Justia Legal Services & Lawyers Directory

Corporate/business attorney with over 15 years business experience both as a business manager and in-house attorney before moving to private practice. My primary focus is on technology, intellectual property, renewable energy and entertainment law.

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I split my time between our real estate and business law practice and teaching in the Wisconsin School of Business. Please visit the weblinks on this page to learn more about our practice and the Wisconsin program in Real Estate and Urban Land Economics.

James W. McNeilly, Jr., is the principal of Law Offices of James W. McNeilly, Jr. LLC, with offices in La Crosse and Kenosha, where he focuses on bankruptcy, estate planning, real estate and business law. Jim is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, the Commercial Law League of America and the American Bankruptcy Institute. He has a BSSW from UW - La Crosse and obtained his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1981. He has been a Chapter 7 Panel Trustee in the Western District of Wisconsin since 1987 and was a La Crosse County Court Commissioner from 1995 to 2007. Jim has administered thousands of Chapter 7 bankruptcies and has been a receiver and an operating Chapter 11 Trustee. He has also represented debtors, creditors, and trustees in bankruptcy proceedings under all chapters of the Bankruptcy Code and debtors, creditors and receivers in receiverships. Jim serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Creditors' Rights section of the Wisconsin State Bar and is a frequent lecturer and author on bankruptcy, real estate and business law topics.

Shawn Rice practices primarily in the areas of mergers & acquisitions, corporate, business, real estate, banking & finance and estate planning. Shawn provides counsel and strategic direction to business clients and individuals, guiding them through a variety of transactional matters. Shawn focuses his practice on business, corporate and commercial matters. He advises businesses of all types and sizes, from closely-held, family companies to multi-national corporations.

He has extensive experience providing counsel on general business matters such as start-up and formation, limited liability companies, joint ventures and partnerships, corporate governance, shareholder relations, bank and other financing, securities, real estate matters, and contracts including venture capital, franchises, employment, vendors and consulting arrangements. Shawn also maintains an active practice assisting clients with mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, including leveraged buy-outs and business succession planning. Shawn also represents local non-profit organizations and financial institutions.
Recent Experience.

* Representing buyers and sellers in the acquisition and divestiture of various international, national, regional and local businesses
* General counsel for numerous manufacturers, franchises, entrepreneurs and service companies
* Representing various local and Wisconsin-based lending institutions and non-profit entities
* Representing financial institutions and distressed businesses and their owners in restructuring and workout transactions
* Mergers, acquisitions and divestitures including asset purchases and sales, stock purchases and sales, and entity conversions
* Structuring and formation of legal entities including limited liability companies, corporations, non-profit and tax-exempt entities and partnerships

Bar Admissions.

State of Wisconsin, 1993; Eastern District of Wisconsin (1993); Western District of Wisconsin (1997)
Education and Honors.

Marquette University Law School, J. D., 1993; Creighton University, B.A., 1990, cum laude
Professional Affiliations and Community Service.

Member, State Bar of Wisconsin; Member, Sheboygan County Bar Association; Member, Milwaukee Bar Association; Member, Marquette Golden Angels Investment Network; Member, Sheboygan County Estate Planning Council; Member, Employers Against Drugs Board; Board Member, Friends of St. Nicholas Hospital; Greater Sheboygan Committee; Member, Downtown Rotary Club; Member, Sheboygan Economics Club; Member, State Bar of Wisconsin Private Equity and Venture Capital Committee of Business Law
Articles, Publications, and Lectures.

Author, "Architectural Appearance Ordinances and the First Amendment," 76 Marquette Law Review 439, 1993; Editor, Marquette Law Review; Presenter, numerous legal seminars
Related Experience.

* Davis & Kuelthau, s.c., Milwaukee/Sheboygan, 2002-2007
* Godfrey & Kahn s.c., Milwaukee, 1998-2002
* Schreier Malting Company, General Counsel, 1996-1998

Effective November 1, 2008, I opened my own law office in Brookfield, Wisconsin (in Waukesha County, a suburb of the City of Milwaukee). In addition to being more centrally situated to my personal client base, this move also reflects the fact that as my practice was increasingly focused on asset planning and debt reorganization, it resulted in my former law firm more frequently encountering conflicts of interest with business organizations and financial organizations it represented (or, desired to represent!).

Generally, I will continue to provide services in the following areas of concern as they tend to interact, and at the listed rates:

A. Personal/business debt reorganization/resolution. My services here are based on assisting clients either eliminating debt concerns that hamper their business, or in exiting the business under circumstances where protection of the owner's personal assets are maximized, to the extant legally possible. This involves the use of such tools as Chapter 7 and 11 bankruptcies; Chapter 128 state law liquidations: and personal asset protection plans. To that end, I am representing only a few area banking concerns [AnchorBank; NorStates Bank) to eliminate conflicts of interest which, far too often, may be influencing the vigor of representation offered by other firms in this locale. Fees in this practice area will range from $250 to $265 per hour.

B. Employment matters and litigation. For businesses, I offer services in responding to employee claims, and assisting in employment decisions where a claim potential exists. I also will counsel higher-compensated employees about exploring their options in conflict with their employer. To this area, I bring my experience as a former claims investigator for the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division and years of representing each side in - typically - contested employment disputes, where trials or administrative hearings are likely to occur. My litigation (courtroom work) matters will focus on misrepresentation, fraud and/or administrative code violations, such as deceptive business practices. Fees here will range from $225-$245, again driven by the complexity and breadth of the issues.

C. General business consulting, planning and setup matters, including subsidiary and affiliate implementation, as a means to protect the core business in the event a planned expansion or venture either fails, or is more successful than anticipated. Generally, these services will be at an hourly fee range of $200-225, based on the size and complexity of the client's project.

A note about the fee ranges: Generally, these ranges are markedly less than charged by similar practitioners with similar experience in the subject fields. Nor do I expect to increase them any time soon. The business model of a "downtown firm," with annual fee increases noted as
standard in their engagement letter is not one I care to follow. I have a long relationship with most all of my present client base; they expect effective service and I intend to keep my overhead under control to eliminate fee spiraling for such services.

It goes without saying that a business seeks customers that pay timely for fair services; but the larger you grow in the service fields, the harder it is to hold true to that goal . . . and other clients tend to suffer for the consequences of that growth. I am proud that my practice has been virtually client referral-based. After initial discussion on a matter, I quote a fee rate from the above ranges and confirm it by letter. I also charge as "expenses" only out-of-pocket fees (for legal filings, court reporter fees) and, occasionally, photocopying; scanning; mailing, if a large volume is handled on my end (versus being copied and issued at your own facilities).

Personally, I obtained the coveted A-V rating from Martindale-Hubbell (generally recognized as the foremost and longest-established lawyer evaluation service) back in 1991 (one of the first to achieve such at my former firm).

Prior to engaging in private practice, I served as a law clerk (legal researcher) to the Wisconsin Supreme Court after graduating cum laude from Marquette Law School, where I was one of the editors of its Law Review. During law school, I was employed as a field investigator for the Equal Rights Division (through a law school clinical program) of the State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (investigating discrimination claims).

I have also been president of the Alumni Association for the Law School, and served two terms as its representative on the Marquette University National Alumni Association's Board of Directors. Early on, I was awarded the Volunteer Lawyer of the Year for the Milwaukee Young Lawyers' Association/Legal Action of Wisconsin joint program for supplying legal services to the community for complex employment matters; and still provide services on bankruptcy matters for its current program.

General counsel and labor and employment lawyer to small and mid-sized businesses.