Our Attorneys

Mary Lee completed her undergraduate degree at Marquette University, graduating magna cum laude, and continued her education at Marquette for law school.  She has over forty years of litigation experience, representing Fortune 500 companies, insurance companies, private individuals and small businesses in a variety of legal matters - both plaintiff and defense work. Mary Lee has tried over 100 jury trials, each involving unique and novel factual and legal issues, and has specialized in trial litigation for most of her career. She has negotiated settlements in over 200 pharmaceutical cases throughout Wisconsin. and her experience with jury trials includes construction; personal injury and property damage; nursing home litigation; medical, dental and professional malpractice; and product liability cases.  Mary Lee has additional training on Alternative Dispute Resolution through the American Health Lawyers Association, and has a wealth of proven experience as a respected mediation attorney, assisting all sides in assessing risk in order to overcome impasse, and guiding the parties to impartial and effective dispute resolution.  Since 2005, she has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law for Advanced Trial Advocacy at Marquette University Law School. In addition, Mary Lee is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a Member of Serjeants' Inn, and has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America.  Law & Politics and Milwaukee Magazine recognized her as a "Super Lawyer" in medical malpractice defense, repeatedly since 2005, and as one of the top 25 women lawyers in Wisconsin from 2012-2015. In 2013, she received an award from the Milwaukee Business Journal as one of Wisconsin's outstanding Women in the Law. 

Jim is a graduate of Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana and the University of Toledo College of Law. While in college, Jim studied at the United Nations and served as a congressional intern in Washington, D.C.  Following law school, he initially was appointed as an Administrative Law Judge for the Wisconsin Worker's Compensation Division. After serving as judge, Jim accepted an appointment as an Assistant United States Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. Over the next several years, Jim successfully defended United States and government employees in a variety of civil suits, and was commended by the Veterans Administration for his successful defense of a medical malpractice claim against the VA and two of its doctors. Jim also successfully defended the U.S. Department of Commerce in a loan guaranty case, the first trial of its kind in the country under a new policy of the Reagan Administration.  Jim has successfully conducted over 100 trials in state and federal courts and has argued before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. He has been counsel in hundreds of worker's compensation hearings. Jim's practice is concentrated in insurance defense litigation, with clients ranging from small local businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Jim is one of the leading attorneys in the State on 102.29 recovery.  Jim is a frequent speaker to insurance groups and employers, and as a part-time lecturer at a local university. His past service includes the Governor's Council on Traffic Law Enforcement; the Board of Directors of the Civil Trial Counsel of Wisconsin; and Chairman of the CTCW Worker's Compensation Committee. He is a recipient of the U.S. Marshal's Certificate of Distinguished Service.

Larry joined Ratzel & Associates after establishing and honing his practice in Illinois and Wisconsin. Larry earned his undergraduate degree from The University of Notre Dame and his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago (now The University of Illinois Chicago School of Law).

After practicing in Illinois for over 13 years, where he also served as a chair-certified arbitrator for the DuPage County mandatory arbitration program and served on the editorial board for the DuPage County Bar Association Brief, Larry moved his practice to Milwaukee where he was a shareholder with a well-established litigation firm for almost 25 years before matriculating to Ratzel & Associates. His practice concentrates in the areas of products liability, construction litigation, motor vehicle and truck accidents, premises liability, consumer protection defense and insurance coverage disputes.

Larry has successfully defended and tried lawsuits in Wisconsin and Illinois in state and federal courts, has argued before the Supreme Court of Wisconsin and has participated in numerous mediations and arbitrations, both as an attorney and arbitrator. Larry has made and continues to make presentations for continuing legal education (CLE) programs on numerous legal topics including mold litigation, construction litigation, trucking litigation, discovery and depositions practices, trial preparation, and mediation and negotiation practices. Larry is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Illinois Bar Association and Wisconsin Defense Counsel. 

Born in Syracuse, N.Y., Larry grew up in southern Ontario, Canada and in the Chicago area, and currently resides in Cedarburg, WI. Larry spent years as a youth sports coach and served on the board of the Cedarburg High School Athletic Booster Club and now is a coach for the Cedarburg High School Mock Trial team. He also sits on the board of the Notre Dame Club of Milwaukee. 

  Contact Larry directly at 

262-230-1259 or ldrabot@ratzel-law.com