Guice, Gregory G.

Early in his legal practice, Erik Guenther was recognized as the "Volunteer Attorney of the Year" by the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Foundation (ACLU-WIF) and was also a recipient of a 2003 Journal Times Award for his contributions to Racine County. The Racine Journal Times noted that, "It takes tremendous courage to fight City Hall. As the Racine community has learned this year, attorney Erik Guenther is no coward." The Electronic Music Defense and Education Fund (EM:DEF) stated that, "the electronic music community is deeply indebted to Attorney Erik Guenther..." following his successful defense of hundreds of individuals who received municipal citations based on their attendance at an electronic music concert.

The passion for individual rights and for helping the little guy led to more criminal defense work and eventually to Hurley, Burish & Stanton, S.C. The firm represents individuals and businesses in state and federal court - from someone being a "person of interest" in a law enforcement investigation through charging, trial and appeal. The issues at hand can range from minor violations to serious felony cases. Erik represents a wide range of clients and cases, but has had experience with university students and their unique issues. Erik also assists business clients with internal investigations of potential wrongdoing by employees.

Erik is developing a reputation as a top young litigator as recognized by In Business magazine and repeatedly by peers in the Wisconsin Super Lawyers® survey. He was profiled in the 2007 Wisconsin Super Lawyers® magazine in an article titled "Peer Recognition: How Erik Guenther Gets Juries to Sympathize with Clients Accused of Sexual Assault."

In April 2008, Erik returned from Afghanistan where he served as the Defense Mentor in the Justice Sector Support Program (JSSP); a program funded by the U.S. Department of State. JSSP focuses on helping the government of Afghanistan improve criminal justice reform through training for judges, prosecutors, police officers and defense counsel. The Dane County Criminal Defense Bar Association selected Erik as its 2007 "Warrior of the Year" for his service in Afghanistan.

The Wisconsin State Journal recently profiled Erik in a front-page story, describing him as a "rising star in the state legal establishment and already a teacher in cutting-edge legal issues and a civil liberties expert."

On helping clients:

"I don’t like bullies, and bullies can take a lot of different forms in a criminal proceeding. My job is to balance the scales to help get my client through a tough time with the best possible outcome."

On Understanding:

"It's very important to understand the client and why they made the choices they made in a particular situation. A good lawyer doesn’t believe or disbelieve. A good lawyer helps the jury see themselves in the client’s shoes."