The Eleventh Circuit recently rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of the False Claims Act’s (“FCA”) qui tam provisions, holding that whistleblowers who bring FCA actions are not “Officers of the United States” subject to the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, No. 24-13581, 2026 WL 2581886 (11th Cir. Sept. 1, 2026).
Background
The relator brought an FCA action alleging Medicare fraud. The defendants moved to dismiss, arguing that the FCA’s qui…
Continue Reading Eleventh Circuit Rejects Constitutional Challenge to the False Claims Act’s Qui Tam Provision

The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently issued a memorandum announcing the priorities of its newly established National Fraud Enforcement Division (the “Division”), identifying health care fraud as a key enforcement focus. The Division was created to combat fraud and will concentrate its efforts on public trust and financial integrity, health care, internal revenue, global trade and commerce and corporate misconduct.
According to the DOJ, an estimated 3% to 10% of annual health care spending is lost to fraud.
Continue Reading DOJ Announces Increased Focus on Health Care Fraud Enforcement

On September 10, 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a Decision Memorandum, finalizing significant updates to Medicare’s National Coverage Determination (“NCD”) for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (“TAVR”). The updated NCD makes sweeping changes as it expands coverage, reduces procedural restrictions and gives hospitals increased flexibility in organizing and delivering TAVR services.
TAVR’s Background and Evolution
TAVR is a minimally invasive alternative to Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement for patients with aortic stenosis. During TAVR, a…
Continue Reading CMS Modernizes Medicare Coverage for TAVR

Oct. 1, 2026 — One returned home to Wisconsin after law school in the South. Another arrived after nearly two decades of military service and a 10-year journey toward admission. Another traded a corporate law career in Houston for teaching law students in Madison. On Sept. 22, 2026, their paths converged as they joined Wisconsin’s legal profession, most after passing the bar exam. In a ceremony before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, 35 attorneys took the Attorney’s Oath and signed…
Continue Reading Homecomings, Career Changes, and New Beginnings: Meet Wisconsin's New Lawyers

Hall Render mourns the loss of our friend, colleague and former Managing Partner, Jeffrey “Jeff” Peek.
Jeff was among the early attorneys whose leadership, vision and dedication helped shape Hall Render’s growth and success for decades. Working alongside Terry Heath and Steve Lyman, Jeff played an instrumental role in building the Firm and establishing the culture of excellence, collaboration and client service that continues to define Hall Render today.
Throughout his 43-year career, Jeff earned a reputation as a…
Continue Reading Remembering Jeffrey “Jeff” Peek

Final Issue of UW Law School Research Paper Series on SSRN: Federalism, Democracy, Human Rights, Family Regulation, Tax Misinformation, & Policing Reform

September 30, 2026

As you may know, SSRN is discontinuing its Research Paper Series, a platform through which UW Law School and many other academic institutions shared new faculty scholarship with readers.

This is our final issue, and it’s a good one. It seems fitting to close with a selection of papers that captures so much…
Continue Reading Final Issue of UW Law School Research Paper Series on SSRN: Federalism, Democracy, Human Rights, Family Regulation, Tax Misinformation, & Policing Reform

Indiana has enacted House Enrolled Act 1277 (“HEA 1277”), a Medicaid reform law that significantly changes the state’s PathWays for Aging program and other long-term services and supports. While many provisions of this law took effect July 1, 2026, the transition of certain long-stay nursing facility residents from managed care to fee-for-service Medicaid will begin July 1, 2027.
Long-Stay Nursing Facility Residents Will Transition to Fee-for-Service Medicaid
Beginning July 1, 2027, an individual who has received nursing facility services…
Continue Reading Indiana Post-Acute Update: Indiana Enacts Significant Medicaid Reforms Affecting Long-Term Care and HCBS Providers

By Erik ReinthalerWJI InternThe American Bar Association has dubbed 2016 to 2026 the “Decade of the Female Lawyer,” but guest speaker Afra Afsharipour began her lecture at Marquette University Law School with a warning against confusing visible progress with real structural change. Afsharipour, a professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law, presented the Boden Lecture at Marquette on Sept. 23, 2026. Women now make up a substantial share of law students, associates, faculty members and law school leaders,…
Continue Reading When measuring progress for women in the law, the question is "who gets the client?"

One of the more annoying parts of hiring a lawyer is that we tend to respond to perfectly good and reasonable questions with more questions.A client asks whether they can sign a contract, bring in a new partner, buy a business, or hire an intern. Usually, I need to know a little more before I can give a useful answer. Who drafted the agreement? What are you actually agreeing to? Who controls the company? What happens if the relationship…
Continue Reading Why I Ask Annoying Questions

Recently, the debate has once again arisen about what “final judgment” means under Wis. Stat. section 767.451(1). Is the “final judgment” the original judgment in the action or is it the most recent order determining legal custody or physical placement? Does the two-year truce restart with every new order, or is there a one-time truce after the matter is first resolved? The Debate Over ‘Final Judgment’ The conclusion matters, as pointed out by both Chelsie A. Thuecks in her…
Continue Reading When Does the Two-Year Cooling-Off Period Apply?

A claim for theft by contractor is a powerful weapon in construction litigation. Under Wis. Stat. section 779.02(5), all funds paid by an owner to a prime contractor or subcontractor for improvements to real property are held in trust for the payment of labor, services, materials, plans, and specifications used to improve the property. Except in the case of a legitimate dispute, the misuse of those funds by a contractor or subcontractor may constitute theft by contractor. A violation of…
Continue Reading Reducing Risk of Theft by Contractor: Five Things to Consider

I recently completed drafting several new and improved rental forms for Wisconsin Legal Blank (WLB). Specifically, I revised the Rental Agreement, Rules + Regulations, and Nonstandard Rental Provisions (NSRP) rental forms.The changes to the Rental Agreement and Rules + Regulations were pretty extensive. The changes include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Adding a “Definitions” section to streamline the text of the forms.
  • Highlighting “Joint and Several Liability” within the forms.
  • Adding a new “Fair Housing” disclosure

…
Continue Reading New and Improved Rental Agreement, Rules + Regulations, and NSRP Forms Now Available

You receive a letter from a recently terminated employee requesting “everything” in their personnel file. Wisconsin law gives current and former employees the right to inspect certain personnel records, but that right is not unlimited. Knowing what to disclose, what to withhold, and how to respond helps employers comply with the law and prepare for what may follow.
Responding to a Records Request
Under Wisconsin law, employers must allow current and former employees to inspect personnel documents used to…
Continue Reading When Employees Request Their Personnel Records

If you have an open worker’s compensation claim in Wisconsin, you may receive calls, emails, or messages from individuals claiming they are involved in your case. While some communications may be legitimate, injured workers should know that scammers have recently begun targeting individuals with worker’s compensation claims.

Reports have described scams in which individuals impersonate government officials, judges, attorneys, or other worker’s compensation professionals. In some cases, injured workers have been invited to participate in what appears to…
Continue Reading Beware of Worker’s Compensation Scams in Wisconsin

Wisconsin voters will encounter three constitutional amendment referendum questions on the Nov. 3 ballot. In a series of posts, Wisconsin Justice Initiative will help you understand constitutional amendment referendum questions generally, and the Nov. 3 election questions specifically. This is part three in the series. Find parts one and two here and here. ​ By Margo KirchnerWisconsin Republicans want you to join them in overreacting to Gov. Tony Evers’ use of executive partial veto power with a constitutional…
Continue Reading November ballot question 1: Partial veto limit