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“Went down street. Got my business cards.”
Lavinia Goodell, June 18, 1874

The William Goodell Family papers, housed in the Special Collections and Archives at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, contain hundreds of letters written or received by Lavinia Goodell, starting from her teenage years in the 1850s and continuing until her death in 1880. In addition, the papers include scores of letters to and from other family members, some of which mention Lavinia. A recent visit to Berea…
Continue Reading “Went down street. Got my business cards.”

We are often asked, “What is an estate plan?” An estate plan can mean different things depending on your unique personal and financial situation. We structure your estate plan based on many things, such as whether you are single, married, or divorced; whom you want your estate to pass to upon your death; and the complexity and makeup of your assets. Some individuals may need more estate planning, some may need less.

Here is a list of the typical…
Continue Reading What is an Estate Plan?

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

​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

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

Here is the latest faculty scholarship appearing in the University of Wisconsin Law School Legal Studies Research Papers series found on SSRN.

This Article analyzes the rise and persistence of the U.S.-based nature rights movement and its engagement with social movements in the Global South and with Indigenous ideas. The story told here of…
Continue Reading Recent UW Law Faculty Scholarship: The Legal Struggle for Rights of Nature in the United States; More

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In a perfect world, business owners could spend all of their time and money focusing on a singular task:  running their business.  Despite the best laid plans, however, at some point ancillary concerns will arise and require—at least to some extent—that a business divert its resources to address and correct an issue.  One area of concern that is likely all too familiar is dispute resolution.  Business disputes may be either internal (i.e., shareholder disputes) or external (i.e., contract disputes). …
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Who has time to read those pesky terms and conditions anyway? As it turns out…they are worth paying attention to, particularly if you are in a position to be writing them or using them on a website.

If you are a new business owner starting up a website, terms and conditions should matter to you. In particular, the presentation of the terms and conditions to visitors of the website is of great importance. Even if you are just a…
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Congratulations 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 a…
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

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In a politically charged era where activism is considered noble, HR managers are confronting new challenges in the workplace in an attempt to find balance between the expression of disparate views while maintaining a productive and cohesive workplace.
Just Another Day at the Office
IT specialist Peter is a devout Catholic. His cubicle displays a Papal flag and other religious items. Several pro-life slogans are also posted on its walls. Sandra is a purchasing specialist who is passionate about…
Continue Reading Managing Activism in the Workplace

Looking for a blast from the past?  Oldestsearch.com will retrieve Google results in reverse chronological order.  beSpacific notes that “this is useful for many subjects including medical illnesses which return search results back to the 1070’s allowing you to build a more complete perspective on an illness over time.”
 
Continue Reading Oldestsearch.com Retrieves Google results in Reverse Chronological Order

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An irrevocable income-only trust can be an indispensable tool when planning for retirement and long-term care expenses. It’s important to know how these trusts work, how they help you qualify for Medicaid, and how to set one up.
What Are Irrevocable Income-Only Trusts?
Irrevocable income-only trusts are used for Medicaid planning. They are a type of living trust that protects assets from being sold to cover long-term care expenses such as nursing homes. These assets are placed in a…
Continue Reading Tax & Wealth Advisor Alert: Irrevocable Income-Only Trusts, How They Can Help You Apply for Medicaid and When they Should be Avoided.

State v. Eric Trygve Kothbauer, 2020AP1406-CR, District 3, 5/3/22 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)
Kothbauer challenges his trial lawyer’s representation in a prosecution for operating while intoxicated and with a prohibited alcohol concentration. The court of appeals holds trial counsel wasn’t deficient or, even if he was, the deficiency wasn’t prejudicial.
First, Kothbauer claims trial counsel was ineffective for failing to move to suppress the results of the field sobriety tests and blood draw.
Continue Reading Counsel wasn’t ineffective in OWI/PAC prosecution

State v. Ryan L. Bessert, 2021AP1062-CR, District 3, 5/3/22 (not recommended for publication); case activity (including briefs)
The circuit court properly applied § 972.11(2m)(a) under the circumstances of this case when allowing the complaining child witness to testify via closed circuit television, so Bessert’s right to confrontation was not violated. In addition, assuming without deciding that Bessert’s right to a public trial was violated because the courthouse doors were locked when the circuit court issued its verdict, the…
Continue Reading Statute permitting closed circuit audiovisual testimony of a child is still constitutional