The Indiana Court of Appeals (the “Court”) confirmed that evidence about the patient’s indirect threats of physical and sexual violence can satisfy the Petitioner’s burden to clearly and convincingly prove that the patient is dangerous. In re Commitment of W.C. v. Richmond State Hosp., 272 N.E.3d 983 (Ind. Ct. App. 2025) (unpublished table opinion).
Background
W.C. had been involuntarily committed for nearly 20 years. In 2001, he pled guilty to a crime under IC § 35-42-4-3 and was…
Continue Reading Indiana Appeals Court Confirms Indirect Threats Can Establish Dangerousness

Attorney Mason Higgins presents on ethical advocacy in bankruptcy proceedings for the State Bar of Wisconsin
Attorney Mason Higgins presented “Dazed & Pro Se: Ethical Advocacy When the Other Side Has No Bankruptcy Lawyer” at the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Bankruptcy, Insolvency, and Creditors’ Rights Section’s educational retreat on February 26, 2026. Attorney Higgins presented alongside the Hon. Meredith S. Grabill of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and Atty. Kelly M. Smith of…
Continue Reading Attorney Mason Higgins Presents to State Bar’s Bankruptcy, Insolvency, & Creditors’ Rights Section

A BlueSky post starting with that question, from Massachusetts Assistant Bar Counsel David Kluft*, caught my eye this morning.David’s post highlighted a September 2025 order out of the Eastern District of New York in Toussie v. Williams & Connolly, LLP et al. The case is a legal malpractice matter alleging  negligent settlement advice. The plaintiff proffered Professor Ronald J. Colombo as an expert “in the field of legal ethics and the practice of law.” Professor Colombo is, as…
Continue Reading “Can lawyers who voted for Biden effectively communicate with a client who voted for Trump?”

  • Good Samaritan Medical Center (FL) announced massive plans to redevelop its West Palm Beach campus into a mixed-use health care district. Plans include a new 225-bed hospital, a medical office tower, workforce housing, luxury condos, a hotel and other mixed-use amenities along the water. The project is estimated to cost between $2B to $3B.
  • Cleveland Clinic announced key milestones for its new 200-bed hospital and ASC in West Palm Beach, Florida. Demolition and site preparation work will begin this

    • …
    Continue Reading Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing: Two Major Hospital Projects in West Palm Beach | UT Moves New Medical Center Project | St. Jude Advances New Research Center Project

    Effectively representing domestic abuse/intimate partner violence (IPV)[1] victim-survivors requires exemplary soft skills, such as active listening, clear communication, patience, and compassion. Intimate partner violence is a pattern of controlling behavior that includes threats, psychological manipulation, verbal degradation, financial coercion, sexual abuse, physical abuse, educational deprivation, spiritual abuse, stalking, and other tactics to control a partner. IPV can occur between individuals who are dating, separated, divorced, or married.[2] Wisconsin’s legal definition of domestic abuse is much narrower, which…
    Continue Reading 5 Tips for Representing Survivors of Domestic Abuse

    HIPAA covered entities and Part 2 Programs should be aware of two important compliance deadlines that may require prompt action.
    Annual HIPAA Small Breach Reporting
    Under the Breach Notification Rule, HIPAA covered entities are required to submit reports of certain breaches of unsecured protected health information (“PHI”) affecting fewer than 500 individuals to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) on an annual basis. No later than March 1, 2026, covered entities must submit breaches discovered in 2025 through…
    Continue Reading Important Deadlines for HIPAA Covered Entities and Part 2 Programs

    On July 3, 2025, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”). This legislation was officially signed into law on July 4, 2025, and makes permanent a number of provisions first introduced in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Below are some of the highlights from the OBBBA as they pertain to estate planning and personal tax strategies.
    Gift and Estate Tax Exemption
    Under the TCJA, the estate and gift tax exemption amounts were increased, with…
    Continue Reading Tax Changes Under the OBBBA Relevant to Estate Planning

    Feb. 24, 2026 – Google’s scan of four files that its employee confirmed contained child sexual abuse material (CSAM) operated outside of the Fourth Amendment as a private search, the Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously decided today in State v. Rauch Sharak, 2026 WI 4.

