CHICAGO, Aug. 6, 2024 – Michelle Behnke of Madison, Wisconsin, a lawyer at Boardman Clark, assumed the role of ABA president-elect today. Behnke will serve a one-year term in that role before becoming president of the association in August 2025 at the ABA Annual Meeting in Toronto. William R. “Bill” Bay from St. Louis will serve as ABA president from August 2024 to August 2025.
“I am excited to be taking on my new role with the association and working closely with President Bill Bay on making the ABA a home for all lawyers,” Behnke said. “The ABA is an amazing group where a lawyer from Wisconsin can join with lawyers of many different practice areas and backgrounds to make the profession better. The strength of this association is its ability to support lawyers in their practices and connect them with important work in the profession and their communities.”
Behnke, a practitioner for over 35 years, officially joined Boardman Clark, one of Madison’s largest and longest-standing law firms, this month. She will focus on the areas of business, commercial real estate and estate planning.
In the past 26 years of managing her own firm, Behnke has dealt with issues of cross-border asset acquisition, real estate refinancing with insurance companies and annexation of property into city limits. Behnke began her legal career with Stolper, Koritzinsky, Brewster & Neider, S.C., in Madison, then practiced as in-house counsel for CUNA Mutual Insurance Society before opening her own firm, Michelle Behnke & Associates in 1998.
Behnke has a long history of service with the ABA. She previously served as ABA treasurer from 2017-2020 and was recently chair of the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. She is currently a member of the ABA’s Strategic Planning Committee and is Wisconsin state chair for the Membership Committee. She has been a member of the ABA Board of Governors and House of Delegates and formerly served as chair of the Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services.
Behnke is a Madison native who has been involved in the community since her graduation from the University of Wisconsin (1983) and the University of Wisconsin Law School (1988), serving on nonprofit and corporate boards. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association and the Law School Board of Visitors. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Capitol Bank and has previously served on the boards of Dean Health Plan, Inc., and SSM Healthcare of Wisconsin. Behnke served as president of the State Bar of Wisconsin from 2004-2005
She has been recognized for her work in the legal profession and her community, receiving the Charles L. Goldberg Distinguished Service Award and the YWCA Women of Distinction Award. In 2015, Behnke was named Real Estate Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in Wisconsin. She has also been listed in both the Best Lawyers in America and Wisconsin Super Lawyers since 2006.
A biography of Behnke can be found here. A photo of Behnke can be found here.
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