Vol. 75, No. 10, October
2002
A Guide to Wisconsin Legal Information Sources
Why spend your precious time tracking down legal information when you can use this guide? This compilation points you to sources of authoritative, reliable legal information specifically for Wisconsin lawyers.
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Bonnie Shucha is the reference and electronic
services librarian at the U.W. Law Library. She also serves as vice
president/president-elect of the Law Librarians Association of
Wisconsin. She may be contacted at Caselaw
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Access |
Resource Name |
Contents |
Dates of Coverage |
More Information |
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Free from anywhere |
WisBar Legal Resources www.wisbar.org/legalres/ Available through the State Bar of Wisconsin |
Wisconsin |
1995 - to date |
Keyword search or browse by docket number, party name, date & public domain citation |
|
Free from anywhere |
American Law Sources On-line (ALSO!) www.lawsource.com/also/ |
All federal, all states |
Varies (most mid 1990s - to date) |
Contains links to resources from other providers |
|
Free from anywhere |
All federal, all states |
1996 - to date |
Find by citation or keyword search |
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Free at Wis. State Law Lib., Dane Co. Law Lib. & Milw. Legal Resource Center |
LexisNexis Document Service Available only on WSLL, DCLL & MLRC workstations |
All federal, all states |
Comprehensive |
Retrieve by citation only |
|
Free at Wis. State Law Lib. or by paid subscription |
Loislaw.com Available on WSLL workstations or www.loislaw.com |
All federal, all states |
Varies (most 1950s - to date) |
Coverage good, fairly economical |
|
Free at many law libraries |
Print case law reporters Available at your local law library |
Varies by library |
Varies by library |
Available at no charge. May deliver documents to you for a fee |
|
By paid subscription |
LexisNexis www.lexis.com or LexisNexis MVP for Small Firms www.lexisnexis.com/ vp/smallfirms/ |
Choose package based on your needs |
Comprehensive |
Coverage and cost varies by package |
|
By paid subscription |
Quicklaw America www.quicklawamerica.com |
All federal, all states, some international |
Varies (most 1950s - to date) |
Coverage good, fairly economical |
|
By paid subscription |
VersusLaw www.versuslaw.com |
All federal, all states |
Varies (most 1930s - to date) |
Coverage good, very economical |
|
By paid subscription |
Westlaw or WestlawPRO www.westlaw.com/ SubOptions/ |
Choose package based on your needs |
Comprehensive |
Coverage and cost varies by package |
|
By credit card |
LexisNexis by Credit Card www.lexisone.com/ specialoffer/ |
All federal, all states |
Comprehensive |
Retrieve by citation or keyword search. Search is FREE. Pay only for documents viewed ($9/doc) |
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By credit card |
WestDoc www.westdoc.com |
All federal, all states |
Comprehensive |
Retrieve by citation only ($10/doc) |
Citators
(For a comparison of electronic citation services, see Matthew Williamson's "Citation Showdown," Law Office Computing, October/November 2000.)
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Access |
Resource Name |
Contents |
Dates of Coverage |
More Information |
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Free at Wis. State Law Lib., Dane Co. Law Lib. & Milw. Legal Resource Center |
Shepards (Electronic) Available only on WSLL, DCLL & MLRC workstations |
All federal, all states |
Comprehensive |
Very reliable (Fax/email/mail delivery available for $5/citation from WSLL) |
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Free at many law libraries |
Shepards (Print) Available at your local law library |
Varies by library |
Varies by library (may not be as current as electronic edition) |
Available at no charge. May deliver documents to you for a fee |
|
By paid subscription |
GlobalCite via Loislaw.com www.loislaw.com |
All federal, all states |
Only covers cases available on Loislaw.com |
Free with Loislaw.com subscription, but results may not be as compre- hensive as Shepards or KeyCite |
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By paid subscription |
KeyCite via Westlaw & WestlawPRO www.westlaw.com/ SubOptions/ |
All federal, all states |
Comprehensive |
Very reliable. Price is $4.25/citation |
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By paid subscription |
Shepards via LexisNexis www.lexis.com & LexisNexis MVP www.lexisnexis.com/mvp/smallfirms/ |
All federal, all states |
Comprehensive |
Very reliable. Price may vary by subscription plan |
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By credit card |
Shepards via LexisNexis by Credit Card www.lexisone.com/specialoffer/ |
All federal, all states |
Comprehensive |
Very reliable. Price is $4.25/citation |
Legislation
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Access |
Resource Name / Address |
Contents |
Dates of Coverage |
More Information |
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Free from anywhere |
Revisor of Statutes Bureau www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/ |
Wisconsin acts, statutes & constitution |
1995/1996 - to date |
Keyword search or browse index or table of contents |
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Free from anywhere |
Wisconsin State Legislature www.legis.state.wi.us/ billtext.html |
Wisconsin bills, bill histories, acts & proposals |
1995/1996 - to date |
Browse by number (1995/1996 - to date) or keyword search (current session only) |
