Meet Nic
Nic Wahl is president and managing partner of Godfrey & Kahn. Nic joined the firm in 1990 and was named president and managing partner in 2011.
In addition to those roles, Nic continues to maintain a broad-based practice focused on representing private equity, management and corporate buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions, providing general business advice, and advising on succession planning and real estate matters. Nic is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Bar Association and has been consistently listed in The Best Lawyers in America as well as recognized as a Wisconsin Super Lawyer. He also serves on the Board of Directors of TerraLex, a worldwide network of 155 law firms in 100 countries with over 17,000 lawyers and of which Godfrey & Kahn is a U.S. representative.
Nic is a Police Commissioner for the village of Fox Point and serves on the Board of Directors of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, the Board of Visitors of the University of Wisconsin Law School, and the Advisory Board of Marquette University Law School. He is also a member of the Greater Milwaukee Committee and the Association for Corporate Growth. Nic is a Green Bay native. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from the University of Kansas in 1987 and his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1990, where he served as Member/Articles Editor of the Wisconsin Law Review.
Nic and his wife, Sally, live in Fox Point with their three sons.
Education
Juris Doctor, University of Wisconsin Law School,1990, Law Review (Member/Articles Editor)
Bachelor of Arts, University of Kansas, 1987, Chemistry
Activities
Greater Milwaukee Committee
Marquette University Law School – Advisory Board
Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce – Board of Directors
Milwaukee Repertory Theater – Board of Directors
TerraLex – Board of Directors
University of Wisconsin Law School – Board of Visitors
Village of Fox Point – Police Commissioner
Honors
Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions, 2007 - present)
Recognized as a Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” (Corporate Law, 2022, 2024)
Recognized as a Wisconsin Super Lawyer (2007 - present)
AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®
Included in the BizTimes’ Wisconsin 275, featuring Wisconsin’s most influential business leaders
Admitted To Practice
WisconsinProfessional Associations
American Bar Association, Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), Milwaukee Bar Association, State Bar of WisconsinAdvised private equity fund in its purchase of a specialty chemicals business, advised the portfolio company in its operations and advised the fund in its sale of the specialty chemicals business to a publicly traded company.
Advised private equity fund's specialty coatings portfolio company in its operations, its add-on acquisition, and advised the fund in the sale of both entities to a publicly traded company.
Advised national battery retailer/franchisor in its sale (sale of LLC interests) to a private equity fund.
Advised company founders, venture capital funds and a major institution's licensing arm in numerous early-stage portfolio company equity investments and debt financings.
Advised California-based public company in its acquisition of a portfolio company from a Warburg-Pincus investment fund.
Advised private equity fund with its acquisition of several Wisconsin-based, privately-held manufacturing companies.
Advised national HVAC distributor/wholesaler in its day-to-day activities, its national real estate matters and with respect to several add-on acquisitions.
Advised national financial institution in connection with various anchor tenant leases for its office towers located throughout the Midwest.
Advised numerous business owners and their families with respect to estate and succession planning matters.