ABOUT ME
Hello fellow Hales Corners residents. My name is Jennine Sonntag and I have been your Municipal Judge for almost 12 years. Hales Corners has been my home since 1990. I am married to Roy Stollenwerk, a lifelong resident of Hales Corners. Roy was a member of the Hales Corners Fire Department for many years, achieving the rank of Captain. Roy and I are like many of you in that we decided that Hales Corners was a great place to live and raise our family. We raised our two daughters here and they went to school in Hales Corners where both Roy and I were active volunteers. I have enjoyed living within walking distance of the Boerner Botanical Gardens and Whitnall Park almost all of my life and I take long walks there all year round, with and without my dog.
For nearly my whole life, I have been an active member of Whitnall Park Lutheran Church in Hales Corners, serving several terms on the church council and am now an officer on the Endowment Board. I am an active member of the Friends of the Hales Corners Library. Whitnall Park, the Botanical Gardens, and our library are my happy places.
EDUCATION AND CAREER
I obtained my B.A degree in Communications from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and my law degree from Marquette University Law School. I worked for 19 years in private civil litigation practice, representing individuals and organizations in cases in municipal, administrative, circuit courts, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court in addition to the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin.
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While in private practice, I gained a broad and varied experience in the practice of Law. Examples of the types of litigation I have worked on while with three different law firms in the Milwaukee area include: commercial litigation, title insurance defense, plaintiffs’ personal injury (including class actions), worker’s compensation, construction, professional malpractice defense (representing licensed real estate professionals, attorneys, engineers, and accountants), municipal, RICO (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) claims in business litigation, federal litigation around discrimination against Community Based Residential Facilities, family law, and employment litigation. I have represented individuals and organizations in court (motion practice and trials), depositions, and mediations.
In addition to currently serving as the Hales Corners Municipal Judge, I work for GE Healthcare serving as attorney/contract administrator for the operations group responsible for renovation of hospital space prior to the installation of large diagnostic imaging equipment.
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COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
I have been an active member of the Association for Women Lawyers (AWL) in Milwaukee during my entire career and I served on the board for six years, including as President. I was the Chair of the AWL Community Outreach Committee for 10 years. Currently I serve as an officer on the Association for Women Lawyers Foundation Board – a non-profit organization which awards scholarships to female law students at Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin.
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My daughters spent a good part of their childhoods playing in Hales Corners Park. They spent many hours, days, and years on the playground equipment, practicing with their school soccer teams in the open space, and swimming in both of the Hales Corners pools. In appreciation for these local amenities that our family has loved and used, I take part in the spring clean-ups at Hales Corners Park and I have helped set up the temporary ice rink with the Friends of the Hales Corners Park & Pool.