Thomas W. St. John

TSJ@FFSJ.COM

Thomas W. St. John is a shareholder with Friebert, Finerty & St. John. He received his B.B.A. in 1966 with senior honors and M.B.A. in 1967 from the University of Wisconsin. He successfully sat for the C.P.A. exam while he was a Vilas Fellow in graduate school.

Tom received his J.D., Summa Cum Laude, in 1972 from Marquette University Law School where he was an editor of the Marquette Law Review. His law school education was interrupted for service in the United States Army from 1969 – 1971. Following graduation, he served as a law clerk to United States District Judge Myron L. Gordon.

Since completion of his clerkship, Tom's practice has been focused on trial work, primarily business and insurance litigation and divorce. Tom enjoys resolving challenging situations for his clients and his financial expertise allows him to adeptly handle complex property division issues in divorce cases. A lawyer with demonstrated trial skills as well as strong negotiation skills, Tom's clients trust him to successfully resolve their cases.

Tom is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the 7th and 9th Circuits, the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin and all Wisconsin state courts. He was first certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a Civil Trial Advocate in 1983. He is a former director of the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers and is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Tom is a member of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Eastern District of Wisconsin and Seventh Circuit Bar Associations.

Tom has bolstered his legal career with extracurricular activities focused on legal issues. In 1975 he was Attorney Chairperson for the Milwaukee Public Housing Review Board and he served on the Committee on Federal Criminal Jury Instructions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1976-1980. He also served as the Special Master for the U.S. Courts for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in the Milwaukee County Jail Desegregation and Visitation Cases of 1977. He was a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Commissioner from 1978-1992.

In 2003 Tom completed nine years of service with the District II Professional Responsibility Committee, Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility (now the Office of Lawyer Regulation). The last two years he served as Vice Chairperson and Chairperson.

Giving back to the community is also important to Tom. For many years he was a volunteer lawyer for the Counseling Center of Milwaukee. He was also an officer and director of The Milwaukee Center for Independence. He currently serves on the President's Council and Development Committee of Neighborhood House of Milwaukee. He also donates his time and expertise at the Family Law Justice Clinic.

Tom has been named as one of Milwaukee's "Best Lawyers" by Milwaukee Magazine in each of the issues in which it has made such selections, beginning in 1985. In 2005, the first year of the "Super Lawyers" survey in Wisconsin, he was named one of the top 10 lawyers in the state.

In his spare time, Tom enjoys doing things with his wife, Milwaukee lawyer Micaela Levine, and four talented children, as well as biking, skiing, golfing and running. He also enjoys construction projects at his cabin.