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Find Lawyers in Wisconsin, United States for Commercial Litigation
Practice Area Overview
Litigation increasingly occurs in various venues, from state and federal courts to private arbitrations and administrative hearings. Proceedings can involve business-to-business disputes or any number of government agencies. Understanding the motivations and outlook of each of the litigation participants is important for determining weak points to exploit and strong points that will persuade the audience in question. During the past decade, commercial litigators have seen a dramatic uptick in multidistrict and inter-disciplinary litigation, making the stakes higher, the cases more complex, the parties more numerous and the discovery more complicated and unwieldy. Firms that are able to develop and implement a creative legal approach to each individual problem, efficiently focus on the key legal and factual issues, and master and manage the various aspects of these complex matters will be the busiest in the years to come.
In the current challenging economic climate, commercial litigators are under increasing client pressure to keep costs in check, which has both sides testing the efficacy of alternative fee arrangements and the scope of reasonable discovery. Whether the “death of the billable hour” is ultimately realized, the keys to a commercial litigator’s success will continue to be strong client relationships, thought leadership, practical management skills, deep experience, and personal commitment.
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With over 40 years of success as an attorney, Jean's extensive knowledge, experience, and integrity in providing preventive counsel and representing clients in the areas of family law, estate planning, probate, civil litigation, and corporate and real estate law, have proven to be the best-in-class. With each client, Jean is laser-focused on securing the best outcome possible and at the same time providing a peace-of-mind to her clients by involving them appropriately along the way. Jean has ...
James Barton is the founding shareholder of Barton Legal S.C. Mr. Barton was formerly a partner at Hansen Reynolds LLC—a premier litigation boutique with offices in three states. Prior to his time at Hansen Reynolds, Mr. Barton was an associate in the litigation practice group at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, one of Wisconsin’s oldest and largest law firms. Mr. Barton concentrates his practice on aggressively litigating complex commercial disputes venued in state and federal c...
Dev Baumbach is a Shareholder in the Madison office of von Briesen & Roper, s.c. He has more than 20 years of experience representing clients in commercial litigation, business, construction, real estate and employment matters. Specific experience includes: Litigating business, construction and other commercial disputes, including state and federal trial and appellate litigation. Assisting contractors and subcontractors with drafting, reviewing and negotiating construction contracts, cons...
Steven P. Bogart is a shareholder in the Litigation Practice at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren sc where he counsels and represents clients in commercial litigation, environmental litigation and insurance coverage matters. Steve's clients include municipalities, financial institutions and large manufacturers. Steve draws on over three decades of professional experience to achieve the best legal and business results for his clients, whether through out-of-court settlement, mediation, arbitration o...
Pat is a shareholder and Chairman of the board of Crivello, Nichols & Hall. With state and federal practice throughout Wisconsin, he has demonstrated expertise in professional liability, commercial litigation, construction disputes, insurance coverage issues and personal injury litigation. Maintaining the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards, he has achieved the AV Preeminent Martindale Hubbel Award, was invited into the Federation of Defense and Corporate C...
Laura A. Brenner is a shareholder in Reinhart’s Litigation Practice and chair of the firm’s Product Distribution and Franchise Team, a cross-disciplinary group comprised of both corporate and litigation attorneys. Her team practices at the forefront of the law affecting clients whose livelihood depends on buying or selling products and services. Representing a wide range of clients on a national and international level, Laura offers clients practical solutions to complex problems....
Thomas M. Burnett is a shareholder in Reinhart’s Litigation Practice where he represents a variety of clients such as business owners, insurers, actuaries, and financial institutions as well as product manufacturers, developers and distributors. Tom has experience with a wide range of complex legal issues but concentrates his practice on product distribution and franchise litigation, false advertising and unfair competition, antitrust and trade regulation, and insurance and financial se...
Steve is a Shareholder and Chair of the Fire & Explosion Litigation Section and Member of the Toxic Tort Section. Steve’s practice focuses on the investigation and litigation of fire and explosion loss claims and the defense of asbestos claims. Steve is a Certified Fire & Explosion Investigator through the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI-CFEI) and Fire Investigation Technician through the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI-FIT®). He has e...
