Outgoing President
Ann S. Jacobs

Incoming President
Russell T. Golla

2015 President's Award
Patrick O. Dunphy
Cannon & Dunphy SC

2015 Robert L. Habush
Trial Lawyer
of the Year Award

Robert L. Jaskulski
Habush Habush & Rottier SC

7:00 - 8:30 AM
Breakfast Buffet and Registration (Included with Registration)

7:30 - 8:30 AM

WAJ Women's Caucus Breakfast
With Special Guest, Justice Janine Geske 

8:30 - 8:45 AM

WAJ Update
Ann Jacobs, WAJ President 

8:45-9:15 AM

Preparing Your Case to Win at Trial
We treat every case from intake to verdict as if it was going to trial. We try in every case to prepare a comprehensive evaluation and demand. It has become rare that this results in pre-suit settlement, but it ensures we have command of all the evidence necessary to win before we have to react to the defense. Our final trial preparation revolves around the creation of a trial notebook that contains all of the information we need to win. If a settlement gets in the way on the march to the plaintiff's verdict, that is great." 

John Peterson, Peterson, Berk & Cross S.C.

9:15-9:30 AM

Motions in Limine: Using MILs to Focus the Lens at TrialEmily Lonergan, Gimbel Reilly Guerin & Brown LLP

9:30-10:30 AM
                              
Finding Your Dream Jurors and Avoiding Those Who Give You Nightmares

"Your job, if you decide to accept it, is to identify and eliminate those “agenda,” case-killing jurors who are there to wreak havoc in the jury room.  You need to strike for cause, if possible, those jurors who are there to get even with lawyers or the legal system.  Those miserly jurors who, no matter what the evidence, will never award a dime in compensation.  The only way to do that is to get them talking and ask them the things that scare you most."

Randi McGinn, McGinn, Carpenter, Montoya & Love - Albuquerque, NM.

10:45-11:00 AM

Opening Statement: How to Focus the Jury on the Issues you Want Tried

Patrick O. Dunphy, Cannon & Dunphy   

11:00-12:00 PM

The Presentation of the Case at Trial

"Mr. End will present his thoughts on how to most effectively represent clients at trial.  His thoughts are based upon what he has learned through trying many serious cases over the years, and what he has learned from talking with jurors following his trials."

 J. Michael End, End, Hierseman & Crain, LLC

12:00 - 1:00 PM

Justice Fund Lunch Buffet (Open to all Attendees and included with Registration)

Justice Fund Update: Christine Bremer Muggli and Jay Heck, Executive Director, Common Cause in Wisconsin

1:00-1:30 PM

Increasing the Effectiveness of the DME Cross Examination 

The presentation is designed to provide tips for getting the most out of the cross examination of the defense medical witness.  The presentation will focus on researching the doctor’s background and credentials as outlined on the CV, videotaping the exam, cross examination strategies during deposition and trial, obtaining needed financial and background information through motions. 

Molly Lavin, Habush, Habush & Rottier 
 

1:30 - 2:30 PM

Closing Arguments that Touch the Heart

"It is the moment you have been building toward throughout the trial, the moment in which, using all of your very best storytelling skills, you remind the jury of the broken rules and injustice done by the defendants.  It is supposed to be the pinnacle of the case, the showcase of a lawyer’s skills at oratory and persuasion.  And how are you feeling?  Exhausted.  No matter how long or short the trial, the hours spent in preparation  and intense concentration have wrung you out like a wet dishrag.  Now is the moment when you must summon your hidden resources and inspire the jury to do the right thing. 

The perfect closing argument would have jurors making nooses out of their ties for the defendant and would send them marching into the jury room chanting the old Queen standard:   “WE WILL, WE WILL ROCK YOU…”     Can you do it?"

Randi McGinn, McGinn, Carpenter, Montoya & Love - Albuquerque, NM.

2:45-3:15 PM

Offers of Settlement and Bills of Costs: Tools to Maximize Clients' Recoveries

Although an Offer of Settlement should be done pre-trial, its effectiveness is not known until post trial. A review of the statutory scheme that governs Offers of Settlement will help ensure that you set your client up for the maximum recovery possible as it relates to costs. Similarly, having a system in place to track and manage statutorily recoverable costs can have a major impact on your client’s net recovery post-verdict. Finally, a review of recent case law will highlight what is considered “reasonable” in terms of specific items of costs, like photocopying, to help recover as much as possible for your client.

Kevin Lonergan, Herrling Clark Law Firm
with Laurel Wirth & Kris Moscinski 

3:15-3:30 PM

Appeal Considerations

This session will explore what a lawyer should consider when facing an appeal filed by opposing counsel, or when advising the client on whether to appeal.  You will learn about common pitfalls to avoid when preserving the record for appeal, the role of standard of review on appeal and how to explain it to your client in plain English, and statistics about rates of success on appeal, including at the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.

Kent Tess-Mattner,  Schmidt, Rupke, Tess-Mattner & Fox SC

3:30-3:45 PM

Wisconsin’s 5/6 Jury Requirement: Potential Problems, Potential Solutions

Wisconsin Stat. sec. 805.09(2) holds that “[a] verdict agreed to by five-sixths of the jury shall be the verdict of the jury.  If more than one question must be answered to arrive at a verdict on the same claim, the same five-sixths of the jurors must agree on all the questions.”  Seems simple enough, and given the simplicity of the statute, it is easy to overlook just how important this is.  We all work very hard to get to verdict.  After the jury retires to deliberate, there is a temptation to go on auto-pilot while you wait.  Resist the temptation and instead review the 5/6 rule so that you are educated on the exceptions in case you see more than two dissenters at the foot of the verdict.

Peter Young, Habush Habush & Rottier

3:45 PM

Annual Business Meeting  

6:30 PM

Cocktail Reception 

7:30 PM

Presidents' Dinner (requires an event registration)

Contact Beth Regarding Event Program Display Advertising (beth@wisjutice.org) 

8:00 - 9:00 AM

Breakfast Buffet and Registration (Included with Registration)

9:00 - 12:00 PM

Ethics Presentation- Obtain your 3 hours of Ethics (EPR) credits all at one program!

New and Recurring Ethical Issues in Personal Injury Practice
This presentation will focus on a range of new and recurring ethical issues encountered frequently in day-to-day personal injury practice directed toward both the beginning and the more experienced litigator.  Coverage includes common mistakes in personal injury practice and how those relate to the Rules of Professional Conduct; the ethical obligations associated with claim proceeds including lien satisfaction; and how to identify self-funded plans and the steps necessary to challenge health benefit denials.  As time permits, other areas we may touch on include limitations in advertising; the issue of searching documents from opposing counsel for meta-data and other issues that arise during the session.

Ann MacArthur, Anne MacArthur Law, LLC
Nicole Schrier, Neuberger, Griggs, Sweet & Smith, LLP