Sisler Law

Joy Sisler, who previously practiced law with an area firm, opened her own office in Clintonville in August.

45 Sixth St., Clintonville • (715) 823-4669

Two of the things Joy Sisler enjoyed most growing up were horses and arguing. Originally from Silver Cliff in northern Wisconsin, she graduated from Wabeno High School in 2006. During high school, she worked as a horseback riding trail guide in Mountain for three summers and, as teenagers often do, she liked to argue.
“I learned to really like structured arguments from my participation in forensics and mock trial,” she said. That led her to pursue a career in law, and today, she is owner and operator of Sisler Law in Clintonville. She and her husband, Mike, also operate a horse-boarding stable on their property in Shawano where she keeps her own horses.
Sisler’s journey into the legal field started at a young age.
“I think I made that decision earlier in life and just never thought about changing it,” she said.
After earning a two-year associate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley, she continued her education at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (UWGB) and graduated in 2010 where she majored in social change and development with an emphasis in law and justice studies. During that time, she also worked part time at a law firm.
“I liked what I did there,” she said, “but I was already on the lawyer track at that time.” After graduating from UWGB, she moved to Milwaukee to attend Marquette University Law School where she graduated in 2014.
“I double-majored in litigation and alternative dispute resolution certificates, which I think allows me to view legal problems and solutions through a wide scope,” she said. “I was also president of the Estate Planning Society, and earned the highest grade in my estate and gift-tax class.”
After law school, Sisler moved back to Appleton to be with Mike, whom she met during her years at UW-Fox Valley and UW-Green Bay, and joined Attorney Keith Steckbauer’s practice in Dale. They branded their firm as Wolf River Lawyers and expanded into Clintonville and New London.
“I practiced mostly family law and estate planning from 2014-2024,” Sisler said.
After 18 months of driving to New London regularly and tired of that commute, she split from Wolf River Lawyers in August but kept her Clintonville office so she could continue serving Clintonville and Shawano clients.
“In 2024, I pivoted to move away from contested family law and more into estate planning and guardianships,” she said. “What I like about those areas is the chance to get ahead of problems and help relieve the stress of the unknown. I get to be proactive instead of reactive.”
While she has changed her focus, she is still doing divorce mediation.
“Those folks are committed to trying to resolve things in the best way for everyone, and I’m thrilled to help with that,” she said.
Staying in the area was important to her.
“I want to serve my local community, and I want to do that in a way that makes sense for the people here,” she said. “I’m from a small town where we had to drive an hour for any kind of services, and people shouldn’t have to do that. Clintonville and Shawano do not have enough lawyers for the population, so I’m happy to have the business and provide a service that is lacking. Win-win.”
It was a big change from being in a larger firm and she quickly discovered the pros and cons of being on her own.
“I’m solely financially responsible for my practice now, so if I have a slow month, there’s no one to help pay the bills,” she said. “I had to learn to do some things for myself that I never had to do at my prior firm. For now, I don’t have regular staff to answer the phone and keep the office open when I’m at court or visiting clients. I also don’t have someone sitting in the next office to brainstorm legal issues with. Luckily I still have a great network of lawyer friends that I can collaborate with.”
“On the plus side, I feel that I am much more efficient at the business side of things because I don’t have to run everything through a committee now. I get to spend more of my time practicing law instead of managing a bunch of employees and worrying about policies and procedures. This has been a huge relief because I feel like I can stay on top of my cases much easier now, and I think the turnaround time on my work product and responses to clients have become much quicker.”
Sisler said she got burnt out during her family-law years because of the unnecessary arguing and constantly being adversarial.
“I am happy with what I am doing now, and the arguing I am doing now feels more helpful,” she said. “I like the balance now. I don’t feel overwhelmed or burnt out on anything I am doing. I get to calmly plan ahead with estate planning matters. I have to jump into court and argue for restraining orders. As a Guardian ad Litem (GAL), I get to meet children and adults who are often scared and confused about what is happening. I have the chance to reassure them that a whole bunch of people are looking out for them and trying to make sure they’re healthy and happy. Then, I argue for their wellbeing in court. That is really rewarding.” And when she’s not wearing her lawyer’s hat, you’ll often find her with her horses.
“My family owned a trail riding business when I was born, and I grew up with horses,” she said. “I can’t imagine not having them. When I moved away after high school, my grandpa took care of my horses. He passed away in 2018, and it was getting increasingly difficult and stressful for me to take care of them from two hours away. Mike and I had been doing organized trail rides in the Shawano area for a few years, so we had friends with horses in Shawano. I finally found a property in Shawano that worked for us and convinced Mike to make the move.
“The property we bought in Shawano was a dairy farm in a former life,” she said. “The barn was long abandoned and the fields had corn on them when we moved in. After 18 months of planting pasture, building fence and updating the barn, we are now taking on boarding clients (because no one should have to live without horses). We also host equine service days with a veterinarian and dentist at our house so that local horse people can share the cost of those resources.”
With her horses and the boarding stable, Sisler said horses consume a large part of her non-lawyering time.
“I do make time to ride,” she said, “but every day that I get to just be around my horses is a blessing.”