The law firm of Palmer & Finerty joined the Milwaukee office of Michael, Best & Friedrich, LLP on April 1.
Attorneys Charles Palmer and John Finerty specialize in labor and employment law. They will continue to practice out of their Brookfield office until the completion of Michael, Best & Friedrich’s new Pewaukee office at Two Riverwood Place, N19 W24133 Riverwood Dr. The office is scheduled for completion in May, according to an announcement sent out by Palmer & Finerty.
Finerty said in an e-mail announcement that the Palmer & Finerty-sponsored laborlogic.com newsletter may be continued under Michael, Best & Friedrich.
Michael, Best & Friedrich is the third major downtown Milwaukee law firm to establish an office in Waukesha County in the past two years.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee law firm of Godfrey & Kahn is expanding its intellectual property practice group into the Fox Valley with the assignment of attorney Denise Stoker to its Appleton office. Stoker will split her time between Appleton and the firm’s Green Bay office.
Stoker will be one of a few attorneys in the Fox Valley with expertise in intellectual property, according to the firm’s press release.
"Many manufacturing companies in the growing Fox Valley area have had to go out of the area for legal services relating to intellectual property," Rick Bliss, managing partner of Godfrey & Kahn, said. "We look forward to providing this service closer to home through our Appleton and Green Bay offices."
Stoker has both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in engineering mechanics, and her juris doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has worked in industries that specialize in mechanical patents and is familiar with the paper industry through her work with the USDA Forest Service.
And in another major development among law firms, attorney Dennis J. Purtell has left von Briesen, Purtell & Roper to join Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek as a shareholder.
"Dennis Purtell is one of the preeminent health-care attorneys in the country," said Mark A. Miller, chief executive officer of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek. "During his more than 35 years of practice in this field, he has a earned a distinguished reputation. He is a leader in health law professional associations and has extensive experience teaching and training other attorneys and health professionals. He is well known throughout Wisconsin for his health law knowledge and during his career has provided professional assistance to over one-half of the hospitals in the state. He will significantly enhance our firm’s ability to offer comprehensive legal services to health providers and health systems, hospitals, as well as religious organizations and other non-profit clients."
Purtell commented on the move. "I look forward to working with the attorneys of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek in its health-care and non-profit institution practice, and to work with clients who recognize a need to develop effective programs for the management of their legal service requirements," Purtell said. "This opportunity will permit me to concentrate my energies on client services in the continuously changing practice of law."
In addition to his legal career, Purtell has been active in both legal and community organizations. He is a charter member and served as the fifth president of the American Society of Hospital Attorneys, the predecessor to the current 7,000 Member American Health Lawyers Association based in Washington, D.C. He has served on the Wisconsin Bar Association Board of Governors and was nominated for the position of president elect of the association in 2001. He also served as president of the Milwaukee Bar Association and the Milwaukee Young Lawyers Association.
Purtell served as a member of the Board of the Milwaukee Foundation, a board member and past president of the LaFarge Life Long Learning Institute and as a board member and past president of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference Policy Board. He is currently a member and vice-chair of the board of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Catholic Community Foundation. He has also served on boards and committees for more than 15 other non-profit and professional organizations.
Purtell, a life-long resident of the community, graduated from Marquette University High School and received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Minnesota.
Formed in 1943, Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek now has four Wisconsin-based offices: Milwaukee, Madison, Manitowoc and Menomonee Falls, and employs 125 persons.
The von Briesen firm will now be known as von Briesen & Roper.
