• B.A. from the U.W.-Madison in 1971
• J.D. cum laude from the U.W. Law School in 1974

Michael N. Nowakowski retired from the Dane County Circuit Court in July, 2009. During that time, he served in the juvenile, criminal, and civil divisions, and was Chief Judge of the Fifth Judicial District from 2001 until his retirement. He served as “Chief of the Chiefs” from 2006 to 2007.

He was first elected to the bench in 1985 after 11 years in a general litigation practice. In 2008 he was awarded the “Lifetime Jurist Achievement Award” from the Wisconsin State Bar. As chief judge for the Fifth District, he helped implement an exchange program with the U.W. Law School and judges from Shanghai, China, and was instrumental in establishing the Criminal Defense Project, in which lawyers contract with the county to provide legal services for the indigent, who in turn reimburse the county for the expense. Nowakowski has served as the treasurer for the Rubin for Kids board for the past 14 years. Rubin for Kids is a nonprofit organization that helps achieving youths by awarding them stipends to encourage their efforts. He served as presiding judge of the civil division from 1991 to 1995, authored Manual of Wisconsin Law and Procedure in Juvenile Court Proceedings (State Bar of Wisconsin 1979), and lectures frequently on a variety of legal topics. Nowakowski was a Civil Benchbook Committee member for six years and chaired the 1998 Judicial Conference.