Business Law Section | State Bar of Wisconsin

The Business Law Section brings together members who work in the fields of corporation, banking, partnership, securities, antitrust, trade regulation, commercial law, employer-employee relations, insurance, intellectual property and other areas of business law. Members are focused on developing and improving the law in their areas of expertise.

The State Bar of Wisconsin offers its members the opportunity to network with other lawyers who share a common interest through its 24 sections. Learn more at http://www.wisbar.org/groups.

Website: https://www.wisbar.org/forMembers/Groups/Sections/BusinessLawSection/pages/home.aspx
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Latest from Business Law Section | State Bar of Wisconsin

Lawmakers have introduced a bill (LRB 25-1726) in both houses of the Wisconsin legislature to legalize and regulate medical marijuana. If passed, Wisconsin would be the 41st state to legalize medical cannabis.

The bill was introduced in the Senate on Sept. 29, 2025, by President Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk, and Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Testin.

The bill comes on the heels of anticipated federal action, including statements by the Trump administration about cannabis rescheduling for purposes of the Controlled…
Continue Reading Is Legalized Medical Marijuana Coming to Wisconsin?

The “home cooking” or DYI of business documents is nothing new. There have always been people who have chosen to draft important documents without the help of an attorney, often to their detriment. The recent rise of AI tools which offer content generation in moments has seen many business owners and entrepreneurs use them to generate contracts, corporate documents, and even complex legal strategies without the involvement of attorneys. Why AI-drafted Agreements Often Fall Short While AI tools typically…
Continue Reading AI-Written Contracts: What to Do When a Client Brings You One

Opportunity Zones initiate economic growth and job creation in low-income communities by using tax breaks to incentivize investment. Originally created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the Opportunity Zones program was recently modified by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) in ways that lawyers advising real estate professionals and investors should keep in mind. This article provides a sampling of those changes, after providing a basic overview of the program.

James Wawrzyn headshot
James Wawrzyn, Marquette 2006,

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Continue Reading OBBBA Rewrites the Rules for Opportunity Zone Investments

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are under fire, being materially scaled back or jettisoned entirely by both the federal government and private employers.

Patricia J. Lane headshot

Patricia Lane, Chicago 1986, is a partner with FisherBroyles, Milwaukee.

Jeremy R. Polk headshot
Jeremy R. Polk, Northwestern 2004, is a partner with FisherBroyles, Milwaukee.

Nicholas J. Faleris headshot
Nicholas J. Faleris, Northwe​stern 2006, is a partner with FisherBroyles, Milwaukee.

Corrie E. Osborne headshot
Corrie E. Osborne, Chicago 2020, is a counsel with FisherBroyles, Milwaukee.

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With the future…
Continue Reading Anti-Discrimination Provisions in Credit Agreements: Time for a Review

While oral agreements can be legally binding, they are generally not advisable for dental partnerships – or any business partnership. The absence of a written record makes them difficult to enforce, especially when disagreements arise.

Lanre J. Abiola headshot

Lanre J. Abiola, Marquette 2022, is founder of
Prestige Law Office, LLC, Milwaukee, where he focuses on business law, dental transitions law, estate planning, and probate​. He is currently on the State Bar of Wisconsin Business Law Section board of directors.

A…
Continue Reading Why Dental Partners Should Avoid Oral Agreements

I was talking to an experienced farmer a few years ago about my little farm. I had a few goats, hogs, and chickens. I told him, “I hate goats!” In truth, I do not actually hate goats, but I had developed a dislike of those on my farm.

Peter S. Trotter

Peter S. Trotter, Illinois 2000, is vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Mason Companies, Inc., in Chippewa Falls.

After making this strong statement, I felt the need for further…
Continue Reading On Tolerance and the Practice of Law. And Goats.

Burdensome consumer-like disclosures are making their way into the commercial realm as nine states have enacted legislation mandating that specific disclosures be made to financing recipients in certain commercial financing transactions at (or, in some cases, before) the consummation of the financing transaction.

Patricia J. Lane headshot

Patricia Lane, Chicago 1986, is a partner with FisherBroyles, Milwaukee, where she is chair of the firm’s Banking and Financial Services Practice Group.

