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“You are nothing but what you aspire to be.”

Lavinia Goodell, May 5, 1860

The fourth installment in Lavinia Goodell’s series of humorous articles giving young men advice on how to win a wife was published in the Principia  (her father’s anti-slavery newspaper) the week of her twenty-first birthday in 1860. With the Civil War looming on the horizon, the paper’s early pages contained an article by Rev. Henry Cheever titled “Way-marks in the moral war with slavery,”…
Continue Reading “You are nothing but what you aspire to be.”

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“My admission seems to amuse Deacon Eldred.”

Lavinia Goodell, June 30, 1874

During the eight years that Lavinia Goodell lived in Janesville, Wisconsin, in addition to first studying and then practicing law, she was a member of the Congregational Church, actively promoted temperance, and worked to establish a free reading room in the city. Through her participation in these activities she met many prominent Janesville citizens with common interests. One of them was F. S. Eldred.

Frederick Starr Eldred…
Continue Reading “My admission seems to amuse Deacon Eldred.”

Every day, we see examples of members who donate their time and talent not only to the State Bar of Wisconsin, but also to the communities in which they work and call home.Attorneys and judges are busy people. Sometimes it may feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to volunteer between other professional activities, all while trying to achieve work-life balance. But countless State Bar members volunteer every day, with or without recognition.Your volunteer efforts – whether…
Continue Reading Thanks-For-Giving!

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In April of 2022, Wisconsin passed new business entity laws, greatly impacting limited liability companies and their members, and largely overhauling and replacing Chapter 183 of the Wisconsin Statutes, which governs LLCs. This article will help you identify the key changes under the new LLC laws, as well as point you towards the next steps in preparing for this overhaul—including decisions to be made before year-end. For purposes of this article, we’ll refer to the new Chapter 183, the…
Continue Reading How Do Wisconsin’s New LLC Laws Impact My Company?

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In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote a blog post on how to create a valid will in Wisconsin.  At the time, we were all stuck at home by government order, and many clients signed their wills without a notary public.  Signing a will without a notary public was a short-term fix during a challenging time, not best practice.  Now that we have resumed business as usual, we recommend that you should ensure your will is…
Continue Reading Nothing to Prove: Making the Case for Self-Proving Affidavits

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“Miss Goodell will be admitted to practice in this court.”
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Oramus Cole, June 18, 1879

Justice Orasmus Cole

Lavinia Goodell’s name will forever be linked with that of Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Ryan since he was the author of the infamous opinion that held only men were eligible to practice law in Wisconsin and denied Lavinia’s first petition for admission to practice before the Wisconsin Supreme Court . (Read…
Continue Reading “Miss Goodell will be admitted to practice in this court.”

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Nov. 3, 2022 – Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Ziegler used her second State of the Judiciary address on Nov. 2 to highlight the need to bolster judicial security for the state’s 272 judges.Ziegler began her address, which took place at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference, by paying homage to the five judges who died since the conference’s 2021 annual meeting.Among those judges was Judge John Roemer.Roemer, a retired Juneau County Circuit Court judge,…
Continue Reading State of the Judiciary: Chief Justice Ziegler Calls Attention to Judicial Security Issue

The law governing Wisconsin limited liability companies (LLCs) will change on January 1, 2023.  In April 2022, Wisconsin adopted a version of the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act.  The new law will bring Wisconsin in line with the majority of states and provide more uniformity between Wisconsin LLCs and LLCs from other jurisdictions.  Existing LLCs can opt in or out of the new law.  All LLCs formed after January 1, will be governed by the new law.
Key…
Continue Reading Wisconsin LLCs: Deadline to Opt Out of New LLC Law Approaches

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​​Oct. 28, 2022 – With the Nov. 8 election looming, candidates for Wisconsin Attorney Gene​ral – incumbent Josh Kaul and challenger Eric Toney – squared off yesterday (Oct. 27) to debate the issues facing Wisconsin.

