Stafford Rosenbaum LLP

Stafford Rosenbaum LLP Blogs

Latest from Stafford Rosenbaum LLP

Initiatives to Combat PFAS Announced After Environmental Regulation Rollbacks
The second Trump term has already been marked by significant environmental deregulation, including targeting major climate change, energy efficiency, environmental justice, and air pollution policies established over the decades since the first wave of environmental regulatory schemes began in the 1970s.[1] These rollbacks have been compounded by reductions in the EPA workforce and budget, including the agency’s scientific research division.[2] The reduction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS),
Continue Reading After Wave of Environmental Regulation Rollbacks, Trump Administration Announces PFAS-Combatting Initiatives

The Wisconsin governor’s partial-veto power is unique. Although some states grant governors the power to veto entire budget line items, Wisconsin’s governor may veto discrete parts of appropriation bills, including words, punctuation marks, and digits. See generally Wis. Const. art. V, § 10(1)(b), (c). On April 18, 2025, the Wisconsin Supreme Court revisited Wisconsin’s anomalous partial veto power in its tenth ever opinion on the topic, LeMieux v. Evers, 2025 WI 12, which addressed the constitutionality of Governor Tony
Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Governor’s ‘400-Year Veto’ and Affirms Expansive Partial-Veto Power

Attorney Jessica Mederson presents on construction law and resiliency measures amid a changing climate
On Thursday, May 1, Attorney Jessica C. Mederson will give a “Strategies for Incorporating Energy Resiliency and Climate Change into Construction Projects and Contracts” presentation at Centro Hispano of Dane County. Part of the daylong Construction Law Update: Current Trends in Sustainability and Finance hosted by the State Bar of Wisconsin, Jessica will present to a Madison-area audience of construction, sustainability, community, and legal
Continue Reading Attorney Jessica Mederson Presents on Energy Resiliency in Construction Law

Stafford Rosenbaum Attorney Tony Menting recognized on Family Law Powerlist by Wisconsin Law Journal 
Originally published on wislawjournal.com on March 27, 2025.
Similar to surgeons or CPAs, Anthony Menting believes that divorce lawyers must be clinical and objective. While he acknowledges the emotional aspects of family law, Menting helps his clients navigate them by clearly detailing outcomes and managing unrealistic expectations.  
Menting, a partner at Stafford Rosenbaum’s Madison office, focuses his practice on divorce, mediation, and
Continue Reading Attorney Anthony Menting Earns Wisconsin Law Journal Powerlist Honor

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
Continue Reading Attorney Vanessa Wishart Presents Legal Updates in Wisconsin Water & Environmental Law

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
Continue Reading Court of Appeals Concludes Ballots Lacking Election Official Endorsements Must Be Counted

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,
Continue Reading Attorneys Iana Vladimirova & Rich Latta Moderate Discussions at ALFA International Seminar

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
Continue Reading Attorneys Kent & Landretti Present on Wisconsin Water Law Issues

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
Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court Limits Standing to Appeal Decisions from the Wisconsin Elections Commission

Attorney Jane Landretti Presents on Drainage Installation to UW-Madison Extension
Attorney Jane Landretti will present “Drainage Law: What You Need to Know Before You Install” to an agriculture industry audience on Thursday, Febrary 20, 2025, in Fond du Lac. This drainage workshop is designed for farmers, landowners, and those who install their own tile systems to receive an introduction to laying out and designing a drainage system to succeed, an understanding of the regulations (both Wisconsin water law and
Continue Reading Attorney Jane Landretti Presents on Wisconsin Water and Drainage Laws

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
Continue Reading Attorneys Thao & Smith Present on Use of AI Platforms to Wisconsin Business Owners

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,
Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court Preserves Privacy Protections for Court Records of Voters Subject to Guardianships, Affirms Unified Nature of Court of Appeals

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.
Continue Reading Attorney Seep Paliwal Gives Inns of Court Presentation on Generative Artificial Intelligence

Technology companies are facing a series of lawsuits alleging copyright infringement.
Throughout our Artificial Intelligence 101 blog series, we’ve discussed the hypothetical legal troubles Generative AI can cause. To wrap things up, our final blog post is an overview of the many pending lawsuits that could decide the legal future of Generative AI.

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is likely the most well-known company in the field of Generative AI technology. This recognition, however, has resulted in numerous
Continue Reading Generative Artificial Intelligence 101: Copyright Infringement Lawsuits Ahead for Tech Companies

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
Continue Reading EPA Issues Final Lead & Copper Rule Improvements with $2.6 Billion Allocated to Support Replacement of All Lead Drinking Water Pipes in the US

Attorney Mason Higgins to present at State Bar of Wisconsin’s Annual Debtor-Creditor Bankruptcy Updates
Stafford Rosenbaum Attorney Mason Higgins will present on real estate issues in bankruptcy, including single-asset real estate issues commercial leases, on Wednesday, November 6, for the Annual Debtor-Creditor Bankruptcy Update for the Eastern District, and on Thursday, November 7, for the Western District. Both updates are presented by the State Bar of Wisconsin. This year’s updates feature time-tested legal techniques, the latest case
Continue Reading Attorney Mason Higgins Presents during Annual Debtor-Creditor Bankruptcy Update for State Bar