Law School Award Recipients

lIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT aWARD

Thomas M. Olenjniczak, Law '74
De Pere, Wis.

Some lawyers might struggle to find new challenges while staying at the same firm through four decades. But for Thomas, the work never became stale.

“The variety of issues that I have to deal with keeps the job stimulating,” he says. “It keeps me fresh.”

Thomas has been with Conway, Olejniczak & Jerry S.C. since 1976 and has been the Green Bay, Wis., firm’s managing partner since 2006. Business law has been a central focus of his practice.

Thomas has been a member of the Green Bay Packers’ board of directors since 1986, and on its executive committee since 2015. He was a member of the St. Norbert College board of trustees from 1986 to 2003, serving as its chairman from 1999 to 2003.

He is president of the New Community Shelter in Green Bay, the largest homeless shelter in Brown County. He also serves on the board of the Casa Alba Melanie Hispanic Resource Center, which provides resources for the greater Green Bay area’s Hispanic community, and is treasurer of the North Central Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a Roman Catholic religious order.

Thomas was a newlywed when he entered law school, an experience that taught him how to allocate his time. Today, he calls his wife, Dawn, the most influential person in his life.

“She has always encouraged me, supported me, given me good advice and been my rock,” he says.

Fun Fact: The class Thomas remembers most is Civil Procedure because, he says, “Professor Aiken scared the hell out of everyone!”