The State Bar of Wisconsin hosted the debate at the State Bar Center in Madison, in partnership with
WisPolitics.com and Wisc-TV.

News 3 Now Anchor Eric Franke moderated the debate with questions from panelists Emilee Fannon (CBS-58), Will Kenneally (Wisc-TV), and JR Ross (WisPolitics).
Continue Reading Candidates for Wisconsin Attorney General Debate at State Bar Center

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“Sent for Dr. Chittenden and had a consultation with him.”

Lavinia Goodell, May 7, 1877

When Lavinia Goodell and her parents lived in Janesville, Wisconsin in the 1870s, their family physician was G. W. Chittenden, a surgeon as well as a homeopathic practitioner.

Dr. G. W. Chittenden

George Washington Chittenden was born in Oneida County, New York in 1820. His father fought in the Revolutionary War. Dr. Chittenden graduated from Albany Medical College in 1846 and after practicing a…
Continue Reading “Sent for Dr. Chittenden and had a consultation with him.”

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Paying for nursing-home and long-term care can seem daunting when the cost can be $5,000 to $12,000 per month – or more. When a married couple is no longer able or willing to privately pay out of pocket for care and chooses to apply for Medicaid, it’s a complex process. The Medicaid agency must analyze the couple’s income and assets as of a particular date to determine eligibility.

A Medicaid applicant is someone residing in a nursing home, a…
Continue Reading Is Medicaid for a Spouse Possible Without Breaking the Bank?

Recently, we have been fielding a fair number of inquiries from clients who have been approached by third parties urging them to claim the Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”).  The ERC, which the federal government enacted back in 2020 to help blunt the economic impact of COVID-19, is a refundable tax credit designed to reward businesses that continued to pay employees during pandemic-related shutdown orders or experienced significant declines in revenue during the pandemic.

Qualifying for the ERC is difficult,…
Continue Reading IRS Cautions Employers Against Engaging Third Party Employee Retention Credit Consultants

Today the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a new poster that is required for employers covered by Title VII.  The new poster is entitled “Know Your Rights” and includes these changes:

  • Notes that harassment is a prohibited form of discrimination;
  • Clarifies that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity;
  • Adds a QR code for fast digital access to the how to file a charge webpage;
  • Provides information about equal pay discrimination

…
Continue Reading New EEO Poster Required!

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Oct. 18, 2022 – The State Bar of Wisconsin, along with its partners,
WisPolitics.com and
WISC-TV, will host a debate between the candidates for Wisconsin Attorney General,
District Attorney Eric Toney and
Attorney General Josh Kaul.

  • ​ When: Thursday, October 27, 4:00 p.m.
  •  Where: State Bar Center, 5302 Eastpark Blvd., Madison, WI

RSVP by Oct. 25Join the pre-debate reception at 3:30 p.m. in the State Bar Center Rotunda. As the debate will be broadcast live…
Continue Reading Last Call: RSVP for Wisconsin Attorney General Candidate Debate, Oct. 27

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“Nobody is fitted for a low place, and everybody is taught to look for a high one.”
Lavinia Goodell, January 1862

In January of 1862, twenty-two year old Lavinia Goodell wrote an article for her father’s anti-slavery newspaper the Principia titled Errors in Education.

The proposition of the piece was that all young people were encouraged to strive to achieve high office or positions of honor when in fact most people would be better served by filling humbler stations…
Continue Reading “Nobody is fitted for a low place, and everybody is taught to look for a high one.”

Voluntary arbitration agreements involving federal law are enforced under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Section 1 of the FAA exempts certain classes of workers, however, from the enforcement of arbitration. The U.S. Supreme Court recently resolved a federal circuit court split over whether employees who load cargo for the transportation of goods are engaged in commerce and exempt from arbitration under Section 1.
FAA and Section 1 Exemption
The FAA, enacted in 1925, favors arbitration to resolve employment disputes.
Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Says Airline Supervisor is Exempt From Federal Arbitration Act