Shareholder Michael J. Cohen has more than 25 years of experience in complex commercial litigation in federal and state courts. His proven record of numerous favorable verdicts at the trial and appellate levels has earned him a reputation as one of Wisconsin’s preeminent business litigators. For many years, Mike has been recognized by members of the Wisconsin bar and judiciary as one of the top lawyers in the state. Mike concentrates his practice on complex commercial litigation includi...
Andrew Erlandson is a shareholder with Hurley Burish, S.C., representing businesses and individuals in reaching creative solutions to complex legal problems. Andrew handles a wide range of commercial matters, including disputes within and between companies. He has spoken and written on a variety of topics during his career including intellectual property, non-compete agreements, shareholder oppression, “business divorce,” insurance coverage issues, loss prevention, subrogation and...
Norm is a member of the firm Stroud, Willink & Howard, LLC and is a business attorney. Norm focuses his practice on lender representation through all phases of lending, from loan origination and renewals, to workouts and forbearance, litigation including foreclosures and bankruptcy proceedings, and assisting with liquidation of bank-owned assets. His extensive experience working closely with his clients throughout the life cycle of the lending relationship has provided him with insight in...
Attorney Matthew Fernholz focuses his practice on commercial litigation, trust and fiduciary disputes, business torts, trade secrets, non-compete agreements, defamation, and appellate work. In addition, he has developed one of the preeminent political and election law practices in the State of Wisconsin, and has handled several high-profile matters, from representing candidates for statewide office, successfully challenging the Governor’s emergency powers, arguing before the Wisconsin E...
Kevin Fetherston is a Shareholder in the Litigation and Risk Management Practice Group. He focuses his practice on professional liability litigation, commercial and business litigation, insurance coverage, and general tort litigation. Kevin has extensive experience litigating complex cases and appeals in both state and federal courts.
John is a member of the firm's Real Estate, Land Use and Construction Law Practice Group and Business Law Practice Group. He counsels his clients in all areas of real estate development, construction law, and commercial and construction financing: including, property acquisitions and dispositions; commercial, industrial, retail and office leasing; zoning; and land use law; and creditors' rights. John provides both preventive and remedial legal counsel to financial institutions, real estate de...
John (Jack) Goller is a Shareholder in the Litigation and Risk Management Practice Group at von Briesen & Roper, s.c. For more than 20 years, his practice has focused on complex civil litigation with an emphasis on mass toxic torts, product liability, transportation and catastrophic loss defense of corporations and their insurers. He serves his clients as national, regional and local counsel and takes an active role in all phases of litigation from fact and expert discovery until resoluti...
Christopher Hanewicz is a partner in the Patent Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation practices. He has been involved in complex intellectual property litigations concerning both biotechnology and mechanical patents. He has extensive patent litigation trial experience, as well as experience in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. While Christopher’s practice includes experience across all of the major patent litigation dockets (e.g., N.D. Cal., C.D. Cal., E.D. Te...
Nate Johnson is a Shareholder and Co-Chair of the General Litigation Section. His practice focuses on insurance defense claims, product liability, toxic tort, strategic risk and crisis management. Nate has successfully tried numerous cases to verdict throughout Wisconsin. Nate has significant experience litigating cases in the following areas: Products liability Insurance coverage Business/Commercial disputes Construction Personal injury Wrongful Death Premise liability Professional liability
Terry Johnson is a Shareholder and Chair of the firm’s Professional Liability Section. Terry has tried hundreds of cases to a verdict in matters ranging from complex legal malpractice cases to major construction defect disputes to major personal injury actions. Terry has had an impact in the development of Wisconsin law through appellate work in a wide spectrum of areas. Terry was asked to serve by the Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on the Office of Lawyer Regulation (&ldq...
