About Hon. Linda M Van De Water
Hon. Linda M Van De Water (Ret.) has spent decades in Wisconsin’s legal system, moving through prosecution, administrative hearings, and the trial bench. She earned a B.A. in Communications from the University of Iowa in 1985 and a J.D. from Marquette University Law School in 1988. Early classroom work gave way to steady public service soon after graduation.
Her legal career began in Waukesha County, where she joined the district attorney’s office as an assistant district lawyer in 1988. That early courtroom work centered on criminal prosecution and prepared her for a range of roles that followed. In 2000 she became an administrative law judge assigned to the probation and parole unit at the State of Wisconsin Hearings & Appeals. The administrative post required careful weighing of records and written orders, a different pace from the trial calendar but one that deepened her procedural and evidentiary skills.
In 2002 she served as a prosecution and enforcement lawyer for the Wisconsin Department of Regulation & Licensing. That role involved regulatory matters and enforcement actions, drawing on both her trial background and her administrative experience. The next year she took the bench as a Waukesha County Circuit Court judge. She presided over a broad civil and criminal docket and handled matters typical of a county trial court: motions, trials, sentencing, and case management. She later retired from the bench but retained an active presence in the legal community.
Beyond the courtroom, Van De Water pursued training in dispute resolution. She holds a Certified Professional Mediator credential from Northwestern University. That training complements her judicial experience and her administrative hearing work. She is a member of the Wisconsin State Bar, the Leander Foley American Inns of Court (Family), and the Wisconsin Association of Mediators. Those affiliations reflect a mix of trial practice, family law interests, and mediation practice.
Today she practices through CCMA SOLUTIONS, LLC. Her post-bench work draws on years as a prosecutor, administrative law judge, and circuit court judge. She focuses on mediation, case evaluation, and related dispute-resolution services in Wisconsin.
