution Unit of the Wisconsin Department of Justice from 1972 to 1976. He went on to become the department’s Public Intervenor for Environmental Affairs from 1976 to 1983, serving as citizens’ advocate in framing Wisconsin’s environmental regulatory structure. In 1993, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board nominated him to become Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources. His work has garnered Peshek numerous awards, including national designations as “Best Lawyer.”

In 1983, Peshek joined DeWitt Ross & Stevens where he helped grow the environmental law and government relations practices at the law firm. A well known angler and waterfowl hunter, Peshek and his wife spend much of their time in Door County, Wisconsin, where they raised three sons.