Walker makes appointments to 2 benches

Listen to this article

Gov. Scott Walker’s office announced Monday the appointments of two judges, one to the Eau Clair County Circuit Court Branch 1 and one to the Jefferson County Circuit Court Branch 3.

Walker appointed Kristina Bourget to the Eau Claire County bench. She is the owner and vice president of Bourget Law SC since 2010. While there, she has represented clients before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Before that, she had worked for 11 years in the office of general counsel at Xcel Energy, a natural gas and electricity company based in Minneapolis. That position led to her taking part in various proceedings before the Public Service Commission, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Bourget began her legal career at Kelly & Ryberg SC, an Eau Claire-based firm. She earned her law degree in 1991 from the University of Wisconsin and received a degree in finance from UW-Eau Claire in 1988.

• Walker appointed Dave Wambach, an assistant attorney general at the Wisconsin Department of Justice, to the Jefferson County bench. Wambach was named “prosecutor of the year” by the Wisconsin District Attorneys Association in 2006, when he was serving as the Jefferson County District Attorney. He received similar awards in 2007 and 2011 from the Wisconsin Association of Homicide Investigators.

Wambach earned his law degree from Marquette University in 1985 and his bachelor’s degree from UW-La Crosse in 1981. He will replace Judge Jacqueline Erwin, who has retired.