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Free from anywhere |
American Law Sources On-line (ALSO!) www.lawsource.com/also/ |
Federal / state acts & statutes |
Current |
Contains links to resources from other providers |
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Free from anywhere |
GPO Access www.access. gpo.gov/su_docs/legislative.html |
Federal bills, acts, US Code, etc. |
Varies (most mid 1990s - to date) |
Very reliable. Older versions of US Code available |
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Free from anywhere |
Thomas thomas.loc.gov |
Federal bills, acts, Cong. Record, etc. |
Varies (earliest from 93rd Congress, 1973) |
Very reliable |
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Free at MU & UW law libraries |
Congressional Universe Available only on MU & UW law workstations |
Federal bills, acts, US Code, etc. |
Varies (most 1990s - to date) |
Highly recommended. Very reliable and complete |
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Free at Wis. State Law Lib. |
LexisNexis Document Service Available only on WSLL workstations |
Federal / state acts & statutes |
Current & some prior |
Retrieve by citation only |
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Free at Wis. State Law Lib. or by paid subscription |
Loislaw.com Available on WSLL workstations or www.loislaw.com |
Federal / state acts & statutes |
Current |
Coverage good, fairly economical |
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Free at many law libraries |
Print legislation & legislative history resources Available at your local law library |
Varies by library |
Varies by library |
Available at no charge. May deliver documents to you for a fee |
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By paid subscription |
LexisNexis www.lexis.com or LexisNexis MVP for Small Firms www.lexisnexis.com/mvp/ smallfirms/ |
Choose package based on your needs |
Varies |
Coverage and cost varies by package |
|
By paid subscription |
Quicklaw America www.quicklawamerica.com |
Federal acts & US Code |
Current |
Coverage good, fairly economical |
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By paid subscription |
Westlaw or WestlawPRO www.westlaw.com/ SubOptions/ |
Choose package based on your needs |
Varies |
Coverage and cost varies by package |
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By credit card |
LexisNexis by Credit Card www.lexisone.com/ specialoffer/ |
Federal / state acts, statutes, bills, etc. |
Varies |
Retrieve by citation or keyword search. Search is FREE. Pay only for documents viewed ($9/doc) |
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By credit card |
WestDoc creditcard.westlaw.com |
Federal / state acts, statutes, bills, etc. |
Varies |
Retrieve by citation only ($10/doc) |
Regulations
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Access |
Resource Name / Address |
Contents |
Dates of Coverage |
More Information |
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Free from anywhere |
Revisor of Statutes Bureau www.legis.state.wi.us/ rsb/code/ |
Wis. Admin. Code & Register |
Code: Current Register: 1996 - to date |
Keyword search or browse by chapter, date & table of contents |
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Free from anywhere |
American Law Sources On-line (ALSO!) www.lawsource.com/also/ |
Federal / state admin. codes & regulations |
Current |
Contains links to resources from other providers |
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Free from anywhere |
GPO Access www.access.gpo.gov/ su_docs/executive.html |
CFR, Federal Register, etc. |
CFR: 1996 - to date Fed Reg: 1994 - to date |
Very reliable |
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Free at Wis. State Law Lib. |
LexisNexis Document Service Available only on WSLL workstations |
Federal / state admin. codes & regulations |
Varies |
Retrieve by citation only |
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Free at Wis. State Law Lib. or by paid subscription |
Loislaw.com Available on WSLL workstations or www.loislaw.com |
Federal / state admin. codes & regulations |
Current |
Coverage good, fairly economical |
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Free at many law libraries |
Print regulations Available at your local law library |
Varies by library |
Varies by library |
Available at no charge. May deliver documents to you for a fee |
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By paid subscription |
LexisNexis www.lexis.com or LexisNexis MVP for Small Firms www. lexisnexis.com/mvp/smallfirms/ |
Choose package based on your needs |
Varies |
Coverage and cost varies by package |
|
By paid subscription |
Quicklaw America www.quicklawamerica.com |
CFR |
Current |
Fairly economical |
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By paid subscription |
Westlaw or WestlawPRO www.westlaw.com/ SubOptions/ |
Choose package based on your needs |
Varies |
Coverage and cost varies by package |
|
By credit card |
LexisNexis by Credit Card www.lexisone.com/ specialoffer/ |
Federal / state admin. codes & regulations |
Varies |
Retrieve by citation or keyword search. Search is FREE. Pay only for documents viewed ($9/doc) |
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By credit card |
WestDoc creditcard.westlaw.com |
Federal / state admin. codes & regulations |
Varies |
Retrieve by citation only ($10/doc) |
Law Review and Legal Journal Articles
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Access |
Resource Name/Address |
Contents* |
Dates of Coverage |
