Sixteen attorneys from O’Neil Cannon have been selected for inclusion on the Wisconsin Super Lawyers 2009 list.

Super Lawyers is a peer-nominated award that recognizes the top 5% of outstanding attorneys across the state of Wisconsin. The Super Lawyers are selected using a rigorous, multiphase rating process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with third party research, and each candidate is evaluated based on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement.

Super Lawyers:

• James G. DeJong
• Peter J. Faust
• John G. Gehringer
• Grant C. Killoran
• Dean P. Laing*
• Gregory W. Lyons
• Patrick G. McBride
• Steven J. Slawinski

Rising Stars:

• Timothy C. Caprez
• Seth E. Dizard
• Gregory S. Mager
• Chad J. Richter
• John R. Schreiber
• Robert J. Tess

*Top 50 Super Lawyers Recipient

Be The Wolf

O’Neil Cannon offers an unexpected departure in a forest full of “me too” legal advertising. OCHD’s reputation for superior Mergers and Acquisitions counsel is well known within the legal and financial community, but less so amongst business owners throughout Wisconsin. With the assistance of the marketing firm JacksonSpencer, an unusually bold step was taken to attract attention within the business community via the most recent issue of the Milwaukee Business Journal.

Mike Farley, President of JacksonSpencer stated, “Over the years, OCHD attorneys have been involved in many very sophisticated deals that have taken place… why shouldn’t their marketing match their expertise? We wanted to move beyond a shot of lawyers in front of a library of law books. That type of marketing is supposed to mean you’re trustworthy… we believe OCHD is already on everyone’s A-list.”

Jim DeJong, the Firm’s president and member of its M&A practice group added, “What JacksonSpencer has given us is a very strong voice… and we’d like to think that business executives will consider us more carefully when complex business transactions are on the line.”

The image of a wolf’s menacing glare has tremendous stopping power and the headline, “What do you see?” forces the reader to choose between being predator or prey. Farley commented, “All too often, business owners feel that they’re on the wrong side of the deal. In the case of this ad… the ‘wrong side’ could be very dangerous, indeed.”
Body copy reads: “Our experience in negotiating the deal is matched by our reputation for improving the deal. If you’re unsure where you fall in the M&A food chain, you’d be wise to run with a stronger pack.”

O’Neil Cannon was ranked as Milwaukee’s 12th largest law firm by The Book of Lists and has been known for their strong corporate and litigation work since its founding in 1973.

Attorney Jason Scoby, a recent graduate of Marquette University Law School, cum laude, has joined the Corporate Practice Group of the Milwaukee law firm O’Neil Cannon He advises clients on a wide range of corporate and business-related issues, including commercial transactions governed by the Uniform Commercial Code, mergers and acquisitions, new business formation, and franchising.

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.

O’Neil Cannon recently added Attorney Timothy Caprez as part of the law firm’s expansion of its litigation and corporate law practices. Mr. Caprez brings to OCHD significant experience in counseling and representing clients with respect to compliance and dispute resolution efforts in heavily-regulated industries and occupations, with a particular emphasis in complex healthcare and labor and employment issues. Licensed in Wisconsin and Illinois, Mr. Caprez advises and litigates on behalf of entities and individuals in relation to a wide variety of corporate governance, transactional and employment and personnel management 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.

Tom Cannon of O’Neil Cannon is among the 7 percent of the wealth managers in the Milwaukee area, to be chosen as a FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Manager. Cresendo Business Services, an independent third party, presents this award to assist consumers in selecting a wealth manager who provides exceptional client satisfaction. Wealth managers were evaluated based upon nine criteria, reviewed by regulatory agencies and a blue-ribbon panel which was comprised of knowledgeable individuals from within the financial services industry.

Attorney Cannon and other members of OCHD represented the majority of directors of the De Rance Foundation, the world’s largest Catholic charity from 1984-1999. In 1992, Cannon helped establish the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund with an initial gift of $70 million. This entity continues to be a major philanthropic presence in Milwaukee today.

OCHD is a full-service legal practice with offices in Milwaukee and Port Washington. Founded in 1973, the firm focuses its practice on corporate law, tax, estate and succession planning, real estate and construction and civil litigation.

O’Neil Cannon is pleased to announce that Attorney Joseph M. Maier has joined the firm. Joe assists businesses, their owners and investors with employee benefit design and ERISA issues and executive compensation planning, income tax planning surrounding the creation, operation and liquidation of business entities and the creation, formation, merger and acquisition of businesses. He also assists business owners and families with multi-generational succession planning and estate planning to include wealth management.

