Foundation to honor Godfrey & Kahn attorney for decades-long partnership
Business attorney Andrew R. Lauritzen, a longtime legal adviser to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, is being named the Foundation's 2016 Professional Adviser of the Year.
Lauritzen is of counsel in the Corporate Practice Group of Godfrey & Kahn's Milwaukee office, where he has practiced since 1967. He began advising the Foundation in 1970, an important time in history as the Tax Reform Act of 1969 created numerous new challenges and opportunities for community foundations and other charitable organizations nationwide. Lauritzen helped the Foundation navigate these changes and proceeded to serve as Foundation counsel for 40 years.
“Andy’s contributions to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation are nothing short of historic,” said Ellen Gilligan, Foundation president and CEO. “With his guidance, the Foundation engaged in a number of new practices, some of which set precedent among community foundations nationally, such as the establishment of investment pools from which donors can choose and the formation of affiliated supporting organizations, including our thriving geographic partners in Cedarburg, Oconomowoc and West Bend.”
With expertise in corporate finance, venture capital, antitrust and general business counseling, Lauritzen has advised both public and privately held companies, representing more than 100 through acquisitions and business sales. In addition to community foundations and other public charities, he handles legal and tax issues for corporate, family and private foundations.
Lauritzen has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Nonprofit/Charities Law) from 2007-2016, including as Lawyer of the Year in 2013 and 2015. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School and his undergraduate degree from Yale University.
Lauritzen was honored May 13, 2016, at the Foundation's annual Herbert J. Mueller Society luncheon. The recognition society acknowledges the efforts of professional advisers who are committed to their clients, philanthropy and the community. The society is named in memory of Herbert Mueller, a local estate planning attorney who, through his quiet efforts, helped shape the Foundation into the strong, stable and successful organization it is today. By the time of his death in 2001 at age 91, Mueller had worked with his clients to start more than a dozen Foundation funds with gifts totaling nearly $50 million.