WILMIC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Attorney, Hougum Law Firm, LLC, Wausau
Attorney Alan Hougum joined the WILMIC Board in 2022. Alan attended undergraduate school at UW-Madison, and worked as a forklift driver and textbook salesman in Texas between semesters to pay for school. After graduating cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School, Alan returned to central Wisconsin to practice in the areas of Estate Planning and Elder Law. In 2013, Alan opened Hougum Law Firm, LLC in Wausau. A satellite office in Rhinelander opened in 2021. Alan has been practicing law for more than twenty years, and currently resides in Wausau with his wife and two children.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Attorney, Martinez & Ruby, LLP, Baraboo
Andrew Martinez joined the WILMIC Board of Directors in 2022. Andrew attended law school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was a senior managing editor of the Wiscosnin Law Review. Mr. Martinez earned his Juris Doctor from the UW in 2007, and is a founding partner of Martinez & Ruby, LLP.
Andrew is an accomplished trial lawyer, having tried cases throughout Wisconsin on charges at all severity levels. He is a two-time recipient of the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' Hanson Award. Each of these awards were issued for winning a not-guilty verdict in a jury trial involving a charge of first-degree intentional homocide, the most serious crime under Wisconsin law.
Job Titles:
- Marketing Executive
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- VP & Chief Marketing & Product Strategy Officer, UW Credit Union, Madison
Anne Norman is an experienced marketing executive who has contributed to the growth of three of Wisconsin's most iconic brands: Culver's, American Family Insurance, and UW Credit Union, where she is currently Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Product Strategy Officer. She says she is proud to have worked at organizations that put people first and invest in their communities.
She is excited to serve on WILMIC's board. "WILMIC's policyholders provide essential services in our communities, and I'm honored to help expand our mission across Wisconsin. The WILMIC team's personal touch and proactive risk management approach truly supports the vitality of law practice in Wisconsin."
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Vice President of Claims & General Counsel, Rural Insurance, Madison
Ariella Schreiber joined the WILMIC Board of Directors in June of 2019. Schreiber earned her law degree from Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey, and her MBA from the University of Wisconsin School of Business.
She is the Vice President of Claims and General Counsel for Rural Insurance, where she has been since 2011.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Attorney Martinez is a member of the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (WACDL) and has served as a speaker to educate the law community at numerous WACDL seminars. He is a native Spanish speaker and has represented Spanish-speaking clients throughout his career.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Attorney, Weld Riley SC, Eau Claire
Brian Braziel joined the WILMIC Board of Directors in 2022. Brian is an attorney in the litigation section of the Weld Riley law firm in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Attorney Braziel earned his law degree in 2015 from the University of Wisconsin. Prior to law school, he studied at the University of California, Santa Barbara. While in law school, he was the treasurer for the Black Law Student Association and competed in the Hispanic National Bar Association's Moot Court Competition. Braziel interned at the Cook County Public Defender's Office during law school and also interned for the Honorable Justice David Prosser at the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Prior to joining the Weld Riley law firm, Braziel worked with the Wisconsin State Public Defender's office, in the Eau Claire County Trial Division.
Job Titles:
- Director of Claims
- Senior Claims Attorney
Dean Raymond received a bachelor's degree from Carleton College and earned her J.D. at Columbia University School of Law, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Law Review.
She served as a law clerk to the late Justice Thurgood Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court and the late Judge James L. Oakes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Following her clerkships, she practiced as a commercial litigator and a criminal defense lawyer. She was a member of the faculty at the University of Iowa from 1995-2011, where she was named the William G. Hammond Professor of Law and was honored with the law school's Collegiate Teaching Award. While at Iowa, Dean Raymond held a number of campus leadership roles, including president of the University Faculty Senate.
