News & Recent Victories at Hawks Quindel, S.C.

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Hawks Quindel to be Venue for MMoCA Gallery Night

  The Madison office of Hawks Quindel is proud to be a participating venue in the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art 2017 Gallery Night. Featured artists include Karin Medall, Alison Mader, Nancy Cox, Deepa Sampath, David Carpenter, and Rebecca Burg. Stick Vega will debut his new Fusographs, and Hanna Bruer will be doing a live painting from 5:30 – 8:30. Art will be available for purchase. Additional information is available on the event...

Attorney Good Assumes Chair of Public Interest Law Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin

Attorney Colin Good recently assumed the position of chair of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Public Interest Law Section. The Public Interest Law Section provides a forum for public interest lawyers statewide to discuss and promote public interest issues and concerns. Members are involved in issues affecting low-income and underrepresented persons; government benefits; consumer protection; housing; disability rights; elder law; access to health...

ATTORNEY GOOD TO PRESENT AT UPCOMING STATE BAR ANNUAL MEETING AND CONVENTION

Attorney Colin B. Good will present “Employment Law – The Year in Review” on June 15, 2017, at the State Bar’s Annual Meeting and Convention in the Wisconsin Dells.  The presentation will focus on recent changes to the field of employment and labor law in the past year and will include topics on discrimination cases, wage and hour matters, trade secrets and non-compete agreements, and agency interpretation and enforcement.  The presentation is...

CHARLTON A PANELIST AT UPCOMING STATE BAR ANNUAL MEETING AND CONVENTION

Attorney Katherine Charlton will participate on a panel discussion titled “Cultural Competence and the Law Practice” on June 16, 2017 at the State Bar’s Annual Meeting and Convention in the Wisconsin Dells.  Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Carl Ashley will moderate the panel which will discuss why cultural competence matters in the legal profession, and what ethical obligations lawyers have to be culturally competent.  The panel is...

Ackmann Named to Waukesha County Deer Advisory Council

Attorney Matt Ackmann was selected to serve on the Waukesha County Deer Advisory Council for a three-year term. The Council is comprised of engaged residents and stakeholders and provides recommendations to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on deer management within the county. Council meetings give the public an opportunity to submit comments and review county metrics regarding deer population and health. As a resident of Waukesha...

Charlton a 2017 Women in the Law Honoree

Katherine Charlton will be honored by the Wisconsin Law Journal (WLJ) as one of its 2017 Women in the Law at a dinner on June 7, 2017.  The twenty- nine honorees from firms statewide were selected based upon peer-submitted nominations.   WLJ previously recognized several of Charlton’s Hawks Quindel colleagues.   Amy Shapiro and Marsha Mansfield were Women in the Law honorees, and Larry Johnson was recognized as an “Up and Coming” lawyer....

Shapiro and Charlton Among Pro Bono Honor Society Members

Hawks Quindel attorneys Amy Shapiro and Kathy Charlton were recently recognized as Wisconsin Pro Bono Honor Society members for their volunteer work at the Milwaukee Justice Clinic at the Milwaukee County Courthouse and representation of individual pro bono clients.  The Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission and the State Bar of Wisconsin honored 405 attorneys  statewide who donated more than 20,000 pro bono honors in 2016.  The Honor Society...

Charlton Interviewed by State Bar for Weekly Newsletter

Attorney Katherine Charlton was interviewed by the Wisconsin State Bar for a weekly newsletter to attorneys. Below is a reprint of the interview. With Atty. Kathy Charlton Hawks Quindel S.C, Milwaukee, WI If you’re involved in employment law, it’s possible you’ve crossed paths with Atty. Kathy Charlton, State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE® co-author of Wisconsin Employment Law. Kathy recently answered a few questions about her 20+ years of writing...

Madden to speak on No-Class Arbitration Agreements for the Wisconsin Bar Labor & Employment Law Section

Attorney Caitlin Madden  will speak on the current status of mandatory class waivers in employment agreements before the Wisconsin Bar’s Labor and Employment Law section on March 16 & 17, 2017.  More and more employers require their employees to waive their right to take collective action to enforce their legal rights. Attorney Madden successfully argued before the Seventh Circuit  that class waivers in arbitration agreements are unlawful....

Marsha Mansfield Honored as one of 2017’s ‘Leaders in the Law’

Attorney Marsha Mansfield, has been named to Wisconsin Law Journal’s 2017 Leaders in the Law list. Each year, the Leaders in the Law program recognizes Wisconsin attorneys, judges and educators who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, vision and expertise in the legal profession. Mansfield, a 1984 University of Wisconsin Law School graduate, was honored at a reception in Milwaukee along with other award recipients.