More Information |
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Free from anywhere |
Wisconsin Lawyer Online www.wisbar.org/wislawmag |
Full-text |
1997- to date |
Wisconsin Lawyer contents |
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Free from anywhere with Wis. State Law Library card |
Legal Resource Index wsll.state.wi.us/searchtips.html Contact Wis. State Law Library to request access, (800) 322-9755 or wsll.ref@courts.state.wi.us |
Index only |
1980 - to date |
Coverage excellent |
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Free from anywhere in Wis. |
BadgerLink (not law specific) |
Full-text |
1980s - to date |
Coverage of legal materials is limited |
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Free from anywhere |
American Law Sources On-line (ALSO!) www. lawsource.com |
Full-text |
Varies (most mid 1990s - to date) |
Coverage limited. Contains links to resources from other providers |
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Free from anywhere |
Legal Scholarship Network www.ssrn.com/lsn/ |
Abstracts,some full-text |
1990s - to date |
Coverage limited |
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Free from anywhere |
University Law Review Project www.lawreview.org |
Full-text |
1990's - to date |
Coverage limited, Keyword search all journals or browse by title |
|
Free from anywhere |
Hein Online Available only on MU & UW law workstations |
Full-text |
1990s - to date |
Coverage limited. Keyword search all journals or browse by title |
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Free at MU & UW law libraries |
LegalTrac Available only on MU law workstations |
Full-text |
Varies (emphasis on older volumes) |
Coverage of older legal journals excellent |
|
Free at MU Law Library |
Index to Legal Periodicals and Books Available only on UW law workstations |
Index only |
1980 - to date |
Coverage excellent |
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Free at UW Law Library |
Print articles Available at your local law library |
Index only |
1981 - to date |
Coverage excellent |
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Free at many law libraries |
LexisNexis www.lexis.com |
Varies by library |
Varies by library |
Available at no charge. May deliver documents to you for a fee |
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By paid subscription |
Westlaw www.westlaw.com |
Full-text |
Varies (most mid 1980s - to date) |
Coverage excellent. Cost varies by package |
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By paid subscription |
LexisNexis by Credit Card www.lexisone.com |
Full-text |
Varies (most mid 1980s - to date) |
Coverage excellent. Cost varies by package |
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By credit card |
WestDoc creditcard.westlaw.com |
Full-text |
Varies (most mid 1980s - to date) |
Retrieve by citation or keyword search. Search is FREE. Pay only for documents viewed ($9/doc) |
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* Indexes only contain citations, not the full text of articles. To obtain the full text of an article, copy it at or request it from a law library or use LexisNexis or Westlaw's credit card delivery service. |
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Books, Treatises, WI State Bar CLE Publications, Government Documents, and More
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Access |
Resource Name and Address |
Additional Information |
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Free from anywhere |
State Bar of Wisconsin |
In addition to its full catalog of CLE Books, the State Bar of Wisconsin publishes a comprehensive library of legal publications for lawyers and a variety of consumer law publications for use by the public and by lawyers and educators in law-related education activities. |
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Free at Dane County Law Library |
Dane County Law Library |
Wisconsin attorneys may check out books (and other materials) from the WSLL, DCLL, & MLRC at no charge (registration required). Some books may also be delivered to you for a fee (see delivery options). Search the library catalog for availability (wsll.state.wi.us). |
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Free at Marquette Law Library (Check out materials for a fee) |
Marquette University Law Library |
For an annual fee MU Law alumni ($35) or non alumni ($50) Bar members, paralegals and law librarians employed in law firms may check out books (and other materials) from Marquette Law Library. Search the Marqcat Library Catalog for availability (libus.csd.mu.edu). |
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Free at Milwaukee Legal Resource Center |
Milwaukee Legal Resource Center |
Wisconsin attorneys may check out books (and other materials) from the WSLL, DCLL, & MLRC at no charge (registration required). Some books may also be delivered to you for a fee (see delivery options). Search the library catalog for availability (wsll.state.wi.us). |
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Free at UW Law Library |
University of WI Law Library |
Anyone may check out books (and other materials) from the UW Law Library at no charge (registration required). Some books may also be delivered to you for a fee (see delivery options). Search the MadCat Library Catalog for availability (madcat.library.wisc.edu). |
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Free at WI LRB Library |
Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau Library |
