The owners of the Northridge Mall have blocked Milwaukee’s order to demolish the building by filing an appeal of a judge’s ruling, court documents showed.
Read More »Author Archives: Bridgetower Media Newswires
Sex harassment results in lawyer discipline
A rare complaint to the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility based on sexual misconduct has resulted in a stipulation for settlement and an expedited Minnesota Supreme Court hearing.
Read More »OPEN RECORDS: Outsiders can’t block records access
Wisconsin’s open-records law is most often used by requesters seeking to obtain records from a government agency. But occasionally it works in reverse, allowing someone to block the release of records to a requester.
Read More »173-year-old law allows only ‘therapeutic abortions.’ No one knows what that means, and health systems are scrambling to stay out of criminal trouble
The patient sat in Dr. Shefaali Sharma’s exam room, distraught. She was pregnant with her third child. Just weeks earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court had revoked the federally protected, constitutional right to an abortion, restoring Wisconsin’s near-total abortion ban from the 1800s.
Read More »Police in Wisconsin killed 149 people since 2013, lower than national rate
Law enforcement officers in Wisconsin kill people at among the lower per capita rates in the country. But some agencies, including the sheriff’s departments in Marinette and Walworth counties, have killed people at much higher rates since 2013.
Read More »BEING FLEXIBLE: Law firms still adjusting to post-COVID workplaces
Greg Strickland chuckles when he recalls the extraordinary measures his law firm’s residential real estate attorneys took just to collect signatures on closing packages when the pandemic shut down businesses everywhere in 2020.
Read More »Status for defendants charged in Capitol breach (CHART)
Discipline and discharge: Best practices for avoiding costly litigation
Disciplining and terminating employees are realities of doing business, but by adhering to certain practices, employers can help reduce the risk of costly litigation.
Read More »‘A SETBACK FOR TRANSPARENCY’: Wisconsin Supreme Court reverses decades of legal precedent to weaken open-records law
The Wisconsin State Supreme Court issued a ruling earlier this month that open government advocates say deals “a body blow to the state’s traditions of open government” and encourages public agencies to work in greater secrecy.
Read More »CUSTODY AND SERVICE PEOPLE: New law not perfect but does have good elements
The confluence of law and politics does not always equal good policy. A good example is the continuing efforts over the years to deal with the issue of the effect of deployed service people and the placement of minor children.
Read More »Practice area of high conflict: The oft-overlooked drama of probate
It goes back to age thirteen. That is when my current client, we will call her Andrea, first made it known she wanted Dad’s vintage slot machine in the corner of their unfinished basement. At the time, her older sister Rachel couldn’t have cared less.
Read More »RIF alternatives: Reducing labor costs without employee terminations
As employers prepare to carry out possible Reductions-in-Force in anticipation of a looming recession, there are many less drastic alternatives that may be worth considering.
Read More »How Wisconsin’s ‘honor’ system for removing guns from domestic abusers failed Jesi Ewers
The attack came without warning and, as far as Jessica “Jesi” Ewers could tell, without provocation. It was early in the morning of Oct.19, 2020. Asleep at her home near Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, she woke up to her boyfriend, James “J.T.” Budworth, beating her. He punched her, tried to strangle her, destroyed her cellphone and threatened to kill her and her children. He also bit her, once on the collarbone and once on the arm, where he tore off a chunk of flesh.
Read More »Confidence in US Supreme Court sinks to new low (CHART)
WHERE HAVE ALL THE LAWYERS GONE? Underpaying defense attorneys no way to be ‘tough on crime’
On May 24, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, with two justices dissenting, dismissed an appeal of the Court of Appeals decision in State v. Lee, 2021 WI App 12, in a per curium “decision” of less than one page.
Read More »‘Kia Boyz’ unaware of serious penalties that can result from joyriding
On May 31, the Milwaukee Youtuber Tommy Gerszewski, also known as “Tommy G.”, posted a sixteen-minute documentary on the Kia Boys which quickly garnered the attention of local and national media.
Read More »Courts meant to serve the public
Here's a simple idea: Courts should serve the public. In particular, parties should be allowed to be divorced without the costs and inconvenience of a public court appearance.
Read More »Transgender inmate sues for surgery, prison transfer
A lawsuit filed against the Minnesota Department Corrections has brought international attention to the treatment of transgender inmates in prison. Gender Justice, a nonprofit advocacy organization in St. Paul, and Robins Kaplan LLP filed a complaint June 6 in Ramsey County District Court on behalf of a transgender inmate.
Read More »Recent Court of Appeals case confirms need for careful analysis of jurisdiction when litigating in Federal Court
The decision whether to litigate in state or federal court is a very important strategic choice that needs to be made at the outset of litigation.
Read More »Wisconsin faced with a ‘tangled series’ of abortion laws dating to 1849 as it heads into a possible post-Roe future
By Phoebe Petrovic Wisconsin Watch and WPR About 50 abortion rights supporters stood on the bridge over the Wisconsin River into Sauk City on a sunny Saturday morning in mid-May. They held signs reading “CHOICE” and “PROTECT ROE v. WADE” and cheered when passing cars honked in support. Jennie Klecker brought three generations of her family out on the bridge ...
Read More »Your Right to Know: Judge was wrong to bar recordings of trial
Since 1979, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has allowed cameras and microphones in state courtrooms, subject to reasonable restrictions.
Read More »ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST: NLRB General Counsel looks to modify captive-audience rule
NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo has made it clear she intends to ask the Board to no longer allow captive audience meetings, effectively changing how employers have addressed union campaigns for the last 6+ decades.
Read More »Asked & Answered: Law student Jacob Gardner publishes debut novel
Second-year UW Law student Jacob Gardner recently published his debut novel North of Highway 8, a story rooted in Wisconsin experiences and values.
Read More »The Wisconsin diploma privilege: Are its days numbered?
Until about the mid-1870's—most aspiring lawyers did not attend law school and did not take a bar examination.
Read More »Employee Benefits Might Still Facilitate Abortions and Reproductive Choice in a Post-Roe v. Wade America
On May 2, 2022, the Supreme Court’s draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, was leaked to the public and suggested that the Court intends to overturn Roe. Although the Supreme Court’s draft opinion does not have any binding legal authority, some large, multi-state employers have announced steps to support employee access to abortion and related reproductive medical services, specifically for those employees residing in states that do (or will) restrict abortion.
Read More »Internet crime is booming (CHART)
FORUM STOPPING: How the presence of a U.S. citizen domiciled abroad defeats diversity jurisdiction
According to the most recent records published by the Administrate Office of the United States Courts, nearly 60% of new civil cases brought in the federal courts were based on diversity jurisdiction. If you remove cases in which the U.S. is a party, that number jumps to more than 67%. Thus, more than two-thirds of recent civil cases brought in ...
Read More »Managing Activism in the Workplace
In a politically charged era where activism is considered noble, HR managers are confronting new challenges in the workplace in an attempt to find balance between the expression of disparate views while maintaining a productive and cohesive workplace. Just Another Day at the Office IT specialist Peter is a devout Catholic. His cubicle displays a Papal flag and other religious ...
Read More »Is your firm’s intake system working as well as it should?
Intake is one of the most critical aspects of any law firm. But far too often firms don’t give the intake process the special attention it deserves. When that happens, money goes flying out the door.
Read More »VALADEZ – PART 2: Returning to the subject of my most debated column
In all of the columns which I have written for this publication over the years (and there have been many) none have elicited more an angry response than my article on the Court of Appeals decision in Valadez v. Valadez, 2021AP1500: “The Valadez case: A bad start to the year."
Read More »