Attorney Jacob Lloyd, a summa cum laude graduate of Marquette University Law School, has joined O’Neil Cannon’s Litigation Practice Group. He brings valuable experience from interning for Chief Justice Annette Ziegler of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Chief Judge Diane Sykes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, providing him with a deep understanding of state and federal judicial systems. Additionally, Lloyd has volunteered with the Marquette Legal Clinic, the Afghan Asylum Project, and the Special Olympics of Wisconsin. We are pleased to welcome Lloyd to O’Neil Cannon.

O’Neil Cannon, founded in Milwaukee in 1973, is a full-service law firm that focuses on meeting the many needs of businesses and their owners. Our experienced attorneys work with businesses and their owners at all stages of the business life cycle, helping them start, grow, and transition their businesses. We also assist business owners with their personal legal needs, including tax and estate planning and family law. For more information about the services we provide, please visit our website.

Erica Reib leads O’Neil Cannon’s Labor and Employment Practice Group. She represents businesses in state and federal courts, administrative agencies, arbitrations, and mediations; assists clients with drafting, enforcing, and defending employment agreements, restrictive covenants, and employee handbooks; provides clients with day-to-day advice, counseling, and training on labor and employment matters; and supports clients with the labor and employment aspects of transactions.

O’Neil Cannon proudly announces the election of Kelly Spott as the practice group leader for the Trust, Estates and Succession Planning Group, effective July 1, 2024.

“I am honored to have been elected as the new practice group leader for the Trust, Estates and Succession Planning Group,” said Spott. “I look forward to leveraging my experience and passion for assisting families to further strengthen our services in estate planning and tax matters.”

Spott has been a vital part of the O’Neil Cannon team since 2017, specializing in estate planning, succession planning, probate administration, trust administration, and inheritance litigation. She is licensed to practice in Wisconsin and Florida.

O’Neil Cannon advised Engendren Corporation in its recent sale to Cummins Inc., a global powertrain manufacturer. Over the past couple of years, Engendren has experienced tremendous growth, and it looks forward to continued advancement and expansion as Cummins invests in improving Engendren’s capabilities. This support will further enable Engendren to provide world class cooling solutions for all its customers. Engendren is part of the Cummins Power Systems Business but will continue to operate independently.

The O’Neil Cannon deal team was led by Chad Richter with assistance provided by Pete Faust, Britany Morrison, Sam Nelson, Erica Reib, and Nick Chmurski.

Attorney Emily Behn, a cum laude graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, has joined O’Neil Cannon. Emily is a member of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group, where she assists clients in a wide variety of both personal and commercial litigation matters ranging from inheritance and contract disputes to business shareholder disputes, property disputes, and renovation and construction disputes. Prior to law school, Emily studied journalism and worked in public relations telling the stories of both public and private sector clients in the health care, food and beverage, agriculture, and gaming industries. She now leverages her communications experience in her legal advocacy. We are very pleased to welcome Emily to O’Neil Cannon.

O’Neil Cannon, founded in Milwaukee in 1973, is a full-service law firm that focuses on meeting the many needs of businesses and their owners. Our experienced attorneys work with businesses and their owners at all stages of the business life cycle, helping them start, grow, and transition their businesses. We also assist business owners with their personal legal needs, including tax and estate planning and family law. For more information about the services we provide, please visit our website.

In the summer of 1982, when Glenn “Doc” Rivers was a student-athlete at Marquette University, he was a messenger at our firm, running errands and playing on the firm’s softball team (he pretty much covered the entire outfield). Likely due to the tremendous training and experience he received from our firm, Doc has had great success since then. He played in the NBA for 14 years; has been a head coach in the NBA for 25 years; won an NBA championship; was named Coach of the Year in the NBA; and is now the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. Welcome back to Milwaukee, Doc. It was clear to us way back in 1982 that Doc was destined for great things.

Dean Laing of our firm recently won three cases in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in a time span of 45 days. In the first case, Sims v. Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, Inc., Appeal No. 2022AP1590, 2023 WL 7138521 (Oct. 31, 2023), the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the trial court in Milwaukee County on issues dealing with whether members or directors have the authority to adopt and amend corporate by-laws. A copy of the decision can be found here.

