On November 29, 2018 Dean Laing spoke on the topic of “Procedural Issues in Litigation” at a seminar presented by the State Bar of Wisconsin on “Trending Topics in Business Litigation 2018.” The panel consisted of some of the top civil litigators in Wisconsin, and the seminar was very well attended. Mr. Laing spoke on various subjects, including the use of errata sheets following depositions, sequestration of persons from depositions, and use of general objections in discovery responses.

Mr. Laing has been a speaker at over 30 legal seminars, authored over 40 journal articles and book chapters, and been involved as counsel in over 75 published/reported decisions. Over the years, Mr. Laing has received numerous recognitions for his legal work, including being selected four times as one of the “Top 10 Lawyers” in Wisconsin by Super Lawyers; three times as “Lawyer of the Year in Wisconsin” by The Best Lawyers in America; and one time as a “Leader in the Law” by the Wisconsin Law Journal.

Mr. Laing can be reached at 414-276-5000 or dean.laing@wilaw.com.

Attorneys from O’Neil Cannon argued three cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court this Fall term.

On September 7, 2018, Dean Laing argued the case of Koss Corporation v. Park Bank, Appeal No. 2016AP636, which involves the issue of a bank’s liability under the Uniform Fiduciaries Act.

On November 7, 2018, Mr. Laing argued the case of J. Steven Tikalsky v. Terry Stevens, Appeal No. 2017AP170, which involves the issue of the circumstances under which a constructive trust can be imposed against an innocent party.

A law firm having three arguments before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a two-month period is a rare feat. O’Neil Cannon is appreciative of the opportunity.

O’Neil Cannon is pleased to announce that Attorney Dean Laing was recently selected as the 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” for Product Liability Litigation–Defendants in the Milwaukee area. This is the third time that Best Lawyers has recognized Dean as the “Lawyer of the Year.” In 2016 he was selected for the honor in Product Liability Litigation–Defendants, and in 2012 he was selected for the honor in Personal Injury Litigation. Dean is believed to be the only attorney in Wisconsin to receive “Lawyer of the Year” as both a plaintiff’s attorney and a defense attorney.

Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year,” making this accolade particularly significant. These lawyers are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the peer-review assessments.

Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism, and their integrity.

In addition to the Lawyer of the Year award, Attorney Laing was also listed in the 2019 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America in three categories: Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation–Plaintiffs, and Product Liability Litigation–Defendants.

Since the list was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.

O’Neil Cannon is pleased to announce that 20 lawyers have been named to the 2019 Edition of Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession.

Best Lawyers has published their list for over three decades, earning the respect of the profession, the media, and the public as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals. Its first international list was published in 2006 and since then has grown to provide lists in over 75 countries.

“For more than a third of the century,” says CEO Steven Naifeh, “Best Lawyers has been the gold standard of excellence in the legal profession.” President Phil Greer adds, “We are extremely proud of that record and equally proud to acknowledge the accomplishments of these exceptional legal professionals.”

Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are divided by geographic region and practice areas. They are reviewed by their peers on the basis of professional expertise, and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing.

O’Neil Cannon would like to congratulate the following attorneys named to the 2019 Best Lawyers in America list:

• Douglas P. Dehler – Litigation – Insurance
• James G. DeJong – Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Corporate Law, Securities / Capital Markets Law
• Seth E. Dizard – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Bankruptcy
• Peter J. Faust – Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Corporate Law
• Robert R. Gagan – Municipal Law
• John G. Gehringer – Real Estate Law, Construction Law, Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law
• Joseph E. Gumina – Litigation – Labor and Employment
• Dennis W. Hollman – Trusts and Estates, Corporate Law
• Grant C. Killoran – Litigation – Health Care
• Dean P. Laing – Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
• Gregory W. Lyons – Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Insurance
• Gregory S Mager – Family Law
• Patrick G. McBride – Commercial Litigation
• Thomas A. Merkle – Family Law
• Chad J. Richter – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
• Steven J. Slawinski – Construction Law
• John Schreiber – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Bankruptcy

Additionally, Attorney Dean P. Laing has been named the 2019 Milwaukee Lawyer of the Year in Product Liability Litigation–Defendants.

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey. Over 54,000 leading attorneys cast more than 7.3 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing S.C. is pleased to announce that 18 lawyers have been named to the 2018 Edition of Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession.

Best Lawyers has published their list for over three decades, earning the respect of the profession, the media, and the public as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals. Its first international list was published in 2006 and since then has grown to provide lists in over 75 countries.

“For more than a third of the century,” says CEO Steven Naifeh, “Best Lawyers has been the gold standard of excellence in the legal profession.” President Phil Greer adds, “We are extremely proud of that record and equally proud to acknowledge the accomplishments of these exceptional legal professionals.”

Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are divided by geographic region and practice areas. They are reviewed by their peers on the basis of professional expertise, and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing.