Michelle Umberger is a partner in the Patent Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation practices. A registered patent attorney, she has focused her practice exclusively on intellectual property litigation for more than a decade. Michelle manages complex, high-stakes cases involving a wide range of technologies, including patents relating to microprocessors, medical devices, antibody libraries, genetically-engineered plants and mechanical devices. She represents both established internat...
Grant Killoran is a shareholder at O’Neil Cannon and the Past Chair of its Litigation Practice Group. He has significant and diverse trial experience representing clients in Wisconsin State and Federal Courts, and courts around the country, focusing on complex business, health care and employment law disputes. Grant also devotes a portion of his practice to arts and entertainment law, with an emphasis on the music industry. Grant is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the prac...
Chris Koehnke is a Shareholder at von Briesen & Roper, s.c. focusing on restructuring, insolvency, and commercial litigation. Chris represents lenders and other creditors with respect to the following: Representing secured creditors and other lenders in all stages of bankruptcy litigation Representing creditors in State Court Chapter 128 receivership proceedings, including issues related to lien priority, asset disposition, and settlement of preference claims Guiding clients through the p...
Beth Kushner is a Shareholder in the Litigation and Risk Management Practice Group. She specializes in complex litigation and has successfully handled a broad range of business and commercial disputes, shareholder disputes, construction matters, antitrust disputes, class actions of all sorts, fraud and RICO cases, employment cases and product liability claims. She has a particular expertise in cases that involve high exposure and difficult facts, and her clients appreciate her creative, pragm...
Dean P. Laing has been with O'Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing S.C., a 40-plus attorney law firm headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for over 40 years since graduating cum laude from Marquette University Law School in 1983. He was on the firm’s Board of Directors from 1990 to 2023, and was the firm's President from 2015 to 2020. Mr. Laing has repeatedly been recognized by members of the bar as one of Wisconsin’s top trial attorneys. Throughout his legal career, in whic...
Susan Lovern is the President and CEO of von Briesen &?Roper, s.c. and Chairs the firm’s Commercial and Business Litigation Section. She represents clients in complex business litigation and appeals in state and federal courts, as well as in pre-litigation contexts, including arbitrations and mediations. Susan’s business litigation clients include hospitals, health systems, banks, and manufacturers. She regularly handles contract, lease and warranty disputes for her clients, a...
Greg represents clients in the prosecution and defense of complex commercial litigation. His extensive experience in commercial litigation has prepared him to successfully represent large corporations as well as small businesses and individuals. Greg also has extensive experience representing individuals in inheritance litigation. He has successfully litigated many will contests and trust disputes throughout Wisconsin. Greg has accomplished tremendous results on behalf of trustees, personal r...
Mark Malloy is a trial lawyer who represents businesses in all types of commercial litigation, primarily advising companies in the areas of insurance coverage, extra-contractual liability, and professional liability. Mark is licensed in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois, and various federal courts. He represents companies in litigation across the country. Clients contact Mark for analysis and opinions relating to complex insurance coverage issues for both personal and commercial lines. In pa...
Stafford Rosenbaum LLP Attorney Jeff Mandell is a litigator with extensive trial and appellate experience in federal and state courts. He serves as a counselor to businesses, nonprofits, municipalities, and individuals on how best to handle litigation risk and navigate administrative regulations. Jeff co-chairs Stafford Rosenbaum’s litigation practice group as well as the Firm’s teams focusing on appeals and the Firm's newest practice group: election and political law. Between Nov...
Patrick represents his clients in the prosecution and defense of many types of civil litigation matters, primarily in the areas of commercial and business litigation, torts, and complex defense litigation. He also has significant experience advising clients in the area of insurance coverage and the defense of professional claims. His extensive experience in commercial litigation has permitted him to successfully represent large multinational corporations in both state and federal courts acros...
Danny is an equity shareholder and a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. Danny represents public and private manufacturers of products on a national basis in both commercial and product liability litigation and regulatory compliance. In addition, Danny represents construction companies and contractors in liability litigation. In this capacity, he defends wrongful death, catastrophic injury, and significant property damage cases, whether arising from fires and explosions, roll-overs...
