Attorney Vanessa Wishart provides legal updates in Wisconsin water law to WI Wastewater Operators Association
Attorney Vanessa Wishart will give legal updates on Wisconsin water and environmental law as part of a daylong symposium on March 18, 2025, to an audience of municipal officials, water treatment plant operators, contractors, and consultants. The 2025 Spring Biosolids Symposium in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, is an annual event providing a forum for discussion and information exchange by assembling speakers who are recognized experts
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Court of Appeals Concludes Ballots Lacking Election Official Endorsements Must Be Counted
Wisconsin Court of Appeals issues opinion that voting ballots lacking endorsements from elections officials must be counted
On March 6, 2025, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (Dist. IV) issued a must-read election law opinion declining to toss out three ballots cast in a Rock County election. Gonfiantini v. Rock Cnty. Bd. of Canvassers, No. 2024AP1233 (Wis. Ct. App. March 6, 2025) (recommended for publication). The three ballots were not initialed (i.e. “endorsed”) by the appropriate elections officials as required
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Attorneys Iana Vladimirova & Rich Latta Moderate Discussions at ALFA International Seminar
Stafford Rosenbaum Attorneys Latta and Vladimirova speak to ALFA International business audiences during International Client Seminar
Two attorneys at Stafford Rosenbaum, the Wisconsin member law firm of global legal network ALFA International, participated in the organization’s International Client Seminar on March 6-9, 2025.
Attorney Rich Latta moderated a panel discussion, “The More Things Change—What Happens Now After the U.S. Supreme Court in Loper Bright Has Turned Back the Clock to 1984?” The panel discussed the Loper Bright decision,
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Medicare Expands Health Care Access for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals
A significant barrier for individuals reentering communities after incarceration is accessing health care. For many, health appointments are conditions to release and parole, and often medical care is lifesaving for those with mental health issues and substance use disorders. This article discusses the health care options under the federal Medicare program. New changes expanding access to recently incarcerated individuals took effect Jan. 1, 2025. Christine Huberty, William Mitchell 2013, is an attorney with Center for Medicare Advocacy.
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Attorneys Kent & Landretti Present on Wisconsin Water Law Issues
Attorneys Paul Kent & Jane Landretti present on current legal issues in Wisconsin water law
Attorneys Paul Kent and Jane Landretti will give a presentation on Wednesday, March 5, during the 2025 Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance Conference. The two-day Conference will cover topics like regulation and guidance, climate change, green infrastructure, dissolved phosphorus capture, watershed recovery, recycling and reuse in stormwater, and community engagement for an audience including engineers, professors, community leaders, government entities, local elected officials, and concerned
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Limits Standing to Appeal Decisions from the Wisconsin Elections Commission
On February 18, 2025, in a 4-3 vote, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Kenneth Brown, a voter who raised a number of claims challenging the Racine City Clerk’s use of 22 alternate absentee ballot sites to facilitate in-person absentee voting for the August 2022 primary election, lacked standing to seek judicial review of the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s decision dismissing his complaint. In Brown v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2025 WI 5, the Court squarely addressed what it means to
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Unemployment Claims for Federal Employees
Given the mass layoffs of late happening with federal employees, some information for how federal employees can claim unemployment benefits is probably needed.
In general, the administration and eligibility calculations/determinations of unemployment benefits is handled at the state level. The benefits themselves, however, come from the federal government. Because the administration varies from state to state, the claim-filing process and benefits vary according to the state handling that unemployment claim. So, a federal employee filing in Minnesota rather
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Attorneys Thao & Smith Present on Use of AI Platforms to Wisconsin Business Owners
Attorneys Pahoua Thao and Scott J. Smith present at the Wisconsin Family Business Center
Attorneys Pahoua Thao and Scott J. Smith will present to an audience of small and family business owners during the Wisconsin Family Business Center’s Food for Thought program on Wednesday, February 12.