Dean Raymond's scholarship focuses on constitutional criminal procedure, substantive criminal law, and the professional responsibility of lawyers. She is the co-author of a Professional Responsibility casebook, The Law and Ethics of Law Practice (with Hughes, 2d ed. 2015). From 2013-2019, she served as a member of the Standing Committee on Professional Ethics of the Wisconsin State Bar and she participates regularly in providing ethics CLE programming to Wisconsin lawyers.
Job Titles:
- Information Technology Manager
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Retired Executive Director, State Bar of Wisconsin, Madison
George Brown is the former Executive Director of the State Bar of Wisconsin.
Prior to joining the State Bar staff in November 1986, George served as the chief aide to the Assembly co-chairman of the Wisconsin State Legislature's Joint Committee on Finance, which oversees all revenues and expenditures for the State of Wisconsin, including biennial budget.
As Public Affairs Director from 1986 until 1997, George served as chief lobbyist and public relations director for the State Bar, lobbying the state legislature and the U.S. Congress on hundreds of pieces of legislation.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Underwriting and Claims
Joe McCarthy is the Vice President of Underwriting and Claims. Prior to joining WILMIC, he was in private practice in both Milwaukee and Madison.
Joe is an experienced litigator primarily practicing in the areas of insurance and civil rights defense. He is a 1981 graduate of UW-Platteville, with a degree in Criminal Justice, and a 1993 graduate of UW Madison Law School.
Joe was a claims manager with another insurer prior to joining WILMIC and, through that position, had the opportunity to see how law is practiced across the country.
Job Titles:
- Attorney, Harrold, Scrobell & Danner, S.C., Minocqua
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Attorney, Spencer Fane LLP, Denver, CO
Jose Castro is an Associate who works as a litigator in federal, state, and administrative forums. Jose primarily focuses his practice on municipal law, civil rights defense, employment law, products liability, and insurance litigation. Prior to joining the firm, he spent two years clerking for Judge Timothy M. Witkowiak at the First Judicial Circuit Court of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
Jose graduated from University of Wisconsin Law School in 2016. While in law school, Jose was a member of the Wisconsin International Law Journal, the Latino/a Law Student Association, and the Student Bar Association. He spent his summers working as a law clerk for a business litigation law firm in Minneapolis and a Fortune 500 financial services organization in Appleton, WI. He also interned for Judge William M. Conley in the Western District of Wisconsin and worked as a student research assistant for Professor Peter C. Carstensen.
In his free time, Jose enjoys cycling, playing recreational sports, reading, and keeping up with the latest technological trends.
Job Titles:
- President
- Attorney, President and CEO, WILMIC, Madison
Job Titles:
- Attorney, Palmersheim Dettmann, S.C., Middleton
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Attorney, Wisconsin Mutual Insurance Co, Madison
- Attorney, Wisconsin Mutual Insurance Company, Madison
- General Counsel for Wisconsin Mutual Insurance Company
Kristine Burck joined the WILMIC Board of Directors in June of 2020. Kristine earned her law degree from University of Texas-Austin (1990) and a BA degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison (1987).
Kristine is the General Counsel for Wisconsin Mutual Insurance Company. In addition to working as in-house counsel for two property and casualty insurance companies, Kristine has practiced as a solo practitioner, associate in small to medium size firms, and as a government lawyer of the Wisconsin Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
Job Titles:
- Attorney, Von Briesen & Roper, S.C., Waukesha
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Dean Emeritus, Faculty Member, University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison
- Dean Emeritus, Faculty Member, UW Law School, Madison
Margaret Raymond joined the WILMIC Board in March of 2019. She has served as the Fred W. and Vi Miller Dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School since July 2011. As Dean, she serves as the chief academic and executive officer of the school, with responsibility for faculty and staff development, personnel oversight, strategic planning and institutional vision, fundraising, budget planning and management, curriculum and student academic affairs.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Vice Chair of the Board
- Attorney ( Retired ), Schmidt, Rupke, Tess - Mattner & Fox, S.C., Brookfield
- Board Vice Chair & Retired Attorney, Schmidt, Rupke, Tess - Mattner & Fox, Brookfield
Marna M. Tess-Mattner joined the WILMIC board in 2013 and is a shareholder in Schmidt, Rupke, Tess-Mattner & Fox, S.C., a five-lawyer general practice firm in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Her own practice is limited to representing employers of all sizes in employment and labor matters.
