President's Award
The President’s Award is given to an individual who has been of outstanding service
to the Association, the community, or the practice of law. The President’s Award
bestows special recognition to a person who, in the course of zealously representing
their clients or in advocacy for the voiceless, pursues and helps achieve substantive
changes in the law of the state, improves our civil justice system, enhances the rights
of citizens’ access to the courts, preserves the right of trial by jury or enhances the
right of everyone to attain full, fair and timely remedies for civil wrongs. It is awarded
at the discretion of the President.
Past Recipients
2025 President's Award Honoree
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Robert L. Jaskulski
Habush Habush & Rottier, S.C.
Robert L. Jaskulski is a shareholder at the law firm of Habush Habush & Rottier,S.C., practicing in the firm’s Milwaukee, Waukesha, and West Bend offices, and is a co-managing partner of the firm’s Waukesha office. His practice involves a wide range of cases, including medical malpractice, product liability, insurance bad faith, and motor vehicle accidents. Rob is a member of the firm’s Defective Medical Device Team, handling defective hip cases and transvaginal mesh cases in multi-district litigation (MDL) before Federal Courts in Ohio and West Virginia. In January of 2020 Rob tried before the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin the only case remanded for trial in Wisconsin by the MDL Court in the transvaginal mesh litigation against Johnson & Johnson, one of the most significant mass tort cases in recent history. The case was settled on the fifth day of trial. Rob has also represented many clients in disputes with insurance carriers and was involved as trial counsel in one of the largest insurance bad faith cases ever tried in the State of Wisconsin.
Based on his extensive experience in the courtroom, Rob has been certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Rob has received the distinction of being selected to the Super Lawyers list every year since 2005 and was listed as one of Wisconsin’s Top 50 Super Lawyers in 2009, 2011, and then from 2014-2018 and again in 2021 and 2022. Rob has been listed in Best Lawyers in America® every year since 2006 and has been recognized for his work in appellate practice and personal injury litigation. In 2015 and 2020, Rob was named Best Lawyers’ Lawyer of the Year for Appellate Practice – Milwaukee and Lawyer of the Year for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs – Milwaukee in the 2021 Edition. Rob was also selected to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Lawyers, a distinction that recognizes some of the most accomplished trial attorneys in the country. In 2004, he received the “Leaders in the Law” award by the Wisconsin Law Journal for his appellate advocacy in insurance law in Wisconsin. Rob is also a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers, an Associate with the American Board of Trial Advocates, and is on the Board of Governors for the American Association for Justice, where he has twice been received the Wiedemann & Wysocki Award recognizing his commitment to the principles of the civil justice system and mission off the American Association for Justice to promote justice and fairness for injured persons, safeguards victims' rights—particularly the right to trial by jury.
Since receiving his Law Degree in 1988, Rob has been a member of the Wisconsin Association for Justice (WAJ). WAJ is Wisconsin's largest voluntary bar organization, dedicated to preserving access to the civil justice system by promoting the legal education of its members for the betterment of the trial bar profession and to preserving Wisconsin's civil justice system by working with any government entity to advocate for the legal rights of all Wisconsin citizens. In 2007, Rob held the office of President of WAJ and since completing his term as President has led the organization’s Legislative Task Force, promoting the rights of Wisconsin consumers by testifying numerous times before the Wisconsin legislature. In 2015, WAJ selected Rob for the Robert Habush Trial Lawyer of the Year. He was chosen for his outstanding contribution to the public interest, demonstration of compassion, and commitment to advocacy on behalf of injured individuals.
Rob has also given numerous seminars and authored several publications about personal injury litigation, including the Chapter on Jury Selection in Wisconsin Trial Practice (State Bar of Wisconsin Publications) and the Chapter on Physical, Mental & Vocational Examinations in Wisconsin Discovery Law & Practice (State Bar of Wisconsin Publications). He has also been a guest lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and Marquette University Law School.
Rob is a lifelong resident of Southeast Wisconsin, living in the City of New Berlin with his wife of thirty-five years, Lisa. He has four grown children. Rob is active in his local parish and in local youth sports programs in Southeast Wisconsin.
2023 President's Award Honoree
2023 Tribute Book
Jesse B. Blocher
Habush Habush & Rottier S.C.
Jesse B. Blocher is a shareholder with Habush, Habush & Rottier, S.C., and is dedicated to representing clients injured by the negligence of others. Jesse serves as co-chair of WAJ’s amicus committee and a member of its Board of Directors. He also has served as a Governor of the State Bar, co-chair of the Bench Bar committee, and President of the Waukesha County Bar Association. Jesse is Board Certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, having tried numerous cases in state and federal court. He is a summa cum laude graduate of the Marquette University Law School.
Both in his practice and on behalf of the amicus committee, Jesse frequently litigates appellate issues of significance to WAJ members and their clients. Examples of successful appellate outcomes include Belding v. Demoulin, 2014 WI 8 (insurers cannot use drive other car exclusions to prevent stacking of UM coverages), State Farm v. Hunt, 2014 WI App 15 (UIM coverage is not limited to governmental liability cap on damages), Sinkler v. American Family, 2019 WI App 64 (workers compensation carrier’s attorney not entitled to a share of injured worker’s attorneys fees), and Pennell v. American Family, 2020 WI App 27 (substantial factor causation jury instruction applies both to liability and damages). In the last year, Jesse helped with three appellate decisions that will benefit WAJ going forward: Vanderventer v. Hyundai, 2022 WI App 56 (involving admissibility of expert opinions, recall evidence, and subsequent remedial measures in products liability cases), Murphy v. Columbus McKinnon, 2022 WI 109 (manufacturer-favorable “risk utility test” was not incorporated into Wisconsin strict products liability law), and Banuelos v. UW Hospitals and Clinics, 2023 WI 25 (Wisconsin law does not permit fees for electronic copies of patient health care records).
