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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Latest from State Bar of Wisconsin​ - Page 48

House Raised Off Its Foundation And Resting On A Cement BlockMay 24, 2022 – A policy exclusion designed to cut off liability for property damage caused by the insured’s own work applied to interior damages caused by raising a house.In Wiegert v. TM Carpentry, LLC, 2020AP1833 (May 4, 2022), the Court of Appeals District II held that the exclusion applied because the scope of the work included raising the entire house; it didn’t matter that individual components were not mentioned.A Heavy LiftIn October 2014, Terry and Deborah Wiegert hired

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Continue Reading Policy Exclusion Applied to Damages Caused by Raising House

For attorneys involved in child protective services (CHIPS) cases, it is helpful to understand the various forms of economics involved in the payment of care for the children. My perspective is from the circuit court level, primarily as guardian ad litem in Sheboygan County cases. The first part of this article sets forth the types of funds that are available in CHIPS, minor guardianship, or post-TPR adoption cases. The second part of this article briefly takes a broader perspective…
Continue Reading Tip of the Month: Economics and Children in Protective Care

Representing your client can often be a delicate balance, especially when your client is difficult or unpredictable. There are circumstances under which an attorney is required to withdraw from representation.1 In other circumstances, attorneys may withdraw from representation if the withdrawal can be accomplished without material adverse effect on the interests of the client.2

Attorneys will inevitably encounter situations requiring or permitting withdrawal. Screening potential clients, setting client expectations, and communication are key to setting an outline

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Continue Reading Withdrawal: How to Avoid Those Messy Ethics Issues

In mid-April, juries in Texas and Colorado found health care company executives not guilty of criminal antitrust charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ).

Despite the two losses, DOJ continues to move forward with similar charges brought against other health care companies. Employers in the health care industry (and beyond) should be aware that human resources (HR) practices that restrain competition in the labor market may be investigated or prosecuted by antitrust enforcers.
DOJ Prosecutes…
Continue Reading Two Strikes for DOJ: Health Care Executives Not Guilty of Antitrust Conspiracies

​ Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known by his alias “Lenin,” was reputed to have observed that “there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” Lenin could have hardly imagined that his words describing the Bolshevik revolution just over 100 years ago could be reflective of the seismic trade winds shifting through the tremoring 2020s that were catalyzed by the Russian Federations’ invasion of Ukraine on Feb, 24, 2022. The resulting impact of the invasion, which…
Continue Reading Does the Russian Invasion Signal the End of Globalization or Merely a Recalibration?

Old Woman In Wheelchair With Nurse Holding Her HandMay 12, 2022 – The state statutory scheme that governs medical malpractice lawsuits does not apply to bar a wrongful death lawsuit filed against a community-based residential facility (CBRF), the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.In Estate of Anne Oros v. Divine Savior Healthcare Inc., 2020 WI 27 (May 6, 2022), the supreme court unanimously held that because CBRFs are not included in the statutory scheme’s list of providers, a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the adult child of a

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Continue Reading Wrongful Death Claim Can Proceed Against Community-Based Residential Facility

I spend my weeks surrounded by engineers working in wastewater plants. And I work with regulators trying to find the right numbers or standards to ensure we have “clean” water. Both are tied by regulations and laws that demand strict compliance, and are used to “industrial” solutions – measuring end of pipe levels of nutrients and pollutants to confirm those numbers are below established thresholds. If a number is off, you turn a wheel or add some chemical based…
Continue Reading Help Clients with Environmental Issues by Using the Tools of Our Trade

​Two years on, the COVID-19 pandemic is a daily reality that the millions of single, divorced, and separated parents across the country are struggling to navigate, and things are only getting more complicated. Parents are increasingly fighting over children’s vaccines, masks, remote schooling, and travel due to the differing views on COVID-19 safety.

