Phil Steans is a 1965 Summa Cum Laude graduate of Ripon College, Ripon, Wisconsin, where he achieved the distinction of being elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the National Scholastic Honorary Fraternity. Phil attended the University of Chicago Law School on scholarship and received a J.D. degree there in 1968.

He has practiced law in Menomonie, Wisconsin since 1968, having been admitted to practice in the States of Illinois and Wisconsin in the Summer of 1968. He also held a license in the State of Minnesota from 1986 until 1995.

Phil has served as District Attorney for Dunn County, Wisconsin from November 1969 to January 1975. He also served as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Menomonie, Wisconsin, from 1969 until 1991.

Phil's practice has centered on civil and criminal litigation for over 30 years, with a heavy emphasis on professional negligence - both medical and legal malpractice - for the past 20 years.

Phil has been a speaker at the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers, the University of Wisconsin-Stout, the University of Wisconsin Law School, the Chippewa Valley Technical College, and the Wisconsin League of Municipal Attorneys.

In 1982 Phil was certified as a Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in both Criminal Trial Advocacy and Civil Trial Advocacy. Phil has maintained both certifications since that time; the only attorney in Wisconsin to do so!

Phil is a founding sponsor of the Civil Justice Foundation; an organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of the rights of victims and to prevention of future injuries and the improvement of care and treatment through research and education.

Phil is a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association and of its professional negligence section, the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the St. Croix Valley Bar Association.

Phil has previously held office with the St. Croix Valley Bar Association and was a former director of the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers. He has also served on the Bench-Bar Committee of the Wisconsin State Bar in the past. Phil currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Professionalism Committee for the State Bar of Wisconsin.

Although Phil's practice is centered in northwest Wisconsin, he has successfully tried cases throughout the State including southeastern Wisconsin, Milwaukee County, Dane County and in the Fox River Valley. He has also tried cases in Minnesota and Illinois.