Outside of work, Jesse enjoys spending time with his wife, daughter, and dogs. He is also a golf nut.
2021 President's Award Honoree
2021 Tribute Book
Heath P. Straka
Axley Brynelson, LLP
Heath Straka is a partner at Axley Brynelson, LLP, is the current Legislative Task Force chair and is a Past President of the Wisconsin Association of Justice (WAJ). He is also a founding member and current president for the Cottage Grove Community Foundation, which aims to improve the quality of life of the people and the community through the promotion and facilitation of charitable giving. His legal practice focuses on personal injury cases, general litigation involving employment and construction disputes and also complex litigation and class actions involving product liability claims and wage and hour violations. With more than two decades of litigation experience, Heath is well-known in the State and Federal Courts of Wisconsin for the resolution of countless high profile civil rights and personal injury cases. Heath has successfully argued two cases in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, both involving medical malpractice; Otto v. PIC and Bubb v. Brusky, et. al. In addition, he was recently appointed to be the Chair of the Dane County Civil Service Commission. In that role, Heath serves as the presiding attorney regarding employment disputes with Dane County Civil servants. Heath is also an editor and contributor to the Great Lakes Employment Law Letter.
As a member of WAJ, Heath has been the Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President, and President and is past chair of the Program Committee and New Lawyers Section. Heath is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, Dane County Bar Association and American Association for Justice. Heath has been consistently voted by his peers to be both a Super Lawyer and among the Best Lawyers in America. He has also been named the Best Attorney in Cottage Grove for the past three years running.
Heath is fluent in Spanish and has volunteered with the Dane County bar for non-English speaking legal services. He also enjoys other volunteer opportunities in the community. He is the Past-President of the Patriots Youth Hockey Association; is a past Board Member with Madison Festivals, Inc. (which runs Taste of Madison, The Madison Marathon, and Rhythm & Booms); and coached both youth hockey and soccer for more than 30 years.
Heath and his wife, Kim, have been married for more than 20 years, and are blessed with three wonderful children.
2019 President's Award Honoree
Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson
Wisconsin Supreme Court
Trailblazer. Driven. Tireless. Fair and impartial. Brilliant legal scholar. These are just a few of the many terms that describe Shirley Abrahamson.
Born in 1933 in New York City to Jewish Polish immigrants, Shirley Abrahamson knew from an early age that she wanted to be a lawyer. After graduating from New York University in three years, she attended the University of Indiana Law School, graduating in 1956 at the age of 21. A trailblazer for women in the law, she graduated first in her class—the only female—and in 1976 went on to become the first woman to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She became Chief Justice in 1996. In 2013, she became the longest-serving Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice ever.
For her part, Shirley Abrahamson has modestly attempted to downplay her trailblazer status, commenting in a video interview for Indiana University that “I was there at the right time and I was in the right place. It was before many women went to law school, so there were opportunities and there was a trail that could be walked. But you know, there have been many women over many generations who blazed that trail so I could walk on it.” The trail she has blazed for others following in her footsteps is unrivaled.
In July of this year, Shirley Abrahamson stepped down from the Wisconsin Supreme Court after completing her fourth 10-year term. In her 43 years on the state’s highest court, almost half of them as our Chief Justice, she has left behind an unparalleled legacy, where she authored more than 535 majority opinions, 491 dissenting opinions, and 325 concurring opinions. This does not include the tens of thousands petitions for review, bypasses, certifications and lawyer and judicial disciplinary cases to have come before the Court during her tenure.
In terms of her legacy, Shirley Abrahamson will be remembered for her advocacy for new federalism, which stresses the importance of state constitutional law as affording additional protections and rights to individuals beyond those guaranteed by the federal constitution. She has also left behind a legacy as a champion of judicial independence. As she told those gathered in the Capitol Rotunda at her tribute ceremony on June 18, 2019, “[t]he need for an independent judiciary both in this state and in the country has never been greater.” Finally, throughout her entire judicial career, through her actions and words, Shirley Abrahamson has embodied the mantra “and justice for all.” As she has explained, “[i]t’s important that we apply the same rule of law to everybody, because that is only fair and you learn that as a child.”
For her outstanding service to the practice of law, for her tireless commitment to striving to make our legal system equal and accessible to all people, and for being such a staunch proponent of a fair, impartial and non-partisan judiciary, Shirley Abrahamson is this year’s recipient of the Wisconsin Association for Justice’s President’s Award.
2018 - Eric J. Haag
Atterbury, Kammer & Haag, S.C.
2018 Award Program
Award Speech
Press Release
2017 - Christine Bremer Muggli
Bremer & Trollop Law Offices, Wausau
2015 - Patrick O. Dunphy
Cannon & Dunphy S.C., Milwaukee
2012 - Lisa Graves
Executive Director, The Center for Media and Democracy, Madison
2011 - George W. Curtis
Curtis Law Office, Appleton
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