Zelenovskiy finds home in US, legal field

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Katya Zelenovskiy immigrated from Belarus to the United States with her sister when she was 18, and although she had long wanted to be an attorney, didn’t feel her English was strong enough.

After graduating from college, she earned her Certified Public Accountant certification and practiced accounting and finance for a decade.

“I really loved it and I also started working with taxes, so that led me back to the idea of law school,” she said.

She attended Marquette University in the evenings while working as international treasury manager at Rockwell Automation. Zelenovskiy earned her law degree in 2008 and joined Quarles & Brady’s Business Law Practice Group that year. She became a partner in 2016 and a co-managing partner of the Milwaukee office this year.

“I love the people I’m working with. I love my colleagues and I love my clients, and I really enjoy the constant, fast-paced environment,” she said.

Zelenovskiy’s strong financial background quickly made her a sought-after attorney and trusted advisor by private-equity and middle-market, family-owned businesses that are engaging in complex business transactions, said her fellow Milwaukee office managing partner, Kevin Long.

Beyond praising her exceptional legal abilities, Long called attention to Zelenovskiy’s commitment to others.

“We are proud of Katya’s legal successes on behalf of our clients, but we’re even more proud that she happily and willingly puts her legal skills to work for our community’s most vulnerable,” he said.

Zelenovskiy is a volunteer at the Sojourner Family Peace Center Domestic Violence Clinic and the Marquette University Volunteer Legal Clinic. She had previously worked on guardianship cases with Kids Matter Inc., and she served on the board of directors of Jewish Family Services. She is now on the Fiscal Stewards committee for the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.

She said she has benefited from many mentors along her journey. Now Zelenovskiy is determined to help develop other top-notch associates.

“Attorneys she has mentored say that she takes a professional and personal interest in them, advocating on their behalf to ensure they are getting varied types of projects, giving excellent feedback with substantive and helpful comments, and celebrating their successes within the practice group,” Long said. “Katya strongly believes we are only as good as the people around us and she puts in effort and energy to develop the people around her and help them succeed.”