Each year, Super Lawyers surveys the State of Wisconsin’s 15,000 attorneys and judges, seeking to recognize the State’s top attorneys. Recently, Super Lawyers published its lists for 2025, 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).

Super Lawyers, who previously referred to the firm as “the Milwaukee mid-sized powerhouse,” recognized twenty-eight of our attorneys.

Those attorneys are the following:

• Dino Antonopoulos:
  • Super Lawyer
• 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
• Maura Falk:
  • Rising Star
• Pete Faust:
  • Top 50 Attorneys in Wisconsin
  • Super Lawyer
• John Gehringer:
  • Super Lawyer
• Joseph Gumina:
  • Super Lawyer
• Jessica Haskell:
  • Rising Star
• Mike Kennedy:
  • Rising Star
• Grant Killoran:
  • Super Lawyer
  • Top 50 Attorneys in Wisconsin
  • Top 25 Attorneys in Milwaukee
• JB Koenings:
  • 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
• Jason Meehan:
  • 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 with more than 50% of its attorneys recognized by Super Lawyers.

We are pleased to announce 18 of our lawyers have been included in the 2026 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America, and an additional five have been selected as 2026 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

The following are the O’Neil Cannon lawyers named to the 2026 lists:

Best Lawyers in America

• Doug Dehler – Litigation – Insurance
• Jim DeJong – Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, and Securities / Capital Markets Law
• Seth Dizard – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation – Bankruptcy
• Pete Faust – Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law
• John Gehringer – Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Corporate Law, and Real Estate Law
• Joseph Gumina – Employment Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment
• Dennis Hollman – Corporate Law and Trusts and Estates
• Grant Killoran – Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Health Care
• JB Koenings – Corporate Law
• Kelly Kuglitsch – Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law and Employment Law – Management
• Dean Laing – Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, and Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
• Greg Lyons – Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Insurance
• Patrick McBride – Commercial Litigation
• Joe Newbold – Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Real Estate, and Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
• Chad Richter – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships) and Corporate Law
• John Schreiber – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation – Bankruptcy
• Jason Scoby – Banking and Finance Law, Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), and Corporate Law
• Steve Slawinski – Construction Law

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch

• Maura Falk – Trusts and Estates
• Trevor Lippman – Litigation – Trusts and Estates
• Kelly Spott – Trusts and Estate
• Christa Wittenberg – Commercial Litigation

About Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers has published its 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.

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch recognizes associates and other lawyers who are earlier in their careers for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States.

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

In a move that could reshape the college sports landscape, the University of Wisconsin and its name, image, and likeness collective, VC Connect, LLC, sued the University of Miami on Friday, alleging that Miami tampered with former Badgers football player Xavier Lucas and interfered with NIL contracts signed by Lucas.

This is believed to be the first lawsuit by an NCAA university seeking to enforce rights under an NIL contract with one of its athletes, and the outcome could have significant implications for transfers of athletes to other schools.

Wisconsin and VC Connect are seeking unspecified damages for tortious interference with contract and have also asked the court to declare that Miami tampered with Wisconsin’s relationship with Lucas. Lucas is not a defendant in the lawsuit, which does not seek to prohibit Lucas from playing for Miami.

On December 2, Lucas, who had just ended his freshman season as a starting defensive back with the Badgers, signed NIL contracts with Wisconsin and VC Connect. Under his NIL contract with Wisconsin, Lucas agreed not to play for any other school and was prohibited from granting any NIL rights to another school.

Lucas participated in the shooting of promotional videos for the UW football program on December 12 and left for Florida on December 15 for the winter semester break. Two days later, Lucas informed a UW assistant coach that he wanted to be placed in the NCAA transfer portal. Wisconsin, citing his obligations under the NIL contracts, denied that request. But by January, Lucas had enrolled at Miami, despite not formally being in the NCAA transfer portal and missing the deadline for transfer applications at Miami.

Wisconsin claims that a member of Miami’s football coaching staff and a prominent Miami alumnus met with Lucas and his family when he returned to Florida over winter break, offering financial incentives to lure him away, actions Wisconsin says violated NCAA norms and the terms of the NIL contracts with Lucas.

Wisconsin characterized its two-year NIL contract with Lucas as one of the most lucrative NIL financial deals of any UW football player. The NIL contract with Wisconsin was to take effect on July 1, the first day universities can directly pay athletes under the recently approved House v. NCAA settlement. Lucas was under contract with VC Connect until the effective date of the House settlement. According to the lawsuit, Lucas received payments from VC Connect before departing for Miami.

