Walsh Receives 2010 Wisconsin Law Foundation Charles L. Goldberg Distinguished Service Award
Foley is pleased to announce that David G. Walsh has received the Wisconsin Law Foundation 2010 Charles L. Goldberg Distinguished Service Award. This honor is presented to a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin who has a long-standing record of dedicated service both to the legal profession and to the public throughout their entire career.
Mr. Walsh is a partner in Foley’s Madison office and for 40 years has combined a high level of professional success with an outstanding record of public service that has improved the lives of countless people in Wisconsin and beyond.
His service to the legal profession is distinguished. Mr. Walsh is widely recognized for his role in significant litigations involving telecommunications law, including successful challenges to municipal and state regulation of the cable television industry. He played a key role in developing Wisconsin’s cable television legal and regulatory structure, and built 35 cable systems across the state. Mr. Walsh also served as a member of the Governor’s task force on cable television. Additionally, he is an accomplished attorney in the fields of sports law and estate planning. Authorities including The Best Lawyers in America®, Chambers USA and Wisconsin Super Lawyers® have included Mr. Walsh in their top rankings for a number of years. He also was named 2010 Madison Corporate Lawyer of the Year by The Best Lawyers in America®.
As staff to the Governor’s Task Force for Judicial Reorganization, Mr. Walsh was directly involved in establishing the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Prior to this, the Wisconsin Supreme Court appointed Mr. Walsh to be its representative on the Wisconsin State Elections Board where he ultimately held the position of Elections Board Chair.
Mr. Walsh served on the Executive Committee of the Dane County Bar Association for many years, including serving several years as Secretary. He also has been actively involved in Foley’s firm governance having previously served as managing partner of the firm’s Madison office and as a member of Foley’s management committee. In 2002 Mr. Walsh received the firm’s Lynford Lardner Community Service award – an annual award established to recognize outstanding community involvement efforts within the firm.
Previously an adjunct professor at UW Law School, Mr. Walsh taught courses in criminal procedure and civil administrative procedure. In 1988 he established the John J. Walsh Scholarship in honor of his father, a UW Law School alumnus and the former boxing coach at the University. This $10,000 scholarship is given annually to qualifying students to aid them in furthering their legal education.
Mr. Walsh’s service to the public is illustrated by his involvement with a variety of organizations, among them the University of Wisconsin System. Governor Doyle appointed Mr. Walsh to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents. He served two terms as Board President during which time he led the Board in setting administrative standards, establishing the regulatory framework within which the individual units operate, and representing the university before state government. He was reappointed in 2009 for another seven year term. His current Board responsibilities include serving on the Business, Finance and Audit committee, and acting as Regent Member on the UW Hospital Authority Board and the UW Research Park Board. Mr. Walsh also currently serves as Chair of the UW Hospital and Clinics Authority Board and is past president of the UW School of Business Advisory Board. In 1999, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the UW School of Business.
In addition to his leadership roles in UW organizations, Mr. Walsh has personally played a significant role in furthering medical research in Wisconsin. He raised more than $1.2 million for retinal research, and assisted a research program in drawing more than $4 million in grants. He also serves as chair of the Advisory Board of the Alice R. McPherson UW-Madison Eye Research Institute and as President of the Herman E. Shapiro Foundation, the largest single donor in support of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. He is on the Board of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, a national organization dedicated to driving research that will provide preventions, treatment and cures for people affected by Usher Syndrome as well as other retinal degenerative diseases. This is a cause close to his heart, as two of his children are afflicted with this condition.
Mr. Walsh is actively involved with organizations that have benefitted Madison and had a statewide impact, currently serving as Board member of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on the Board of Directors for companies including National Guardian Life Insurance Company and Thompson Investment Management, Inc. He also was a member of the ownership group for the Milwaukee Brewers, past President of the Madison Opportunity Center and a former board member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Madison and Future Madison.
We sincerely congratulate our colleague on this well-deserved honor as the recipient of the 2010 Wisconsin Law Foundation Charles L. Goldberg Distinguished Service Award.
