Crime and punishment: Sentencing in financial fraud cases
While investigating fraud for more than a decade, I have consistently been amazed by the disparity among criminal sentences in financial fraud cases. Of course, there are many facts that go into a sentencing decision, and so it is difficult to make an apples-to-apples comparison of sentences between cases. However, it’s clear to me that […]
Corporate identity theft — it isn’t just for people anymore
You thought only people experience identity theft. Only individuals become victims of dumpster diving or poor computer security. Someone gets a credit card in your name, and you’ve become a victim. You didn’t even consider that a company could have an “identity” that could be stolen. Corporate identity theft is becoming all too common, and […]
Unusual behavior can trigger employer’s FMLA obligations
As most employers know, the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) obligates covered employers to give leave to qualifying employees with serious health conditions. And, as the Seventh Circuit put it in Aubuchon v. Knauf Fiberglass, GMBH, the “quid pro quo” for this obligation is the employee’s burden to give notice of the need for […]
Signs that a company has been ripped off
How would you know if your company was being looted by a dishonest employee? Most companies miss all of the warning signs that could help stop a fraud early. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners reports that the average fraud scheme within a company lasts 18 months. That’s one year-and-a-half that one or more employees […]
ABA opinion is welcome statement on collaborative divorce
Earlier this year, an ethics opinion by the Colorado Bar Association sent shock waves through the collaborative divorce movement. Now, a formal opinion by the American Bar Association Standing Committee of Ethics and Professional Responsibility sets the collaborative world at ease. Collaborative divorce is a settlement-based methodology that has exploded in popularity over the last […]
When is a harassment complaint not a harassment complaint?
The Seventh Circuit recently decided an interesting same-sex harassment case that addressed the question of when an employer is put on notice of potential workplace harassment. In Bernier v. Morningstar, Inc., Todd Bernier sued Morningstar, under Title VII, claiming sexual harassment and retaliation. More specifically, Bernier claimed that Morningstar not only did not properly respond […]
Gregg Herman Bio
Gregg Herman is a shareholder with Loeb & Herman S.C. in Milwaukee, which practices exclusively family law. Herman's column focuses on appellate decisions affecting the practice of family law in Wisconsin.
Nate Cade Bio
Nate Cade is a partner at Michael Best & Friedrich practicing in litigation where he is a member of the firm's Tort Liability Practice Group. Cade is a member of the State Bar Professional Ethics Committee and has served as chair of that committee. He also served on the state Supreme Court’s Ethics 2000 Commission.
Tracy L. Coenen Bio
Tracy Coenen, CPA, CFF is president of Sequence Inc., a forensic accounting firm with offices in Milwaukee and Chicago. She can be reached at 414-727-2361 or [email protected].
Legal Technology Bio
Technology consultants Joseph Ulm and John Wilets of Information Technology Professionals, LLC, in Milwaukee offer their insights on the technology issues facing lawyers today.
Scott Lewis Bio
Scott Lewis, of the Racine city attorney's office, is a former police legal advisor and former public defender. In addition to his J. D., he holds a Masters of Science in Criminal Justice degree from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.
Whistleblowers and Sarbanes-Oxley
Tracy L. Coenen One of the major selling points of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was the protection for whistleblowers. The legislation required public companies to put into place “anonymous reporting mechanisms” (like hotlines) so that employees could report suspected fraud without fear of reprisal. It further required companies to protect employees from retaliation when […]
Legal News
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- Biden drops out of 2024 presidential race, endorses Harris
- Local PA cops allegedly thought Trump’s would-be assassin was Secret Service
- Biden-Lead Secret Service admits agency denied past requests by Trump’s campaign for tighter security
- Class action filed against Walgreens
- Former Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant pleads guilty to smuggling contraband
- Two dead, one injured after Ozaukee County water rescue
- RNC Final Day: Trump accepts GOP Nomination
- Wisconsin officials intervene in Planned Parenthood action
- 7th Circuit adopts modifications to Rules 31, 34, 40, 47 and 60
- MPD issues statement on outside agency officer assignments
Case Digests
- Ineffective Assistance of Counsel; Double Jeopardy; Sentencing
- Ineffective Assistance of Counsel; Sexual Assault-Prosecutorial Misconduct
- Contract-Negligence
- Criminal Law; Juvenile Law; Discovery
- Family Law; Child Support; Property Division First paragraph(s)
- Ineffective Assistance of Counsel- Exclusion of Evidence of Witness Bias
- Postconviction Relief-Sentencing-Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
- 14th Amendment – Due Process
- Criminal-Sentencing Guidelines – Enhancement
- Bankruptcy-Tax
- Civil Rights – 14th Amendment-Jury Instructions
- Contract; Foreclosure and Property