Peg Lautenschlager

Peg Lautenschlager
Name	Margaret Ann "Peg" Lautenschlager
Birth date	March 28, 1955
Birth place	Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, U.S.
Death date	March 31, 2018
Death place	Oshkosh, Wisconsin, U.S.
Occupation	Attorney, politician, academic
Party	Democratic Party
Spouse	Paul Lautenschlager (divorced)
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh; University of Wisconsin Law School

Peg Lautenschlager was an American attorney, prosecutor, politician, and legal academic who served as the first female Attorney General of Wisconsin and as the first chair of the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. A member of the Democratic Party, she held elected and appointed offices across state and county levels and taught at multiple universities, shaping public integrity and criminal justice reforms. Her career intersected with prominent figures and institutions in Wisconsin and national law and politics.

Early life and education

Born in Fond du Lac, Lautenschlager grew up in a family rooted in Wisconsin Midwestern communities and attended local public schools before enrolling at University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh. At UW–Oshkosh she studied under faculty active in state legislative affairs and graduated prior to attending the University of Wisconsin Law School, where she trained alongside peers who later worked in the United States Department of Justice, state judiciary, and various Madison firms. Her legal education connected her to networks including alumni at the University of Wisconsin System and practitioners involved in prosecutions and public defense across Dane County and Winnebago County.

Legal and academic career

After law school Lautenschlager began practicing as a prosecutor and private attorney, participating in cases that brought her into contact with the state DOJ, local district attorneys' offices, and federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Wisconsin. She served as a legal advisor and lecturer at institutions including University of Wisconsin–Madison, Marquette University Law School, and regional campuses of the University of Wisconsin System, engaging with scholars from the American Bar Association, the National Association of Attorneys General, and nonprofit organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union. Lautenschlager also held prosecutorial roles in county government and collaborated with public defenders, judges on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, and officials at the Wisconsin Supreme Court on criminal justice matters.

Political career

Lautenschlager's entry into elective office occurred when she won a seat in the Wisconsin State Assembly and later served in the Wisconsin State Senate, aligning with legislators from the Democratic Party caucus and working with colleagues connected to the Wisconsin Governor's Office, U.S. Congress, and municipal governments of Madison, Wisconsin and Milwaukee. Her campaigns drew support from organized labor groups like the AFL–CIO, advocacy organizations including the League of Women Voters, and politicians such as Jim Doyle and other statewide Democrats. During legislative service she sponsored and debated measures that interacted with statutes overseen by the Wisconsin Department of Administration, regulations influenced by the United States Department of Justice, and initiatives supported by civic groups and county boards.

Tenure as Wisconsin Attorney General

Elected as Wisconsin Attorney General, Lautenschlager became the state's first woman to hold the office, succeeding predecessors associated with the Republican Party and joining a cohort of attorneys general who engaged with the National Association of Attorneys General on multistate litigation. As AG she oversaw the state DOJ legal staff, coordinated with the Federal Trade Commission and United States Department of Health and Human Services on consumer and health matters, and litigated cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Her tenure involved interactions with law enforcement partners including the FBI, county sheriffs in Winnebago County and Dane County, and prosecutors aligned with state and federal priorities on public integrity and criminal prosecutions. Lautenschlager's administration also responded to issues raised by advocacy groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and regulatory concerns linked to statutes enacted by the Wisconsin Legislature.

Later career and advocacy

After leaving the attorney general's office Lautenschlager continued as an academic, visiting professor, and public speaker at universities including University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, and private colleges, as well as lecturing before legal associations such as the State Bar of Wisconsin and the American Bar Association. She was appointed to lead the newly created Wisconsin Ethics Commission, working with commissioners who had backgrounds in municipal law, the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, and nonprofit oversight organizations. Lautenschlager also engaged in advocacy concerning criminal justice reform, campaign finance oversight, and elder law, collaborating with entities like the AARP, National Conference of State Legislatures, and nonprofit legal clinics. Her later roles connected her to national debates involving former state attorneys general, federal prosecutors, and civic reformers.

Personal life and death

Lautenschlager experienced personal and health challenges during and after her public service years; she had been married and later divorced, and her family ties included relatives living across Fond du Lac County and Winnebago County. She died in March 2018 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin after a battle with illnesses that were publicly reported by statewide media outlets, drawing statements from figures including former governors, members of the Wisconsin Legislature, and legal colleagues at the State Bar of Wisconsin and local bar associations. Her funeral and memorials were attended by elected officials, academics, and attorneys from institutions such as the University of Wisconsin System and county governments.

Category:1955 birthsCategory:2018 deathsCategory:Wisconsin Attorneys GeneralCategory:Women in Wisconsin politics