President & Attorney
Heather L. Nelson
Phone: (920) 435-3734 | Fax: (920) 435-0126
Paralegal Assistant: Julie O’Branovich
Heather Nelson is an experienced trial attorney, having successfully tried cases before juries in state and federal courts throughout Wisconsin and Illinois. Heather was elected to Wisconsin’s chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), which accepts only 80 attorneys statewide and consists of equal numbers of plaintiff and defense attorneys. ABOTA members are chosen due to their extensive trial experience as well as their civility, integrity and professionalism. A native of Green Bay, she moved with her family to Illinois as a teenager and launched her legal career in the Chicago area. After representing defendants in civil litigation matters with two Chicago-based private insurance defense firms, she joined Chicago’s staff counsel operation for The Hanover Insurance Group. She became licensed to practice law in Wisconsin in 2000 and thus expanded Hanover’s in-house reach into and throughout the entire state of Wisconsin. Heather ultimately was promoted to Lead Trial Attorney at Hanover, representing Hanover and its insureds and advising Hanover’s claims personnel from pre-litigation stages through trial and appeal.
Heather’s practice focuses on all aspects of personal injury defense, including motor vehicle accidents, premises liability claims (including Safe Place Act), wrongful death, products liability and insurance coverage. Heather has represented employers in Equal Opportunity Commission investigations and in the defense of employment discrimination lawsuits.
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Heather has served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Wisconsin Defense Counsel and is WDC’s Immediate Past President. She is an active member of WDC's Women in the Law Committee and its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. In 2025, Heather was awarded Wisconsin Defense Counsel's prestigious Advocate of the Year Award due to her trial successes, trial mentorship, and educational efforts arising out of her trials. Heather brought a client, several jurors and a judge from her trials to educate WDC's members at 3 conferences, focusing on ways defense attorneys can be even more effective advocates on our clients' behalf.
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Heather has served as a guest judge for the St. Norbert College Mock Trial team and has served as a scoring judge and presiding judge for Wisconsin High School Mock Trial Tournaments and particularly enjoys the opportunity it affords her to encourage and mentor aspiring litigators.
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Joining The Everson Law Firm in 2016 returned Heather to her Green Bay roots and significantly reduced her post-Packer game commute time.
View my profiles
Awards
Areas of
Practice
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Insurance Defense of Personal Injury Claims
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Motor Vehicle Accident Litigation Defense
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Premises Liability Defense
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Products Liability Defense
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Insurance Coverage Defense
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Employment Discrimination/EEOC investigations
Bar Admissions
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State Bar of Wisconsin
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State Bar of Illinois
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U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin
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U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Education
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J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence
DePaul University College of Law, Chicago, IL-
Journal of Health and Hospital Law, Casenote Editor
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B.A., Bachelor of Arts – English
Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL-
University Honors Program
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Minor: Business Administration
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Memberships, Publications and Recognition
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American Board of Trial Advocates 2022 – present
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Wisconsin Defense Counsel Board of Director and Officer positions:
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Immediate Past Present, 2025 –
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President, 2024-2025
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President-Elect, 2023-2024
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Secretary/Treasurer, 2022-2023
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Program Chair, 2021-2022
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Board of Directors, 2019 - 2021
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Wisconsin Defense Counsel Awards
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Advocate of the Year Award 2025
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee Award 2022
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Distinguished Professional Service Award 2021
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Wisconsin Defense Counsel Committees
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Women in the Law Committee Member, past Vice Chair (2016-2018) and Chair (2018 - 2021)
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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Member
