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Emily Kelchen looking thoughtfulEmily Kelchen took a moment to ponder the long-term impact of her own legal work during the 100th anniversary of the Scopes “Monkey” Trial in Dayton, Tennessee.
Photos: Emily Kelchen.

I’m a sucker for historic courthouses. So, when I realized I lived within easy driving distance of Dayton, Tennessee, ​
​location of the Scopes “Monkey” Trial – and that 2025 was the 100th anniversary of the trial – I couldn’t wait to plan a visit.

The local community had

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Continue Reading Not Monkey Business: The Scopes Trial Still Has Lessons to Teach

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Dec. 2, 2025 – The State Bar of Wisconsin, along with more than a dozen other state bar associations nationwide, is experiencing a new and highly targeted phishing attack aimed at our members. We want to ensure you are aware of this threat so you can protect your personal information and help prevent further exposure.
What’s Happening
Multiple bar associations, including ours, have reported a surge in phishing emails sent to members. These emails appear to come from organizational

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Continue Reading Scam Alert: New Phishing Campaign Targeting State Bar of Wisconsin Members

New State Bar Executive Director Jill Rothstein gives her report at her first Board of Governors meeting.

Sept. 24, 2025 – The 53-member State Bar of Wisconsin Board of Governors (Board) held its first meeting of the fiscal year (FY 2026), meeting in Wausau, and welcomed 11 new governors and two building bridges liaisons.

It was also the first Board meeting for new President Dan Gartzke and new Executive Director Jill Rothstein.

The meeting came after the annual Joint

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Continue Reading New Fiscal Year, New State Bar Board of Governors

In case you missed it, the latest edition of the Bluebook has introduced a new rule on citing AI-generated content. While I agree that a rule addressing GenAI was needed, unfortunately, Rule 18.3’s approach misses the mark.

University of Idaho law professor Jessica Gunder has published a thorough critique of the new rule titled “Yikes! The Bluebook’s Generative AI Rule is Flawed” that lays out exactly why Rule 18.3 is problematic. Her analysis raises serious concerns that legal educators,…
Continue Reading The Bluebook’s New AI Citation Rule Misses the Mark

a group of people smiling at the cameraThe clerks of the Class of 2025 Diversity Clerkship Program. For more photos,
see the album on the State Bar of Wisconsin Facebook page.

Aug. 4, 2025 – It is a program to boost the next generation of lawyers – and also Wisconsin legal firms and organizations who employ them.

The State Bar of Wisconsin’s Diversity Clerkship Program matches first-year law students from all backgrounds from Wisconsin law schools with legal offices, firms, and corporations for a 10-week

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Continue Reading The State Bar Diversity Clerkship Program: A Win-Win for Students and Employers

Civil jury trials continue to decrease in Wisconsin.
According to the Wisconsin Court System website, 0.0697% of civil cases resolved via jury trial in 2024, which is a 143% difference from the 0.42% of civil cases that resolved via jury trial just 11 years prior in 2013.

Recent articles hypothesize the reasons for the decline. The myriad reasons notwithstanding, the modern litigator is now faced with the reality that civil jury trials – i.e., opportunities to practice…
Continue Reading Trial Prep for the Modern Lawyer

Stress, migraine and motion blur with a business man in a meeting feeling frustrated, tired or overworked. Mental health, anxiety and headache with an exhausted male employee suffering from fatigue

Picture this: You’ve just submitted a project you’ve spent weeks perfecting. Instead of feeling satisfied, you’re already mentally reviewing every detail, wondering if you could have done something better. Sound familiar? You’re not alone—and you might be experiencing the double-edged sword of perfectionism in the workplace.
For professionals in Wisconsin’s competitive business environment, from attorneys to executives, these perfectionist patterns are increasingly common. Perfectionism often gets praised in business settings. After all, who doesn’t want high standards and attention…
Continue Reading When Perfectionism Becomes a Problem: Understanding Workplace Perfectionism and Mental Health

