Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer Award

Each year, the New Lawyers Section presents the Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer Award to a promising new attorney. All licensed attorneys are eligible to submit a nomination.  To be eligible, a nominee must be a licensed attorney under 40 years of age or in practice less than 10 years who has shown outstanding dedication to the Wisconsin Association for Justice.  Consideration will also be given to the nominee’s pro bono work, community service, contributions to diversity, and professional achievement.   

Nomination Deadline: Nominations are accepted through September 30th each year.

Award Criteria:

The Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated strong commitment to the goals for which the Wisconsin Association for Justice was established:

• Promotion of the administration of justice for the public good
• Upholding the honor and dignity of the profession of law
• Upholding the right of trial by jury
• Preserving and enhancing the rights of persons to have access to the Courts and our system of justice, and to afford everyone a full, fair and timely remedy for wrongs done
• Nominee cannot receive Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer Award and Robert L. Habush Trial Lawyer of the Year Award in the same year

This award recognizes a trial lawyer who has shown exceptional dedication to these goals, and has upheld them in various ways, including handling a case involving a significant change in the law or a precedent-setting suit, by their support of WAJ through work in the WAJ organization, pro-bono or other volunteerism that benefited injured consumers, or efforts designed to improve and preserve the American civil justice system.

Nominations Should Include the Following:​

• Nominator contact information; nominee's current bio; contact information for current employer; a letter that describes nominee's achievements, independent letters of reference, relevant press clips and list of published work or other supporting material.

​Types of Nominations Accepted: Self-nomination, attorney nominations and/or peer nomination.

Judging Committee:  Chair, Vice-Chair and a combination of past chairs, past award recipients and WAJ Officer (Secretary).

Award Presentation Time and Location: Award will be presented as part of WAJ's Winter Seminar & Annual Meeting. Normally at 7:30 pm at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee. Award will be presented by WAJ's President.

Awarded: The Award recipient receives an engraved keepsake.  

Number of Awards Each Year: WAJ will award one lawyer award each year.

Award Submission and Questions:

• Contact Bryan Roessler of WAJ at 608-210-3390
• Submit nominations to Bryan Roessler at bryan@wisjustice.org or by mail at 14 West Mifflin Street, Suite 207, Madison, WI 53703

---

Past Award Recipients:

 

 

2025 Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer Award Honoree 

 

Nicholas L. Hermann
Gruber Law Offices LLC, Milwaukee 

Nicholas Hermann is an Attorney at Gruber Law Offices who began his career with the firm as a law clerk in 2011.  As an Attorney, Nick has devoted a significant portion of his legal practice to catastrophic truck crashes and traumatic brain injury cases. He has successfully litigated and tried a wide range of complex matters.

Nick has tried numerous cases and secured several substantial settlements and verdicts.

He has served as lead counsel in several jury trials. His most recent trial results in 2024 and 2025 shattered the final settlement offers from the Defense. His trial work has earned praise from colleagues, judges, peers, and most importantly, clients.

In addition to his trial wins, Nick has also played a pivotal role in securing numerous seven-figure outcomes. His recent accomplishments include an $8.375 million recovery in a Wisconsin car crash case in a rural county, a $6 million truck crash settlement involving severe orthopedic injuries, and he also played a vital role in a $4 million wrongful death recovery. Earlier this year he had a $1 million dollar case result that he achieved by successfully arguing that, in addition to owing the $500,000 liability limits for the driver’s negligence, the passenger’s conduct constituted another occurrence of negligence under the policy and subjected the insurer to owing an additional $500,000 liability limits.

Nick has consistently been recognized as a Wisconsin Super Lawyers Rising Star and a member of the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40.

Nick has also made significant, time-intensive contributions to legislative advocacy, helping protect the rights of injured Wisconsinites. He spent many hours, in conjunction with clients, helping assist the WAJ in opposing AB 647/SB 613, the bill that unfairly proposed limiting recovery of noneconomic damages from a commercial motor vehicle carrier.   

He is deeply committed to advocating for his clients, believing that hard work, empathy, and clear communication are essential to representing injured individuals. Nick takes pride in making a positive and meaningful difference in the lives of those he serves.

Outside of the legal world, Nick enjoys spending time with his wife, Amanda, and their three wonderful children—Haylee, Abby, and Will. He stays active and is a passionate fan of the Badgers, Bucks, Packers, and Brewers.

2024 Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer Award Honoree 

2024 Tribute Book

Michael D. Karp
Trial Lawyers of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa

Michael Karp is the co-founder of Trial Lawyers of Wisconsin, a firm specializing in jury trials against billion-dollar insurance companies, mega-corporations, and the government. The firm’s mission is to make the world a safer and better place for everyone by holding the powerful accountable. 

