Program Chair and Speaker:

Michael J. Cohen
Meissner Meissner Tierney Fisher & Nichols S.C.
Milwaukee

Speakers:

Anthony S. Baish
Godfrey & Kahn, S.C.
Milwaukee

Robert B. Corris
Robert B. Corris Law, S.C.
Hartland

Robert S. Driscoll
Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.
Milwaukee

Matthew M. Fernholz
Cramer Multhauf LLP
Waukesha

Caleb R. Gerbitz
Meissner Tierney Fisher & Nichols S.C.
Milwaukee

Susan E. Lovern
von Briesen & Roper, s.c.
Milwaukee

Ann M. Maher
Husch Blackwell, LLP
Milwaukee

Matthew W. O’Neill
Fox O’Neill Shannon S.C.
Milwaukee

Benjamin R. Prinsen
Kravit Hovel & Krawczyk, s.c.
Milwaukee

David J. Turek
Gass Turek, LLC
Milwaukee

Zachary R. Willenbrink
Godfrey & Kahn, S.C.,
Milwaukee

Adam E. Witkov
Michael Best & Friedrich, LLP
Milwaukee

8:30 AM Cybersecurity and Privacy Claims Against Businesses

• Personal Data Breach Litigation: Claims and Complexity Increase
• Funds-Transfer Fraud
• CIPA Claims: California’s Wiretapping Gets a Tech Makeover and Comes to Wisconsin (and the Rest of the US)

Matthew W. O’Neill, Zach R. Willenbrink

9:20 AM Wisconsin’s Economic Loss Doctrine: Where did you come from? Where did you go?

• History of the Economic Loss Doctrine in Wisconsin
• Application of the Economic Loss Doctrine in Wisconsin
• What is happening outside Wisconsin?
• The future of the ELD and a practitioner's guide

Benjamin R. Prinsen, Adam E. Witkov

Panel discussion: Michael J. Cohen, (Moderator), Anthony S. Baish, Robert B. Corris, Robert S. Driscoll, Matthew M. Fernholz, Caleb R. Gerbitz, Susan E. Lovern, Ann M. Maher, Matthew W. O’Neill, David J. Turek, Zach R. Willenbrink

10:10 AM Break

10:25 AM Healthy Competition or Illegal Interference? How contract and tort principles impact hiring a competitor’s employees.

• Employee raiding and employees subject to contractual provisions. When does hiring an employee carry a liability risk due to the contractual provisions to which the employee is subjected?
• Employee raiding and at-will employment. When does hiring an at-will employee carry a liability risk?
• s The impact of crossing the line: damages available to a competitor who can prove impermissible employee raiding, highlighting Frey Construction & Home Improvement LLC v. Hasheider Roofing & Siding Ltd., 2025 WI App 4.

Robert S. Driscoll

Panel discussion: Michael J. Cohen, (Moderator), Anthony S. Baish, Robert B. Corris, Matthew M. Fernholz, Caleb R. Gerbitz, Susan E. Lovern, Ann M. Maher, Matthew W. O’Neill, Benjamin R. Prinsen, David J. Turek, Zach R. Willenbrink, Adam E. Witkov

11:15 AM Decoding the DTPA: Uncertainty in Wis. Stat. § 100.18 Claims

• Pleading standards clarified
• Reasonable reliance not required . . . maybe
• Defining “the public”

Anthony S. Baish

Panel discussion: Michael J. Cohen (Moderator), Robert B. Corris, Robert S. Driscoll, Matthew M. Fernholz, Caleb R. Gerbitz, Susan E. Lovern, Ann M. Maher, Matthew W. O’Neill, Benjamin R. Prinsen, David J. Turek, Zach R. Willenbrink, Adam E. Witkov

12:05 PM Lunch (on your own)

1:05 PM Trending Ethics Topics

• Emerging ethics and court rules applicable to the use of AI
• Ethics issues with using ChatGPT to conduct legal research
• Scope and application of the attorney-client privilege in the context of public relations consultants

Matthew M. Fernholz, Susan E. Lovern, Ann M. Maher

1:55 PM No Contract, No Problem: Alternative Theories to a Traditional Breach of Contract Claim

• Promissory estoppel
• Unjust enrichment
• Quantum meruit
• Implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing

David J. Turek

Panel discussion: Michael J. Cohen (Moderator), Anthony S. Baish, Robert B. Corris, Robert S. Driscoll, Matthew M. Fernholz, Caleb R. Gerbitz, Susan E. Lovern, Ann M. Maher, Matthew W. O’Neill, Benjamin R. Prinsen, Zach R. Willenbrink, Adam E. Witkov

2:45 PM Break

3:00 PM Commercial Litigation Trends in Wisconsin’s Appellate Courts

• Updates on employment law, insurance coverage issues, and more
• Overview of Wisconsin Supreme Court’s multiplicitous motion-to-dismiss standard
• Clarifications on the deadline to file an appeal from a decision on a post-judgment motion

Robert S. Driscoll, Caleb R. Gerbitz

Panel discussion: Michael J. Cohen (Moderator), Anthony S. Baish, Robert B. Corris, Matthew M. Fernholz, Susan E. Lovern, Ann M. Maher, Matthew W. O’Neill, Benjamin R. Prinsen, David J. Turek, Zach R. Willenbrink, Adam E. Witkov

3:50 PM Litigating trade secret misappropriation claims when no direct evidence of misappropriation

• Identifying misappropriated trade secrets
• Proving misappropriation by access plus similarity
• Proving misappropriation by derivation
• Inevitable disclosure as proof of actual misappropriation
• Predicting Wisconsin adoption or not of inevitable disclosure

Robert B. Corris

Panel discussion: Michael J. Cohen (Moderator), Anthony S. Baish, Robert S. Driscoll, Matthew M. Fernholz, Caleb R. Gerbitz, Susan E. Lovern, Ann M. Maher, Matthew W. O’Neill, Benjamin R. Prinsen, David J. Turek, Zach R. Willenbrink, Adam E. Witkov

4:40 PM Program Concludes

• Keep your litigation strategy current with the newest claims and defenses
• Anticipate client exposure under updated privacy, trade secret, and competition laws
• Gain clarity on the limits of contract, tort, and equitable recovery theories
• Strengthen your appellate practice with insight into Wisconsin’s procedural developments
• Understand your ethical duties when incorporating AI and digital tools into your practice

• Business lawyers
• In-house counsel
• Corporate attorneys
• Business lawyers who advise corporate clients
• Litigators
• Appellate lawyers

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