Throughout her career, she maintained a full-time law practice in addition to sharing her leadership skills with community nonprofit organizations. For over thirty years, Marna represented employers in all employment and labor matters, whether consulting or litigating, statewide and nationwide, and successfully litigated cases in the United States Supreme Court as well as government agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. She is admitted to practice in all Wisconsin courts and state and federal administrative agencies.
Job Titles:
- Director of Business Development
- Senior Vice President
- Business Development Manager & Claims Attorney
- Senior Vice President and Director of Business Development Wisconsin
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Partner
- Attorney, Foley & Lardner, LLP, Madison
- Attorney, Foley & Lardner, Madison
Maureen Easton is a partner and business lawyer with Foley & Lardner in the firm's Madison office. She concentrates her practice on mergers and acquisitions and private equity and venture capital transactions in a variety of industries, including insurance, manufacturing, and financial technologies. Maureen also advises start-up ventures in connection with formation and general corporate matters. She will serve on the board's audit and governance committees.
Easton says she's proud to join the WILMIC's board. "This is an opportunity to help protect the financial security of Wisconsin's legal community. I hope to use my skills as a mergers and acquisitions attorney practicing in the insurance space to help guide the company to continue its long history and strong reputation for professional liability insurance coverage and risk management for thousands of Wisconsin attorneys."
Job Titles:
- Director of Accounting & Human Resources
Patty Lehner joined Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company in 1995 after working for several years as a CPA at a public accounting firm. She has been WILMIC's Treasurer and Controller since 2004.
Patty is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Attorney / Board Chair, Gass Turek LLC, Milwaukee
- Attorney / Vice Chair of Board, Gass Weber Mullins LLC, Milwaukee
- Managing Partner at the Firm of Gass Turek LLC
Rich Orton is the managing partner at the firm of Gass Turek LLC who represents individuals, businesses and insurers in federal, state and administrative forums throughout the United States. Rich concentrates his practice in the areas of products liability, general tort liability, construction litigation, professional liability, subrogation, and insurance and other commercial disputes. These claims typically involve a myriad of damages related to personal injuries, property damages, and other commercial or business losses.
Rich has represented a variety of commercial and manufacturing clients in
Job Titles:
- Executive
- Marketing Assistant
- Marketing Associate
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- President
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President, First National Community Bank, New Richmond
Tom Mews comes to the WILMIC board as the President of First National Community Bank in New Richmond. He joined that organization in 2001, and has served as President since 2011. His 25 years in the industry brings a wide array of experiences, including human resources, asset liability management, budgeting, acquisitions and strategic planning. In his role on the board, Tom will serve on the Executive Committee and will chair the board's Investment Committee.
"I have been interested and intrigued with the insurance industry as far back as I can recall and the insurance business has many correlations to the financial services industry," Mews says. "I look forward to being able to bring my perspectives, knowledge and opinions to WILMIC and hope to add value to ensure I leave it in a better place than when I started."
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Attorney / Board Chair, Bakke Norman S.C., New Richmond
- Attorney, Bakke Norman, S.C., New Richmond
Thomas R. Schumacher is one of the three original shareholders of Bakke Norman, S.C., a small firm based in the northwestern Wisconsin communities of New Richmond and Menomonie. He concentrates his practice on representing closely held business and their owners. Schumacher joined the Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Board in 2000 and currently serves as the Board Chair.
Schumacher's own business acumen, developed as a practice owner and through the clients he represents, is a great addition to Board discussions. He frequently participates in the company's risk management programs and advises on the topic of using technology in small firm practices.