Nonresident Lawyers Blog | Nonresident Lawyers Division

This blog features posts that deliver the latest news, practical advice, and valuable resources for Wisconsin’s resident and nonresident lawyers. It also includes the legal tourism series. Published by the State Bar of Wisconsin's Nonresident Lawyers Division.

The division helps nonresident State Bar members maintain their ties with Wisconsin and provides members opportunities to participate in State Bar governance. The division promotes greater communication and business opportunities among nonresidents, and it organizes and oversees the growing network of local State Bar chapters across the United States.

Division website: https://www.wisbar.org/formembers/groups/Divisions/NonresidentLawyersDivision/pages/home.aspx

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By: Nonresident Lawyers Division | State Bar of Wisconsin​

Blog Authors

State Bar of Wisconsin
Daniel C. Rislove
Anu Chudasama
James J. Casey
Trent Kubasiak
Kathryn M. Bullon
Ann M. Heaps
Renae N. Flowers
Nilesh P. Patel
Emily S. Kelchen
Anne T. Ertel-Sawasky

Latest from Nonresident Lawyers Blog | Nonresident Lawyers Division

Emily Kelchen looking thoughtfulEmily Kelchen took a moment to ponder the long-term impact of her own legal work during the 100th anniversary of the Scopes “Monkey” Trial in Dayton, Tennessee.
Photos: Emily Kelchen.

I’m a sucker for historic courthouses. So, when I realized I lived within easy driving distance of Dayton, Tennessee, ​
​location of the Scopes “Monkey” Trial – and that 2025 was the 100th anniversary of the trial – I couldn’t wait to plan a visit.

The local community had

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Continue Reading Not Monkey Business: The Scopes Trial Still Has Lessons to Teach

seven people sit at a table on a stage facing one person standing at a podium, before an audienceThe Iowa Supreme Court recently heard a case at an Iowa high school. Photo: Trent Kubasiak.

I am a State Bar of Wisconsin nonresident attorney, and I recently found myself in the auditorium of my daughter’s high school, watching the Iowa Supreme Court hear live oral arguments in a pending case.

The justices sat on a temporary bench on the stage. Students, teachers and community members filled the seats. The case involved statutory interpretation, but the real lesson that…
Continue Reading When a Supreme Court Leaves the Courthouse

Professional golfer putting ball
Professional golfer putting ball into the hole. Golf ball by the edge of hole with player in background on a sunny day.

I thoroughly enjoyed Emily S. Kelchen’s article What ‘The Godfather’ Taught Me About Practicing Law. I have to admit it generated a great deal of discussion at our firm. However, allow me to respectfully suggest that the source of all practical legal knowledge derives not from The Godfather, but rather from the 1980 hit comedy Caddyshack.

Here are a few movie quotes to illustrate my point.
‘So I jump ship in Hong Kong …’
In this scene, greenskeeper…
Continue Reading What ‘Caddyshack’ Taught Me About Practicing Law

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

rear view asian chinese group of audience watching 3D movie in cinema enjoying the show with 3D glasses screaming excitement

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of The Godfather. The gangster flick is consistently rated as one of the greatest movies ever made, and its popularity has only increased with age.

Although the characters in the movie care more about skirting the law than following it, there are several moments in the film that carry important legal lessons.
‘I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse’
When Vito Corleone says, “I’m gonna make him…
Continue Reading What ‘The Godfather’ Taught Me About Practicing Law

There’s a metal stick in the hedgerow between my house and my neighbor’s that tells us how much yard we need to mow and how much of the sidewalk is our responsibility to clear each time it snows. For such an insignificant piece of metal, it holds a lot of power (see Figure 1).

Each time I see it, I’m transported back to U.W. Law Professor Gretchen Viney’s real estate class. It was there, while practicing reading legal…
Continue Reading Beyond Geocaching, There’s Benchmarking: Finding Markers of Property Law in the Wild

On Feb. 17, 2020, the ABA House of Delegates passed Resolution 108. The resolution presents a wonderful opportunity to speak again to the importance of civics in American life, even more critical, given events of recent months.

