Patrick Murphy straddles two very different types of practice — insurance coverage and intellectual-property litigation — but enjoys the test of his abilities each brings.

Dan Conley has a list for almost any situation.

Joan Zweber has spent 40 years at Quarles & Brady LLP guided by the philosophy that she should “always add value.”

Sue Krueger traces her career by thinking about the types of technology she used.

Losing her right thumb and three right fingers in a snowblower accident has not stopped Erika Pack from accomplishing her goals.

After 27 years as a legal secretary, Julie Gandee has learned the importance of keeping calm and carrying on.

Sarah Fowles was working to raise money for New York University in 2001 and sharing an office with a public defender displaced by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks when she realized she was in the wrong profession.

Two years after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a guidance warning employers against the overly-broad use of criminal background checks to screen potential new hires, it is drawing renewed criticism from employers, business groups and lawmakers who say it is cumbersome at best and dangerous at worst.

A former Quarles & Brady LLP partner who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from a client with Alzheimer’s disease had his law license revoked Tuesday by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Like flossing, staying up-to-date with corporate governance requirements isn’t something that’s particularly exciting, but it’s necessary to avoid bigger problems down the line.

Fresh out of college, Jennifer Powers was working as a paralegal when, she said, she looked around at the lawyers and thought, “Oh, I can do this.”

When St. Mary’s Hospital about two years ago needed to restructure its medical staff responsibilities and the corresponding bylaws, it tapped attorneys Sarah Coyne and Kevin Eldridge to help.

A lawyer can make a tough client.

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

Nathaniel Cade Jr., of Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP, Milwaukee, was named to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s 2012 Fellows Program. Fellow members include general counsel and managing partners from top law firms and in-house legal departments across the country.

Douglas Dehler joined the litigation group at O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing SC, Milwaukee. Dehler’s litigation practice covers business, class action, whistleblower and ERISA fiduciary cases, as well as a wide range of insurance matters.

New hires and Eastern District awards

Victor Allen, Dayna Frenkel, M. Rhett Holland, Gregory Tears and Zachary Watters joined Michael Best & Friedrich LLP in its Milwaukee office.

Michael McCauley makes his living in the gray area where business and the environment meet.

The Chicago law firm of Arnstein & Lehr LLP opened a Milwaukee office with the addition of partner Charles Pautsch and associates Lisa Baiocchi and Jesse Dill to its labor and employment practice group. All three attorneys join Arnstein & Lehr from Jackson Lewis LLP, Brookfield.

The last item on the agenda for the weekly legal library team meeting at Quarles and Brady LLP is a quick session to share advances they’ve come across in the field.

IT Specialists Professional of the Year Joe Bichanich Knowledge management/process improvement managers, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP Jason Milligan Knowledge management/process improvement managers, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP Last summer, the outlook for Michael Best & Friedrich LLP’s new document management system was bleak. Consultants who’d been working for several months to implement the iManage system suddenly quit. Then, the ...

Human Resources Professional of the Year Mary Wilkes Manager, Quarles & Brady LLP Mary Wilkes is on the fast track. Wilkes came to Milwaukee-based Quarles & Brady LLP in 2008. She started as a manager of six secretarial leaders, who in turn supervised some 90 secretaries in 11 practice areas. A year and a half later, she was promoted to ...

2011 Paralegal of the year Katie Carlson Paralegal, Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc. Is there a beyond that comes after “above and beyond”? If so, Katie Carlson is working there, and offering one of her homemade pumpkin bars on the side. A paralegal at the Legal Action of Wisconsin office in Racine, Carlson covers dozens of weekly housing cases, domestic ...

2011 Legal secretary of the year Keri Kempski Legal secretary, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren SC Between court deadlines, pressing clients and demanding  opposing counsel, it’s expected that everyone on a litigation team might blow their stack from time to time. Well, nearly everyone. Legal secretary Keri Kempski has kept her cool for nearly two decades of under-the-gun work at Reinhart ...

Legal Marketing Professional of the Year Ruth Strekow Director of organizational planning and client satisfaction, Quarles & Brady LLP A lot of people might try to take credit for the success of Quarles & Brady LLP’s recent client satisfaction survey, but its Ruth Strekow that deserves the praise, said Mike Ostermeyer, lead sales attorney at the firm. “The fact of ...

At a time when some law firms are scaling back on pro bono work, Marquette University is helping to fill a gap in Milwaukee.

When attorney John Bannen was in Florida 15 years ago, he saw a hotel clerk answer the phone in English, hang up the phone, then pick up the phone again answering in Spanish.

Construction firms struggling to ensure the legality of workers on job sites may soon see some assistance at the federal level.

Anne McIntyre, Northern Illinois 2007 magna cum laude, has joined Nelson, Irvings & Waeffler, SC, Wauwatosa as an associate. She will concentrate her practice in elder law, probate, and disability planning. She was previously with the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee. The law firm of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek SC has announced the election of Kim Wynn and the re-election of ...