“Potential Pitfalls and Risks for Family Businesses Using AI Platforms,” part of the two-presentation Food for Thought program, will help audience members to discover the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on family businesses
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Preserves Privacy Protections for Court Records of Voters Subject to Guardianships, Affirms Unified Nature of Court of Appeals
By a 5-2 vote, on January 17, 2025, the Wisconsin Supreme Court vacated a District II Court of Appeals decision holding that county registers in probate must provide, in response to requests under Wisconsin’s public records law, copies of Notice of Voting Eligibility (“NVE”) forms—court records relating to determinations of the competency of individuals to vote that are otherwise sealed from the public and protected from disclosure by Wisconsin law. In Wisconsin Voter Alliance v. Secord, 2025 WI 2,
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Capitol Connection, November 2024
The ever-changing landscape of state government requires businesses across all industries to stay informed on the happenings in Madison. Welcome to the November 2024 issue of the Capitol Connection.
In this issue:
Election 2024: State Legislature
After the implementation of new legislative maps, months of campaigning, heated rhetoric, a barrage of unsolicited text messages, and lots of junk mail, the 2024 election has concluded.
After the votes were tallied:
- Democrats gained 10 seats in the Wisconsin Assembly
- Republicans maintain
Benefits of Working for the Federal Government
Disclaimer: I am writing this blog under my capacity as a board member of the State Bar of Wisconsin Public Interest Law Section. This blog and the views within are my own. It no way reflects the view of the Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, or the U.S. Federal Government. I am not receiving any compensation for writing this blog. My Background Before I get into the benefits of working for the government, I first want to explain
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Attorney Seep Paliwal Gives Inns of Court Presentation on Generative Artificial Intelligence
Attorney Seep Paliwal presents on Generative AI from intellectual property law perspective
Attorney Seep Paliwal will give a Generative AI presentation to an audience of James E. Doyle American Inn of Court members on November 20, 2024. “Generative Artificial Intelligence: Its Pitfalls and Impact on Intellectual Property Law” will cover the risks, benefits, and reliability of Generative AI programs, address federal regulation and impending lawsuits, and warn of the likelihood for intellectual property infringement with use of these programs.
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EPA Issues Final Lead & Copper Rule Improvements with $2.6 Billion Allocated to Support Replacement of All Lead Drinking Water Pipes in the US
On October 8, the Biden Administration issued its long-awaited final rule, the “Lead and Copper Rule Improvements” (the “LCRI”), requiring drinking water systems across the country identify and replace all lead water pipes within a 10-year period.[1] The LCRI also includes requirements for more rigorous testing of drinking water for lead levels, lower thresholds requiring communities to take action to protect residents from lead exposure, and more consistent communication with communities regarding the schedules for pipe replacement and
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Bosses Beware: Safety Comes First in the Face of Extreme Weather
Employers, safety first for your employees in extreme weather circumstances.
The tragic stories that we all saw in the path of destruction left by recent hurricanes is a good reminder that no community is safe from the damages of climate change and extreme weather. Out of many tragic stories, one that received a great deal of attention—and has already generated at least one lawsuit—is the story of Impact Plastics, a company in a small town in rural Tennessee.
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Stafford Rosenbaum Attorneys Present at and Sponsor Wisconsin Towns Association Conference
Attorneys Larry Konopacki and Derek Punches present at Wisconsin Towns Association’s Town Law Conference
Stafford Rosenbaum LLP is proud to sponsor the 2024 Town Law Conference, hosted by the Wisconsin Towns Association and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Local Government Education Program. Topics of the virtual conference, taking place on October 25, 2024, include town regulation of ATVs and UTVs, local authority over wind and solar energy systems, legal perspectives on town board meeting disruptions, effective project management
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Generative Artificial Intelligence 101: Federal Law Still Does Not Address Use of Generative AI
United States federal law still does not address use of Generative AI, though lawmakers have proposed legislation addressing various issues.
In our previous Generative Artificial Intelligence 101 blog post, we discussed intellectual property infringement as a legal risk of using Generative AI. Today, we jump into a discussion of the various other legal liabilities associated with Generative AI.
Not only is there no case law yet addressing the allegedly unlawful activity associated with Generative AI, but also the United
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