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State Bar of Wisconsin, Litigation Section Board Member, 2021- present
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Co-Chair, Legislation Committee
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Co-Chair, Blog Committee
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Wisconsin Super Lawyer 2020-present
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2018 Women in the Law Award, Wisconsin Law Journal
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Brown County Bar Association
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The Hon. Robert J. Parins Legal Society of Northeast Wisconsin
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Village of Suamico Historic Preservation Commission Member 2017 – present, co-chair 2018-2020, chair 2020-2022
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Howard-Suamico Historical Society Member, 2019-present
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Co-author of "But It’s Such a Small Minor Settlement: Do I Really Need Court Approval?," WDC Wisconsin Civil Trial Journal Winter 2020 (Page 41)
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Co-author Attorney Kristen Scheuerman
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Author “WDC, Its Members, and Hamilton Consulting Step Up To Educate Wisconsin’s Legislature on Proposed Change to Venue Statute,” WDC Wisconsin Civil Trial Journal, Summer 2025
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Author “President’s Message: To Be Civil, or Not To Be Civil; to Me, There Is No Question,” WDC Wisconsin Civil Trial Journal, Summer 2025
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Author “President’s Message: ‘None of Us Is As Good as All of Us’,” WDC Wisconsin Civil Trial Journal, Spring 2025
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Author “President’s Message: Using the Value and Virtue of Our Profession to Inspire the Next Generation of Defense Litigators,” WDC Wisconsin Civil Trial
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Journal, Winter 2024
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Author ‘Finding and Developing our Future Trial Attorneys,’ State Bar of Wisconsin, Litigation Blog, June 12, 2022
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Co-author of "New Year’s Resolution: Stay Out of Medicare’s Crosshairs," State Bar of Wisconsin 2023
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Co-author Attorney Kristen Scheuerman
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Community Service
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Village of Suamico Historic Preservation Commission Member 2017 – present, co-chair 2018-2020, chair 2020-2022
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Howard-Suamico Historical Society Member, 2019-present
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NEW Community Shelter - meal service
Presentations
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“A View from the Other Chair: A Lawsuit from the Insured’s Perspective,” Wisconsin Defense Counsel Winter Conference, December 2024
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“A Peek Behind the Curtain: The Jury Trial Experience from The Jurors’ Point of View,” Wisconsin Defense Counsel Spring Conference, April 2025
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“A View from the Bench: A Trial Judge’s Thoughts, Perceptions and Observations About Civil Jury Trials,” Wisconsin Defense Counsel Annual Conference, August 2025 (with Brown County Judge Marc Hammer)
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Moderated and presented panel at Wisconsin Defense Counsel Spring Conference: “Off the Record: Practice Perspectives from the Bench,” featuring Hon. Tammy Jo Hock (Brown County) and Hon. Mary Triggiano (Milwaukee County) April 2023
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State Bar of Wisconsin Car Crash Symposium: “Major Tips for Minor Settlements,” January 2022 (with Attorney Kristen Scheuerman)
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“Direct Examination of Witnesses at Trial,” Wisconsin Defense Counsel Annual Conference, August 2021
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"We say IME, they say DME, Don’t Let Them Throw You Off, strategies and practice tips regarding Independent Medical Examinations in the defense of personal injury claims," Wisconsin Defense Counsel Annual Conference, Virtual, August 2020 (with Attorney Brian Anderson)
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“Tips and Strategies for Effective Voir Dire,” State Bar of Wisconsin Annual Meeting & Conference, Green Bay, Wisconsin, June 2019
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Moderated Panel Discussion: “In the Era of #metoo and “Time’s Up” – It’s Time for a Candid Discussion of Issues Facing Women in the Legal Profession,” Wisconsin Defense Counsel Spring Conference, Kohler, Wisconsin, April 2018, and also at the Wisconsin Bar’s Young Lawyers Conference, Madison, WI, March 2019
I was very pleased with the support I received from the law firm of Everson, Whitney, Everson & Brehm, S.C.
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Heather Nelson was very well prepared to handle my case and did an excellent job interacting with a very challenging prosecuting attorney. She also did an excellent job in both representing me and counseling me in a very stressful and challenging deposition.
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Heather’s hard work, excellent preparation, and attention to detail led to a resolution in my favor. I would highly recommend Heather and her law firm to anyone needing legal representation.
( J.R.M. )