About Dera L.
Dera L. Johnsen-Tracy built her legal foundation in classrooms and law offices over more than two decades. She completed an A.A.S. in Legal Assisting at San Antonio College in 1995, earned a B.A. in Criminal Justice from Concordia University-Wisconsin in 2001, and received her J.D. from Marquette University Law School in 2003.
Her early career began in support roles. In the mid-1990s she worked as a paralegal at the Law Office of Charles A. Stephens, II, then moved to Wilson Law Group, LLC in 1998. She joined Krueger & Hernandez SC as a paralegal in 2000 and later returned there as an associate lawyer in 2008. Those years in the trenches gave her practical exposure to client work and courtroom procedure before she helped launch her own firm.
In 2013 she co-founded Horn & Johnsen SC and serves as a shareholder. The move to firm leadership came after a mix of practitioner and academic work. In 2009 she spent time as an adjunct professor at Globe University, teaching students while maintaining a practice. The combination of teaching and practice informed her approach to client communication and case preparation.
Her professional memberships trace a clear line through the Wisconsin legal community. She is a current member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Dane County Bar Association, and the Legal Association for Women. Since 2016 she has been a Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation. She has also been involved with WealthCounsel since 2013 and was a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Lawyers from 2009 to 2013.
Those affiliations suggest an engagement with estate planning and related civil matters, and they have guided much of her practice and professional development. Colleagues note a steady presence in local bar activities and educational programs. Her background combines hands-on paralegal experience, courtroom and office work as an associate, and the business responsibilities of running a small firm.
Today she practices law in Wisconsin as a shareholder at Horn & Johnsen SC. She handles client matters informed by long experience in both the practical and organizational sides of legal work and focuses her practice on estate planning and related civil concerns.
