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

Gregg Herman May a circuit court use its remedial contempt powers to craft a remedy, where a party fails to provide tax returns and income information in a timely manner as required under statute, a divorce judgment, and a court order, but then the party produces the information just before the contempt hearing? On July 17, 2007, the Supreme Court ...

Tracy L. Coenen The recent focus on the near-collapse of the subprime mortgage market has raised some interesting issues regarding fraud. Some borrowers are unable to meet their obligations due to legitimate reasons, while other are defaulting because of fraud committed in the process of getting the mortgage. Either way, the high number of defaults on subprime mortgages is rocking ...

Tracy L. Coenen It’s been five years since the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and for many of us, it seems like it’s been around for a lifetime. While the intent behind the legislation was good, it has been extremely costly, and some wonder if the benefits have justified the high price tag. The legislation was intended to ...

Gregg Herman This is the last in a series of articles examining the role of representing children in family court actions. In the first article, I discussed the dispute between the ABA Family Law Section and the ABA Litigation Section regarding a lawyer serving in a non-traditional role by representing a "concept" of best interests, rather than representing a client. ...

Those practitioners who do not routinely handle civil appeals may believe that an appeal gives them the opportunity to retry their case before the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. An appeal’s likelihood of success, however, depends in large part on the applicable standard of review — the extent the appellate court will defer to the trial court’s determination. That, in turn, ...

Nate Cade Writing this month’s column has not been easy. Yes, it is the summer, and I certainly could use my desire to play golf (really, really bad golf) as an excuse for not getting this column out as fast as I could. But in reality, my tardiness as been over my fascination with money — a lot of money. ...

Nate Cade Writing this month’s column has not been easy. Yes, it is the summer, and I certainly could use my desire to play golf (really, really bad golf) as an excuse for not getting this column out as fast as I could. But in reality, my tardiness as been over my fascination with money — a lot of money. ...

The guardian ad litem: A potted plant? Gregg Herman A social worker/ psychologist? A lawyer advocating for children’s wishes, or the children’s best interests, or both? Much ink has been spilled over the GAL’s role, and much real and virtual debate has taken place. This is the third in a series of articles discussing that role. In the first article ...

Tracy L. Coenen Employee fraud always has a “cause.” The “cause” is the motive, desire, or need that is being filled by the theft from one’s employer. A need doesn’t have to be a true need in order for fraud to occur, but can be a perceived need on the part of the thief. One common impetus for fraud is ...

Gregg Herman Last week, I discussed a meeting which occurred in April 2007, during the spring meeting of the ABA Family Law Section in Monterey, Calif., when groups of lawyers from the ABA Family Law Section and the ABA Litigation Section met with representatives of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) to discuss the role of ...

Tracy L. Coenen Employee fraud always has a “cause.” The “cause” is the motive, desire, or need that is being filled by the theft from one’s employer. A need doesn’t have to be a true need in order for fraud to occur, but can be a perceived need on the part of the thief. One common impetus for fraud is ...

Gregg Herman Last week, I discussed a meeting which occurred in April 2007, during the spring meeting of the ABA Family Law Section in Monterey, Calif., when groups of lawyers from the ABA Family Law Section and the ABA Litigation Section met with representatives of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) to discuss the role of ...

Gregg Herman In April 2007, during the spring meeting of the ABA Family Law Section in Monterey, Calif., a remarkable event occurred: Opposing groups of lawyers met for a full day to discuss rules for serving as a representative for children in custody, abuse and neglect cases. Although the role of a guardian ad litem, or GAL, is settled in ...

Gregg Herman As regular readers of this column know, I am sometimes mystified by the decisions of the Publication Committee and wish there were more input by practitioners in them. Such was the case initially upon reading Jantzen v. Jantzen, No. 2006AP1690 (Wis. Ct. App. Jun. 19, 2007) (recommended for publication). I soon changed my mind; the opinion contains several ...

Tracy L. Coenen It’s easy to assume that upper-level executives in companies with fraud scandals were always bad people. By assuming that they were inherently bad people, we don’t have to confront the issues related to trusting people who seemed trustworthy. We don’t have to explore the idea that people can turn bad or choose a bad path or give ...

