 In private practice, she was a civil private practice attorney for several years at the law firm of O'Neil, Cannon, Hollman & DeJong, SC.In 1997, Ziegler was appointed by Governor Tommy Thompson to the Washington County Circuit Court, in the Branch 2 vacancy created by the death of Judge James B. Schwalbach.She was elected to a full term in that seat in April 1998 and was re-elected in 2004, both times without opposition.