Chief Judge Diane S. Sykes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is pleased to announce the appointment of Rachel M. Blise to a 14-year term as United States Bankruptcy Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Ms. Blise succeeds former Bankruptcy Judge Brett H. Ludwig, who was appointed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin last September. Ms. Blise will take the oath of office and join the bankruptcy bench in Milwaukee on March 17, 2021.
Ms. Blise earned her bachelor’s degree from Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and her law degree, summa cum laude, from Marquette University Law School, where she served as an articles editor for the Marquette Law Review. After graduating from law school in 2010, she clerked for Fifth Circuit Judge Carolyn Dineen King in Houston, Texas. She returned to Milwaukee in 2011 and joined the business litigation and bankruptcy practice groups at Foley & Lardner LLP. She is currently Senior Counsel at the firm.
Ms. Blise serves on the Board of Directors for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association and co-chairs the Civil Committee. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Milwaukee Bar Association and a past chair of the Bankruptcy Section. She is a member of the Seventh Circuit Bar Association and a past associate member of the Thomas E. Fairchild Inn of Courts. Ms. Blise has worked on a pro bono basis for the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation and the Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity. In addition, she has volunteered at the Milwaukee Justice Center.