In the second case, Tikalsky v. Tikalsky, Appeal No. 2020AP1345, 2023 WL 8447227 (Dec. 6, 2023), the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the trial court in Waukesha County on issues dealing with claims of undue influence in a will contest case and the authority of a trial court to sanction a litigant for misconduct. A copy of the decision can be found here.

In the third case, Keyes v. Schmidt, 2023AP323, 2023 WL 8613909 (Dec. 13, 2023), the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the trial court in Washington County on issues dealing with alleged oppression of a minority shareholder and the ability of shareholders to contractually circumvent the laws on derivative actions. A copy of the decision can be found here.

It is a rare feat to obtain a trifecta of wins from an appellate court in a 45-day time span. Congratulations to Dean on this accomplishment.

The spirit of the holiday season is upon us once again and the attorneys and staff at O’Neil Cannon wanted to do something special for our community. For our annual holiday donation drive, we collected items and monetary donations to be given to Kathy’s House. Kathy’s House is a non-profit Hospital Guest House that provides lodging and a supportive environment to families who are experiencing personal illness or the serious illness of a loved one. The Family Program for Patients and Caregivers at Kathy’s House ensures that every family facing a medical crisis, including those in financial hardship, can access needed health care and stay together during medical treatments.

From all of us at O’Neil Cannon:

“Best wishes for a wonderful holiday and a very Happy New Year!”

O’Neil Cannon advised Guetzke and Associates in its recent sale to Ryan Fireprotection, Inc. Established in 1977, Guetzke and Associates is the premier provider of fire alarm and detection systems in Southeast Wisconsin. Its services include engineering, design, installation, service, inspections, and monitoring. Ryan Fireprotection is one of the largest fire protection companies in the Midwest providing a full range of high-quality, custom fire protection systems. As Ryan Fireprotection stated, “We can’t wait to combine our efforts to Protect. Prevent. Preserve!”

The O’Neil Cannon deal team was led by Chad Richter with assistance provided by Britany Morrison, Sam Nelson, and Erica Reib.

Each year, Super Lawyers surveys the State of Wisconsin’s 15,000 attorneys and judges, seeking the State’s top attorneys. Recently, Super Lawyers published its lists for 2023, which include the Top 10 Attorneys in Wisconsin, Top 50 Attorneys in Wisconsin, Top 25 Attorneys in Milwaukee, Super Lawyers (consisting of the top 5% of attorneys in Wisconsin), and Rising Stars (consisting of attorneys who are 40 years old or younger or who have been in practice for 10 years or less).

Twenty-nine of our attorneys were recognized by Super Lawyers, which has referred to the firm as “the Milwaukee mid-sized powerhouse.” Those attorneys are the following:

• Nick Chmurski:
  • Rising Star
• Doug Dehler:
  • Super Lawyer
• Jim DeJong:
  • Super Lawyer
• Seth Dizard:
  • Top 50 Attorneys in Wisconsin
  • Top 25 Attorneys in Milwaukee
  • Super Lawyer
• Pete Faust:
  • Super Lawyer
• John Gehringer:
  • Super Lawyer
• Joseph Gumina:
  • Super Lawyer
• Jessica Haskell:
  • Rising Star
• Mike Kennedy:
  • Rising Star
• Grant Killoran:
  • Super Lawyer
• Dean Laing:
  • Top 10 Attorneys in Wisconsin
  • Top 50 Attorneys in Wisconsin
  • Top 25 Attorneys in Milwaukee
  • Super Lawyer
• Trevor Lippman:
  • Rising Star
• Greg Lyons:
  • Super Lawyer
• Patrick McBride:
  • Super Lawyer
• Britany Morrison:
  • Rising Star
• Joe Newbold:
  • Super Lawyer
• Erica Reib:
  • Rising Star
• Chad Richter:
  • Super Lawyer
• Ryan Riebe
  • Rising Star
• John Schreiber:
  • Super Lawyer
• Jason Scoby:
  • Super Lawyer
• Steve Slawinski:
  • Super Lawyer
• Kelly Spott:
  • Rising Star
• Christa Wittenberg:
  • Rising Star

Super Lawyers is a national rating service that rates attorneys in all 50 states. The selection process utilized by Super Lawyers is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations. One court recently had this to say about Super Lawyers:

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

We are proud to be one of the few firms in Wisconsin that had more than 50% of its attorneys receive recognition by Super Lawyers.