Whenever we address an issue, it is important that we understand the actual issue. That involves a lot of questions to poke around in all of the corners of the problem. Sometimes those questions are uncomfortable. The person answering is sometimes embarrassed about what they know is hiding in the shadows, but more often, they are scared that they don’t know or don’t remember what is there. That can make those harmless little dust bunnies seem much more dangerous.
Continue Reading Framing Isn’t Just For Pictures

At OG+S, we’re committed to staying ahead of the curve as technologies evolve — not for the sake of change itself, but because smarter tools help us serve clients better and create a more effective work environment for our team.

In today’s rapidly shifting legal landscape – efficiency, security, and flexibility are critical. That’s why we’ve been actively reviewing and improving our technology stack: ensuring that the tools we use support how we work today, while also positioning us…
Continue Reading Embracing Innovation at OGS: Exploring Smarter Tools for Legal Work

Feeling like anxiety is running the show at work? You’re not alone. Here’s a research-backed framework that’s helping professionals regain control without adding to their already packed to-do list.

Sarah stared at her computer screen, the cursor blinking mockingly in her empty email draft. The presentation to the board was tomorrow, and despite weeks of preparation, her mind was spinning with worst-case scenarios. What if they ask a question I can’t answer? What if the projector doesn’t work? What…
Continue Reading From Overwhelmed to Optimized: Evidence-Based CBT Techniques for Busy Professionals Managing Anxiety

OLR v. Osman A. Mirza, 2023AP2369-D, February 27, 2025, (per curiam attorney discipline case)

In a disciplinary case adjacent to criminal defense practice, SCOW clarifies the impact of having charges “read-in” for purposes of an OLR proceeding.

As noted previously, this blog does not usually cover disciplinary cases. However, this case contains a helpful summary of Wisconsin’s “read-in” procedure applicable in criminal cases and clarifies their role in collateral legal proceedings. Accordingly, we felt it may be helpful…
Continue Reading SCOW clarifies that read-in offenses cannot be used to independently establish ethical violations in attorney discipline case

Long before I was a trademark nerd, I was a biology geek with the science degrees to prove it. Yes, I have read Darwin’s The Origin of Species – in my own free time at that. I also recently read Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne and The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Three very different books, but they each have a way shifting perspectives. All of them…
Continue Reading Diversity is the Antidote for Competition

The current legal landscape might be comparable to an alien world in a sci-fi movie, exceedingly complex and constantly changing. Myriad statutes, regulations, rules, ordinances, case law, and other sources of law create a legal multivariate calculus problem. Due to practical necessity and ethical requirements, attorneys are required to understand applicable law in order to provide guidance to their clients.

Regardless of the preparation that law school provided, that preparation will be insufficient for legal problems that attorneys eventually…
Continue Reading Tips for Lawyers: Keeping Pace with the Law

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…
Continue Reading Generative Artificial Intelligence 101: Federal Law Still Does Not Address Use of Generative AI

three rows of individuals hold their hands up to take an oathNew admittees take the oath in the 1:30 p.m. ceremony.

Sept. 26, 2024 – They are from Wisconsin and across the country – and the world, with one thing in common: On Sept. 23, 2024, all 66 individuals became Wisconsin lawyers.

In two separate ceremonies before the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Sept. 23, they took their final steps, taking the Attorney’s Oath and signing the Supreme Court Roll Book.

Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler and the other justices hosted

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Continue Reading Admissions: Welcome to 66 New Wisconsin Lawyers

Do I Need a Business License to Operate in Milwaukee?
 Posted on September 23,2024 in Business Law
Many businesses in Milwaukee are required to obtain a business license before they can legally operate. Whether you are starting a restaurant, retail store, or professional service firm, a license is often necessary to ensure your business complies with local regulations. Even home-based businesses or online operations may need certain permits depending on the type of work you do.

Checking the specific…
Continue Reading Do I Need a Business License to Operate in Milwaukee?