Justice Ann Walsh Bradley

Justice Ann Walsh Bradley began her judicial career as a circuit court judge. For the last 26 years she has served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, having first been elected to the position in 1995 and twice re-elected in statewide elections. She currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Managerial Trustees of the International Association of Women Judges and is a founding member of the Global Network on Electoral Justice.

Prior to her legal career, Justice Bradley was a high school teacher and she has continued her interest in teaching throughout her judicial career.  She has served as the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Judicial Academy and as an international lecturer for organizations including the Academy, the American Bar Association’s Asia Law Initiative, the U.S. Department of State, the International Law Development Organization, and the International Finance Corporation.  She also taught at the Wisconsin Judicial College and   served as an Associate Dean of the College.

Among other organizations, Justice Bradley is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and on the Board of Visitors of the University of Wisconsin Law School.  Formerly she served as a Commissioner of the National Conference on Uniform Laws. 

Justice Bradley and her husband, Mark, live in Wausau, where they raised their four children.

Justice Rebecca Frank Dallet

Justice Rebecca Frank Dallet was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court on April 3, 2018 and took office Aug. 1, 2018. Before joining the Supreme Court, she was elected as a judge to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court in 2008 and was re-elected in 2014. She served as a member of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference’s Criminal Jury Instruction Committee, as an associate dean of the Wisconsin Judicial College, on the board of the Association of Women Lawyers, and is on the faculty of the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence. She is a member of the board of directors to the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Prior to being elected to the judiciary, Justice Dallet was an assistant district attorney in Milwaukee County from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2002 to 2007. She was appointed the first female presiding court commissioner for Milwaukee County in 2007, serving in that role until 2008. Justice Dallet was a special assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin from 1999 to 2002 and taught Trial Advocacy as an adjunct law professor at Marquette University Law School from 2005 to 2008. Immediately after law school, she clerked for U.S. Magistrate Judge Aaron Goodstein in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Justice Dallet received her B.A. summa cum laude with honors from The Ohio State University in 1991 and her J.D. summa cum laude from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1994, where she was an editor of law review.

Justice Dallet has been an active volunteer in her community for organizations such as the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, COA Youth and Family Centers and as a youth leader for Congregation Shalom in Fox Point.

Justice Dallet and her husband, Brad, have three children

7:00 PM  - 2024 Ruth Bader Ginsburg Notorious Servant Award

Our 2023 recipient, Krista LaFave, will share how she distributed her prize funds to further the mission and life’s work of RBG - because if all of us are encouraged to do small great things we’ll turn this world around. 

The 2024 Ruth Bader Ginsburg Notorious Servant Award

Presented by Kristen S. Scheuerman
Weiss Law Office, S.C.

WAJ's Women's Caucus will recognize an amazing lawyer among us or who we know from our respective communities who has committed herself to her community, mentoring and encouraging other women, and bettering our profession through service. 

The recipient will receive $500 with the charge to commit the funds to something in the coming year that will further the mission and life’s work of RBG- because if all of us are encouraged to do small great things we’ll turn this world around.  Overview of Nomination: RBG Notorious Servant Award.pdf

Nomination Deadline: September 1 of each year with nominations going to bryan@wisjustice.org

Award will be presented during the annual Women’s Caucus Retreat / Seminar.  The previous recipient would be asked to share a little bit about what she did with the prior year’s award. 

Justice Ann Walsh Bradley began her judicial career as a circuit court judge. For the last 26 years she has served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, having first been elected to the position in 1995 and twice re-elected in statewide elections. She currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Managerial Trustees of the International Association of Women Judges and is a founding member of the Global Network on Electoral Justice.

Prior to her legal career, Justice Bradley was a high school teacher and she has continued her interest in teaching throughout her judicial career.  She has served as the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Judicial Academy and as an international lecturer for organizations including the Academy, the American Bar Association’s Asia Law Initiative, the U.S. Department of State, the International Law Development Organization, and the International Finance Corporation.  She also taught at the Wisconsin Judicial College and served as an Associate Dean of the College.

Among other organizations, Justice Bradley is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and on the Board of Visitors of the University of Wisconsin Law School.  Formerly she served as a Commissioner of the National Conference on Uniform Laws. 

Justice Bradley and her husband, Mark, live in Wausau, where they raised their four children.

8:45 - 9:45 AM  

Striving for the Ideal Work/Life Balance Through the Lyrics of Taylor Swift:  Lessons I’ve Learned and am Still Learning

Hon. Samantha R. Bastil

Sheboygan County Circuit Court Judge, Branch 1

Hon. Samantha Bastil was elected to the Circuit Court, Branch 1 in Sheboygan County on April 6, 2021 and took office Aug. 1, 2021. She currently serves as the District 4 representative for the Supreme Court’s Planning and Policy Advisory Committee and is a member of the Wisconsin Trial Judges Association.

Prior to being elected to the judiciary, Judge Bastil was an Assistant District Attorney in both Sheboygan and Calumet counties and an Assistant Corporation Counsel for Sheboygan County.

A native of Sheboygan County, Judge Bastil grew-up in beautiful Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. She received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2007 and her J.D. from Marquette University Law School in 2011, where she started in the part-time program while she worked full-time and then transitioned to the full-time program. She also served as President of the Public Interest Law Society.

Judge Bastil is active in her community, having volunteered for several non-profit organizations including the Family Resource Center of Sheboygan County and Big Brothers, Big Sisters. She also serves as a youth softball and basketball coach.

Judge Bastil and her husband, Brian, reside in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and have eight-year-old twins. In 2018, they started and built a self-storage facility in Plymouth, Wisconsin, which has grown into a 200 plus unit facility that Brian operates. They enjoy traveling to warm places as a family and are avid Marquette basketball fans.

9:45 -  Morning Break with Sponsors and Exhibitors

Justice Rebecca Frank Dallet was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court on April 3, 2018 and took office Aug. 1, 2018. Before joining the Supreme Court, she was elected as a judge to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court in 2008 and was re-elected in 2014. She served as a member of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference’s Criminal Jury Instruction Committee, as an associate dean of the Wisconsin Judicial College, on the board of the Association of Women Lawyers, and is on the faculty of the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence. She is a member of the board of directors to the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Prior to being elected to the judiciary, Justice Dallet was an assistant district attorney in Milwaukee County from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2002 to 2007. She was appointed the first female presiding court commissioner for Milwaukee County in 2007, serving in that role until 2008. Justice Dallet was a special assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin from 1999 to 2002 and taught Trial Advocacy as an adjunct law professor at Marquette University Law School from 2005 to 2008. Immediately after law school, she clerked for U.S. Magistrate Judge Aaron Goodstein in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Justice Dallet received her B.A. summa cum laude with honors from The Ohio State University in 1991 and her J.D. summa cum laude from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1994, where she was an editor of law review.

Justice Dallet has been an active volunteer in her community for organizations such as the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, COA Youth and Family Centers and as a youth leader for Congregation Shalom in Fox Point.

Justice Dallet and her husband, Brad, have three children

Dahlia Lithwick is a senior editor and legal correspondent at Slate and the host of the podcast Amicus. She writes Supreme Court Dispatches and has covered the Microsoft trial and other legal issues for Slate. Before joining Slate as a freelancer in 1999, she worked for a family law firm in Reno, Nevada. Her work has appeared in the New Republic, Elle, the Ottawa Citizen, and the Washington Post. She is co-author of Me v. Everybody: Absurd Contracts for an Absurd World, a legal humor book. She is also the author of Lady Justice. She is a graduate of Yale University and Stanford Law School.