Trial Lawyers of Wisconsin limits its practice to a small number of important, high value cases including wrongful death, premises liability, insurance bad faith, medical malpractice, negligent security, and class action cases. 

In the past 2 years, Michael has taken 4 cases to verdict, winning 6, 7, and even 8 figure awards for his clients on challenging cases with “bad facts.” 

• In 2024, Michael and his partner, Robert Welcenbach, obtained a record-breaking $12 million dollar pain and suffering award for a man who developed CRPS after an injury caused by a dangerous condition on the defendants property, vastly exceeding the defense’s $25,000 recommendation.  
• In 2023, Michael secured a $3.5 million dollar pain and suffering award for young woman with a mild traumatic brain injury, beating the defendant’s $150,000 offer. 

Michael enjoys spending time collaborating, mentoring, and consulting with top trial lawyers across the country in hopes of protecting and improving the civil justice system. 

Michael’s success would not be possible without the love and support of his wife, Megan, and their two daughters, Kennedy (2) and Quinn (4 months).

 

2023 Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer Award Honoree

2023 Tribute Book

Cristina M. Wirth
Bye, Goff & Rohde, Ltd.

Attorney Cristina M. Wirth is a shareholder at Bye, Goff & Rohde, Ltd.  Cristina first joined the firm as a clerical assistant in 2012 and returned to the firm during law school as a law clerk.  She became an associate attorney in 2018 and was named shareholder in 2022.  Cristina is a dedicated personal injury attorney with an exclusive focus on helping injured individuals.  She takes pride in serving as a resource for her clients who are facing circumstances following an injury that are often new, confusing, and frustrating.

Cristina knows that injury cases command personalized dedication and a knowledgeable and dependable legal team to guide injured people through the process of a legal claim.  She has extensive experience in pursuing and litigating personal injury claims and is prepared to take an injury case to trial to obtain justice for her clients. 

Cristina’s notable accomplishments include:

• Conducted 18 jury trials to verdict.
• Verdict in excess of $1M on medical malpractice/wrongful death case
• Since 2020, on three separate occasions, Cristina has more than doubled the initial settlement offer, with one verdict exceeding $450,000. One such trial resulted in a verdict exceeding $300,000 when the defense offer before trial was $5,000.
• Successfully moved for a directed verdict after the close of evidence in a motor vehicle accident trial.
• In addition to her jury trials, Cristina has also researched and drafted nine appellate briefs and one Supreme Court petition for review, one resulting in a reported appellate opinion. She has also litigated a case through an appeal to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Other honors include:

• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2024 for Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
• Rising Star by Wisconsin SuperLawyers in 2022 and 2023

Cristina graduated law school magna cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2017.  While in law school, she served on the Law Review senior board and was inducted into the pro bono society.  Cristina’s undergraduate degree is from Hamline University, summa cum laude with Legal Studies Departmental Honors.  After law school, Cristina clerked for Chief Judge Edward J. Cleary at the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Born and raised in Western Wisconsin, Cristina is proud to serve her hometown community both inside and outside the office.  Cristina serves an as attorney coach for the River Falls High School Mock Trial program, of which she is an alumna.  In her spare time, Cristina enjoys being active outdoors and spending time with her fiancé Colin and rescue beagle Norbert.

2022 Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer Award Honoree

2022 Tribute Book 

Lauren E. Raupp
MacGillis Wiemer, LLC 

Lauren E. Raupp is a partner at MacGillis Wiemer, LLC.  Since joining the firm in 2019, Lauren’s work co-counseling jury trials has directly led to several significant verdicts, including a recent seven-figure verdict. 

In addition to trying cases, Lauren has successfully resolved numerous personal injury cases.  She has represented individuals who have been seriously injured in a wide variety of situations, including automobile collisions, trucking collisions, motorcycle collisions, bicycle collisions, pedestrian collisions, premises accidents, and dog bites and attacks. She has also represented individuals who have been injured by unsafe products, including contaminated food. Additionally, she has represented individuals and families arising out of nursing home abuse and neglect, and the wrongful death of a loved one.  Lauren has specialized experience in representing first responders, including police and firefighters, who have been injured by the acts of others while on duty.

Lauren’s career has been exclusively devoted to the representation of injured clients.  For nearly ten years, she has practiced personal injury in the Milwaukee area.  Lauren graduated Marquette Law School in 2013, earning a Certificate in Litigation along with her J.D. degree.  While in law school, she was a judicial intern with the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and a Student Practitioner with Milwaukee Corporation Counsel.  Prior to attending Marquette Law School, Lauren worked as a paralegal at a Chicago personal injury firm, an experience which ignited her passion for the field.  She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein, Illinois. 

Lauren served as the Vice Chair of the New Lawyers Section in 2022 and is the incoming Chair of the New Lawyers Section for 2023.  She was involved in organizing the 2022 Spring Seminar and has been an active contributor to the Women’s Caucus for many years.    

