Maass’ main trait is helping people en masse

Listen to this article

Steph Maass was a senior in high school in 2000 when George W. Bush and Al Gore faced off in a historic election that took several weeks to resolve because of its close vote.

“That ignited my interest in politics, which lead me to the legal field,” Maass said.

Maass went on to attend the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she graduated with a degree in political science. She held several jobs after that before joining Foley & Lardner in 2007 as a senior records specialist.

Maass gradually worked her way up within the company and now is an assistant in the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Department. She supports five litigators with their practices and provides support to the vice chair of the firm’s national pro bono committee and to the chair and vice chair of the firm’s IP litigation department.

“I love to help people and that’s exactly what my job is,” Maass said. “I may be helping my attorneys with their practices, I may be helping a teammate sort out a complex billing issue, or I may be providing pro bono data to a client. I enjoy being a resource that people know they can come to for help.”

Colleagues at Foley & Lardner say that Maass is a big contributor to the firm’s pro bono work.

“Hands down, Steph is an unsung hero who gets the job done well, on time and with a positive attitude,” said Kadie Jelenchick, vice chair of the firm’s national pro bono committee and IP litigation practice group. “She is a key teammate who I am lucky to work with every day.”

Maass said one of the hardest parts of her job is the ability to manage the workload.

“Managing my time between the responsibilities while also providing high-quality, detailed work can be a challenge,” she said. “However, I do tend to thrive in that environment.”