Nate Cade This month’s column focuses on the lengths an attorney can go to represent his clients. How zealous of an advocate can you be? And in fact, in zealously representing your client, may you use deception to accomplish that task? That is a question our Supreme Court may soon answer for us. One of the best-known lawyers in the ...

Tracy L. Coenen Take a look at the frauds in the news, and most of them are huge. Huge frauds make huge news. As investors and the general public demand more transparency from companies and executives, the issue of fraud is being talked about more than ever. Everywhere we turn, the word fraud is rearing its ugly head. While fraud ...

Nate Cade Unfortunately as lawyers there are lots of rules that regulate our profession, and most of them are created by lawyers. Some rules deal with conflicts, some rules pertain to your interaction with your associates, employees and fellow partners, and some rules pertain to interaction with clients. And then we have the advertising rules. Few professions regulate their advertising. ...

Practitioners faced with an adverse final order or judgment may view the appellate process as daunting. Chapters 808 and 809 of the Wisconsin Statutes, however, provide a practical roadmap for a civil appeal’s successful prosecution. This article discusses the traditional appeal from a final civil judgment to the court of appeals. Chapters 808 and 809 should be reviewed for other ...

Tracy L. Coenen Whether you agree with the Iraq War or not, one thing is certain: There is fraud going on and your tax dollars are being spent. Of the approximately $350 billion (give or take) spent so far by the United States on the war and rebuilding effort, there have been plenty of cases of fraud, waste and abuse ...

Tracy L. Coenen Whether you agree with the Iraq War or not, one thing is certain: There is fraud going on and your tax dollars are being spent. Of the approximately $350 billion (give or take) spent so far by the United States on the war and rebuilding effort, there have been plenty of cases of fraud, waste and abuse ...

Tracy L. Coenen The list of companies involved in stock option backdating and related investigations continues to grow. The Wall Street Journal currently lists more than 120 companies under scrutiny, including the likes of UnitedHealth, Broadcom, Apple, and Home Depot. These companies are either under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Justice Department, or they have ...

Tracy L. Coenen The list of companies involved in stock option backdating and related investigations continues to grow. The Wall Street Journal currently lists more than 120 companies under scrutiny, including the likes of UnitedHealth, Broadcom, Apple, and Home Depot. These companies are either under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Justice Department, or they have ...

Gregg Herman Last year in this column, I wrote a series of articles on the need for collaboration between attorneys and psychologists who work in the family law area. In the series, I discussed the overlap between the two professions and plans for an ongoing effort to improve the services both groups offer to their clients and patients. Here’s an ...

Nate Cade Dear Readers (ok, Dear Mom): Last month I warned you about being careful with your associates and this month the tale of woe (with regard to associates) continues. Nothing to report from Wisconsin, but in New York, the mega firm of Sullivan and Cromwell finds itself as a defendant in a discrimination lawsuit by one of its now-former ...

Tracy L. Coenen Most attorneys don’t think about the issue of fraud in companies until a client (or their law firm) is hit by employee theft. It’s simply not one of those issues that is taken too seriously unless huge risks are identified or a crime has already been committed. Until then, fraud is just another “issue” that probably isn’t ...

Gregg Herman Recently, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals issued its decision in Wood v. Propeck, No. 2005AP2674 (Wis. Ct. App. Jan. 25, 2007) (recommended for publication). The court reversed and remanded a post- judgment order rendered by Dane County Circuit Court Judge Steven D. Ebert, which denied the former wife’s request for a child support modification. This is the second ...

Gregg Herman Recently, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals issued its decision in Wood v. Propeck, No. 2005AP2674 (Wis. Ct. App. Jan. 25, 2007) (recommended for publication). The court reversed and remanded a post-judgment order rendered by Dane County Circuit Court Judge Steven D. Ebert, which denied the former wife’s request for a child support modification. This is the first of ...

Gregg Herman Recently, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals issued its decision in Wood v. Propeck, No. 2005AP2674 (Wis. Ct. App. Jan. 25, 2007) (recommended for publication). The court reversed and remanded a post-judgment order rendered by Dane County Circuit Court Judge Steven D. Ebert, which denied the former wife’s request for a child support modification. This is the first of ...