Justia Legal Services & Lawyers Directory

Kevin is founding member of Davidson Law Office, LLP, a full-service general civil law practice located in the heart of the Fox River Valley, Wisconsin, between Appleton and Green Bay, providing estate planning and business planning ensuring family security and asset preservation for businesses and individuals throughout Wisconsin and beyond.
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Having spent nearly ten years as a construction sub-contractor, Kevin understands the value of a hard earned dollar. That precept guides his approach to handling clients' interests and planning to protect assets.

Wisconsin Wills trusts and estate planning lawyer.

Mr. Woody has a special interest in environmental and natural resources law. He is a member of the Natural Resources Division and Forest Resources Committee of the American Bar Association. He serves as legal counsel to the Ruffed Grouse Society, a national wildlife conservation and sportsmens association, on matters pertaining to the National Forests. He counsels natural resource clients in all aspects of Forest Service decision-making and its consequences on the forest's stakeholders, including industry, Native Americans, residents, and environmental interest groups.

In addition, to National Forest legal issues, Mr. Woody concentrates his practice on ERISA litigation, subrogation and insurance defense and complex coverage issues and appeals. Mr. Woody has represented ERISA Plans in numerous federal courts around the country.

I am a founding and managing partner of Flynn Fleming LLP, a boutique law firm combining the best aspects of a small firm with big firm experience. I represent businesses and professional individuals in resolving disputes, both in and out of court.

I have represented individuals and businesses for ten years in a variety of litigation and pre-litigation matters in the areas of intellectual property, contract disputes, franchise and distribution, real estate, fiduciary duty, stock appraisal, insurance coverage and domestic relations.

Since 1995, I have used my experience as the chief executive officer of a trade association and an elected official to assist corporations and public entities avoid litigation and prevail in complex disputes. I assist my clients by managing their risk and terminating commercial disputes through negotiation, mediation, arbitration or, if necessary, litigation. I'm also an experienced trial lawyer, having led or second-chaired more than 15 trials, with a 90% success rate. In addition, I defend professionals accused of negligence.

I've helped large corporations and other public entities such as cities and school districts achieve their business and organizational goals:

On behalf of subsidiary of a 6,000 employee industry leader in power plant technology and power generation, successfully sued a deep-hole drilling subcontractor when it failed to properly manufacture large-scale heat exchanger components. Obtained 2007 summary judgment in Washington County Circuit Court.

Defended numerous employment claims brought against Racine Unified School District, which annually educates approximately 21,000 students with 1,400 teachers and more than 100 administrators. Prevailed at both federal and state investigation and administrative hearing stages on discrimination, retaliation, and disparate impact complaints, effectively preventing litigation of all claims brought from 2005-2009.

Defended a leading global engineering and design firm against claims of negligence arising from the design and construction of a water intake and transmission main for a Wisconsin municipality. Prevailed on 2007 summary judgment against co-defendant construction company, preventing trial on $2 million-plus claim in Winnebago County Circuit Court.

Defended a global restaurant chain (280+ locations worldwide) in Milwaukee County Circuit Court litigation arising from food-borne illness outbreak that made headlines in Milwaukee. Settled the majority of the eight-figure case before trial, leaving only the restaurant chain's cross-claims to be tried.

Defended regional HVAC equipment supplier against claims of negligence and breach of contract in Waukesha County Circuit Court. Obtained reversal of default judgment and pretrial judgment dismissing the majority of plaintiff's claims. In 2008, settled the action for less than its cost of defense.

Defended Bergensons Property Services, Inc., a California-based leading national provider of superior maintenance, cleaning, and janitorial service to the retail, commercial, institutional, and hospital industries. Despite not meeting contract requirements, a subcontractor sought payment from Bergensons. Settled the contentious dispute in 2007.

Defended 2005 commercial eviction of car repair chain boasting approximately 60 locations nationwide. After bringing a motion to dismiss before the Kenosha County Circuit Court, settled the suit within two weeks, and negotiated the client's continued presence in Wisconsin.

In 2009, successfully defended of one of Wisconsin's leading worker's compensation attorneys against claims of professional negligence. Settled the $2+million suit prior to Dane County Circuit Court trial.

Second-chaired the Western District of Wisconsin federal court trial of a constitutional challenge to the State of Wisconsin's system of Medicaid administration. The 7th Circuit's appellate decision cleared the way for the client to attract new clients from throughout the United States, significantly increasing its revenue.