Miami has yet to comment on the allegations. Lucas’s attorney maintained that Lucas has not received any money from Wisconsin or its collective and denied that Lucas met with a Miami coach and a prominent alumnus in December.

Wisconsin argues that Miami’s actions undermine the integrity of NIL deals and the broader fairness of collegiate athletics and that NIL contracts would be rendered meaningless if players are allowed to abandon their contractual obligations. If Wisconsin prevails in this litigation, schools may be reluctant to accept a transfer player bound by an NIL contract that prohibits such a move.

We’re proud to announce that Attorney Pete Faust and O’Neil Cannon’s mergers and acquisitions team have been recognized by Chambers and Partners as among the top in Wisconsin for M&A and general corporate law.

O’Neil Cannon is one of only seven Wisconsin firms ranked by Chambers and Partners in this category. Faust, the firm’s president and managing shareholder, is one of just 23 Wisconsin attorneys to earn individual recognition for excellence in M&A.

In addition to Faust, O’Neil Cannon’s mergers and acquisitions team includes Dino Antonopoulos, JB Koenings, Britany Morrison, Chad Richter, Jason Scoby, James DeJong, Brady Dettmann, Cate Heerey, Michael Kennedy, Jason Meehan, Samuel Nelson, and Nancy Wilson.

Chambers and Partners, a London-based research firm, evaluates law firms and attorneys across 185 countries. Each year, more than 200 researchers conduct thousands of interviews with lawyers and clients to identify and rank the leading professionals in the legal field.

Corporate attorney Pete Faust has been recognized in Wisconsin Law Journal’s M&A Power List, a list “comprised of attorneys hand-picked as power players in the M&A space.”

Faust, the President and Managing Shareholder of  O’Neil Cannon, has closed hundreds of successful mergers, acquisitions and financing deals. He advises buyers, sellers, lenders and investors on a full range of business law matters, from entity formation and securities issues to corporate governance and exit strategies. Faust’s clients, ranging from entrepreneurs to established institutions, rely on his practical approach and extensive transactional experience.

Making good use of the recent office renovations at O’Neil Cannon, the firm organized a pool tournament for its employees to break in the pool table in the new café on our upper floor. All 28 participants fought through group play, with the top 14 moving on to a single-elimination round.

Litigation attorney Dean Laing emerged as the champion, beating corporate attorney Pete Faust two out of three games in the tournament final.

While we are all better lawyers and legal professionals than we are pool players, we still enjoy a chance to flex different muscles and mingle with our colleagues with some friendly competition. Laughter, cheers, and good-natured banter brightened the café and the halls as the tournament progressed.

The whole firm was invited to watch Laing, the past president of the firm, edge Faust, the current president of the firm, for the coveted title of inaugural champion.

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 2024, 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).

Thirty 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:

• Emily Behn:
  • Rising Star
• 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:
  • Top 50 Attorneys in Wisconsin
  • Top 25 Attorneys in Milwaukee
  • 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
• Jason Meehan:
  • Rising Star
• 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.

We are pleased to announce 20 of our lawyers have been included in the 2025 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America, and an additional five have been selected as 2025 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

The following are the O’Neil Cannon lawyers named to the 2025 lists:

Best Lawyers in America

• Doug Dehler – Litigation – Insurance
• Jim DeJong – Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, and Securities / Capital Markets Law
• Seth Dizard – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation – Bankruptcy
• Pete Faust – Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law
• John Gehringer – Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Corporate Law, and Real Estate Law
• Joseph Gumina – Employment Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment
• Dennis Hollman – Corporate Law and Trusts and Estates
• Grant Killoran – Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Health Care
• JB Koenings – Corporate Law
• Kelly Kuglitsch – Employment Law – Management
• Dean Laing – Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, and Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
• Greg Lyons – Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Insurance
• Patrick McBride – Commercial Litigation
• Joe Newbold – Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Real Estate, and Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
• Chad Richter – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships) and Corporate Law
• John Schreiber – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation – Bankruptcy
• Jason Scoby – Banking and Finance Law, Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), and Corporate Law
• Steve Slawinski – Construction Law

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch

• Emily Behn – Commercial Litigation
• Trevor Lippman – Litigation – Trusts and Estates
• Erica Reib – Labor and Employment Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment
• Kelly Spott – Trusts and Estates
• Christa Wittenberg – Commercial Litigation

About Best Lawyers

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.

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch recognizes associates and other lawyers who are earlier in their careers for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States.

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

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, Nick Chmurski, and Kelly Kuglitsch.

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.