Kelly Dodd

Kelly M. Dodd is our internal firm manager, acting as an attorney resource and in-house client advocate to provide our lawyers and clients with an additional layer of oversight, dispute resolution, and bottomless late-night second opinions. With over 20 years of experience as a partner-level family law attorney, she now provides a comprehensive training and mentoring curriculum to attorneys and staff and broadly oversees the development and improvement of the firm’s varied legal services.

In addition to her management work, she leads the appellate practice group who, collectively, have over 120 years of appellate experience and have handled over 50 cases in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. No stranger to the higher courts herself, Kelly argued and won the landmark Frisch v. Henrichs case which established that major fines can be imposed against parents who intentionally frustrate an accurate reporting of their income to sabotage child support modifications. She has briefed and argued over a dozen cases in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

When she was a practicing attorney, Kelly had sweeping experience in all areas of family law—including obscure and peripheral issues such as partition actions, annulments, international jurisdiction disputes, and cohabitation agreements. Her divorce practice concentrated on complex high-asset matters including an estate valued at $140 million. 

Outside of work, Kelly continues to enjoy writing and editing and has published seven full-length humorous mystery novels with her brother as her co-author. She is also the lead singer in a cover band, playing area festivals, State Fair, and Summerfest.

• Appointed Supplemental Court Commissioner by Judge Rebecca Bradley who is now a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice.
• Named to “Best Lawyers in America” for 2020 and 2021
• Selected by peers as a Wisconsin Super Lawyers – Rising Star (2006, 2007, and since 2009)
• Featured as an expert on divorce in four interviews on Milwaukee CBS Channel 58’s Morning News Express (aired January 4, 2007), an interview on the segment” Facebook Cheaters” on Today’s TMJ4 (aired November 4, 2010), and an interview on the segment” Divorce Insurance” on TMJ4 (aired February 17, 2011).

Kelly is a prolific legal writer and editor and was, at one time, the Editor-in-Chief of the Marquette Law Review, where she managed a staff of 40 editors and was responsible for the publication of a quarterly scholarly legal journal. An experienced mediator, with a certificate in Family Law Mediation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kelly handled up to 70 mediations per year. Kelly’s commitment to family law causes is demonstrated in her history of affiliations with the below association(s):

• Served as an assistant adjunct professor at Marquette University Law School.