Wisconsin Law Journal – WI Legal News & Resources Wisconsin Legal News & Resources

A friend of mine, who was a federal prosecutor, told me once that the problem with special prosecutors being appointed to investigate potential crimes was that they have an incentive to find a reason to issue charges.

Tagged with: Michael Gableman

It is a central principle of law: Courts are supposed to follow earlier decisions – precedent – to resolve current disputes. But it's inevitable that sometimes, the precedent has to go, and a court has to overrule another court, or even its own decision from an earlier case.

Tagged with: U.S. Supreme Court

Many states, including Wisconsin, have public records laws. But that doesn’t mean requesters always get the records they seek, or even that the laws are followed.

Tagged with: Christa Westerberg Pines Bach Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council

On July 9, President Joe Biden issued an executive order entitled Promoting Competition in the American Economy to combat high prices due to “lack of competition” and low wages resulting from “barriers to competition.” To achieve its broad goal of ...

Tagged with: Joe Biden

Foley & Lardner announced on Monday that Andrew Wronski has been named managing partner of the firm’s Milwaukee office. Wronski succeeds Linda Benfield, who had held the position since 2011 and was elevated to the firm’s Management Committee earlier this ...

There is a saying that you cannot be a little bit pregnant. Well, apparently, you can be a little married.

Tagged with: Gregg Herman

About four years ago I wrote a blog post titled “The Quiet Revolution in Wisconsin Administrative Law.” My purpose then was to point out an “unprecedented makeover in longstanding principles of state-level administrative law” that “shift(ed) power away from agencies ...

Tagged with: Wisconsin Supreme Court

The military spends a lot of time planning, updating plans, scrapping plans and re-planning. If you’ve ever served, you can attest to the amount of time and effort required to nail down every variable that is considered and planned for ...

What used to be forgotten, unused space is now becoming one of the most innovative areas in real estate development.

Tagged with: Husch Blackwell

Tagged with: human trafficking

It’s no secret that in recent years, the political divide between the left and the right has been growing. In today’s highly politicized environment, legislation and policy is often bogged down by political theater or diluted (or inflated) to get just enough votes for approval. The result can make for bad policy in some cases, and no policy in others.

Tagged with: Husch Blackwell Opportunity Zones tax credits

Pride month is as great a time as any for an employer to revisit its benefit programs and policies to ensure that the benefits being offered not only comply with the dynamic legal landscape, but also align with the employer’s intention on LGBTQIA+ inclusivity and equality.

Tagged with: Michael Best same-sex marriage Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce

Maybe it’s because I seem to be asked more and more frequently when I plan to retire (Answer: not for a while!)

The Federal Arbitration Act, or the FAA, enforces voluntary arbitration agreements involving federal law, including some employment-related disputes. Section 1 of the Act exempts certain classes of workers from the arbitration requirement, however, including seamen, railroad workers, and workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce.

Tagged with: Axley Attorneys Federal Arbitration Act

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant obstacles to M&A transactions.

Tagged with: coronavirus

My dear late mother used to say: It takes an awfully ill wind not to blow some good. The ill wind which is the subject of the column is the pandemic. The “some good” is the additional use of technologies by the courts.

Tagged with: coronavirus

One of the few advantages the pandemic has had for the legal system has been a temporary rule by the Wisconsin Supreme Court allowing all 30 bi-annual CLE credits to be taken using on-demand programs.

Tagged with: Continuing Legal Education

Court specialization has become more and more accepted throughout the country. Wisconsin took a significant step in 2017 to join a growing number of states that, in connection with the judicial administration of litigation, have established a specialized business court ...

Tagged with: Prisons

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, the American air-rifle shooter Matt Emmons, the reigning world champion in the 50 meter three-position event, held a seemingly insurmountable lead.

At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the prevailing “wisdom” was that divorce filings would substantially increase. Actually, the opposite occurred.

The Wisconsin Legislature is currently considering a bill that would give local governments the option to stop publishing a summary of their actions in your newspaper. Senate Bill 55 would allow local municipalities to post meeting minutes on their websites instead.

Tagged with: public notices

Although most of my columns on family law criticize courts (it’s more entertaining than praising them), I am going to start my new project by praising our legal system. Although, for the most part, during the interim between the election and inauguration most politicians have looked disingenuous (and that’s a mild term), the courts almost uniformly have not.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued revised guidance with options for reducing the length of quarantine for people who are asymptomatic but have also had close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Tagged with: coronavirus Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren

Since COVID-19 struck, state and local governments have attempted to mitigate its spread by, among other things, suspending or restricting business operations.

Tagged with: AJ Fabianczyk Husch Blackwell Jason Fathallah

Late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday. The battle over timing to nominate her replacement has begun.

Tagged with: Ruth Bader Ginsburg U.S. Supreme Court

Tagged with: coronavirus

Communications are constantly changing: look no further than bylines in your favorite local newspaper to know that newsrooms are shrinking and resources are constrained.

Tagged with: marketing

By Bram Sable-Smith Wisconsin Public Radio Possibly hundreds of laid-off Wisconsin workers with disabilities can now obtain the sort of federal aid that other unemployed workers have been able to receive during the pandemic. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development ...

Tagged with: Caleb Frostman coronavirus Department of Workforce Development unemployment benefits Victor Forberger

All contributions to political candidates and independent expenditure political action committees are publicly disclosed.

Tagged with: campaign contributions Foley & Lardner politics