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Features

More Executive Orders, Deregulation, and Targeted Enforcement: 2025 in Review

The first year of the second Trump administration, beginning in mid-January 2025, included notable developments in the areas of federal regulatory and enforcement actions. This article discusses some of the most significant developments for lawyers.

By Rebecca C. Furdek

As I See It
Does Governmental Immunity Relieve a Governmental Entity from Liability for a Safe Place Violation?

Liability for governmental entities for safe-place-statute violations is unclear because of conflicting opinions from the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. The supreme court can restore harmony on the topic but only if and when it accepts review of a case involving a person injured in a public building owned by a governmental entity.

By John A. Becker

THC Beverages, the Farm Bill, and the Federal Register: How Hemp Slipped Into a Regulatory Gap

Lawyers advising clients on any matters involving THC beverages face challenges: not only determining whether THC beverages are lawful but also understanding how federal regulatory systems behave when Congress draws a bright statutory line and agencies must govern the shadows around it.

By Trent Kubasiak

Opinions, Voices & Ideas

President's Message
Challenge Your Opinions
Dan Gartzke says that it's always an appropriate time to question one’s own beliefs and opinions and, sometimes, to change them.

Your State Bar
Understanding the "And"
Jill Rothstein wonders if framing responses as "yes, and..." could strengthen connections that would help us see things differently and perhaps better understand one another.

Q&A Profile
Chad W. Koplien: Serving a Cause Bigger than Oneself
Koplien is grateful to the private sector for providing exposure to a wide variety of legal issues but has found gratification in his public servant role, which has allowed him to serve veterans in a cause bigger than himself.

Ethics
Speaking Publicly about Client Matters: Always Be Cautious
Dean Dietrich cautions lawyers to be reluctant to rely on the "impliedly-authorized" exception to the prohibition on revealing client information, especially if making comments on social media about a client's matter without the client's consent.

Solutions
Talk Is Not Cheap: Why Communication Is the Most Valuable Service You Provide
Andrew Kryder writes that in many types of legal work, no news is not good news. Lawyers' failures to regularly communicate often result in clients feeling disgruntled and occasionally even in the filing of grievances.

Practice Pulse
Take Back Your Time: A Practical Guide to Task Tracking, Delegation, and Block Scheduling
Block scheduling is a key tool for getting more essential work done and thereby building a more predictable, profitable practice. Brent Hoeft explains.

Technology
AI and Expert Witnesses: Not Replacement But a Strategic Imperative
Michael C. Maschke, Sharon D. Nelson, and John W. Simek explain that expert testimony often fails not because it is wrong but because it is incomprehensible. Lawyers who use AI thoughtfully can review more material, prepare more effectively, and present complex ideas more clearly.

Final Thought
Women's History Month: Reframing the "Fight" for Equal Opportunity as a Collaboration
Now that women are a substantial presence and a significant asset in the legal field, Lauren Maddente asks how we can collaborate to promote equal rights and opportunity for all would-be and current lawyers.