Catherine M. Priebe is the co-founder of Certus Legal Group, Ltd., a boutique estate planning and business succession planning law firm with offices in Milwaukee and Madison. Prior to starting her own firm, she chaired the Estates, Trusts & Succession Planning Practice Group of Davis & Kuelthau, s.c. Ms. Priebe has extensive experience advising clients in all aspects of estate planning, business succession planning, gifting strategies, marital property issues, and probate and trust administration. She received her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Marquette University and her law degree, cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Ms. Priebe has received the Accredited Estate Planner® designation from the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.

Ms. Priebe is a frequent lecturer on estate planning, including continuing legal education courses for the State Bar of Wisconsin. She has also instructed the Estate Planning and Probate section of the Lawyering Skills Course at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Ms. Priebe is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Past Chairperson and Ex-Officio Member of the State Bar of Wisconsin Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section Board of Directors, Past President of the Milwaukee Estate Planning Forum, and the former Vice Chair of the Milwaukee Bar Association’s Estates and Trusts Section. She currently co-chairs the State Bar of Wisconsin Remote Practice Committee and is also a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Bankers Association Joint Uniform Trust Code Study Group, Milwaukee Mid-Winter Estate Planning Clinic and Milwaukee Estate Planning Association, as well as Past President of the Association for Women Lawyers and the Association for Women Lawyers Foundation.

Ms. Priebe is recognized as a Wisconsin Super Lawyer by Law & Politics Magazine and has consistently been included in the Trusts and Estates Section of Best Lawyers in America. She is very honored to have been selected as the 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” in Trusts and Estates for Milwaukee by Best Lawyers in America. Ms. Priebe is AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale Hubbell.

American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (Fellow)
Accredited Estate Planner®
Association for Women Lawyers (Past President)
Milwaukee Bar Association, Estates and Trusts Section (Past Chair)
Milwaukee Estate Planning Association
Milwaukee Estate Planning Forum, Ltd. (Past President)
Milwaukee Mid-Winter Estate Planning Clinic
State Bar of Wisconsin, (Past Chairperson and Ex Officio Member of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section; regular CLE presenter)

Association for Women Lawyers Foundation (Past Chair)
Uniform Trust Code Committee (joint subcommittee of the Wisconsin Bar and Bankers Association)
Uniform Trust Code Trailer Bill Committee (joint subcommittee of the Wisconsin Bar and Bankers Association)
Planned Giving Council – Children’s Hospital and Health System Foundation
Adjunct Professor, Estate Planning and Probate Section of Lawyering Skills Course – University of Wisconsin Law School

Frequent lecturer on estate planning, including an annual continuing legal education course for the State Bar of Wisconsin.
Adjunct Professor, University of Wisconsin Law School, Estate Planning and Probate Section of the Lawyering Skills Course.
Author, “Retirement Account Distributions: A Journey Through the New Rules,” Vol. 3, Journal of Elder Law and Post-Retirement Planning, No. 2, Fall 2001.
Author/Presenter, “A Privately-Held Business – What Every Business Lawyer Should Know About Gift and Estate Tax and Succession Planning,” Vol. 1, State Bar of Wisconsin 2006 Annual Convention, May 2006.
Author/Presenter, “A Potpourri of Trust Provisions – Specialized Drafting for Unique Planning Situations,” Vol. 1, State Bar of Wisconsin 2009 Annual Convention, May 2009

10700 W. Research Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53226

Phone: (414) 939-8373
Fax: (414) 455-1939

cpriebe@certuslegalgroup.com

Estate Planning
Estate and Trust Administration
Business Succession Planning
Asset Protection Planning

Best Lawyers in America (Trusts and Estates, 2009 – 2022)
Lawyer of the Year in Trusts and Estates for Milwaukee Best Lawyers in America (2022)
Wisconsin Super Lawyer (2009 – 2021)
Wisconsin Super Lawyers – Rising Star (2007)
Leading Lawyer by Milwaukee Magazine (2013 – 2021)
Association for Women Lawyers Mentoring Award (2008)
Wisconsin Law Journal Women in the Law Award (2009)
AV Rated (Highest Rating) by Martindale Hubbell
10.0 Rating (Highest Rating) by AVVO

Juris Doctor, cum laude, Univ. of Wisconsin Law School, 1994
Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, Marquette University, 1991