In 2009, second-chaired the successful Milwaukee County Circuit Court trial defense of a renowned trauma surgeon accused of negligence after a laparotomy sponge was left inside a patient following surgery.

In the Eastern District of Wisconsin, defended a regional warehousing and transportation logistics company against allegations that it induced a breach of fiduciary duty and interference with multiple contracts. During 2008 and 2009, conducted dozens of depositions of third-parties in this approximately $2 million case, establishing the basis for a summary judgment motion and related motion to recover six-figure costs and fees.

I'm a member of the Litigation and Real Estate Sections of the State Bar of Wisconsin. I also participate as a member of the Commercial Litigation and Professional Liability Committees of the Defense Resource Institute. I practice with Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP, a 475-lawyer firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Hinshaw's 23 offices in 15 states from Florida to Oregon offer comprehensive legal services, including intellectual property, business transactions, transportation, environmental, employment, fidelity and surety, white-collar crime, and products liability.

Executive and Governmental Experience
For three years, I served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin, the second-largest such association in the state of Wisconsin. During my tenure, the Association grew to include three additional counties. Under my leadership, the Association successfully defeated multiple municipal, county, and state legislative efforts that would have harmed its members' businesses. For instance, one proposed ordinance would have mandated participation by all rental property owners in the federal government's Section 8 housing subsidy program.

I have extensive experience as an appointed and elected official in the State of Wisconsin. For example, Governor Tommy Thompson in 2000 appointed me to the Lead Paint Technical Advisory Committee, which was instrumental in crafting a lead paint law for Wisconsin. In 2006, I was appointed to the City of Muskego's Board of Review, where I served as vice-chairman. In 2007, I was elected to the City Council of Muskego, Wisconsin, and was three times elected to serve as the Council's representative on the Plan Commission, and appointed to chair the Public Works Committee in 2008. In April, 2009, I was re-elected to my second two-year term on the City Council of Muskego, Wisconsin, and was also elected President of the Council.

In practice since 1977, Marty Kohler has developed a reputation as a talented and tenacious litigator, and has been consistently recognized by his peers as a leader in criminal defense. Over the last three decades, Marty has successfully handled thousands of cases, from white-collar offenses to arsons, sexual assaults to drug conspiracies, and virtually everything in between.

Marty is especially well known for his work in homicide cases. He has represented hundreds of homicide defendants, and built up a remarkable record of acquittals, a number of which have involved confessions by the accused. Contrary to the common adage that "if you kill someone, you go to prison," Marty has on several occasions been able to obtain probation for defendants who have been convicted of homicide.

Marty is equally well known for his successful representation of law enforcement officers, court commissioners, judges and other elected officials in a wide variety of legal proceedings, from civil matters to pre-indictment criminal investigations and beyond.

Marty regularly handles high-profile cases, some of which have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Newsweek, and dozens of other publications. He has appeared numerous times in the national broadcast media, including MSNBC and Dateline, and is frequently sought out as a commentator on criminal law issues.

Marty has taught continuing legal education courses since 1984, including presentations to the National CLE Conference in Criminal Law and throughout the state of Wisconsin. For more than two decades, he has been a coordinator and presenter for the Annual Conference on Recent Developments in Criminal Law at Marquette University's Center for Continuing Legal Studies. Since 1994, Marty has also been a regular presenter to law enforcement officers from around the state at the Wisconsin Department of Justice's annual Death Investigation School. He is a past chair of the Criminal Section of the Milwaukee Bar Association, a position he held for eight years.

Marty earned his Bachelors degree from the University of Wisconsin and his law degree from Hofstra University. Before founding Kohler & Hart, he was a partner in the Milwaukee law firm of Levine, Epstein and Kohler. Marty is licensed to practice in Wisconsin state and federal courts, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

I am a 1983 graduate of Indiana University, at Bloomington, School of Law, and have been practicing personal injury law in Milwaukee for more than two decades. I have helped thousands of individuals to receive cash and benefits to compensate them for losses sustained due to injuries, including vehicle accidents, wrongful death cases, slip and falls, product defect/ failure cases, medical malpractice, work-related injuries, animal bite cases, civil rights cases, and food contamination cases.

I have helped clients throughout Wisconsin and many other states recover damages for medical expenses, out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. I work hard to make each client well informed and comfortable asking questions or discussing their case. Well over 95% of the cases that I have handled have settled without the need to file a lawsuit, however, where cases need to be decided by a judge or jury, I actively pursue cases throughout the court systems and through alternative methods of dispute resolution.

