News & Pubs Archive

On May 29, the State Bar of Wisconsin welcomed 110 new Wisconsin lawyers – graduates of the University of Wisconsin Law School. Among them are first-time lawyers in their families and fourth-generation lawyers. Welcome to the State Bar!

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled against a grandmother who wanted more visitation time with her granddaughter, concluding grandma did not overcome a presumption that favors parental decisions concerning their kids.

They are the 155 new Wisconsin lawyers, Class of 2019 graduates of the Marquette University Law School. Welcome to the practice of law!

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that police did not violate a driver’s Fourth Amendment rights by asking whether the driver had a concealed firearm in the vehicle and whether he had a permit to carry it.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has rejected a probationer’s argument that circuit courts have inherent authority to reduce the length of a probation term despite a statute that allows modification only under certain circumstances.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has announced the re-election of Chief Justice Patience D. Roggensack as the court’s chief justice. Chief Justice Roggensack, who has served as chief justice since May 1, 2015, will serve another two-year term.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled (5-1) that a woman’s lawsuit against a classifieds firearm website is barred. The suit alleges a gunman used the website to purchase a gun, then used the firearm in a mass shooting the next day.

Kathleen Brost of Legacy Privacy Trust Company, Neenah, is the next president-elect of the State Bar of Wisconsin. Find out results for State Bar officer and Board of Governors' elections.

The State Bar of Wisconsin’s Board of Governors today took action on numerous petitions that would change rules and procedures that apply to attorney discipline cases handled by the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR).

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a legal malpractice claim for alleged negligent administration of an estate was properly dismissed while clarifying the law when third-party, non-clients bring malpractice claims.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has declared a statewide State of Emergency for flooding caused by rapid snowmelt and rain. For law offices impacted by flooding, the State Bar of Wisconsin has resources available to you and your clients.

A Wisconsin town’s sign ordinance did not violate a local union’s free speech rights, even though the ordinance prohibited the union from displaying its 12-foot inflatable rat, Scabby the Rat, to symbolize its protest against a local business.

A judge who became Facebook “friends” with a pending litigant before deciding the case created a risk of actual bias such that the case must be reversed and remanded for a rehearing before a different judge, a state appeals court has ruled.

The State Bar of Wisconsin's governing body recently discussed the Office of Lawyer Regulations' proposed changes to rules that regulate Wisconsin lawyers, discussed the proposed State Bar budget for fiscal year 2020, approved the Keller rebate amount, and approved a petition that would allow electronic voting in State Bar elections.

The City of Watertown must determine and allocate the cost of maintaining or constructing a large partition fence that separates property between adjoining farmland owners within the city, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

An employee embezzled $34 million from Koss Corporation over 10 years, drawing on Koss’s bank accounts at Park Bank. Recently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Park Bank is not liable despite claims it failed detect the fraud.

Each time the Village of Sister Bay – a tourist hotspot in Door County – puts on a summer concert alleged to be a nuisance, the timer to file a statutory notice of injury with the village restarts, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled.

A federal lawsuit filed by individuals in Ashland and Bayfield counties raises constitutional claims against Wisconsin’s criminal justice system, based on delays in providing legal representation while they languished in county jails.

The federal courts in Wisconsin have issued notices that all cases and proceedings will continue as scheduled, at least through Jan. 18.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld a restitution order of about $8,500 payable to a burglary victim, rejecting the defendant’s argument that the circuit court improperly considered prior, unproven burglaries in determining that amount.