Gingras, Cates and Wachs - Eau Claire
101 Putnam St, PO Box 390
Eau Claire, WI 54702
(715) 839-9500 www.gtwlawyers.com
I am a lifelong resident of Eau Claire. I am proud to be following in the footsteps of my father, Ray Wachs, a former Eau Claire City Manager and City Attorney who also practiced law in the Eau Claire area for many years. Throughout my career, I have focused my law practice on helping injured people.
I spent three terms representing Eau Claire in the state legislature and was a candidate for governor in 2018.
My wife (who also is an attorney) and I have three children. I am a fanatical Green Bay Packers fan (and shareholder!) and never miss a chance to watch or attend a game. When I am not working to get justice for my clients, I also enjoy downhill skiing, hunting, boating, fishing, playing the trumpet, reading, astronomy and listening to music.
If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you do? I would like to be a doctor.
What is your greatest accomplishment? My greatest personal accomplishment is having raised three healthy, well-adjusted children to adulthood. My proudest legal accomplishment was the work I did at trial and in the appellate court in the case of Johnson v. Kokemoor. This case set a national precedent in medical malpractice informed consent law and is being taught and discussed in the legal and medical community throughout the United States.
EDUCATION J.D., Valparaiso University School of Law, 1985 B.S., Marquette University, 1981
BAR ADMISSION Wisconsin State Bar, 1985 U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, 1985 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2019
HONORS AND AWARDS Martindale Hubbell, AV Rating Top Attorneys in Wisconsin, 2011-Present The National Trial Lawyers Association – Top 100 Trial Lawyer, 2013-Present SuperLawyers, 2011-Present Best Lawyers, 2018-Present Who’s Who in America
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS American Bar Association State Bar of Wisconsin Eau Claire County Bar Association Wisconsin Association for Justice Western District Bar Association Eau Claire City Council Member at Large 2009-2012 City/County Health Committee Transit Commission Affirmative Action Committee Parks and Waterway Committee Library Board Economic Policy Advisory Committee Wisconsin State Assembly 2012-2018