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Colleen Fielkow doesn’t shy away from a packed calendar

Sarah Herzog, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Law degrees received from: (J.D.) SUNY-Buffalo Law School, 1994; (LLM) Loyola University Chicago School of Law, 1996 Whether she’s supporting the mission of the Upendo Village for HIV/AIDS sufferers in Kenya or looking after the legal needs of thousands of health system employees stateside, Sarah Herzog sees her role as “secondary” to the people serving ...

Growing up as the youngest in a family of five taught Sally Merrell the value of compromise. It’s something that comes in handy, she said, in her work as a shareholder and chairperson of von Briesen & Roper SC’s Trusts and Estate section in Milwaukee.

Among the first wider wave of female law students and attorneys in the 1960s and ’70s, Judith Remington “found herself” in a community practice of estate planning, elder law, probate and real estate. Along the way, she also found her family.

Kelly Fortier didn’t expect the opportunity, but she says is glad to have found her place as a corporate immigration attorney.

Whether serving overseas or practicing family law in her hometown of Wautoma, Wisconsin National Guard Lieutenant Colonel Robyn Blader works to help others.

Deja Vishny, Wisconsin State Public Defenders Office Law degree received from: University of Wisconsin Law School, 1980 Deja Vishny does not shy away from hard work. In her first year as a Racine public defender in 1980, Vishny tried about a dozen cases. “It was a small office, only seven attorneys,” she said. “But it was a real go-getter office, ...

Leigh Riley doesn’t mind being the squeaky wheel. She’ll even rebuild the entire wheel, if that’s what it takes.

When she applied for the role of Wisconsin assistant attorney general, Maria Lazar thought it looked like a challenging opportunity but never realized “high-profile” could describe the role.

Rose Oliveto requires no frills in working to improve the legal community and justice system. The organization she helps run, Southwestern Wisconsin Women Lawyers, is “not a group you’ll find in any book,” she said, but a basic networking and support group for female attorneys in a five-county area. They eschew splashy galas in favor of person-to-person connections.

Patricia Epstein used to sit on the floor at Brooklyn Law School and color.

Colleen Beaman remembers when her daughter realized not all lawyers are women.

Marianne Robbins walked straight out of the classroom and into the courtroom 30 years ago.

After spending years advocating for foster children in her care, Susan Conwell thought there must be a better way.

Contrary to her legal career and efforts as a mentor and volunteer, Mary Pat Jacoby’s most high profile case was based on nothing.

When protestors swarmed Madison over collective bargaining, Carin Clauss didn’t see a political opportunity. She saw a chance to teach.

Michelle Umberger knows how to blaze a trail.

Before embarking on her career as a lawyer, Janice Bensky tackled post-graduate studies in French, worked as a federal tax employee, started a family and then became a Realtor.

An undergraduate interest in the classics led Carol Gehl to a career in securities law.

Milwaukee lawyer Barbara Janaszek had just finished demolishing a witness on cross-examination.

Meg Gaines practices knight-in-shining-armor law while supervising students at the University of Wisconsin Law School’s Center for Patient Partnerships.

Nora Gierke’s days rarely are the same.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet doesn’t have a problem finding ways to occupy her time.

Diane Slomowitz recently took a meditation class. Not long into it, she realized everyone except her had achieved a meditative state.

When Elizabeth Neary says she practices law in an area where “the stakes are huge,” she is not talking about money.

Just days after returning to the states from her six-month deployment to Afghanistan, Wisconsin National Guard Lt. Col. Robyn Blader was honored Thursday night as Wisconsin Law Journal’s 2012 Woman of the Year.