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

Mark Twain once remarked that the major difference between a man and a dog is that, if a dog is cold and hungry, and you shelter and feed it, the dog will be grateful. The man, in contrast, will steal ...

When most of us graduated from law school and started out as attorneys, we were charged with a sobering task — to uphold the law. We were taught that no one principle of the Constitution was more important than another, ...

In a few days a new year, indeed a new decade, shall begin. The last decade sure was grand. Or at least the first nine years of it were. Let’s hope the decade to come is even better. In that ...

No reasonable person could possibly dispute that Nikolai Gogol was the greatest writer of his age, in Russian or any other language. Of course, he also wound up stark raving mad. Nevertheless, aware of the risks to my sanity, I ...

I am experiencing something very novel for me – internal conflict. The source is an advice column called “The Ethicist” in the New York Times that has the Internet all abuzz. Here’s the reader’s question: “While interviewing law students for ...

The days of lawyers providing a service by either creating or interpreting secret “lawyer code” are gone. I think lawyers at one time felt that by creating a secret language that everyone else had a hard time interpreting, they were ...

Most attorneys will recommend that when starting a business, a client should form some sort of entity to limit the personal liability that the business owner may face. Usually, this involves a conversation on the limits of a corporation’s or ...

I can’t tune into HGTV for any length of time because I get too bored, nor can I watch “Extreme Home Makeover” because it makes me cry. I just didn’t get the decorating gene. But I can and do appreciate ...

It’s gift-giving season again, so I’ve been reviewing potential gifts for tech-loving lawyers. Here are three of my favorites that are priced right, will be used often and will make someone’s life in the office a bit better. eOffice 4.7 ...

When I sat down to read the “Impartial Justice Bill” (signed into law by Governor Jim Doyle on Dec. 1), which provides government financing for Supreme Court campaigns, my intent was to look at it from a legal perspective. I ...

Just in case you’ve been reading this paper for the last fifteen years and haven’t noticed yet, I’m a total civil procedure dork. As such, I’m invited, from time to time, to talk about civ pro at CLE programs. A ...

Having written critically about the implications of major law firms offering newly hired associates to fill vacant judiciary clerkships, it seems only fair to cite a more positive trend. In October 2009, the Associated Press reported that a number of ...

On Nov. 13, the Food & Drug Administration sent notices to 30 alcohol manufacturers that they may be in violation of the law for adding caffeine to various alcoholic beverages. Since caffeine and alcohol comprise two of my four basic ...

I was shocked when I learned from attorney Bradden C. Backer that office space in downtown Milwaukee has a vacancy rate of about 20 percent. Yes, the economy’s that bad. The good news is that it’s a renter’s market when ...

Few organizational crises are unexpected. More than likely, advance warning signs existed, were acknowledged somewhere along the chain of command, but were ignored or not reported to leadership. Take for example the recent shooting at Ft. Hood, where an Army ...

Under Title VII, a plaintiff suing for employment discrimination must file an administrative charge within 300 days after the unlawful employment practice occurred. This means that, ordinarily, when an employee is not hired for a position or denied a promotion, ...

Last Thursday, a young woman I know, Sgt. Amy Krueger, was murdered, along with a dozen others, at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas. This woman was a friend of my roommates, and she would stay at our house ...

Yesterday, I discovered that I am no longer young. Yes, I know, those of you in the Milwaukee Young Lawyers’ Association or the Milwaukee Conservative Young Professionals, or other organizations like that, could have informed me of this fact long ...

While most technologies advance the state of best practices incrementally, there are some advances that are genuine game changers. These changes create a paradigm shift that rattles the accepted norms of how computing systems are created and deployed. Smart phones, ...

You see the signs — your executive director is darting around the firm attending countless committee meetings and finance committee members are spending more time together in boardrooms than families do during the holiday season. It’s budget time. In today’s ...

Michelle Friedman is the Director of Marketing and Business Development at Davis & Kuelthau. She is responsible for the marketing, communication, public relations and business development efforts of the firm. She is also a veteran of the United States Army ...

In my last column, I reviewed ten top practice management blogs. In this installment, I’m going to take a look at some low cost law practice management ideas I picked up from these blogs. Firefox ‘add-ons’ for attorneys The 2009 ...

I think I might be leaving the Wisconsin Law Journal to go back to private practice, depending on the passage of certain legislation pending in the Assembly. I think it could make me very wealthy. Before joining the Law Journal, ...

This week marks a first for The Dark Side – it’s the first reader contest! An award will be given to the reader who submits an entry describing why his or her law firm is the most employee-friendly in Wisconsin. ...

Timekeeping. I can’t think of a single person who enjoys it. In fact, most hate it. But without it we wouldn’t get paid, so it must be done. And believe it or not, it’s actually a bit of an acquired ...

Robert Teuber is a tax attorney with Weiss Berzowski Brady LLP in Milwaukee. He works with individuals and businesses in resolving tax audits, appeals, litigation and collection actions brought by the IRS and Departments of Revenue. Rob can be reached ...

Ron Phillips is a self-described attorney-computer nerd with over fifteen years of experience as a software architect and technology entrepreneur. He has helped to design and build enterprise systems for large and mid-size corporations, developed commercial software products and authored ...

In my last two columns, I criticized the State Bar of Wisconsin Family Law Section and the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers for failing to weigh in on the significant applications of two appellate cases in ...

Over the weekend, I went to my favorite corporate-owned chain coffee shop. While there, I participated in a dastardly crime. No, I didn’t hold the place up with a gun. But I did buy a banana. How is that a ...

Have you ever wondered who smokes the grape and peach flavored cigars that are available for individual sale in gas stations? Those few of you who are even less hip than I am may think, as the government claims, that ...