After serving as a JAG in the United States Air Force, Chuck joined the firm in 1977, where he has practiced law for over 45 years. He concentrates his law practice in the areas of personal injury litigation, workers’ compensation, and mediation. He is an honors graduate of the University of Wisconsin law school. Chuck is recognized by his peers as a Super Lawyer and has an AV Rating from Martindale Hubbell, the highest professional rating that can be given to a lawyer.
Acknowledged as an effective problem solver, Chuck‘s integrity and judgment are respected by people on both sides of an issue which makes him a valued mediator. His negotiation and litigation skills successfully serve clients injured in car and motorcycle accidents, dog bites, slips and falls, and many other injury-producing accidents. For people injured at work, Chuck brings recognized state-wide expertise in the area of Workers’ Compensation law essential to maximizing benefits for injured employees. As a founding board member and past-president of the Wisconsin Association of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, and after hundreds of successful hearings on behalf of injured workers, Chuck has an excellent working relationship with and the respect of the Administrative Law Judges who conduct Workers’ Compensation hearings.
Chuck is a past-president of the La Crosse County Bar Association. He was a founding board member and served as president of the Wisconsin Association of Workers’ Compensation Attorneys. Chuck served six years on the Board of Governors for the State Bar of Wisconsin and served as liaison to the Litigation Section.
Chuck is a respected community leader who has served as the founding president of many community organizations including Freedom Honor Flight, which sends WW II Veterans to Washington, D.C. to be honored; the Riverside International Friendship Gardens, Inc., the La Crosse Associations for our sister cities in Dubna, Russia; Luoyang, China; Bantry, Ireland; and Forde, Norway. He is also the founding and current president of The Brain Game, Inc. devoted to healthy early childhood development. An active Rotarian, Chuck served as District Governor for Rotary International.
Representative Experience
U.S. Air Force, Captain, 1973-1977, Chief of Military Justice, March Air Force Base; Staff Judge Advocate, Taipei: Air Station, Taiwan
Honors & Awards
Air Force Commendation Medal, 1975
Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, 1977
Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow
Rotary Lifetime Achievement Award 2018
La Crosse Area Rotary Four-Way Test Award
Elected Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation, 2006–Present
Elected Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, 2007–Present
Cambridge Who’s Who in America, 2008
World Services Citizen Ambassador of the Year Award, 2014
Super Lawyer designation by peers from 2008 to present
Wisconsin Law Foundation Charles L. Goldberg Distinguished Service Award
AV rated by Martindale Hubbell
Professional & Community Affiliations
State Bar of Wisconsin, 1973–Present
Wisconsin State Bar Leadership Development Committee, 2018–Present
Litigation Section, General Practice Section, Senior Lawyers Division
Board of Governors, State Bar of Wisconsin, 2009–2013
Governance Committee, Executive Committee, Policy Committee, Board Liaison to Board of Bar Examiners Review Committee, Board Liaison to Litigation Section
La Crosse County Bar Association, 1977–Present
President, 1998–1999
Wisconsin Association for Justice
Wisconsin Association of Worker’s Compensation Attorneys
President, 2007; Corporate Secretary, 2008–2011; Founding Board Member, 2002–2011
American Bar Association, 1979–Present
American Association for Justice, 1983–Present
National Trial Lawyers
Wisconsin Bar Foundation
American Bar Foundation
- An active member of the La Crosse Rotary Club since 1979, Chuck has initiated a number of legacy projects, including founding the La Crosse Rotary Foundation, Inc. in 1983, which annually provides support to a wide variety of projects in the Greater La Crosse Area. Chuck co-chaired the 1993-1995 Kids Coulee Playground Project that mobilized more than 3,000 community volunteers to construct a large innovative children’s playground. He chairs the La Crosse Kids Committee that created The Brain Game, a book that teaches parents how to enhance early childhood brain development. In that process, he brought together key community organizations and leaders for that book’s development and funding (More than 20,000 copies are currently in print and the book is distributed at no cost to new parents at both major medical facilities in La Crosse). He is the founder of the Riverside International Friendship Gardens, Inc., a community-wide project to celebrate different cultures.
- Chuck was the founder and first President of the La Crosse-Dubna Friendship Association, which established a sister-city relationship with the “closed” city of Dubna, Russia in 1990 and led to numerous programs, including the development of a University, the creation of the Dubna Rotary Club, and innovative medical programs. He chaired the Hands-Across-The-Heartlands Campaign that coordinated a community effort of 5,000 volunteers who collected and prepared for shipment 400,000 pounds of food, clothing, and medicine. This effort provided humanitarian relief to more than 12,000 needy people in Dubna, Russia during the bitter winter of 1991 – 1992. Chuck is also the founding President of the La Crosse-Luoyang Friendship Association that established the sister-city relationship with Luoyang, China in 1997. As a result of this relationship, two Chinese teachers are presently in La Crosse every year providing the core of the Chinese language program presently educating 200 high school students annually at no cost to local taxpayers. He is also the founding president of the sister city relationships with Bantry, Ireland and Førde, Norway. He was the founding co-chair of the U.S. China Council for Sister Cities International and also serves as an advisor to the Mayor on the International Committee of the City of La Crosse. In addition to his international interests, he has served as President of Junior Achievement of the Coulee Region.
Education
- J.D., University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison, Wisconsin, (1973), Cum Laude, Order of the Coif, Award of Advocacy, National Moot Court Team
- B.A., St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, (1970), Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Admissions
Wisconsin, 1973
U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin, 1973