State Bar of Wisconsin​

We are a professional association for Wisconsin lawyers. The State Bar provides educational, career development, and other services to more than 25,000 members. We also provide public services, including attorney referrals, public education, and reduced-fee legal assistance for low-income state residents. Our mission is to improve the administration of justice and the delivery of legal services and to promote the professional interests of Wisconsin lawyers.

Website: https://www.wisbar.org/
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State Bar of Wisconsin​ Blogs

Agricultural Law & Rural Practice | Solo Small Firm & General Practice Section
Bottom Up | A WisLawNOW Podcast
Business Law Blog | Business Law Section
Children & the Law Section Blog | Children & the Law Section
Construction Blog | Construction & Public Contract Law Section
Criminal Law Section Blog | Criminal Law Section
Dispute Resolution Section Blog | Dispute Resolution Section
Elder Law & Special Needs Section Blog | Elder Law and Special Needs Section
Environmental Law Section Blog | Environmental Law Section
Family Law Blog | Family Law Section
Health Law Blog | Health Law Section
International Practice Blog | International Practice Section
Labor & Employment Law Blog | Labor & Employment Law Section
Litigation Blog | Litigation Section
Nonresident Lawyers Blog | Nonresident Lawyers Division
Public Interest Blog | Public Interest Law Section
Real Property Probate & Trust Law Blog | Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section
Sua Sponte | Appellate Practice Section
Taxation Law Blog | Taxation Law Section
WisBar Court Review
WisBar News

Blog Authors

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Lynne Davis And Devin Martin
Cheryl Furstace Daniels And Larry J. Martin
Dean R. Dietrich And Larry J. Martin
Margaret Wrenn Hickey And Larry J. Martin
Jeff M. Brown And Shannon Green
David W. Runke And Timothy M. Barber
Chief Justice Annette K. Ziegler

Latest from State Bar of Wisconsin​

Although a significant percentage of Wisconsin’s population
lives outside of the main metro areas, access to clinical research studies has been primarily limited to trials initiated by the two academic medical health centers located in
Milwaukee and
Madison. However, the availability and adoption of digital health technologies (DHTs) – such as software and digital applications, electronic sensors, and computing platforms – is increasing. As a result, clinical research studies can incorporate one or more components of telehealth

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Continue Reading Technology is Expanding the Wisconsin Clinical Research Map

The beginning of a new year often signifies an opportunity to reflect upon the past, to set goals for the future, and to begin with a fresh start. Each January, many of us, inspired by the start of the new year, resolve to become better versions of ourselves, try something new, or achieve myriad personal aspirations. But new year’s resolutions need not be limited to personal growth. While many of us are hoping to hit the gym more frequently

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Continue Reading Get Your Employee Handbook into Shape

Chadwick W. Elgersma
Feb. 4, 2026 – Lifetime enforcer Chadwick M. Elgersma received appointment as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday. Chief U.S. District Court Judge James D. Peterson signed the order on Jan. 22. “I am honored to serve as United States Attorney,” Elgersma said. “I thank the Court, President Trump, and Attorney General Bondi for the trust they placed in me, and I pledge

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Continue Reading Elgersma Appointed Western District U.S. Attorney

In Wisconsin, children with incarcerated parents often face compounded challenges that extend far beyond the courtroom. The emotional toll of separation, coupled with the instability it can create in housing, education, and caregiving, frequently manifests in behavioral and mental health concerns. These children are the disproportionate majority in CHIPS and JIPS proceedings, and their trauma, often unspoken, can echo across generations. As practitioners, we must recognize that parental incarceration is not merely a background detail – it is a

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Continue Reading The Generational Impact of Incarcerated Parents on Children

For many lawyers in private practice, “pro bono” is not something that is often talked about, but efforts to provide legal services to those who cannot afford is vital to the Wisconsin community.

If you practice in Wisconsin, there is a plethora of opportunities that will enable you to provide these essential services while also developing skills and gaining experience that will assist you in your private practice.

These opportunities include accepting Wisconsin State Public Defender (SPD) appointments at

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Continue Reading Pro Bono Work Sharpens Your Practice

Trudging up Bascom Hill is a hallmark of the UW Law student experience. All who summit Bascom with a UW Law diploma know the breathtaking climb well. This familiar climb unites generations of UW Law students: every fall, a new class of 1Ls arrives at the base of Bascom, then embarks on the same three-year climb toward graduation. Although Bascom’s first ascent – 1L year – is known to be a challenging journey for every 1L class, this year’s

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Continue Reading Bascom Hill Just Got Steeper: 2L Summer Recruiting Now Starts 1L Fall

Stock Photo of Cell Phone and Magnifying Glass
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Jan. 23, 2026 – The Fourth Amendment’s private search doctrine protected a warrantless view of a video that Snapchat flagged as child sexual abuse material (CSAM), a majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday in State v. Gasper, 2026 WI 3.

