Lauri Roman JD | Find A Professional

Education

UW Law School

Training

3/01 State Bar of WI – An Overview of Collaborative Family Law in WI; Boomer Divorce-Sept 201411-02 UW 11th Annual Conference – Negotiating Techniques for Collaborative Lawyers; 13th Annual Meeting-Nov 2013

Profile

I am a partner in the Madison firm of Haus, Roman and Banks, LLP, where I practice in all aspects of family law, divorce mediation and collaborative law. I am frequently appointed by the Court to act as guardian ad litem in representing the best interests of minor children. I have taught continuing legal education classes on child custody litigation, child development, divorce and the special needs child and ethical issues for lawyers and guardians ad litem. I was on the original panel in the 1980’s which created the volunteer family law Dane County Case Mediation Program and have been a volunteer and private pay mediator ever since.

I received my J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1985. During law school, I clerked for Dane County Circuit Court Judge William Eich and, after graduation, I was law clerk to Chief Justice Nathan Heffernan, Wisconsin Supreme Court. I am a member of the ABA Family Law Section, the WI State Bar Family Law Section, Dane County Bar, and the Collaborative Family Law Council. I served on the District 9 Committee, Office of Lawyer Regulation, WI Supreme Court 1999-2008 and was chair of the Dane County Pro Bono Trust Fund. I am currently a Special Investigator for the Office of Lawyer Regulation.

I am admitted to practice before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit and United States Supreme Court.

In over 30 years of practice, I have always attempted to practice collaboratively and long before it was an established process. I would encourage early four-way meetings to defuse emotions, quickly establish common goals and address immediate concerns. The enthusiastic embrace of collaborative law by other family law practitioners has been exciting to see and of tremendous value to those engaging in the process.

On a personal note, I was trained in professional theater in NYC from childhood through college and have acted in community theater in Madison. I believe that this training – learning how to pick up cues wordlessly from another person and respond to what they are trying to communicate – has added immensely to my skills as a collaborative lawyer and mediator in seeking and understanding the emotional needs of my clients.