Joel S. Tilleson
Partner
Joel specializes in all aspects of insurance law litigation with an emphasis on property subrogation, health recovery subrogation, and auto and uninsured/underinsured motorist subrogation. He also practices commercial litigation and collections, including breach of contract and money judgment claims. Joel has represented both local businesses and large national corporations, and has successfully tried several cases to verdict.
While in law school, Joel obtained a litigation concentration and was the recipient of the overall “Best Advocate” award in the 2007 intra-school Moot Court competition, besting over 200 competitors. He also interned in the Racine County District Attorney’s office where he prosecuted criminal cases on behalf of the State of Wisconsin.
Actively involved in the community, Joel was elected as an alderman to the City of Wauwatosa Common Council in 2012, becoming the city’s first millennial council member. He was subsequently reelected in 2016 and 2020. He currently serves as chairman of the city’s internal oversight and legislative-writing Government Affairs Committee, and he is also a member of the budget-writing Financial Affairs Committee. Joel also has extensive experience in economic development, twice elected by his peers to serve as a commissioner on the Wauwatosa Plan Commission and accepting appointments by successive mayors to oversee brownfield redevelopment on the city’s Community Development Authority. Additionally, Joel is a former Secretary of the Wauwatosa Economic Development Corporation.
In 2014, Joel was appointed by the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club to serve on their inaugural Creative Council – a young professional advisory committee tasked with enhancing team visibility and marketing. He was reappointed annually and continued his service through 2020.
Joel was raised in Brookfield, Wisconsin and lived throughout the Midwest before returning to the Milwaukee area. He enjoys cycling, hunting, and hiking, as well as cheering on the Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Golden Gophers. Joel also enjoys adventure travel, having backpacked through all seven of the Earth’s continents and visiting over 70 countries around the world.
Professional Memberships
- State Bar of Wisconsin
- Milwaukee Bar Association
- National Association of Subrogation Professionals (NASP)
- League of Wisconsin Municipalities
- Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin
Certifications
- Certified Subrogation Recovery Professional (CSRP), National Association of Subrogation Professionals
- Accredited new urbanist (CNU-a), Congress for the New Urbanism
Honors & Awards
- Inducted into the University of Minnesota’s first Thomas Burnett Advanced Leadership Program, 2002
- Won the prestigious “Best Advocate” award, besting over 200 participants in an intra-school Moot Court competition, 2007
- Named “Person of the Year” by the Wauwatosa Patch, 2012