Steve Nelson is a Shareholder in the Litigation and Risk Management Practice Group. Steve has extensive experience in litigation and concentrates his practice in commercial litigation including construction, civil and business, contracts and lease disputes, toxic tort, OSHA counseling and citation defense, personal injury defense, product liability, professional liability defense and Wisconsin fair dealership law. He has litigated on behalf of clients involved in complex construction matters ...
Joe is the chair of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. He manages a variety of complex cases involving software, class actions, real estate, products liability, banking, and intellectual property matters. He has extensive experience representing both large and small plaintiffs and defendants in challenging civil litigation. He has been selected as a member of Wisconsin Super Lawyers for six years in a row. Prior to joining O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing S.C., Joe w...
Terry Nilles, Senior Counsel, has extensive experience in commercial litigation, including UCC; Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law; federal tax litigation; securities and FDIC/banking; insurance litigation; corporate litigation; State and Federal Appeals; and, legal ethics and risk management. He also has significant experience in ERISA and employment litigation, including covenants not to compete.
Kelly Noyes is a Shareholder and co-Chair of the Class Actions Section. Kelly has significant experience in complex business litigation, particularly in the areas of ERISA and health care billing and collections. Kelly pairs her knowledge of the law with a passion for understanding her clients’ businesses, so she can achieve cost-effective resolutions to clients’ problems, both in and out of the courtroom. She has particular experience in the ERISA, benefits, and health care secto...
As a member of Stroud, Willink & Howard, LLC , Dale is recognized as one of Dane County's preeminent litigators of complex business and commercial disputes. He represents business clients in all aspects of litigation and alternative dispute resolution. He has extensive experience in disputes involving contracts, dealerships, product manufacture and distribution, shareholder disagreements, mergers and acquisitions, construction, real estate, technology, and property taxation, among others....
Phil Reid is a Shareholder in the Litigation and Risk Management Practice Group. His practice focuses solely on litigation, with a particular emphasis on asbestos and toxic tort matters, insurance coverage and the defense of commercial and personal injury claims. Phil represents both product manufacturers and insurance companies. He has tried personal injury, professional liability, insurance coverage, engineering, premises liability, employment and police liability cases. He has successfully...
As a member of the firm, Stroud Willink & Howard, LLC , Peter has focused his practice on business litigation and all types of employment related matters. He regularly advises businesses and individuals in their business affairs, and he has represented clients in state and federal court, as well as before the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, and the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission. Peter has assisted clients in matters inv...
John Rocco is a Shareholder in the Litigation and Risk Management Practice Group. John serves as national, regional and local counsel for a number of corporations, providing legal services in the areas of toxic tort and product liability defense, contractual indemnity, insurance placement and insurance coverage, commercial litigation, risk management and due diligence investigations. He manages and directs the work performed by lawyers and law firms on behalf of many of these corporations acr...
Joseph Russell is a Shareholder in the Litigation and Risk Management Practice Group with broad experience in commercial, constitutional and environmental matters in federal and state trial and appellate courts and arbitrations in Wisconsin and throughout the United States. Joe’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, including shareholder, healthcare fraud, product liability, franchise, mass tort, toxic tort, and class action litigation. In particular, Joe has spent many ye...
Allen C. Schlinsog, Jr. is a shareholder, chair of the firm's Litigation Practice and chair of the Product Liability and Safety Practice Group. His practice focuses on defense of the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. Al has represented drug and device companies in significant class actions, product liability and mass tort proceedings. He also regularly defends catastrophic injury cases involving a wide variety of products in highly regulated industries, including mining equipment, c...
Mark Schmidt is a Shareholder in the Litigation and Risk Management Practice Group and Co-Chair of the Construction Law and Litigation Section. Mark helps clients resolve their most challenging and complex problems by focusing on practical solutions and efficient business results. Mark is directly involved in all aspects of negotiation, strategic planning, risk assessment, arbitrations, mediations and court and jury trials in state and federal court. Mark’s broad experience covers all a...
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