“The government did not exceed the scope of Snapchat’s search when it viewed the video because any expectation of privacy [Michael Joseph] Gasper may have had in the video was frustrated by the private

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Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court: Video View OK Within Private Search

In recent years, advancements in neuroscience have shaped and reshaped how we understand the adolescent brain and psyche.

For most of our nation’s legal history, however, children have been overlooked, undervalued, and misunderstood. In the 1990s, several criminologists coined the term “super-predator” in a book in which they theorized that America would be the “home to thickening ranks of juvenile ‘super-predators’ – radically impulsive, brutally remorseless youngsters, including ever more pre-teenage boys, who murder, assault, rape, rob, burglarize, deal

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Continue Reading Neuroscience in the Courtroom Informs How We Should Sentence Youth

Physical placement disputes are often some of the most contested issues in family law cases. The current physical placement standard directs courts to maximize the time children spend with each parent consistent with their best interest. This strikes a thoughtful and flexible balance that a more inflexible presumption of equal placement cannot match. By focusing on the unique circumstances, needs, and family dynamics of each case, the existing framework preserves both parental involvement and judicial discretion. This ensures that

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Continue Reading Why Wisconsin’s Balance Placement Standard Works without a Presumption of Equal Time

The Reentry Legal Services (RLS) program of Legal Services of Wisconsin helps people prepare for life after release from prison by securing essential benefits and health coverage.
Heidi Mangelsen headshot Heidi Mangelsen, St. Thomas 2010, is a Reentry Legal Services (RLS) attorney with Legal Action of Wisconsin, in Oshkosh. Her practice focuses on providing legal services to incarcerated people as they approach their release from prison.

RLS attorneys represent eligible clients in applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or

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Continue Reading Boosting Successful Reentry: RLS Helps Formerly Incarcerated People Access Benefits

Lawyers regularly help their clients form business entities. In the modern day, the large majority of entities that are formed are formed as limited liability companies (LLCs).[1] While forming an LLC is fairly simple – one simply needs to prepare and file with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) a certificate of formation and have an operating agreement (which can be informal and oral, though preferably is in writing) – there is a subsequent step practitioners be

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Continue Reading Primer on Wisconsin Securities Laws for LLC Interests

Please note that views presented in blog articles are those of the author, not those of the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the section, nor the State Bar of Wisconsin. On April 16, 2025, a group of Wisconsin legislators announced their proposal to enshrine a right to clean water, air, and soil in the Wisconsin Constitution. In part, the proposed amendment reads: The people, including future generations, have the right to a clean, safe, and healthy natural environment, including clean

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Continue Reading Green Amendments in Practice: What Wisconsin Can Learn from Other States

Every day it seems that another health provider or company is entering into an agreement to resolve health care fraud allegations, or in more egregious cases, being convicted of health care fraud. Here are cases from this past November alone:
  • On Nov. 17, 2025, the United States and the State of California announced CVS Pharmacy Inc., paid a total of $18,282,280 in order to resolve allegations that the company violated the Federal False Claims Act and the California False

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Continue Reading The Road to a Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action (and Sometimes Conviction)

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Dec. 16, 2025 – A car enthusiast who likes vanity plates to express his opinions recently lost his First Amendment claim on summary judgment before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

The court in M J Nichols Company, Inc. v. Thompson, No. 24-cv-566-amb (W.D. Wis., Dec. 12, 2025), held that a license plate is government speech.

Whether the language on a license plate is individual expression or government speech to which the First Amendment doesn’t

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Continue Reading U.S. District Court: First Amendment Doesn’t Protect ‘RD RRAGE’

Work injuries rarely stay neatly contained within one legal bucket. In Wisconsin, a single incident can simultaneously trigger worker’s compensation rights, ADA accommodation obligations, FMLA protections, and short and long-term disability (STD/LTD) issues. For employment attorneys on both sides, understanding how these systems overlap is essential for preventing procedural landmines, avoiding retaliation claims, and guiding clients toward legally sound decisions that also make practical business sense. This article provides an integrated overview of how these regimes interact, the timing

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Continue Reading Work Injuries in Wisconsin: Navigating Comp, ADA, FMLA, and Beyond

When parents get divorced, establishing paternity, or facing custody and placement disputes, they must seek court intervention.

Many parents expect that equal (50/50) shared placement of the children is the standard placement schedule that every court uses unless there is evidence that one party is a “bad parent.” Even some legal professionals or court officials seem to be operating under this assumption.

Haley Bjorn headshot

Haley Bjorn, Arizona State 2023, is a staff attorney with Judicare Legal Aid, Wausau. She

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Continue Reading The Myth of 50/50 Placement: What Wisconsin Law Actually Requires