Attorney William Ryan Drew was honored recently by the members of the County Board for his 30 years of service to the residents of the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. Mr. Drew’s commitment to the residents of Milwaukee County began in 1985 when he recommended the creation of the Research Park and served on the Park’s Board of Directors as the Personal Representative of former County Executive Tom Ament. In 1998, he was appointed as Executive Director of the Research Park and coordinated the Park’s high-technology development on the approximately 150 acres of Milwaukee County-owned land in Wauwatosa. The Research Park is currently the largest Milwaukee-area office complex with 14 buildings and over 5,000 employees. The Technology Incubator, which is located within the Research Park, serves as a business incubator for start-up technology companies. To date over 1,100 jobs have been created.

Mr. Drew’s service to our community also involved several other appointments and elected positions. These include: Director of Administration for Milwaukee County, Commissioner of City Development for the City of Milwaukee, Treasurer of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, President of the Milwaukee Common Council, and Fourth District Milwaukee Alderman. In addition, he served as President of the Board of Directors for the City of Milwaukee Retiree’s Association, Board of Directors for the National Center for Housing Management, and is on the Board of Visitors for the Les Aspin Center for Government at Marquette University.

Mr. Drew began his Real Estate and Construction practice at the downtown law firm of O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing in 1988. He uses his extensive background in city, county, and state government to help clients resolve municipal and real estate development issues they encounter when dealing with government agencies.
 

O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing is pleased to be selected for inclusion in the 2015 Super Lawyers Business Edition. The Top firms were chosen based on the number of attorneys within the firm who were selected to the 2014 or 2015 Super Lawyers list in business practice areas, as well as a combination of metrics indicating the quality of those attorneys. Quality factors that were considered included the number of years selected to the list, inclusion on a top list, and their average blue ribbon panel scores.

The following attorneys recognized by Super Lawyers and featured in the 2015 Annual Directory of the nation’s top attorneys in business and transactions practice areas include:

• James G. DeJong – Mergers and Acquisitions
• Seth E. Dizard – Creditor Debtor Rights
• Peter J. Faust – Mergers and Acquisitions
• John G. Gehringer – Real Estate
• Joseph E. Gumina – Employment and Labor
• Gregory W. Lyons – Business Litigation
• Patrick G. McBride – Business Litigation
• Joseph D. Newbold – Business Litigation
• Chad J. Richter – Business/Corporate
• John R. Schreiber – Creditor Debtor Rights
• Jason R. Scoby – Mergers and Acquisitions

O’Neil Cannon is proud to announce that the following sixteen attorneys were selected for inclusion on the Super Lawyers list, which is limited to 5% of all Wisconsin attorneys, as published in the December 2015 Edition of Milwaukee Magazine and the Wisconsin Super Lawyers Magazine:

• Douglas P. Dehler
• James G. DeJong
• Seth E. Dizard
• Peter J. Faust
• John G. Gehringer
• Joseph E. Gumina
• Dean P. Laing
• Gregory W. Lyons
• Gregory S. Mager
• Patrick G. McBride
• Joseph D. Newbold
• Chad J. Richter
• John R. Schreiber
• Jason R. Scoby

In addition, the following four attorneys were selected for inclusion on the Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” list, which “recognize[s] the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state—those who are 40 years old or younger, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less:”

• Melissa S. Blair
• Megan O. Harried
• Erica N. Reib
• Timothy M. Van de Kamp

The Firm is proud to further announce that Dean Laing, Seth Dizard, and Peter Faust were selected by Super Lawyers as “Top 50 Attorneys” in Wisconsin and “Top 25 Attorneys” in the Milwaukee Area. Dean is one of only 10 attorneys out of over 15,000 attorneys in Wisconsin—and the only commercial litigator—to be selected to The Top 50 list for all 10 years.

Super Lawyers is a national rating service that rates attorneys in all 50 states. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations. As part of its process, Super Lawyers surveyed more than 15,000 attorneys and judges in Wisconsin, looking for the best attorneys in the State.

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently upheld the findings of a Special Master who made the following determinations about Super Lawyers:

“[T]he selection procedures employed by [Super Lawyers] are very sophisticated, comprehensive and complex.

It is absolutely clear… that [Super Lawyers does] not permit a lawyer to buy one’s way onto the list, nor is there any requirement for the purchase of any product for inclusion in the lists or any quid pro quo of any kind or nature associated with the evaluation and listing of an attorney or in the subsequent advertising of one’s inclusion in the lists.”

Through a court-ordered auction, a downtown Milwaukee office building that houses the Internal Revenue Service was sold to a lender this month. The previous owners were the target of a lawsuit filed in 2013 that resulted in an auction where the building was purchased for $14 million. The IRS leases approximately 80 percent of the building, and it is located near The Shops of Grand Avenue. An article about the transaction recently ran in the Milwaukee Business Journal.