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, 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 the Vice Chari 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.

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 between $250-$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 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 a service field, 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 only 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. 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's Association/Legal
Action of Wisconsin's joint program for supplying legal services to the community for complex employment matters; and still provide services on bankruptcy matters for its current program.

I love being a lawyer, and particularly a trial lawyer. It calls upon your intellect, your integrity and your imagination to solve remarkably tough problems. There is no greater opportunity to learn about human nature and participate in the affairs of your community than to work as a trial attorney.

Criminal work is particularly fascinating. Properly done, the vigorous and ethical defense of a serious crime not only protects the client but is also a service to every citizen.

PATRICIA L. GROVE was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin in 1981 after graduating from Tulsa University Law School where she was an editor of the Tulsa Law Journal, a member of the International Moot Court Team, and the recipient of the 1981 Rogers Inn Graduate of the Year Award. Pat has a B.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an M.S.W. from Washington University.

Pat served from 1981 to 1982 as law clerk to Justice William Callow of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She is the author of numerous articles and is the co-author of Appellate Practice and Procedure in Wisconsin (1986), the standard work on appellate procedure in the State of Wisconsin. She is a member of the Milwaukee and American Bar Associations, the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Society of Family Attorneys and the Collaborative Family Law Council of Wisconsin, Inc. She has been recognized as one of Milwaukee's top family law attorneys by Milwaukee Magazine, and in the 2006 Super Lawyers edition. Pat's practice is principally devoted to family law and appellate practice. Pat is also a court commissioner.

JANE E. PROBST presently specializes in the areas of family law, divorce, paternity, grandparent rights, custody, child support, juvenile law, termination of parental rights, adoptions and guardianships. Another specialty area is Equine Law, exclusively dealing with businesses, contracts and litigation related to horses. She not only has extensive experience as a trial lawyer, but is also a member of the Collaborative Divorce Council of Wisconsin with an objective of resolving divorces without the cost and acrimony of the standard litigation process. She was certified by University of Wisconsin as a Divorce Mediator in November, 2006.

For more than 19 years, she has had a variety of experience in other areas of law such as criminal defense, real estate and probate. She has successfully litigated family, civil, juvenile and criminal cases throughout Southeastern Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Jefferson, Washington, Racine, Kenosha, Walworth and Ozaukee counties. She has been successful in appeals before the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and has argued before the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. She has also represented clients in appeals before the United States Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit. In the summer of 1990, Jane was also published in the American Journal of Family Law.

Wisconsin personal injury lawyer Frank Pasternak is managing partner of Pasternak & Zirgibel S.C., award-winning plaintiffs personal injury attorneys in Wisconsin. In 2008 and 2007, he was honored by "Super Lawyers" (top 5% of all Wisconsin attorneys) in Milwaukee Magazine. In 2006, he was recognized as a Wisconsin "Super Lawyer Rising Star" (top 2.5% of all Wisconsin lawyers under 40) in Milwaukee Magazine and in 2005, he was voted by CNI Newspapers as "Best Attorney." Pasternak & Zirgibel focuses exclusively on plaintiffs' personal injury and wrongful death litigation, including car accident, asbestos, malpractice and mesothelioma cases. Frank Pasternak has litigated lawsuits nationwide, including a trial against Walmart that resulted in a post-trial recovery of $11,400,000.00.

I have been practicing for four years in the State of Wisconsin, representing people in the criminal courts.

Attorney Craig Vance founded Wisconsin Lemon Aid, LLC in Novmeber of 2008 to continue the fight for the rights of consumers. He practices in many areas of consumer law, including lemon law, warranty litigation, and fraud, in addition to handling other civil litigation matters. Craig handles consumer cases throughout the State of Wisconsin and will be practicing from the Wisconsin Lemon Aid, LLC offices in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. He can be reached by e-mail at cvance@wisconsinlemonaid.com. Attorney Vance has successfully handled hundreds of lemon law and waranty litigation cases and is looking forward to continuing his assistance of consumers in enforcing their rights.

Attorney Vance is a 2001 graduate of Marquette University Law School and a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Washington, Waukesha and Milwaukee County Bar Associations. Craig resides in Germantown, Wisconsin with his wife and two children and is active in the community coaching youth sports and volunteering and his church and his childrens' school.