From the West Bend Daily News:
Jim Spella of West Bend received the Young Lawyers Division’s Outstanding Mentor Award from the Wisconsin State Bar Association. Spella is a managing partner at Schloemer Law Firm.
The award pays tribute to a Wisconsin attorney with six or more years of practice who has made an exceptional contribution to the life and career of a young attorney.
Spella is “a great mentor, a fair boss and a fantastic attorney,” said attorneys and staff of the law firm who nominated him. “The life lessons that we have learned from him through the practice of law have made us who we are as lawyers, as people and and contributing members to our community.”
“Jim started at Schloemer Law Firm on April 30, 1972. Since then, he has seen 29 attorneys come and go, and every one of them has become a better attorney from their experiences working with Jim,” said the Schloemer Law Firm team in their nomination.
He became a partner in 1975 and a managing partner a few years later. “Jim took the mantle from Clyde Schloemer and guided the firm to where it is today,” they said.
Over his 48-year career, businesspeople, farmers, families, financial institutions and other attorneys have relied on Spella’s advice. He has received numerous awards, been interviewed and quoted in publications, presented seminars statewide, served on professional and nonprofit boards and is a pillar of the West Bend community. He served 10 years on the West Bend Community Foundation Board, three of which as president. He also served nine years on the Threshold Foundation Board and is a member of the Washington County Ethics Committee.
Spella is a recipient of the Rotary Paul Harris Award (multiple levels) and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Professional Adviser of the year.
Since 1993, State Bar members have gathered to honor contributions of those in Wisconsin’s legal community. Typically, these award recipients are honored in person at the Member Recognition Celebration during the State Bar Annual Meeting & Conference in June, but this year’s event will once again be virtual.