Lisa Neubauer (néeStephens; born July 21, 1957) is an American lawyer and judge, currently serving as a judge of theWisconsin Court of Appeals in theWaukesha-based District II. Judge Neubauer has served on the Court of Appeals since 2007 and was chief judge from 2015 through 2021.^[2][3]

Neubauer graduated from theUniversity of Wisconsin in 1979. Prior to attending law school, she worked as an aide to state senatorFred Risser ofMadison. In 1987, Neubauer graduated from theUniversity of Chicago Law School where she was a member of theOrder of the Coif.^[4] Following her graduation from law school, she was a law clerk to JudgeBarbara Brandriff Crabb of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.^[4]

Neubauer is a recipient of the Community Service Award from the Association for Women Lawyers. She is a former board member of the Wisconsin Equal Justice Fund, Racine AreaUnited Way, the Equal Justice Coalition, and Legal Action of Wisconsin. She has been a reading tutor in the Racine public elementary schools through the United Way Schools of Hope program, a big sister with a Big Sisters of Greater Racine, and a mentor for breast cancer survivors through "After Breast Cancer Diagnosis" (ABCD).

Neubauer is on the Supreme Court Finance Committee and is co-chair of the Wisconsin Bar Association’s Bench and Bar Committee and Chair of the Bench/Bar Court Funding Subcommittee. She previously served on the Planning and Policy Advisory Committee, the Judicial Conduct Advisory Committee, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court Committee on Community Outreach.^{[citation needed]}

Neubauer was employed from 1988 until 2007 at theMilwaukee law firmFoley and Lardner, specializing inenvironmental cleanup litigation and rising to the level of partner. While at the firm, she chaired the Insurance Dispute Resolution Practice Group and co-chaired the firm's national recruiting committee.^[5]

In December 2007,Democratic governorJim Doyle appointed Neubauer to a seat on theWisconsin Court of Appeals vacated by retired JudgeNeal Nettesheim. Neubauer was the first woman to serve as a judge of the court's District II, headquartered inWaukesha.^[6] Neubauer was elected to a full term on the court in the April 2008 general election, defeating attorney William C. Gleisner III.^[7] She enjoyed bi-partisan support in her campaign for the position, including the endorsement of Michael Grebe, the former state chair of theRepublican Party of Wisconsin. In 2009, Neubauer was appointed presiding judge of District II.^[8]

On May 8, 2015, theWisconsin Supreme Court appointed Neubauer chief judge of the Court of Appeals.^[8] Neubauer took office on August 2, replacing retiring Chief JudgeRichard S. Brown.

Neubauer was a candidate forWisconsin Supreme Court in 2019. Despite endorsements from 150 current and former Wisconsin judges, including 18 from the court of appeals,^[9] she was narrowly defeated by Judge Brian Hagedorn.^[10]

Neubauer was re-elected to another term on the Court of Appeals in 2020.^[11] On June 28, 2021, theWisconsin Supreme Court issued an order ending her term as chief judge on July 31, 2021; she was replaced by presiding judgeWilliam W. Brash III.^[12]

Lisa Stephens took the last name Neubauer in 1986 when she marriedJeffrey A. Neubauer, who was then serving as a state representative and would later serve four years as chairman of theDemocratic Party of Wisconsin.^[13] They have three adult children, includingGreta Neubauer, the current Democratic minority leader in theWisconsin State Assembly. The Neubauers reside inRacine, Wisconsin.

• Lisa Neubauer atBallotpedia
• Profile atVote Smart
• Neubauer, Lisa atOur Campaigns

• 1957 births
• Living people
• 20th-century American lawyers
• 21st-century American judges
• University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
• University of Chicago Law School alumni
• Wisconsin Court of Appeals judges
• Wisconsin lawyers
• 20th-century American women lawyers
• 21st-century American women judges

• Articles with short description
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• Use mdy dates from August 2020
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• Articles with unsourced statements from August 2023