Boardman Law Firm

Kirsten Spira, Partner

Banking   •   Securities   •   Corporate and Commercial

Kirsten is part of a full service banking group serving primarily community banks located in Wisconsin, along with their holding companies and their insurance, securities, and investment subsidiaries. She also provides legal advice to regional and out-of-state banks, as well as securities assistance for non-banks. Kirsten works closely with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, FDIC, Federal Reserve, OCC and various state securities regulators on behalf of her banking clients.

Kirsten has established de novo banks in Wisconsin and has helped form many holding companies for Wisconsin community banks. She regularly works with banks and their holding companies to acquire other banks and branches. She drafts proxy and other shareholder communciations, and advises boards of directors on both day-to-day matters and extraordinary corporate transactions. Kirsten has helped banks and holding companies issue common stock and other securities to raise capital, and has worked with banks throughout Wisconsin and in Iowa and Minnesota to place hundreds of millions of dollars in trust preferred securities.

In 2008, Kirsten successfully worked with the WBA to revise the new Wisconsin securities statutes to remove a provision that would have adversely impacted the traditional business of community banks in this state.

Education

• JD, University of Wisconsin Law School, cum laude; Order of the Coif, Managing Editor of Wisconsin Law Review
• MA, Spanish Literature, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• BA, Political Science and Spanish (Graduated with Distinction), University of Wisconsin-Madison

Writings, Seminars & Contributions

• Taught the WBA's Municipal Lending Form Workshop with Attorney Richard Heinemann for several years
• Published article on the Bank Broker Dealer Rules in the WBA Compliance Journal

Board Member

• Past Member of the Board of Directors of the Norcap Growth Fund (mutual fund)

Other Memberships

• American Bar Association (Business Law Section)
• State Bar of Wisconsin (Business Law Section)
• Dane County Bar Association

Hobbies & Interests

• Reading
• Softball
• Ice skating

Interesting Facts

• Though she is originally from Wisconsin, Kirsten grew up in Peru and Bangladesh, and is fluent in Spanish.