Curtis, Lee P.

Ellen Frantz joined Johns, Flaherty & Collins in 1980, and has been a practicing attorney for more than 25 years. She is a member of our personal/family services group and our business/employment group, with expertise in litigation, family law and divorce, estate planning, wills, appeals, employment and labor law, unemployment compensation law, employment discrimination law, adoptions and children's law. A long-time volunteer in legal and humanitarian affairs, Ellen Frantz embodies the professional, ethical and community values espoused by Johns, Flaherty & Collins.

Ellen graduated cum laude in 1974 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received her law degree in 1980 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. She is admitted to practice in the state of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, the Washington D.C. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Court of Appeals (Seventh Circuit), and the United States Supreme Court. Additionally, she is a member of the La Crosse County Bar Association (where she is currently president-elect), the State Bar of Wisconsin and the American Bar Association. She is currently a board member of the Family Law Section of the State Bar.

Committed to education, Ellen has participated as a general practice instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School and for various University of Wisconsin-La Crosse business outreach seminars.

Ellen's community service is vast and varied. She is a past president of the La Crosse County League of Women Voters and past voter service chair. She is also a past president of the La Crosse Great River Festival of the Arts and past board member for the United Fund for the Arts and Humanities. She has actively volunteered to promote healthcare in the region, having served on the AIDS Advisory Council and as a member of the human subjects committee/institutional review board at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center. She is a past president and current board member of La Crosse Area Crimestoppers, a member of the contributions committee for the City of La Crosse, and a board member for the Coulee Region Business Center, Inc. She also served on the board of review for La Crosse for many years.

This extraordinary volunteer service has earned Ellen awards from her legal colleagues, including the pro bono award from the State Bar of Wisconsin. She is also a recipient of the YWCA Tribute to Outstanding Women.