Although much of the collection must be used in the library, some materials do circulate. Anyone may check out circulating items from the WI LRB Library at no charge (registration required). Some documents may also be delivered to you for a fee (see delivery options). Search the LRBCAT Library Catalog for availability (www.legis.state.wi.us/cgi-bin/webcatredirect.asp) |
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Free at WI State Law Library |
Wisconsin State Law Library |
Wisconsin attorneys may check out books (and other materials) from the WSLL, DCLL, & MLRC at no charge (registration required). Some books may also be delivered to you for a fee (see delivery options). Search the library catalog for availability (wsll.state.wi.us). |
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Free at UW Law Library |
IndexMaster |
Index to selected legal texts, including treatises and hornbooks. View the index, table of contents, or abstract. |
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Free at UW Law Library |
Index to Legal Periodicals & Books |
Index to selected legal texts, including treatises and hornbooks |
Legal Resources Available for Delivery via Fax, Mail, or Email from Wisconsin Libraries
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Name and Contact Information |
Coverage |
Pricing Information |
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Marquette University |
Cases, legislation, regulations, journal articles, etc. |
Articles, etc.: Prices range from $10/document + $.30-$1.00/page |
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UW Law Library Outlaw Document Delivery Service |
Cases, legislation, regulations, journal articles, books, etc. |
Articles, etc.: Prices range from $8-$25/document +
$.20-$.50/page |
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Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau Library |
Wisconsin legislative & government documents |
Fax/Mail: 10 pages or less free; longer documents $10/hour
+$.10/page |
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Wisconsin State Law Library |
Cases, legislation, regulations, journal articles, books, etc. |
Articles, etc. - Fax/Email: $.75/page ($3 minimum); Mail: $.60/page
($3 min.) For more information see fee schedule for articles at wsll.state.wi.us/fees.html and for books at wsll.state.wi.us/circbymail.html |
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Your Local Public Library |
Varies |
Usually free, although delivery may take longer than requesting directly from one of the services listed above. Madison Public Library www.scls.lib.wi.us/madison/ |
Legal Resources Available Electronically by Credit Card
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Name and Contact Information |
Coverage |
Pricing Information |
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LexisNexis by Credit Card |
Cases, legislation, regulations, Shepards, journal articles, news, company information, public records |
Prices range from $1-$12/document - Most legal documents are $9; Shepards is $4.25 (Retrieve by citation or keyword search. Search is FREE. Pay only for documents viewed) |
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WestDoc |
Cases, legislation, regulations, journal articles |
$10/document (Retrieve by citation only; no keyword searching available) |
Legal Resources Available Electronically by Paid Subscription
(For a comparison of cost-effective electronic legal subscription services, see "Survey of Online Legal Information Alternatives for Small Law Firms and Public Law Libraries" LLRX.com (November 1, 2001) -and- "When Less is Enough: The Advantages of Low-Cost Legal Research Services" Legal Information Alert (September 2001) )
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Name and Contact Information |
Coverage |
Pricing Information** |
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LexisNexis |
Cases, legislation, regulations, Shepards, journal articles, etc. |
Varies by Firm/Organization |
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LexisNexis MVP for Small Firms |
Cases, legislation, regulations, Shepards, some journals; Choose package based on your needs |
Prices for unlimited State + Shepards libraries range from approx. $100 to $200/month; Contact vendor for Federal libraries pricing information |
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Loislaw.com |
Cases, legislation, regulations; Choose package based on your needs |
Packages range from $90/month unlimited for one state to $250/month
for all state and federal unlimited |
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Quicklaw America |
Cases, legislation, regulations |
Transactional: $5/search -or- Unlimited: $70/month |
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VersusLaw |
Cases |
Unlimited (no subscription required): $19.95/day (any # of users)
-or- |
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Westlaw |
Cases, legislation, regulations, KeyCite, journal articles, etc. |
Varies by Firm / Organization (prices = retail, but most firms pay
less) |
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WestlawPRO |
Cases, legislation, regulations, KeyCite, some journals; Choose package based on your needs |
Prices for unlimited State libraries begin at approx. $200/month; Contact vendor for Federal libraries pricing information |
The State Bar
- About the Bar
- Membership & benefits
- News
- Calendar of events
- Programs & initiatives
- State Bar leadership
- Sections, committees, divisions
- Government Relations
- Research & reports
- Staff directory
- Employment opportunities
- Wisconsin Law Foundation
