Russell Nicolet: Building justice from the ground up
With a focus on continuous growth, the founder of Nicolet Law is committed to getting injured clients the justice they deserve.
Some lawyers come from long lines of legal professionals, stepping into a legacy built over generations. Others enter the field chasing prestige, drawn more to the title than the calling. But for Russell Nicolet, law was not about image or inheritance but about people.
“I think a big challenge was just being the first in my family to go to law school and become a lawyer,” he says. “I didn’t know what to expect, and I didn’t really know how to make it all work. I just went for it.”
That leap of faith led Nicolet to found Nicolet Law. The firm began with one lawyer and grew into a multistate practice, serving communities across Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota.
“I started Nicolet Law as a one-person law office to help others,” he explains. “Now, we’ve grown to three states and dozens of employees. I’m proud of that growth, but I’m most proud of the people who work here. They come in every day to fight for hard-working families that need our help.”
Learning by doing
From the start, Nicolet approached the law with humility and relentless drive.
“The big thing I did to overcome the challenges was to continuously work at getting more knowledgeable and getting better,” he shares. “I spent a lot of time as a young attorney doing research in the Washington County Law Library to make sure I effectively handled cases for clients, even though I was brand new.”
That commitment to growth became Nicolet’s trademark. “I became obsessed with getting clients’ problems solved and wanting to get better,” he adds.
As a young attorney, Nicolet tried to learn as much as possible from every lawyer he encountered, sometimes even from the ones opposing him. As his practice evolved toward injury law, Nicolet expanded his training nationwide.
“I realized I needed to learn beyond Wisconsin and Minnesota, so I started going to other states to train with some of the best injury law attorneys in the world,” he explains. “I’ve been to Florida, Georgia, New York, and California several times to learn from the best of the best trial lawyers.”
A career defined by compassion
Nicolet has never measured success by titles. While he has received awards such as Top 40 Under 40 Trial Lawyers and Top 100 Trial Lawyers and has been recognized as a SuperLawyer by SuperLawyers Magazine, the impact he’s had on others matters more to Nicolet: “My most notable highlights have been results for the great people I’ve had the honor to represent.”
He points to helping clients achieve some of the largest verdicts and settlements in their counties and mentoring his firm’s attorneys to do the same.
“I’ve had the privilege to help guide and support other lawyers at my firm in obtaining outstanding settlements and verdicts,” he notes.
Nicolet describes the work of lawyers as a calling to “help, serve, and advocate for those who need it most.”
Justice as a calling
Looking ahead, Nicolet’s vision remains clear and grounded in purpose. He sees himself continuing to represent injured folks in the Midwest and holding insurance companies accountable.
“We’re not going to stop growing, and we’re not going to stop fighting. Everyone here feels that what we do matters, and that’s what drives us.”
For Nicolet, law isn’t a family tradition or a personal ambition. It’s compassion in action, a calling he built from the ground up, one client at a time.
Note: This content was created by Russell Nicolet.
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