Supported by the Standing Committee on Election Law, Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, Standing Committee on Public Education, Section of State and Local Government Law, and the Law Student Division, the resolution urges all levels of government to facilitate…
Continue Reading Civics, Voting, the STEM Disciplines, and the Future

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In her swearing in ceremony in June 2019, State Bar Past President Jill Kastner highlighted the role of the Wisconsin Lawyers Assistance Program (WisLAP) in providing services that help lawyers prioritize their well-being.

WisLAP is only one part of the well-being solution for Wisconsin lawyers. As a self-regulating profession, all Wisconsin lawyers have good reason to promote the well-being of their colleagues to prevent impairment than can cause harm to clients.

Well being is increasingly recognized as a core…
Continue Reading At Work: The Task Force on Wisconsin Lawyer Well-Being

Law students all over the country are asking for something that is an anomaly everywhere but Wisconsin: admission to the bar upon graduation without taking the bar exam.
Wisconsin’s “diploma privilege” – or automatic admission – allows for law students to be sworn in to the bar almost immediately upon graduation from one of its two law schools, after meeting other requirements, such as the character and fitness review.
As someone who went to law school in Massachusetts, I

…
Continue Reading Diploma Privilege in the Pandemic Era

Old Courthouse in St Louis
The Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, sits just west of the Gateway Arch, and only a few blocks north of Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. It is the home of several hearings that led to the Dred Scott Decision and other historic cases in Missouri’s rich legal history.

To prepare for the construction of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which is more commonly referred to as the Arch, over 80 acres of prime riverfront

…
Continue Reading Under The Arch: Legal History in the Heart of St. Louis

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At this point you have heard plenty of news and updates about the coronavirus and COVID-19. The updates change daily and even hourly, as city, state, and the federal governments work to contain the spread of the virus, which is highly contagious and can overwhelm the health care system’s ability to cope and treat affected patients. As of March 18, 2020, cases were reported in all 50 U.S. states.
The risk of a larger outbreak is heightened by misconceptions…
Continue Reading Counseling Your Clients During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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Front of the Lumberjack Tavern
The front of the Lumberjack Tavern in Big Bay, Michigan, displays its connection with the 1959 film, Anatomy of a Murder.

If you are a fan of legal dramas, one of the all-time best is Anatomy of a Murder, the 1959 Academy Award-nominated and Grammy Award-winning movie starring Jimmy Stewart as Paul Biegler, a small town lawyer from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP), pitted against the high-powered government lawyers from downstate.
Biegler fought an uphill battle defending an Army…
Continue Reading Follow Your 'Irresistible Impulse' to Explore 'Anatomy of a Murder' in Michigan's UP

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Statue of John Marshall outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Philadelphia is an amazing city to visit. There are lots of important historic sites to tour, museums to explore, and plenty of great restaurants to try.
But if you want to get off the beaten path and explore a quirky legal attraction, head to the Mütter Museum.
Getting to the 40 lb. Colon
Hidden deep in the depths of this medical collection and owned by the College of…
Continue Reading Legal Tourism: You Too Can See Chief Justice John Marshall's Kidney Stones

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The State Bar of Wisconsin Nonresident Lawyers Division (NRLD) keeps over 8,000 nonresident Wisconsin lawyers connected to the state, and provides valuable resources to lawyers as a benefit of membership.
If you reside outside of Wisconsin, you are automatically enrolled in the NRLD once you update your address with the State Bar. Though you may not be in Wisconsin, you can still stay connected and take advantage of all the State Bar has for you.

com renaen.flowers gmail Renae

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Continue Reading Staying Connected to Wisconsin No Matter Your Location

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NRLD member J.J. Moore graduated in May 2018 with a JD and an MBA from Marquette University, and has wasted no time in making a positive impact.

Moore recently started a position as a staff attorney for the Hampden County Bar Association in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he works on developing and implementing a new Consumer Debt Initiative.

Previously, he was a coordinator for the Mobile Legal Clinic in Milwaukee. The clinic, which is a joint project of Marquette University…
Continue Reading NRLD Member Makes Impact

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February is Black History Month, a month where we recognize the amazing contributions of African Americans who have served as role models, leaders, and activists in our communities.

As attorneys, we have a unique opportunity to advance public interest, so we would be remiss if we did not reflect on the trailblazing attorneys who opened the doors for many of us today.

This month, we take time to reflect on the inspirational African-American attorneys who overcame obstacles and paved…
Continue Reading Celebrating the Trailblazers during Black History Month