About Nancy Thome

Nancy and her husband, Patrick Thome, have called Sauk County home for 28 years. They first lived in Prairie du Sac, but when Pat accepted a job with Primex Plastics Corporation in Reedsburg (a job he has held for 25 years), they moved to Baraboo. They have owned and lived in their Baraboo house since 2000. They also own an office building in Baraboo which they bought in 2006, when Nancy started Ash Street Law Office, LLC. 

Nancy and Pat's two children were born and raised in Baraboo. When they were young, Nancy led their Girl Scout and Cub Scout troops, and volunteered in their schools. Pat coached soccer for Baraboo Parks and Recreation. Nancy and her daughter also volunteered at the Sauk County Humane Society together for several years.

Currently, Nancy is a volunteer with Agrace Hospice. She helps home-based hospice patients and their families in Sauk County. She is also on the board of the non-profit Devil's Lake Concessions Corporation, which operates the gift shops, concession stands, boat and paddleboard rentals, campground store, and Red Oak shelter at Devil's Lake State Park. All of its revenues are donated back to the park. 

Nancy feels fortunate to call Sauk County home. She loves the rural character, the natural attractions, and the history. Most of all, she loves the people - friendly, hard-working, and honest. She feels a sense of community here, more than any other place she's lived. 

Nancy has 28 years of experience as a lawyer, all of it here in Sauk County. She was a partner in two Sauk County law firms before founding Ash Street Law Office, LLC, in Baraboo, in 2006.

She has represented clients in court trials in State and Federal Courts.

Nancy has broad legal experience in over 30 types of cases, including bankruptcy, contracts, criminal, elder law, family law, guardianship, mental commitment, probate, real estate, and small claims.

She is admitted to practice in:

All State of Wisconsin Courts

United States District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin

United States District Court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin

Teaching Law

A trial judge’s first obligation is to teach the law. “Judges are law teachers. And everything

we do revolves around that role” said Judge William G. Young, who has more than 40 years of experience as a trial judge.1  

Nancy has had more than 18 years of experience teaching the law.

She was visiting faculty for the University of Wisconsin Law School Lawyering Skills Course, where she taught law students skills such as negotiation, how to write legal documents, and how to make oral arguments to the court.

She was an instructor for MATC-Reedsburg, where she taught two law courses, covering everything from the three branches of government, the judicial system, and the three types of laws (court decisions or "stare decisis", statutes, and administrative codes), to specific areas of the law such as criminal law and contracts law.

Write Like a Judge

In its writing manual for judges, the Federal Judicial Center says "The link between courts and the public is the written word. With rare exceptions, it is through judicial opinions that courts communicate with litigants, lawyers, other courts, and the community... It is therefore not enough that a decision be correct—it must also be fair and reasonable and readily understood. The burden of the judicial opinion is to explain and to persuade and to satisfy the world that the decision is principled and sound. What the court says, and how it says it, is as important as what the court decides."2

Nancy is a gifted writer. During her first semester of law school, her torts professor told her she wrote like Hemingway. She began writing long stories in elementary school. By high school, she was editor of the school newspaper. In college, she majored in journalism and was a reporter for the Columbia Missourian. 

From the day she graduated from law school, one of Nancy's goals has been to make her legal writing understandable to non-lawyers. She writes succinctly and directly and uses plain English. She avoids wordiness and arcane language. 

Nancy has written many briefs in both state and federal cases. (A brief is kind of like a one-sided research paper, in which an attorney sets forth the arguments and laws that support her client's position.) The highest court for which she has written a brief is the U.S Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which is just one step away from the U.S. Supreme Court. (Nancy also gave the oral argument and her client won the case.)

Nancy has also had articles published in the Wisconsin Lawyer and the Wisconsin Banker's Association publication. 

Other Experience

Past President of the Sauk County Bar Association.

Member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

Interned with the Legal Assistance to Institutionalized Persons program during which Nancy represented prisoners in family law cases, criminal appeals, etc.

Received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School, which is in the top 20% of law schools in the United States.

Received a Bachelor of Journalism (B.J.) degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, which is the #1 journalism school in the United States for undergraduates.

Received Certification as an End-of-Life Doula from the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine in May 2023.

1 https://www.fedbar.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Young_MarApr2004_3pgs-pdf-3.pdf

2 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-JU13-PURL-gpo39220/pdf/GOVPUB-JU13-PURL-gpo39220.pdf

• Nancy was elected to the Baraboo School Board twice, and was the Policy Committee Chairperson

• Nancy has served as a Board Member of eight Sauk County non-profit organizations:
• City of Baraboo Community Development Authority, Vice-Chairperson
• Sauk County Bar Association, President
• Sauk County Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers
• Al Ringling Theatre Friends
  
• Baraboo River Canoe Club, Secretary/Treasurer
• Devil's Lake Concession Corporation
• Jack Young Middle School Parents in the Middle
• St. Joseph's Catholic School Home & School, Chairperson

Nancy has also been a member of the Sauk County Planned Giving Council, and the St. Clare Hospital Planned Giving Committee.

• Nancy is a graduate of the Sauk County Institute of Leadership, which is a 9 month program to "inspire and engage creative leaders working to build a stronger, more vibrant Sauk County community"

• Prior to law school, Nancy served in the U.S. Peace Corps in the Central African Republic as a school health educator for two years. She was chosen to stay a third year as the health volunteer leader.

• In college, Nancy was a resident assistant for 2.5 years. In that role, she mentored students and created a supportive and safe environment in student housing.