Dean P. Laing

Mr. Laing has received recognition from members of the bar and other legal organizations throughout his career. He represents companies, individuals, judges, and attorneys, and has received numerous honors, including the following:

• He was rated the No. 2 attorney in Wisconsin, out of more than 15,000 attorneys, by Super Lawyers in 2019.
• He was selected as the “Lawyer of the Year” by the Milwaukee Bar Association in 2019.
• He was selected three times as “Lawyer of the Year” in Wisconsin by The Best Lawyers in America. In 2012, he was selected as “Personal Injury Litigation–Plaintiffs Lawyer of the Year.” In 2016 and 2019, he was selected as “Product Liability Litigation–Defendants Lawyer of the Year.” He is believed to be the only attorney in Wisconsin to receive the “Lawyer of the Year” designation for work on both plaintiff and defense matters.
• He was selected for Super Lawyers’ Wisconsin list of 10 attorneys in 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. The list is based on statewide attorney and judicial surveys, independent research, and peer review.
• He was selected for Super Lawyers’ Wisconsin list of 50 attorneys for 18 consecutive years, from 2006 through 2023. He was one of only two attorneys among more than 15,000 Wisconsin attorneys to appear on the list every year during that period, and the only commercial litigator in Wisconsin to do so. The selection process considered statewide balloting, research, and peer review.
• He was featured on the cover of the 2014 Wisconsin Super Lawyers annual magazine.
• He was selected for Super Lawyers’ Milwaukee-area list of 25 attorneys each year from 2011 through 2023. The selection process considered statewide balloting, research, and peer review.
• He was selected as one of “Milwaukee’s Best Lawyers” by Milwaukee Magazine in June 1990, after seven years in practice. The magazine described him as “a brilliant, hard-working attorney who has an impressive record and is a guaranteed star in the immediate future. He’s streetwise and he’s bright and that’s tough to get both.”
• He was again selected as one of “Milwaukee’s Best Lawyers” by Milwaukee Magazine in February 1995. The magazine described him as “very bright, hardworking and intense—no one will outwork him.”
• He received the 2005 “Leader in the Law Award” from the Wisconsin Law Journal. The award recognizes Wisconsin attorneys and judges whose efforts contribute significantly to the legal community.
• He is listed in three practice areas in The Best Lawyers in America: Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation–Plaintiffs, and Product Liability Litigation–Defendants. The publication bases its listings on confidential peer-review evaluations.
• He was selected for “America’s 100 High Stakes Litigators” in 2018 by an invitation-only organization recognizing attorneys handling significant litigation matters.
• He was selected as a founding Lifetime Achievement member of “America’s 100 Bet-the-Company Litigators” in 2019, an invitation-only organization recognizing litigators handling significant business disputes.
• He was selected as a founding Lifetime Achievement member of “America’s 100 Attorneys” in 2016, an invitation-only organization that recognized attorneys based on professional accomplishments.
• He was selected as a “100 Trial Lawyer” by The National Trial Lawyers in 2013, an invitation-only organization whose membership is based on professional qualifications, reputation, influence, stature, and public profile.
• He was selected as one of 10 attorneys in Wisconsin by the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys in 2013, following the organization’s independent selection process.
• He was selected as a member of “The Nation’s One Percent” by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel in 2015.
• He was selected as one of “America’s Most Honored Professionals—1%” by American Registry in 2016. The recognition was based on publicly reported honors received from the press, peers, trade groups, and clients over a five-year period.
• He was selected as one of 100 trial lawyers in Wisconsin by The National Trial Lawyers from 2007 through 2019, based on professional qualifications, trial results, leadership, influence, reputation, stature, and profile within the trial-lawyer community.
• He was selected for the Lawdragon 3000 Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in America list from 2007 through 2019. The publication recognized attorneys nationwide for their work on behalf of plaintiffs and their contributions to the plaintiffs’ bar.
• He was elected a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America in 2010, an invitation-only trial-lawyer honorary society recognizing litigation effectiveness, accomplishment, and ethical standing.
• He was elected a Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation in 2016. Fellowship is limited to 2.5% of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s members and recognizes significant professional accomplishments, leadership, and community service.
• He was elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2016, an honorary organization of lawyers, judges, and legal scholars whose careers demonstrate dedication to their communities and the legal profession.
• He was selected for MKE Lifestyle Magazine’s attorney listing from 2012 through 2019. The listing was based on a rating system that considered peer endorsements, experience, education, training, speaking, publishing, and awards.
• He received an AV rating of 5.0 out of 5.0 from Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating, based on peer evaluations of professional conduct and legal ability.
• He received a 10.0 out of 10.0 rating from Avvo, based on experience, professional accomplishments, industry recognition, and professional conduct.

Judges have also recognized Mr. Laing’s work, stating:

• The Honorable Kitty K. Brennan, then a trial court judge and later a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, described Mr. Laing in a decision issued on April 15, 2005, in Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District v. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc., Milwaukee County Case No. 02-CV-60, as an attorney “of the highest standing in [his] profession” and one of the “best . . . lawyers I’ve ever seen.”
• The Honorable Paul R. Van Grunsven, a Milwaukee County trial court judge, stated during a hearing held on April 5, 2021, in In re the Estate of Kathleen D’Acquisto, Milwaukee County Case No. 15-PR-1971, that Mr. Laing is one “of the best lawyers in town or in the state.”
• The late Honorable Rudolph T. Randa, then a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, described Mr. Laing in a decision issued on September 27, 2001, in Marshall & Ilsley Trust Co. v. Leslie, E.D. Wis. Case No. 97-C-427, as “an aggressive and indisputabl[y] qualified independent counsel.”