O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing S.C. would like to congratulate the following attorneys named to the 2018 Best Lawyers in America list:

• Douglas P. Dehler – Litigation-Insurance
• James G. DeJong – Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities/Capital Markets Law
• Seth E. Dizard – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation-Bankruptcy
• Peter J. Faust – Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
• Robert R. Gagan – Municipal Law
• John G. Gehringer – Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Corporate Law, Real Estate Law
• Joseph E. Gumina – Litigation-Labor and Employment
• Dennis W. Hollman –  Corporate Law, Trusts and Estates
• Grant C. Killoran – Litigation-Health Care
• Dean P. Laing – Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs, Product Liability Litigation-Defendants
• Gregory W. Lyons – Commercial Litigation, Litigation-Insurance
• Gregory S. Mager – Family Law
• Patrick G. McBride – Commercial Litigation
• Thomas A. Merkle – Family Law
• Steven J. Slawinski – Construction Law

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey. Over 54,000 leading attorneys cast more than 7.3 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

From 1997 to 2009 Sujata Sachdeva embezzled over $36 million from her employer, Koss Corporation, in one of the Top 10 Largest Embezzlements in U.S. history. The embezzlement was reported all over the world, including on the cover of The National Enquirer.

Ms. Sachdeva was criminally convicted of embezzlement and is currently serving a prison term. In an attempt to recoup its loses, Koss sued its auditor, credit card company, and banks. Its auditor, Grant Thornton, settled the claim for $8.5 million, and its credit card company American Express, settled the claim for $3 million. Those lawsuits were filed in Illinois and Arizona, respectively. 

Koss also sued its local bank, Park Bank, in Milwaukee, arguing that Park Bank acted in bad faith under the Uniform Fiduciaries Act by failing to discover and report the embezzlement. In the lawsuit, Koss sought damages of $43,749,400 from Park Bank. After five years of litigation, on March 11, 2016, the trial court dismissed the case in a 24–page written decision, finding that “Park Bank did not act in bad faith.” The court held that, under the Uniform Fiduciaries Act, bad faith “requires a showing of some indicia of dishonest conduct or a showing of facts and circumstances so cogent and obvious that to remain passive would amount to a deliberate desire to evade knowledge because of a belief or fear that inquiry would disclose a defect in the transaction,” and “there must be some factual basis—whether an allegation of monetary self-interest or compelling evidence of wrongdoing—to suggest the bank acted intentionally to avoid knowledge of the fiduciary’s wrongdoing.” Here, the court held, “Koss has not provided any evidence that Park Bank intentionally ignored Sachdeva’s embezzlement,” and it “declines to require banks to act as detectives, whether they be Sherlock Holmes, Columbo, or Andy Sipowicz.”

Dean Laing of our firm was Park Bank’s lead attorney. Also working on the case were Greg Lyons and Joe Newbold.

O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing S.C. is pleased to announce that Attorney Dean Laing was recently selected as the 2016 “Lawyer of the Year” for Product Liability Litigation–Defendants in the Milwaukee area. This is the second year that Best Lawyers has recognized Attorney Laing as the “Lawyer of the Year.” In 2012, he was honored as Milwaukee’s Personal Injury Litigation “Lawyer of the Year.”

Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year,” making this accolade particularly significant. These lawyers are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the peer-review assessments.

Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism, and their integrity.

In addition to the Lawyer of the Year award, Attorney Laing was also listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2016 in Commercial Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation–Plaintiffs.

Since the list was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.

Dean P. Laing, of O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing S.C, has been selected to the 2015 list as a member of the Nation’s Top One Percent by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel. NADC is an organization dedicated to promoting the highest standards of legal excellence. Its mission is to objectively recognize the attorneys who elevate the standards of the Bar and provide a benchmark for other lawyers to emulate.

Members are thoroughly vetted by a research team, selected by a blue ribbon panel of attorneys with podium status from independently neutral organizations, and approved by a judicial review board as exhibiting virtue in the practice of law. Due to the incredible selectivity of the appointment process, only the top 1% of attorneys in the United States are awarded membership in NADC. This elite class of advocates consists of the finest leaders of the legal profession from across the nation.

On March 6, 2015, Dean Laing spoke at the 2015 Marquette University Law School Civil Litigation and Evidence Conference for attorneys.  The topic of his presentation was “Deposition Practice,” and included discussion on errata sheets, sequestration, videotape depositions, telephonic depositions and behavior at depositions.  The presenters at the Conference included some of the top trial attorneys in Wisconsin.

We are proud to announce that our Partner, Dean Laing, has been featured as the Cover Story for the 2014 Wisconsin Super Lawyers magazine.  A copy of the article, which calls O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing S.C. “the midsize Milwaukee powerhouse,” can be found here.

For the past 10 years, Super Lawyers has published its annual magazine in Wisconsin, in which it selects approximately 5% of Wisconsin attorneys as “Super Lawyers.”  In addition, each year the magazine selects the Top 50 Attorneys in Wisconsin.  Super Lawyers’ selection process consists of surveying all Wisconsin attorneys and judges, conducting its own independent research, and having its Blue Ribbon Panel evaluate attorneys.

Since 2006, Dean has been selected each year as one of the Top 50 Attorneys in Wisconsin.  He is one of only 10 attorneys out of over 15,000 attorneys in Wisconsin—and the only commercial litigator—to be selected for that honor in each of those nine years.  Dean has also been selected as one of the Top 25 Attorneys in Milwaukee each year since Super Lawyers began publishing the list in 2011.

Congratulations Dean on this tremendous honor.