Republican Senators in Wis. Vote to Authorize Arrest of AWOL Democratic Colleagues

In a move that the Wisconsin State Journal says is of questionable legality, the Republican state senators of Wisconsin voted today to authorize the arrest of 14 absent Democratic colleagues to force them to return to the state capital. The missing group of lawmakers fled two weeks ago, to avoid…

Mar 4, 2011 1:44 AM CST

As Surrogacy Becomes More Popular, Legal Problems Proliferate

Mar 1, 2011 11:40 AM CST

Attorney Confessed Bank Robbery In Order to Continue Pretend Practice, His Lawyer Says

Seemingly, the federal time Peter Elliott knew he was facing after pleading guilty to bank fraud for siphoning some $3.6 million from his attorney trust account might well have been one of the Wisconsin lawyer’s biggest problems in July of last year. But after he was brought in by a…

Feb 24, 2011 11:30 PM CST

Even a Felony Conviction May Not Preclude a Wisconsin Lawyer from Practicing

Being convicted of a felony, or even a misdemeanor, can mean the loss of a lawyer’s license to practice in many states. Plus, it is standard in some states for an attorney’s license to be suspended as soon as he or she is convicted of a serious crime. But in…

Jan 31, 2011 8:33 PM CST

Former Sexting DA Claims Immunity from Civil Suit by Domestic Abuse Victim

A former Wisconsin district attorney contends he is immune from a civil suit filed by a domestic abuse victim who claims his sexually suggestive texts violated her constitutional rights to due process and equal protection. Former Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz filed his response Friday to the civil suit…

Jan 18, 2011 4:11 PM CST

Another Ex-Senator Secures a Job Teaching Law School

Russ Feingold will be joining Marquette University Law School as a visiting professor following his Senate loss to a Republican opponent in November. The former Democratic senator from Wisconsin will teach an elective course called Current Legal Issues: The U.S. Senate, according to a press release. Feingold told the Milwaukee…

Jan 5, 2011 7:39 PM CST

Similar Name Helped Non-Lawyer Open Practice Using Actual Lawyer’s Bar Number, Officials Say

Thomas J. Lyon isn’t a lawyer. But Thomas J. Lyons is. And their almost identical names made it easy for Lyon allegedly to open a Wisconsin law office and appear in court under the shelter of Lyons’ actual Wisconsin bar number, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Although admitted in…

Dec 28, 2010 1:41 PM CST

Feds Arrest Russian ‘Spam King,’ 23, Accuse Him of Generating 10 Billion Garbage E-Mails Daily

Federal agents say they have arrested a 23-year-old Russian “spam king” allegedly responsible for generating some 10 billion unwanted e-mails daily—a third of the world’s total—from a network of infected computers. Oleg Nikolaenko was arrested in Las Vegas last month and is scheduled to appear tomorrow in federal court in…

Dec 2, 2010 10:00 PM CST

Diminishing Returns Spur Some Lawyers to Re-Evaluate Yellow Pages Ads

Some Wisconsin lawyers are re-evaluating phone book advertising because they are getting less bang for their buck. The Wisconsin Law Journal spoke with several lawyers who say they are getting fewer calls from their ads or fewer quality clients. Bankruptcy lawyer James Miller of Miller & Miller is one of…

Dec 2, 2010 2:24 PM CST

Unrelenting ‘Nastiness’ Cited as Reason Paper Is Shutting Down Comments on Courts, Crime Stories

After three years of allowing comments on its news stories, Wisconsin’s Janesville Gazette is taking a step back and shutting down commenting on stories about crime, courts, accidents, race or sex. “The nastiness,” says editor Scott Angus, proved to be “too much.” Angus detailed the paper’s new policy earlier this…

Nov 16, 2010 8:06 PM CST

Election Round-Up: Fed’l Judge Smacks Down Conn.‘s Potentional Ban of WWE Garb at Polls

For Connecticut voters who want to wear a Stone Cold Steve Austin costume to the polls on Tuesday, in a nod to Halloween and the retired professional wrestling star, the Christian Science Monitor has good news: They will apparently be allowed to do so, under a federal judge’s ruling that…

Oct 28, 2010 9:00 AM CDT

Criminal Probe for ‘I Am the Prize’ Ex-DA Accused of Sexually Harassing at Work

After initially determining, based on one woman’s report and the accused prosecutor’s response, that alleged sexual harassment by a then-Wisconsin district attorney wasn’t criminal, authorities have reopened their investigation into the job-related conduct of former Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz. The new probe apparently focuses on new information that…

Oct 15, 2010 5:57 PM CDT

Wisconsin Judge Has Dress Code for Lawyers and Beverages

A Wisconsin judge who campaigned on a platform of dignity and decorum requires appropriate attire in his courtroom, even for beverages. Judge Gene Gasiorkiewicz has issued court-approved travel mugs sporting the scales of justice and the name of his court branch in Racine, the JournalTimes.com reports. He paid $300 for…

Oct 14, 2010 2:32 PM CDT

Israeli Attorney Is 1st Foreign Law School Grad to Become Wis. Lawyer, Under New Rule

An Israeli attorney who earned her law degree from Bar Ilan University Law School in her home country is the first graduate of a foreign law school to win admission to the Wisconsin bar under a new rule that no longer requires graduation from an American Bar Association-accredited institution. Deborah…

Oct 6, 2010 12:00 AM CDT

Wis. Supreme Court Upholds Bar Exam Waiver for In-State Law Grads

Is there a relationship between acing the bar exam and being a good lawyer? Wisconsin Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson isn’t so sure. She raised the issue when she joined other members of the court Monday in refusing to repeal the state’s diploma privilege, which allows graduates of state law schools…

Oct 5, 2010 11:28 AM CDT