Nancy J. Sennett
Retired Partner
Nancy J. Sennett was a partner and litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. Her practice encompassed all aspects of commercial and business litigation, with a particular focus on securities litigation. She represented corporations, boards of directors, broker‑dealers, investment advisers, law firms, and individuals in private securities litigation matters, including shareholder class actions and derivative suits, SEC enforcement actions, SRO proceedings, and ERISA actions. She also conducted internal investigations for both public and private companies.
Nancy represented broker‑dealer defendants in the Rule 10b‑5 litigation arising out of the Orange County bankruptcy, as well as in the SEC’s “yield burning” enforcement action and the related civil Rule 10b‑5 cases. She tried insider trading cases and managed complex securities litigation matters in which clients were named as defendants in multiple civil actions while also being the subject of SEC and DOJ investigations. In addition, she devoted significant time to litigating intellectual property licensing agreements.
An experienced trial lawyer, Nancy regularly appeared in federal courts of appeal, federal district courts, and state courts throughout the country, as well as in arbitrations and mediations.
Nancy was a member of the firm’s Litigation Department and its Commercial Litigation and Securities Enforcement & Litigation Practices, and she also served on the International Business Team. She was a former member of the firm’s Management Committee, previously served as the managing partner of the Milwaukee office, and chaired the firm’s Strategic Planning Committee.
Awards and Recognition
Nancy was Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale‑Hubbell’s peer review rating system. She was selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© beginning in 2006 and was named the 2013 Milwaukee Litigation – Securities Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America. She was listed as a leading Wisconsin litigator in Chambers USA (2002–2017) and was included in the Wisconsin Super Lawyers® lists (2005–2016).
In 2013, Nancy received the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee’s Equal Justice Medal in recognition of her distinguished volunteer lawyer commitment to the organization’s mission. She also received the 2011 Sacagawea Award, which recognizes women who have distinguished themselves through leadership, intelligence, foresight, common sense, and adaptability. In addition, she was selected in 2011 as one of Wisconsin Law Journal’s “Women in the Law,” recognizing her positive influence on other women pursuing legal careers and her encouragement of women to seek advanced opportunities within the profession. Nancy was named to The Business Journal’s 2011 Women of Influence list, an honor bestowed upon Milwaukee’s most influential women.
Affiliations
Ms. Sennett was licensed to practice in Wisconsin and was a member of the Milwaukee Bar Association, from which she received the 2003 Lawyer of the Year award. She was a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Seventh Circuit Bar Association, and the American Bar Association, where she served as a member of the Securities Litigation Committee. She was also a member of the Securities Industry Association Compliance and Legal Division and completed FINRA’s training program for securities arbitrators. Ms. Sennett served as chair of the Merit Selection Committee for the Reappointment of the Magistrate Judges for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Community Involvement
Nancy was past president of the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association and received its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2003. She served as a board member of The Greater Milwaukee Committee, Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce, Junior Achievement, Tempo, Professional Dimensions, and Rotary. She was also a founding board member of ABCD, Inc. and the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum.
Thought Leadership
Nancy spoke on the topic of the Sarbanes‑Oxley Act at the BusinessWeek Summit in Washington, D.C., and on the topics of boardroom governance and SEC enforcement at the Foley & Lardner National Directors Institutes from 2002 to 2010. She presented the “Top Ten Securities Cases” at the annual Wisconsin State Bar Securities Law seminar and co‑authored an article of the same title for the Securities Litigation newsletter of the American Bar Association. She was also a speaker on the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act at the annual Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate and Securities Law Institute at Northwestern University School of Law. In addition, she was a co‑author of Wisconsin Civil Procedure Before Trial.