Stokke-Ceci has ‘Meter-oric’ rise into legal field

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Pam Stokke-Ceci had worked for Badger Meter for 21 years when “intellectual curiosity and straight-up serendipity” carried her to law school in 2008.

“My curiosity was stirred during long-term contract negotiations with a very large city for a water meter replacement program, in combination with litigation around a distributor dispute,” she said.

The serendipity part came into play because Marquette University Law School offered a part-time night program, and Stokke-Ceci’s family and co-workers were able to accommodate her busy schedule.

“I’m truly grateful that my general counsel and company created a position for me as an attorney, as I didn’t expect to practice professionally what I’d learned until after I had retired from Badger Meter,” she said.

Stokke-Ceci, who previously worked for Badger Meter as a software engineer, product and marketing manager, and municipal contracting manager, earned her law degree in 2013 and was promoted in 2014.

In her role as assistant general counsel, she provides legal advice to all levels of personnel within the company, focusing on the North and South American sales, marketing, field support, municipal contracting and IT teams. Stokke-Ceci is primarily responsible for IT contracts, cloud contracts with vendors and customers, and international privacy and security matters.

“I enjoy being able to help my co-workers navigate complex legal issues, lately focused on the cybersecurity and privacy areas, such as (the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation) and negotiating cloud contracts,” she said.

She also enjoys being involved in her community, serving on the City of Wauwatosa Board of Review and on the Wauwatosa Public Library Foundation. She is a pro bono attorney for the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinics at the House of Peace and VA Service Center, supervises mediations in Small Claims Court and facilitates mediations for Milwaukee County Children’s Court.

“I’ve been privileged to serve on the Wisconsin section of the Association of Corporate Counsel Board of Directors and assist with their CLE programming, and to serve as a mentor to a wonderful young attorney in TEMPO Milwaukee’s mentorship program,” said Stokke-Ceci, who also coordinates and presents an annual Law Merit Badge Clinic at the Milwaukee Bar Association’s offices.

In addition, Stokke-Ceci is a waterfront director and new scout advancement instructor for Boy Scout Troop 21, has served as a volunteer lifeguard for the Wauwatosa Recreation Department and is a grant reviewer for Impact 100 Greater Milwaukee.