von Briesen & Roper, s.c., announced today the expansion of their Trusts and Estate Section with attorneys Reilly C. Kulas and Alexis J. Witte and Tax Specialist/Paralegal Ashley E. Ferus.
Reilly C. Kulas is an Associate in the Neenah office. She focuses her practice on estate planning and advising fiduciaries in trust and probate administrations. Kulas is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin. She received a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin and a B.A., magna
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Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals: Rough Handling Not Wrongful Seizure
May 13, 2025 – Three victims of a violent 2015 hostage-taking in Neenah recently lost their Fourth Amendment claims before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in Moderson v. City of Neenah, No. 23-2843 (May 9, 2025).
In a decision written by Circuit Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi and joined by Judges Frank H. Easterbrook and Ilana Diamond Rovner, the dangerous crime scene made brief seizures reasonable even when two victims were handcuffed
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U.S. and China Agree to Reduce Reciprocal Tariffs for 90 Days
We previously reported on the reciprocal tariffs on ALL countries issued by President Trump in early April. Over the weekend, the U.S. and China agreed to temporarily reduce tariffs amid a looming recession triggered by an effective embargo.
The reciprocal tariffs, previously set at 125 percent, will be lowered to 10 percent for a 90-day period to allow room for negotiations. Both sides will take these actions by May 14, 2025. It is important to note that this
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Carla Johnson Joins Hall Render
Hall Render is pleased to announce Carla Johnson has joined the firm in its Indianapolis office.
Carla focuses her legal practice in the area of commercial real estate. Carla has more than 15 years of experience as in-house counsel and as a private practitioner in Tennessee, Georgia and Indiana.
Carla gained significant experience in health care during her tenure at Indiana’s largest health care system, where she was the first in-house counsel exclusively supporting the system’s real estate department
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Estate Planning for Mother’s Day- How to Honor Mom
Estate planning for Mother’s Day may not be the first gift you think of, but can be the most meaningful. Every year, as Mother’s Day rolls around, I think about the things my mom taught me—not just about kindness and cooking, but about being prepared. My mother wasn’t a lawyer, but she lived like someone who knew how important it was to plan ahead. She kept every family document in a neatly labeled folder, saved receipts like gold, and
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Weekly Hospital Real Estate Briefing
Helping Your Clients Understand the Tax Consequences of Settling Debt
Most bankruptcy attorneys have settled claims or debts being asserted against our clients. We try to get the best settlement, which is usually the least amount for our client to pay. Clients appreciate that. They want to save money. But, when the same client later gets an income tax bill (1099) for the amount of debt forgiven, we may have some explaining to do.
J. David Krekeler, U.W. 1979, is the principal of
Krekeler Strother, S.C., Madison,
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Saving Private Ryan's Nest Egg: The Veteran Improved Pension Program
There’s potential money out there for wartime veterans and the surviving spouses of wartime veterans through the Veterans Affairs Improved Pension. Peter Harbach, Marquette 2008, is a partner with Hooper Law Office in Appleton, where he focuses on elder law. I want to encourage attorneys who practice in elder law to consider becoming accredited with the Department of Veterans Affairs, because there are about 330,000 veterans and only 44 accredited attorneys in our state. Program Basics Although not
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Attorneys Jessica Mederson & Pahoua Thao Present at Association of Corporate Counsel – Wisconsin Conference
Stafford Rosenbaum discusses data privacy regulation and risk to Association of Corporate Counsel – Wisconsin
Stafford Rosenbaum Attorneys Jessica Mederson and Pahoua Thao, as well as in-house Cotiviti Attorney Krista Baisch, will give a presentation to an audience of corporate counsel lawyers during the 2025 Association of Corporate Counsel – Wisconsin Conference on May 15, 2025. The annual Conference brings together in-house Wisconsin attorneys who can choose from 26 CLE sessions to customize a program schedule to fit their
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Zoning and Legal Compliance: Key to Successful Downtown Development
For developers, adeptly navigating the intricate web of zoning laws and regulations is paramount to ensuring that projects not only comply with local ordinances but also align with community standards.
Understanding Zoning Regulations
Zoning laws are essential for urban planning, dictating how land can be used. They help maintain order and prevent conflicts between different land uses, like residential and industrial areas. Developers must possess a thorough understanding of these laws to avoid legal disputes and project delays. Interpreting
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Is It Still Good Law? Free Law Project to Build Citator using AI
The Free Law Project recently announced its intention to build a citator using AI.
If successful, the emergence of an open-access, open-source legal citator would be significant to both practitioners and the public. Citators, such as Shepard’s and KeyCite, answer the foundational question of whether the case law you are using is good law, bad law, or somewhere in between. FLP’s mission is to “democratize access to this crucial information for small law firms, independent researchers, self-represented litigants,
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Seventh Circuit Ruling Allows Non-Disabled Workers to Seek Back Pay Under ADA
The Seventh Circuit (covering Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin) recently ruled that a non-disabled employee can recover damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when his employer required a fitness-for-duty examination to evaluate his mental health before returning from leave. Nawara v. Cook County, 132 F.4th 1031 (7th Cir. 2025).
This decision underscores the importance of properly determining when a current employee can be required to undergo a medical examination as required under the ADA, regardless of
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Phantom Ownership: How to Use Phantom Units to Incentivize Star Employees
Businesses often face the challenge of attracting and retaining star employees. It can be tempting to offer star employees ownership in the business to alleviate the hardship of losing them after investing time, money, and resources into training and onboarding. The main drawback of offering ownership is potentially relinquishing some control in the business. Employers that want to incentivize and retain star employees, without relinquishing actual equity or control of the entity, should consider offering “Phantom Units” rather than
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COA Holds That Statute Prohibiting Possession of a Firearm While Intoxicated Passes Muster
State v. Bernabe Gonzalez, 2024AP358-CR, 5/6/25, District I (1-judge decision, ineligible for publication); case activity
In what we believe is COA’s first foray into the vexing world of firearm regulation post-Bruen and Rahimi, COA holds that a Wisconsin’s statute prohibiting intoxicated persons from “going armed” passes muster under an originalist legal analysis.
Faithful readers will recall that this issue previously reached SCOW in 2021, resulting in a 5-1-1 decision (with Justice Hagedorn concurring and Justice
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Best Job in the World: A 3L’s Opinion on the Challenges and Thrills of Environmental Law
When I started law school, I wasn’t really sure what exactly I wanted to practice. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure at the time if I liked law. I was unsure of myself, I felt out of place in the law school because my classmates seemed to know exactly what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go.
Jonathan Fuller, U.W. Law School Class of 2025, has interned at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
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Factoring in the Factors #1: Parent’s Wishes
In Wisconsin, Wis. Stat. 767.41(5) sets forth a list of factors that the court-appointed Guardian ad Litem is to apply in arriving to their recommendations as to what they believe is in “the best interest” of the minor child or children as it relates to custody and placement disputes. Ultimately the Court will also come to its own determination after considering the GAL recommendation and arguments presented by both parties.
The first factor, Wis. Stat. 767.41(5)(am)1 states that “The
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