Joe graduated #1 in his class from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is the editor of the UW Law Review. He is a member of the Society of Financial Services Professionals and the Wisconsin State Bar.

OCHD is a full-service legal practice with offices in Milwaukee and Port Washington. Founded in 1973, the firm focuses its practice on corporate law, tax, estate and succession planning, real estate and construction, municipal and civil litigation.

Today’s workplace is becoming significantly more diverse. It is predicted by 2020, the number of African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians in the U.S. labor force will increase by 42 million while at the same time the number of Caucasians will only increase by 10 million. This demographic change in the U.S. labor force will create interesting challenges for employers especially as to how your company defines and addresses diversity in the workplace.

Oftentimes, employers confuse the concepts of affirmative action and diversity. These concepts are not same. Diversity is a business management concept under which an employer promotes an inclusive workplace by recognizing that employees bring to the workplace unique perspectives that provide a competitive advantage in an increasingly global economy. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that the benefits of diversity “are not theoretical but real, as major American businesses have made clear that the skills needed in today’s increasingly global marketplace can only be developed through exposure to widely diverse people, cultures, ideas and viewpoints.”

However, in trying to achieve diversity, there are many traps for the unwary. The EEOC will continue to focus its enforcement resources more closely on how employers’ policies and practices affect the hiring and advancement of individuals within protected demographic groups. Given the EEOC’s enforcement initiatives, employers must take a closer look at its hiring and advancement policies and practices to make sure that they are achieving their diversity objectives and have not created unintended barriers to individuals based upon any protected characteristic.
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce together with O’Neil Cannon will present this important webinar regarding workplace diversity and what employers need to understand about diversity to achieve competitive success.

LEARN:

• About the Changing Demographics of the U.S. Labor Force
• About the Difference between Affirmative Action and Diversity
• A New Understanding for Diversity
• About the EEOC’s E-RACE Initiative
• What is Cultural Competence
• Best Practices for Achieving Workplace Diversity

Register Here

In today’s fast-paced world, e-mails and instant messaging are the most common way we communicate in the workplace. And unlike a spoken word, which might still be reverberating someplace in space and time but no longer can be replayed, the e-mail, if not already copied, is at least usually recorded, stored, and available for future discovery. Although we believe that our e-mail will soon be forgotten after we send it, our failure as employers to manage this electronic data can create risks of unanticipated magnitude if the subject matter of the e-mail becomes the subject matter of our next employee-initiated lawsuit.

With recent changes to the federal rules of civil procedure, it is no longer an option for employers to have a plan to manage its electronic data. Learn what you need to know as an employer in today’s litigious world about what steps you can take now to manage your electronic data and avoid the hidden liabilities that such data creates for every employer. Well drafted policies that are uniformly enforced and understood by your employees can reduce the fear of expensive litigation and provide your company a framework in which to effectively manage its electronic information.

This webinar is designed to provide practical information for HR management, in-house counsel, and IT professionals.

Register Here

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the law firm of O’Neil Cannon have developed an all-day seminar to educate and prepare your supervisors for challenges from complying with confusing laws to effectively managing a diverse workforce. Many supervisors have been promoted to their roles with no formal training or experience in supervising. we can educate business leaders on how to manage individuals of wide-ranging abilities, skill sets, personalities and cultures. We can help supervisors develop the skills and tools they need to handle all HR challenges of the job so they can achieve the desired performance from their employees.

This program would be equally valuable for new supervisors and owners or managers who must ensure their supervisors are properly trained.

Register Here

The Milwaukee law firm of O’Neil Cannon recently expanded its litigation practice group to include Grant C. Killoran. Grant, formerly with Michael Best and Friedrich LLP, brings with him significant litigation experience representing clients in Wisconsin and nationwide.

Grant concentrates his practice on complex business and health care disputes and devotes a portion of his practice to arts and entertainment law. He serves as one of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s five Delegates to the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates and as Co-Chair of the ABA Section of Litigation Health Law Litigation Committee. He also is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, membership of which is limited to one-third of a percent of the lawyers in America.

OCHD is a full-service legal practice with offices in Milwaukee and Port Washington. Founded in 1973, the firm focuses its practice on corporate law, tax, estate and succession planning, real estate and construction and civil litigation.