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

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.

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."

With just a few months left to the school year, we all look to a strong, positive finish to what again has been a challenging year for school districts. Though I hope we are moving past mask and vaccine mandate debates and other COVID-related issues, we still have those last couple of warm months to navigate with restless students who ...

Following a federal judge’s ruling last week, striking down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) mask mandate in airports and other public transportation settings nationwide, the agency’s ability to impose future restrictions is in doubt.

A Minnesota-based initiative has shipped 115 law and human rights libraries to 24 African countries since 2008, and new initiatives seek to strengthen the collaborative enterprise involving law firms, government officials and a leading legal publisher.

The emotional kaleidoscope of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing was nothing short of amazing. It was truly an exercise that allowed many of us to experience a range of emotions through a magnificently beautiful lens, as we witnessed the confirmation of our country’s first African-American female to the United States Supreme Court.

For the past several years, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (“WDNR”) has engaged in a multi-media effort to regulate the class of chemicals commonly referred to as “forever chemicals” in waters and soils in the state.

After a Michigan lawyer failed in her challenge to the requirement that she join the State Bar of Michigan and pay dues supporting advocacy activities with which she disagreed, she vowed to appeal to the highest court in the land.

It’s been more than two long years since the onset of the pandemic, and although things seem to be slowly, steadily improving, we’re not yet in the clear.

The former news talk show “The Mclaughlin Group” used to give an annual award for the “Best Political Theater." If that show was still on the air, the nomination hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson would win hands down.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed HB 5541 that provides for the Michigan Bar Examination to consist of the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE), bringing Michigan in line with 40 other jurisdictions. The result will be to strengthen the bar examination to test lawyering skills in a manner not currently tested, provide for the transferability of bar exam scores, and continue to provide necessary accommodations for test takers with disabilities.

A Union County jury has awarded $250,000 to a Marshville woman who was struck by a car while viewing Christmas lights.  

A federal judge awarded more than $625,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs to a man who successfully sued a police officer who tasered him in his home, bringing the final award to nearly $1.3 million. 

When you hear about the Robinson-Patman Act, you may remember it as a law that protects smaller product re-sellers (“mom and pop” stores, local dealers, etc.) by preventing product suppliers from giving better prices to larger re-sellers just because of their size.

A Wisconsin man whose foot was injured at a Garth Brooks concert in 2019 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis has received a $1.25 million settlement, part of which will be paid by Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, which oversees the stadium.

There are significant differences in the process and compensation for those injured from the COVID-19 vaccine versus other vaccines such as the seasonal flu.

While Kohl’s is juggling multiple proposals for a possible buyout, an activist investor group set a date for it to make a move, offering sharp criticism of management’s strategic plans.

This article discusses supply chain delay claims and steps owners, contractors, and material suppliers can do to help mitigate the effects of supply chain troubles.

In a recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the court explained how an employer should evaluate whether a disabled person under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) would pose a “direct threat” to others.

In law, as in many things in life, some ideas are better in theory than in practice. It is not uncommon that the Legislature, which has precious few lawyers (most sessions have ten or fewer lawyers out of 133 state Senators and Representatives, and almost none of them has ever been in the private practice of law), passes legislation which sounds good on its face but has a different practical effect. The phrase which attaches to such legislation is “the law of unintended consequences.”

After the judge in her Wisconsin divorce case ruled that her ex-husband — a man who had sought treatment for anger and alcohol issues — would get legal custody of and equal time with their four children, Julie Valadez vowed to fight back.

A conservation easement is a permanent donation of a legal right in real estate by the property owner to a qualified non-profit organization such as a land trust.

The National Labor Relations Act protects employees’ right to unionize (and not unionize) and to engage in other “protected concerted activity.” These are basic rights guaranteed to employees under Section 7 of the act. Critically, the act’s protections only extend to “employees”—not to “independent contractors.” The number of workers labeled “independent contractor” has steadily increased over the past decade. Similarly, ...

Last weekend, the CBS show “Sunday Morning” did a segment on lawyer advertising. Of course they showed clips from the over-the-top ads which seem to be mostly from Texas. The effect, as one who believes that the practice of law should be more of a profession than a business, was cringe inducing.

Clare Amari Wisconsin Watch Darrell E. Brooks had been out of jail for just five days when he allegedly plowed a red Ford Escape into a Christmas parade in Waukesha in November, killing six people and injuring dozens more. A series of mix-ups led Brooks, 39, to be released from jail on Nov. 16 on an unusually low cash bail ...

A few weeks out of law school, I got my dream job. After some short training, I was sent into court and given two instructions: First, don’t f**k up. Second, if you do f**k up, don’t let it get in the newspapers.