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Kies brings optimism, experience to courtroom

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//June 20, 2019//

Kies brings optimism, experience to courtroom

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//June 20, 2019//

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Judge Jean Kies - Milwaukee County Circuit Court
Judge Jean Kies –
Milwaukee County Circuit Court

When Jean Kies was elected to the bench in 2016, she brought with her a wealth of experience.

The youngest of four children, Kies grew up on a farm near Platteville and would often accompany her father on cattle-buying trips. Kies is also a mom, a wife, a former student of the viola and piano — and a very experienced attorney.

Kies spent 25 years in private practice, handling everything from criminal defense work and small-claims cases to an oral argument before the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, something few lawyers get a chance to do.

Kies also did collections work, gaining a reputation among the county’s longtime court commissioners as one of the kindest collections attorneys around.

“She did her job but she was nice and respectful to the people she was taking the cars away from,” said Patrice Baker, a probate court commissioner in Milwaukee County.

Baker and Kies have been friends since they met at Marquette University Law School in 1988. Later, Baker, Kies and Lew Wasserman, Kies’ husband who is also an attorney, shared an office.

“I’m very proud of her,” Baker said. “She is super smart and she works hard. She is exactly what you would expect from someone who grew up in a farm near Platteville. … She’s made her hometown proud.”

Kies now presides over Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 45, handling misdemeanor and domestic-violence cases.

“The No. 1 thing that I think makes her a great judge is her ability to listen to people and take their stories seriously,” said Wasserman.

Baker noted that one of the best things about Kies is her good attitude.

“The problem I see with judges and lawyers is that we tend to criticize each other,” said Baker. “She’s very positive and not in a fake positive way. She wants to help people and she wants to get it done right.”

Beyond her work on the bench, Kies spends time mentoring young women lawyers and law students, making sure she talks to students at Marquette Law events.
“We all have been, in life, shown by people that we care about, which direction to go in,” she said. “I think it’s just really important to give back to them.”

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