To date California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, New York, Utah,…
Continue Reading Nine States Now Require Commercial Financing Providers to Provide Consumer-Like Disclosures

Business attorneys should proactively reassess their clients’ contracts in response to recent tariffs and the possibility of future tariff increases. These changes can significantly impact clients’ supply chains, pricing structures, and contractual obligations across various industries, and clients must be prepared for the effects this can have on their agreements.

By reviewing and revising contracts now, attorneys can help clients mitigate risks, maintain compliance, and ensure financial stability.

While one could argue that tariff increases have at least some…
Continue Reading Amid New Tariffs, Review Client Contracts

The Delaware legislature has been moving quickly to ensure that Delaware remains the preeminent home of choice for many corporations by amending the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL). The comprehensive changes, known as SB 21, became law on March 25, 2025, when the Delaware House of Representatives passed the bill, and Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed it into law. A copy of SB 21 as finally adopted is available on the Delaware Legislature website. Delaware’s legislature and governor…
Continue Reading Delaware Enacts Significant Changes to its General Corporation Law

The legal profession, steeped in tradition and precedent, is undergoing a transformation. Generative AI, particularly large language models (LLMs), have made remarkable strides in understanding and generating human-like text.1 Whether through advanced legal research tools or e-discovery software, it is apparent that AI has a role to play in the legal system. Billable Hour Dilemma For decades, law firms have operated on a simple premise: time equals money. Associates and partners typically track their work in six-minute increments,…
Continue Reading Beyond the Billable Hour: Generative AI is Already Reshaping Law Firm Economics

Cultural competency refers to the ability to understand, communicate, and interact effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds.1 For attorneys, this means recognizing and respecting clients’ values, traditions, and perspectives while tailoring their approach to meet specific needs. This skill requires more than just awareness; it requires understanding different perspectives, reflecting on biases, expanding cultural knowledge, and building cross-cultural competencies.

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Nancy Martinez Ramirez headshot
Nancy Martinez Ramirez, is a member of the Marquette University Law School Class of 2026, in

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Continue Reading Cultural Competency Is an Essential Attorney Skill

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

Our firm has been actively communicating with clients regarding – and monitoring multiple lawsuits challenging – the federal Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) ahead of its upcoming Jan. 1, 2025, reporting deadline for entities formed before Jan. 1, 2024.

The CTA requires most entities to report their beneficial ownership information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Kelly Gorman headshot Kelly Gorman, U.W. 2023, is an associate attorney with Fox, O’Neill, & Shannon, S.C., in Milwaukee, where she focuses her practice

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Continue Reading Federal Court Blocks Corporate Transparency Act Enforcement Nationwide

In April 2017, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, acting in response to a request of the Business Court Advisory Committee, established a pilot large claim commercial case docket for the assignment of commercial cases. The purposes of the pilot commercial court (which some refer to as the business court) were
to ensure that large claim cases involving Wisconsin employers or businesses, or which involve complicated disputes, are resolved expeditiously and with the least amount of cost so as to (a)…
Continue Reading Contracting for Dispute Resolution After the End of Wisconsin Commercial Courts

The economic loss doctrine is a judicially created rule that prevents parties from pursuing tort claims, such as negligence or misrepresentation, when the only damages they have suffered are financial in nature and stem from a breach of contract.

The doctrine aims to maintain the distinct boundaries between contract law and tort law, ensuring that contractual remedies are used to address economic losses arising from agreements between parties.
Development Through Case Law
Wisconsin’s economic loss doctrine is among the…
Continue Reading A Deep Dive into Wisconsin’s Economic Loss Doctrine

Transaction practice lawyers constantly face a barrage of choices for their legal documentation when trying to provide quality, fast, and efficient legal services to their clients.

Most do not have the luxury of unlimited time and resources to provide these services. Often, practitioners look for existing materials to use as samples for documenting agreements between their clients and opposing parties.

One possible tempting option to address this predicament is to use the so-called real estate practitioner preprinted form agreements…
Continue Reading Wisconsin Real Estate Board Business Purchase Agreements: Traps for the Unwary