Although originally from the Chicago suburbs, Lauren has made Wisconsin her home.  Outside of the office, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Tim, and their two young boys, George and Henry. 

2021 Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer Award Honoree 

 

Michelle M. Hockers
Murphy & Prachthauser, S.C. 

Michelle M. Hockers was invited to become a Partner at Murphy & Prachthauser, S.C. after just five years in practice. She has been with the firm since completing her first year in law school. Michelle practices exclusively personal injury law and focuses on motor vehicle accidents, product defects, and unsafe premises. Michelle has tried and settled numerous serious injury cases caused by defective products, automobile accidents, daycare negligence, and other forms of negligent conduct. She has also litigated automobile crashworthiness cases in Wisconsin and has been admitted to practice in courts across the country including California and Minnesota.

In her six years of practice, Michelle has had seven jury trials across the state, with the most recent being in June of 2021. Although the cases may not have resulted in multi-million dollar verdicts, the so-called smaller cases mean just as much. Fighting for the rights of all clients and affording them the opportunity of a trial in front of their peers is a fundamental part of our justice system and Michelle is not afraid to put in the hard work to help her clients in every case.

Michelle has been involved in WAJ since she was a law student. She is currently on the Board of Directors. She served as Chair for the New Lawyers Section in 2019 and is on the slate to be Vice Chair for the Women’s Caucus for 2022. She took a principal role in organizing the 2021 Spring Seminar, which had record attendance for a virtual event.

She has been recognized by the Wisconsin Law Journal as a 2018 Up and Coming Lawyer. She has also been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, she was also recognized by the BizTimes among the 2020 Notable Women in Law.

Michelle is active in her community and on the Board of Directors for the West Bend Community and Alumni Scholarship Foundation as well as the West Bend Area Chamber of Commerce.

Outside the practice of law, Michelle enjoys spending time with her husband, Nick, her two-year-old daughter, Madeline, and her family.        

2019 Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer Award Honoree 

• 2019 Award Program
• Award Speech
• Press Release

 

Noah D. Domnitz
Domnitz & Domnitz, S.C.

Noah Domnitz is a Shareholder at Domnitz & Domnitz in Milwaukee.  His practice is dedicated to helping injured individuals and representing families in wrongful death cases.  He relishes the daily fight for justice on behalf of victims and against insurance companies and other groups determined to deny his clients justice. 

Noah has tried cases to verdict in numerous counties around Wisconsin.  Most recently, in 2019, he obtained a $385,000 verdict in Racine County on behalf of an 80-year old military veteran who suffered an injury in car crash.  The insurance company tried to leverage the client’s pre-existing degenerative spine condition and polyarthritis against him, offering $85,000 prior to trial.  His client’s response to the final offer was simple and striking: it was not fair.  The jury agreed.

In 2019, Noah was involved in several significant cases, including a $1,000,000 resolution in a highway crash where the client drifted over the fog line and struck a semi-truck that was stopped illegally on the shoulder.  However, perhaps the most rewarding representation involved working with his partner and mentor, Ric Domnitz, on behalf of two former Michigan State gymnasts who were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar.  Their clients, along with all the sister survivors, are an unyielding inspiration.

Noah’s dedication to the cause of wrongly injured people is not limited to the courtroom.  He serves on the national Board of Governors for AAJ, AAJ’s Public Affairs Committee, the WAJ Board of Directors, and the Board of Trustees for the Justice Fund, where he constantly engages in the legislative and public opinion efforts to support consumers and injured victims.  Noah has authored multiple articles for The Verdict, spoken several times at WAJ seminars, and authored a 2010 Op-Ed published in Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel criticizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Citizen’s United v. FEC.

Additionally, he is truly humbled by the recognition he has received in the legal community.  He was named an “Up and Coming Lawyer” in 2013 by the Wisconsin Law Journal, he has been recognized as either a Rising Star or Super Lawyer every year since 2011, and obtained an AV/Preeminent Peer Review Rating on Martindale-Hubbell.

Noah is a proud graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Miami School of Law.  His greatest pride, however, is his family.  He and his wife, Rebecca, a superb trial lawyer, live in a suburb of Milwaukee with their two sons, Hersch (5) and Levi (3).  

 

2018 Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer Award Honoree 

Eric M. Knobloch
​Gruber Law Offices, LLC

• 2018 Award Program
• Award Speech
• Press Release
•  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2017 Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer Award Honoree 

Brian Laule, River Falls

 

• 2017 Award Program
• Award Speech
• Overview / Press Release

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2016 Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer Award Honoree 
Peter M. Young, Wausau

 

 

• Award Program
• Acceptance Speech
• Overview/ Press Release