With society slowly reopening, parents are frantically asking themselves whether their child should be socializing with their peers or staying at home. Are indoor activities safe?
Continue Reading Alternative Ways to Resolve Child Custody Disputes During the Pandemic

a group of 18 people smiling at the cameraCongratulations to the Class of 2021 Fellows of the Wisconsin Law Foundation. See more photos of the event on the
State Bar of Wisconsin Facebook page.

May 10, 2022 – It was a night of celebration and speeches – and the first gathering since 2019 for the Fellows of the Wisconsin Law Foundation. After two years of COVID-19 pandemic cancellations, nearly 200 lawyers and their friends and family members gathered to celebrate two years of new Fellows at

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Continue Reading 45 New Fellows Inducted into the Wisconsin Law Foundation

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Every first-year law student learns about the concept of adverse possession. On the outskirts of these lessons are rules regarding easements. In Wisconsin, these two concepts combine when it comes to utility companies and the placement of their equipment to deliver energy and telecommunications. About Easements An easement is the grant of a nonpossessory property interest that grants an easement holder permission for the use of another person’s property for a limited and specific purpose.1 Easements, therefore,…
Continue Reading Prescriptive Easements: Overhead to Underground

Judge’s Gavel and Scales Of Justice On Conference Table in Law LibraryMay 6, 2022 – The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Keller v. State Bar of Cal., 496 U.S. 1 (1990), in which the Court upheld a challenge to a mandatory state bar association, remains good law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held.In File v. Martin et al, No. 20-2387 (April 29, 2022), a three-judge panel ruled that “File’s claim is squarely foreclosed by the Supreme Court’s decision in Keller,” and that only the U.S.

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Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Rejects Challenge to State Bar’s Mandatory Status

Defendant in Orange Jail Jumpsuit Standing Before A JudgeMay 6, 2022 – The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled that a defense lawyer did not provide ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to object to a police officer’s testimony about the truthfulness of a confidential informant.In State v. McReynolds, 2021AP943 (April 12, 2022), the Court of Appeals District III held that the lawyer’s failure to object was not ineffective assistance of counsel because the officer’s testimony was not unconstitutional vouching testimony.Testimony About TruthfulnessIn 2014, the Eau

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Continue Reading Failure to Object to Police Testimony About Informant Not Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

May 6, 2022 – A company that fired an employee who admitted to felony charges that were the subject of deferred prosecution agreements did not violate the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.

In Vega v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, 2021AP24 (April 19, 2022), the Court of Appeals District III held that because the agreements were part of the employee’s arrest record rather than his conviction record, the company did not

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Continue Reading Firing Worker Based on Deferred Prosecution Agreements Did Not Violate WFEA

Nurse Walking Down The Hall Of A Nursing HomeMay 6, 2022 – A statue that extends the time limits to file lawsuits by mentally ill persons didn’t toll the three-year statute of limitations for a lawsuit against a long-term care provider brought by the estate of a mentally ill person, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled.In Estate of Cohen v. Trinity Health Management, LLC, 2021AP1195 (April 14, 2022), the Court of Appeals District IV held that the statute didn’t apply because the decedent’s mental illness

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Continue Reading Tolling Statue Didn’t Apply to Lawsuit Brought by Estate of Mentally Ill Person

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The State Bar of Wisconsin Appellate Practice Section is putting on a CLE event. It will be here soon. Is this for you? Of course, at least in the appellate practice world, the “fun” begins when filing your notice of appeal. Sure there are other issues – is the record complete, identifying issues, transcript tracking – but the notice begins the first step. And that step is where the appellate practitioner has a choice. Part of this choice…
Continue Reading From Articles to an Upcoming CLE: Appellate Practice Continues a Step Ahead

If you’re like me, you probably found networking challenging and not your top priority during these last two pandemic-driven years. After a full day of virtual meetings (and the inevitable technology glitches), the last thing I wanted was to attend a virtual networking event. I suspect that I’m not alone. Research shows that professional and personal networks have shrunk during the pandemic as we refocused our priorities to family, friends, neighbors, and perhaps some very close professional colleagues. As…
Continue Reading Don’t Miss the NRLD Networking Opportunity of the Year