Attorney Seth Dizard was the receiver of this building leading up to the auction that attracted interest from national investors.

Read full article here.

In a recent article published by The Journal Sentinel, Dizard was mentioned for his court-appointed receivership of a local Milwaukee apartment building that has been declared a public nuisance.

Attorney Seth E. Dizard is the head of the firm’s Banking and Creditors’ Rights Practice Group. He has extensive experience serving as a court-appointed receiver throughout the State of Wisconsin for businesses, construction projects, real estate developments, marital and family estates, rental income properties, and high net worth individuals.

Read full article here.

Grant Killoran and Patrick McBride, shareholders in the Litigation Practice Group at O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing S.C., recently were selected by the Irish Voice Newspaper to the 2015 Irish Legal 100.

First introduced in 2009, the Irish Legal 100 is a listing of leading legal figures across the United States and honors accomplished and distinguished lawyers of Irish descent from law schools, law firms, the judiciary and industry around the country. Past honorees have included United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, and honorees have been invited to meet with Ireland’s Ambassador to the United States.

For information about the Irish Legal 100, visit www.irishlegal100.com.

For more information about O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing S.C., including Attorneys Killoran and McBride, visit www.wilaw.com.

On October 7, 2015, O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing S.C. hosted a Continuing Legal Education seminar entitled “Hot Legal Topics for Small Firms and Solo Practitioners” focusing on legal issues of interest to Wisconsin small firm and solo practice attorneys. Over 50 attorneys attended the event.

The firm’s Managing Shareholder, Dean Laing, presided over the event.

Chad Baruch of Dallas, Texas was the keynote speaker for the seminar. Attorney Baruch spoke on effective legal writing. He also spoke on constitutional law issues.

A number of O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing S.C. attorneys also spoke at the event:

• Patrick McBride, Joe Newbold, Melissa Blair, and Christa Wittenberg participated in a panel discussion on the role of judicial clerks and court staff in state and federal court proceedings.
• Tim Van de Kamp presented on commercial lease issues.
• Greg Mager presented on asset protection in divorce and family transfers.
• Seth Dizard presented on recent developments in receivership law.
• Grant Killoran and Greg Lyons presented on legal and practical issues related to commercial arbitration in the United States and abroad.

O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing S.C. will hold this seminar again in the Fall of 2016.

If you would like any additional information regarding the seminar, including copies of the seminar materials, or if you would like to attend the 2016 seminar, please contact Grant Killoran at grant.killoran@wilaw.com or at 414.276.5000.

Grant Killoran, Chair of the Litigation Practice Group at O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing S.C., recently was appointed to the Board of Directors of North Point Lighthouse Friends, Inc.

North Point Lighthouse Friends is a non-profit organization committed to increasing public awareness of the history of North Point Lighthouse Station in Lake Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

North Point Lighthouse Station is located at 2650 North Wahl Avenue in Milwaukee. The North Point Lighthouse began operating in 1885 and presently is comprised of 74-foot tower made of cast iron structural steel. North Point Lighthouse Station includes the North Point Lighthouse and a two-story Queen Anne-style wood frame dwelling known as the Keeper’s Quarters, which was occupied from 1888 through 1994 by lighthouse keepers and their families and U.S. Coast Guard employees. North Point Lighthouse Station was decommissioned in 1994.

North Point Lighthouse Friends manages North Point Lighthouse Station for Milwaukee County following its transfer to the County from the U.S. Coast Guard. North Point Lighthouse Friends provides opportunities to adults and children to tour North Point Lighthouse Station and participate in special programming related to it and maritime issues.

North Point Lighthouse Station was placed on the National Register of Historic Lighthouses in 1980 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It was designated as a Milwaukee County Landmark in 2005.

North Point Lighthouse Station is open to the public for tours from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoons year round, as well as tours upon request with advance reservations.

For more information regarding North Point Lighthouse Station, please go to www.northpointlighthouse.org.

Steven J. Slawinski was interviewed by Commercial Observer recently regarding his role in the case BB-Syndication Services, Inc. v. First American Title Insurance Co., 780 F.3d 825 (7th Cir. 2015). This case has set the precedent that a lender’s title insurance policy does not cover construction liens that arise due to insufficient construction funding.

Read full article here.

Attorney Samantha M. Amore, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, has recently joined the Milwaukee law firm O’Neil Cannon She assists individuals, professionals, and business owners with estate and business planning as well as with probate and guardianship. Her prior experience preparing tax returns enables her to advise clients on gift, estate, and income tax matters.

O’Neil Cannon, founded in Milwaukee in 1973, is a full-service legal practice that primarily focuses on providing business law and civil litigation services to closely-held businesses and their owners. The firm represents corporations, institutions, and partnerships at all stages of the business life cycle, helping them start, grow and transition from one generation to the next.  We also assist business owners with their personal legal needs including tax and estate planning, family law and litigation—including personal injury litigation.