Stark well-prepared to be new judicial college dean

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The recently named Dean of the Wisconsin Judicial College, Eau Claire County Circuit Court Judge Lisa Stark, has a lengthy background in court education.

In addition to many years of involvement with the program, Stark also has taught in the University of Wisconsin Lawyering Skills Program, both when she was in practice and presiding over mock trials since becoming a judge.

And besides helping other judges and law students be successful in the legal system, she’s also active in helping keep at-risk young people out of the system.

After practicing general civil trial practice for many years in Eau Claire, Stark joined the bench in 2000.

Circuit courts in Eau Claire have general jurisdiction, exposing Stark to some of everything. “I like it; it’s very challenging, and it keeps it interesting.”

Earlier this year, Stark was named Dean of Wisconsin’s Judicial College.

As dean of the college, Stark will train and recruit other sitting judges to teach, and will continue, as she has in the past, to teach the college’s case management section.

Stark has also been a member of the Wisconsin Civil Jury Instructions Committee since 2001 and chair of the committee the last two years. The Committee has the task of putting legal holdings from the appellate courts into jury instructions that can be understood by laypersons.

“It’s difficult,” Stark said, “but the people on the committee are marvelous. It’s kind of like law school. You learn a lot about the law, going through the process of trying to figure out how to explain it to nonlawyers.”

In addition, Stark started a restorative justice program in Eau Clare in 2002, has presided over drug treatment courts, been active in programs to provide mentoring to young people in the system, and helped establish the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.

The Initiative makes recommendations to the Department of Corrections and legislators to try to alleviate prison overcrowding, while still protecting the community.

“There are a lot of preconceived notions about what does and doesn’t work,” she said. “We look at data to find out what actually is effective.”

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