Margadette has her mother, a former teacher, to thank for encouraging her to enroll at a time when there were few women in law school. “She was an amazing woman,” Margadette recalls. “She insisted not only that I graduate from college but that I pursue a graduate degree and continue, as she did, learning for the rest of my life.”

And so Margadette has, concentrating her practice in estate planning, probate and trust work, and family, elder, and disability law at Demet & Demet, LLC. She is a certified mediator and finds special satisfaction as a volunteer mediator at Children’s Court.

“The problems faced in many of those cases cannot easily be resolved in the court room,” she says. “When we are able to bring the parties together in mediation, they often craft creative solutions and actually commit to making them work.” Many of the wounds inflicted on all parties in litigation can be mitigated or eliminated, she says. 

Margadette also has been a leader in the profession, serving over time as past president of the Fellows of the Wisconsin Law Foundation, Senior Lawyers Division, and has served the State Bar of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Bar Association in many other capacities. She has donated her time to numerous local nonprofits, including several Catholic organizations.

“I would not trade my Jesuit education for anything,” she says. “I am an Ignatian Associate and take seriously the vows of fidelity to the Gospel, apostolic availability and simplicity of life.”

Although she loves spending time with her eight children and 25 grandchildren, she has no plans to retire any time soon. 

“I know that to some people retirement is an attractive prospect, but I really enjoy my work,” she says. “I am still in good health, mentally and physically, and believe my work is helping people.”