    “Google scanned and viewed Rauch Sharak’s files on its own. It had a business reason to do so. Law enforcement became involved only after Google submitted a CyberTip,” summarized Justice Janet C. Protasiewicz, who…
    Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court: Google was a Private Actor in File Search

    You’ve got a brilliant business idea, but choosing the wrong legal structure could cost you thousands in taxes, expose your personal assets to creditors, or create unnecessary complications as you grow. The business structure you select isn’t just paperwork – it’s a foundational decision that affects your liability protection, tax obligations, fundraising capabilities, and long-term flexibility. In this article, I walk through the most common business structures, compare their pros and cons, and help you determine which one aligns…
    Continue Reading Choosing the Right Business Structure

    In this season of resolutions, I pledge to continue in 2026 to promote myself as a problem solver for family law cases.

    Both the public and the profession will benefit from a renewed effort by lawyers to do so. The profession will benefit by helping more people (and getting more business) and the public will benefit by having their affairs handled professionally rather than taking the risk of doing it themselves.
    Cause or Correlation?
    Over the course of my…
    Continue Reading Family Lawyer as Problem Solver

  • In a recent interview, Alison Flynn Gaffney, CEO of two Banner Health hospitals, discussed how she applies a real estate perspective to hospital leadership. Prior to becoming CEO, she spent two years as president of the health care division at JLL, which imparted a unique perspective on leveraging hospital real estate portfolios for the benefit of the hospital mission.
  • The number of health care private equity deals rose 9.5% in 2025, with an estimated 747 deals announced or

    • …
    Continue Reading Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing

    The Indiana Court of Appeals (the “Court”) affirmed the trial court’s regular commitment of a patient whose mental illness stemmed from a traumatic brain injury (“TBI”). In its reasoning, the Court connected the past event to the patient’s current aggressiveness, emotional outbursts, inability to provide for basic needs and lack of insight into illness as support for its decision. B.D. v. Richmond State Hosp., 270 N.E.3d 515 (Ind. Ct. App. 2025) (unpublished table decision).
    Background
    B.D. was admitted…
    Continue Reading Indiana Court of Appeals Affirms Regular Commitment of Patient Whose Mental Illness Is a Result of a Traumatic Brain Injury

    On December 15, 2025, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued Advisory Opinion No. 25‑11 (“Advisory Opinion”) and concluded it would not impose administrative sanctions under the federal Anti‑Kickback Statute (“AKS”) on a biopharmaceutical manufacturer for a series of discounts and rebates offered on multiple vaccines. Although portions of the arrangement failed to meet the technical requirements of the discount safe harbor (42 CFR § 1001.952(h)), OIG determined that the overall fraud and abuse risk was sufficiently low.

    This…
    Continue Reading OIG Offers Contemporary Guidance on Various Discount Constructs in Recent Advisory Opinion

    For many people, the words jail and prison mean the same thing. Both involve handcuffs. Both involve cells. Both involve losing your freedom.

    But under Wisconsin law, the difference between jail and prison is enormous—and on a fifth offense (or higher) Operating While Intoxicated (OWI), that difference can define the rest of your life.

    If you are convicted of a fifth offense—or greater—OWI in Wisconsin, a bifurcated prison sentence is mandatory. That means a period of initial confinement in…
    Continue Reading Is it Possible to Stay Out of Prison on a Fifth (or Higher) OWI in Wisconsin?

    There is a growing circuit split between the Third and Fifth circuits over whether employers can block National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) proceedings while raising constitutional challenges. The disagreement centers on the Norris-LaGuardia Act (NLGA), a nearly century-old law designed to keep federal courts out of labor disputes, which is driving one of the biggest fights in labor and employment law at the moment. With two circuits now at odds, Supreme Court review is increasingly likely and the question…
    Continue Reading Can Employers Block NLRB Proceedings? What the Circuit Split Means for Your Organization

    On January 26, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) seeking public input on potential policies to strengthen the domestic supply chain for personal protective equipment (“PPE”) and essential medicines used by Medicare‑participating hospitals. The initiative reflects lessons learned during the COVID‑19 public health emergency and signals a possible shift toward incentivizing or requiring greater reliance on U.S.-manufactured medical products within the Medicare program. This focus on domestic sourcing…
    Continue Reading CMS Solicits Comments on Potential Approaches to Strengthen the American-Made Supply Chain