December 16, 2025 (Madison) On December 5, Danielle Schroder of the Milwaukee-based MacGillis Law Group, LLC took the reins of the Wisconsin Association for Justice (WAJ), Wisconsin’s trial lawyers association. She will serve as president for 2026. It is the culmination of several years of service to the organization as a Board and Executive Committee member. She celebrated with friends, family and colleagues at WAJ’s annual President’s Dinner and Reception held at the Pfister Hotel.
Danielle is a partner with MacGillis Law Group, LLC in their Madison area office. Danielle has civil litigation experience in employment law, ERISA long-term disability disputes, employee benefits cases, and torts. Currently, her practice is devoted exclusively to personal injury work, representing individuals across the state in car, bike and motorcycle crashes as well as premises liability claims. Danielle also serves as guardian ad litem for minors who have been injured.
Danielle is the past chair of the Wisconsin Association for Justice’s Women’s Caucus, and she has led panels and given seminar presentations on important legal topics for both individuals and practitioners. Danielle is a member of the American Association for Justice and Trial by Woman and has attended several trial-intensive workshops, including Trial by Human and Trial Lawyers University. She has taken cases to jury trial in both State and Federal Court. Danielle has been recognized as a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” and a “Top 40 Under 40” with the National Trial Lawyers organization.
Danielle was born in Madison, raised in Rhinelander, and she attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for both her undergraduate studies and law school. During law school, Danielle participated in mock trial, the Wisconsin International Law Journal and the Wisconsin Vis Moot Court team, which competed in Vienna, Austria. She graduated magna cum laude.
Danielle lives in Verona with her husband Mark and their three children and dog.
About WAJ: The Wisconsin Association for Justice was founded in 1957. As the largest statewide voluntary bar association, WAJ’s mission is ensuring a fair and effective judicial system and the protection of the Constitutional right to a civil jury trial. WAJ supports the work of attorneys to guarantee that any person harmed due to workplace injury or injured by the misconduct or negligence of others can have a fair day in Wisconsin courts.
The right to a civil jury trial, embedded in the U.S. (7th Amendment) and Wisconsin (Article I, § 5) constitutions, is one of our oldest consumer safety nets. The frequency of jury trials, however, has long been in decline. The pandemic only exacerbated this trend. For example, in 2024, there were only 68 civil jury trials for tort cases in Wisconsin. Compare that to 2018, which featured 201 civil jury trials in the state.
