New Real Estate Attorney Matt Impola joined our real estate team in December, 2009. Matt worked previously as corporate counsel with Continental Properties Company, Inc., and also with the real estate departments of Sidley Austin (Chicago), and Foley & Lardner (Milwaukee). Matt’s focus is on all aspects of real estate transactions including...
Proposed Change in Tax Treatment of “Carried Interest” Passes House and Senate
In December, as part of H.R. 4213 “Tax Extenders Act of 2009”, the United States House of Representatives passed legislation that would tax partnership1 “carried interests” (also known as a “carry” or “promote” or “promoted interest”) as ordinary income instead of as capital gains, as they are now taxed. On March 10, 2010, the United States...
Monitor Your Company’s Letters of Credit
Letters of Credit frequently are reviewed and filed away. It is time to open the file drawer, dust off those Letters of Credit, and review them again. Failure to do so could lead to some unpleasant, but avoidable, results. It was recently reported that one in four Wisconsin banks was unprofitable in 2009. The FDIC has also recently reported that...
Evaluating Choice of Entity Decisions in the Changing Political Landscape
While the limited liability company has become the default entity for many business ventures, potential changes to the federal tax rates arising out of the current turbulent political and economic climate may prompt a closer review of your choice of entity decision. Included in many of the pre- and post-election proposals of the current...

So Who Really Owns The Design And Design Documents For Your Construction Project?
Your new construction project is off to a great start. Site selection and assessment has cleared through all of the usual red tape. Your financial backers are committed. You even have a “hand-shake” deal with a new architect who comes highly recommended. This person has already provided you with some exciting concepts and a vision as to what your...

I Paid For That Software To Be Developed, So Why Don’t I Own It?
Suppose that your company is fortunate enough, or substantial enough, to have one or more software developers who are also employees of the company. Suppose also that one of your software-developing employees has written the code for a new computer program that you would like to market.... Read Full Article
A Summary of Wisconsin Commercial Real Estate Foreclosure Law
Given the current deluge of commercial real estate foreclosures, many lenders, property owners, tenants, developers, investors and out-of-state entities involved in the real estate or lending businesses have asked for a simple summary of Wisconsin foreclosure procedure and substantive law. Perhaps the most important consideration is that,...

So You Think You Have A Patentable Idea – Now What?
An idea for a new and useful product has been looming in your thoughts for quite some time. Perhaps you have doodled some drawings showing how the product works. Perhaps you have even built a working model. Better still, you have perfected your working model and have given thought as to how you are going to manufacture the product, market it, and...
EEOC Releases New Posting Requirements
Public school districts are among those employers required to conspicuously post certain workplace notices describing workers’ rights under federal anti-discrimination laws. School districts generally comply with this requirement by posting the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) standard poster entitled “EEO is the Law,” or a...
Civil Rights Data Collection Focuses on the Use of Restraint and Seclusion in Schools
By Mary S. Gerbig The use of seclusion (forms of "time out") and the use of physical restraint with students in the educational environment are currently the subject of nationwide debate. Legislators on both the state and federal level are considering the enactment of statutes to regulate the use of seclusion and restraint with students in the...