UW Admissions: State Bar Welcomes 149 New Lawyers

In the Wisconsin Supreme Court Hearing Room in Madison, U.W. Law School graduates and soon-to-be Wisconsin lawyers take the Attorney’s Oath at the 2:30 p.m. ceremony. See more photos of the event on the State Bar of Wisconsin Facebook page.​

June 1, 2023 – They gathered together with family and friends in the Wisconsin Supreme Court Hearing Room – 149 recent graduates of the U.W. Law School – to be sworn in as new Wisconsin lawyers.

Before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in five separate ceremonies, 149 soon-to-be Wisconsin lawyers took the Attorney’s Oath and signed the Attorney’s Roll book, becoming new lawyers on May 30, 2023.

Speaking at four of the five sessions, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley read from a speech given to new admittees from 150 years ago. “I welcome you to a calling of incessant labor, high duty, and grave responsibility,” said Justice Edward G. Ryan in 1873. The legal profession, he said, is one of the most honorable, but also “one of the most arduous.”

In five separate ceremonies in the Supreme Court Hearing Room in Madison, justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court welcomed 149 U.W. Law School graduates in their final steps to becoming lawyers in Wisconsin.

Justice A.W. Bradley, quoting Justice Ryan, passed along his words of advice: “’May the power of integrity be your rule. May your strength as a warrior lie in thorough knowledge of legal truth and thorough devotion to legal right. And finally, may you remember that the backbone of our country and our success as a nation lie in the adherence to the rule of law.’ … Good words then – in 1873 – and good words today,” she said.

Justice Brian Hagedorn spoke at the fifth ceremony, welcoming the soon-to-be lawyers to the legal profession. “Love your community,” he advised, “by using your leadership opportunities to strengthen the common good. And love your country by supporting and reinforcing our constitutional work.”

The day is always one of celebration for the Supreme Court as well, said Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler. “It’s nice to have you here today with your family and friends,” she said to the new admittees. “Go forward and do great things – we’re proud of you.”

Jacob W. Lindenbaum looks back as his father, Mequon attorney Keith Lindenbaum, acts as his movant for the 11:30 a.m. ceremony.

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Samuel Bruntz of Green Bay joined his classmates in the fall of 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. He celebrated becoming a lawyer with his parents – his mother, Marni, a teacher, and father, Kerry, who farms fruits and vegetables. While Samuel has helped his father on the farm since he was a young child, this will be his last summer on the farm – he start a Chicago-based practice in mergers and acquisitions in August. Samuel, says his mother, at about age five “announced that he wanted to be a lawyer” and is the first lawyer in his family. “He likes to argue and he has a very sarcastic wit,” Marni said, although “He’s happy to be finished after 20 years of school,” Kerry said.

Russell Cunningham’s father, Gene; wife, Emily; and 5-month-old daughter Violet attended the ceremony to see Russell become a lawyer. But the legal profession is the second career for Russell, who worked as a sound engineer “roadie” for a long list of Rock musicians. Russell is headed to Oshkosh to work as a public defender.

Rajpreet Grewal’s parents are teachers with Milwaukee Public Schools. While school is still in session, both her father, Darshan, and mother, Paramjit, took the day off to attend their daughter’s admission ceremony. “We are so proud,” they said. Rajpreet is graduating with a dual degree: in environmental science and law. “She’s very passionate. She wants to fight for the environment using law,” Darshan said. Rajpreet is the first lawyer in the family – for now, as her younger brother is finishing his first year at Penn State Law School. What will make Rajpreet a good lawyer: she is very hard-working and passionate, her father said. “She is very strong in her views.”

Rajpreet Grewal (second from right), with her family members, points to her name on the list of new Wisconsin lawyers after taking the final steps to become an attorney.

Tierney Gill’s movant was Chief Justice Ziegler. “That was very meaningful – it’s quite the honor,” she said. Tierney will work as the Chief Justice’s executive assistant – but they have known each other for more than a decade. The two met when Tierney, while an undergraduate, was appointed to the Governor’s Juvenile Justice Commission. The Chief Justice, she said, “likes to joke that I was the juvenile and she is the justice.” They stayed in contact over the years since, with Tierney working an internship with the Chief Justice during law school.

Spencer Olson came to Wisconsin from his native New York to write computer code for Epic Systems in Verona. After three years, he re-evaluated what he wanted to do, and chose law. “A lot of my choice to pursue law specifically was driven by the last president,” he said. The fact that he can now put “Atty.” before his name “hasn’t sunk in yet,” he said. “On a real level, I’m excited to get back to working,” he said. He is headed for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office in Janesville. “I am very nervous, but very excited to actually be responsible for looking after my future clients’ health and well-being,” he said. Meanwhile, “I’ll go home and do some gardening – maybe then (being an attorney) will hit home.”

“It’s very surreal,” said
Laura Newberry, moments after signing the book – the last in many steps to become a Wisconsin lawyer. She spent the past nine years at U.W.-Madison as an undergraduate, a two-year break working for the university, and three years of law school. However, Laura will have no break in studies: she pivots now to study for the Minnesota bar exam. She will work at a firm where she interned for the past two summers. A background in science, she said, helped her in law school, and she is interested in health law as well as immigration law. “I love the regulations,” she said. “They’re interesting, complex, and always changing.”

Soon-to-be new lawyer Tierney Gill (right) poses with Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler after a ceremony before the Supreme Court.

Patrick Sicula is now the fifth lawyer in his family over four generations. Both of his great-grandfathers, a grandfather, his father, and his aunt are all lawyers. “It seems to be in our blood,” said Patrick’s father, Howard Sicula with Pitman, Kalkoff, Sicula & Dentice in Milwaukee. “It’s exciting that this tradition is continuing on.” Patrick aimed for the legal profession starting in high school, said his mom, Emily Sicula. “He loves to read, which makes me happy because I’m a teacher,” she said. Patrick is starting with the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office in Waukesha.

Josi Wergin attended law school part time while working full time and raising two children with her husband – taking five years to earn her J.D. “She’s always been driven,” said her mother, Carrie. Josi worked as a writer for a health risk management company – and will focus on health law in Madison.

For
Yuliana Ruiz Márquez, becoming a lawyer has been a long journey – an achievement reached thanks to her many mentors and supporters. “I have a lot of gratefulness right now,” she said. She is the first generation in her family to graduate from high school, college, and now law school. Yuliana grew up in Milwaukee after immigrating as a young child from Mexico. “We had a lot of people help us when we arrived,” she said – and their help was her inspiration to pursue law. A J.D. degree opens doors to allow you to give back to the community, she said.

Joey Rubin is “ready to get to work,” he said. Rubin and two other new lawyers have founded their own cooperative law firm, Small Axe, set to open in July in Madison. His partners will help nonprofit businesses and in eviction defense, wills, and bankruptcy, and Joey plans to take public defender cases. Originally from Michigan, he found a community in Madison that he looks forward to working with. “I’m excited,” he said. He is a third-generation litigator – his mother and his grandfather are attorneys in Detroit.

Justice Pat Roggensack gives the Attorney’s Oath during the 1:30 p.m. ceremony for U.W. Law School graduates.

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