Mark L. Thomsen

Gingras, Thomsen & Wachs, LLP

Madison, WI

38+ Years Experience

Licensed in 1 State

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About Mark

I was born in Blair, Nebraska, during the winter of 1954. I grew up in Nigeria, Africa, until 12 years old, dropped out of high school at age 17, and when the Inland Steel mill department in East Chicago, Indiana, shut down in 1984 (where I had proudly worked as a steelworker for nearly eight years and was elected as a Local 1010 USWA union representative), I moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin with my wife, Grace, and our daughter, Sonja. I started law school at Marquette University and after graduating cum laude in 1987, served as law clerk to the Hon. John L. Coffey, Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. My 35 years as a practicing lawyer, in both state and federal courts, have been, and remain, primarily devoted to personal injury (e.g. car and truck crashes), civil rights (Sec. 1983 claims), medical malpractice, nursing home abuse and legal malpractice claims. I strive to create a legal infrastructure designed to expand justice and protect people and their individual rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. During my tenure, whether by settlement or trial whenever necessary, I have successfully obtained millions of dollars for those individuals, families and clients I’ve been honored to represent. I am a member of the American Association for Justice, past-president (2009) and board of directors member of the Wisconsin Association for Justice (WAJ), member of the WAJ Amicus Committee, Wisconsin Chapter member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) (2019 - present), and a member of the American Bar Association, Milwaukee Bar Association, and Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association. I have also been recognized by Super Lawyers (2005 - present), a distinction awarded to a handful of outstanding attorneys; Best Lawyers (2009 - present), recognized for excellence in legal practice; and Martindale-Hubbell, AV rated, the highest rating for professional ethics and legal ability. Additionally, I was honored as the 2022 WAJ Robert L. Habush Trial Lawyer of the Year, the 2023 Marquette University Law School Alumnus of the Year, and the 2023 Milwaukee Bar Association Lawyer of the Year. In addition to my extensive involvement in the legal community, I served on the board of directors for the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District (2004-2022) and was the organization’s board secretary. I’m also a commissioner on the Wisconsin Elections Commission (2016 - present), the agency charged with maintaining the integrity of voting in state and federal elections in Wisconsin, serving as the agency’s first chairperson from 2016 to 2017. Additionally, I’m a board member and president of the Ascension Lutheran Church Endowment. Grace and I have been married for 45 years. Our daughter Sonja is a brilliant artist and our son, Jens Theodore Thomsen, was born on December 4, 1987 and died on October 31, 2015 (at the end of the second week of my three week medical malpractice trial). Grace and I have been blessed with five beautiful grandchildren - Orjan, Sienna, Aiden, Michael and Liv. Favorite Book: “The Savage Detectives” by Roberto Bolaño Favorite Quote “Never give in-never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” -Winston Churchill