COURT GRANTS SUMMARY JUDGMENT TO HAWKS QUINDEL CLIENT IN DISABILITY BENEFITS CASE

Judge William E. Duffin overturned Liberty Life’s decision to terminate Penny Aberg’s long-term disability insurance (LTDI) benefits. Aberg v. Liberty Life Assurance Co. of Boston et. al, No. 15-cv-571 (E.D. Wis., Aug. 23 2016). The Court found that the defendants, Charter Communications, Inc. Welfare Benefit Plan and Liberty Life Assurance Co. of Boston, violated ERISA by arbitrarily and unreasonably cutting off Ms. Aberg’s benefits. Hawks...

Charlton to Speak on LGBTQ Employment Rights at Marquette University Law School

Attorney Katherine Charlton will speak on Title VII and LGBTQ employment rights at Marquette University Law School on March 2, 2017.  She will address the state of Title VII law and LGBTQ employment rights in light of the Trump administration, and the potential impact of the much-anticipated decision of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Hively v. Ivey Tech Community College, in which the Court of Appeals may provide definitive guidance on...

Super Lawyers Recognizes Thirteen Hawks Quindel Attorneys

Hawks Quindel, S.C. is pleased to announce that Super Lawyers, a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have achieved a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement, has named six of the firm’s attorneys as Super Lawyers and seven as Rising Stars for 2016. Super Lawyers uses a patented process to create a list of exceptional attorneys, which those seeking legal counsel can consult. Super Lawyers has listed the following Hawks...

COURT AWARDS ATTORNEY’S FEES TO HAWKS QUINDEL FOR VICTORY IN DISABILITY BENEFITS CASE

Judge William Conley has ordered defendants CUNA Mutual Insurance Society and CUNA Mutual Long Term Disability Plan to pay over $54,000 in attorney’s fees and costs to Hawks Quindel in connection with Hawks Quindel’s representation of plaintiff Jon Clark in his case for long-term disability (LTD) benefits. Clark v. CUNA Mutual Long Term Disability Plan et. al, No. 14-cv-412-wmc (W.D. Wis. Dec. 23, 2016). The decision comes after Judge Conley’s...

Hawks Quindel Wins Equal Pay Act Trial in Western District of Wisconsin

On December 14, 2016, Hawks Quindel’s attorneys prevailed in an Equal Pay Act lawsuit on behalf of their client, a female health insurance account executive paid less than her male colleague throughout her employment with Unity Health. The Federal Equal Pay Act prohibits employers from paying employees of different sexes who perform the same work different wages unless the employer can show a legal reason for the pay disparity. Lenore O’Brien,...

Hawks Quindel Attains Health Insurance Coverage for Client’s Surgery

A high school student with a class 3 underbite sought approval for health insurance coverage so that she could undergo a double jaw surgery. UnitedHealthcare denied coverage for the requested services, claiming the member’s condition was not a congenital anomaly and that surgery was not medically necessary. The client filed an appeal and a hearing was held. On December 13, 2016, UnitedHealthcare reversed its decision and approved coverage for...

Hawks Quindel Wins Class Certification for Wyndham Sales Representatives Working Off the Clock

On December 29, 2016, Judge William Conley certified a class of In House Sales Representatives who worked for Wyndham Vacation Resorts in the Wisconsin Dells to proceed as a class action in their claim for unpaid overtime. The Sales Representatives allege that they were subject to a common policy requiring them to punch out of Wyndham’s timekeeping system and continue to perform work “off the clock,” denying them regular and overtime wages. The...

Hawks Quindel Files Unpaid Overtime Action Against Epic on Behalf of Quality Assurance Employees

Schultz, K. v. EPIC Systems Corporation Case No. 16-cv-797 Hawks Quindel, along with Habush Habush & Rottier, has filed a collective and class action complaint on behalf of Quality Assurance workers employed by Epic Systems Corporation (“Epic”). These employees seek to recover unpaid overtime wages and related penalties under both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Wisconsin wage laws. Our firm previously represented a class of Epic...

MADISON OFFICE HOSTING WOMEN’S EVENT BENEFITING THE YWCA

For a third year in a row, Hawks Quindel’s Madison Office is hosting a women’s networking event in support of Madison’s YWCA, a nonprofit organization that supports women in Dane County through services such as job training, transportation, housing and shelter. The event provides a unique opportunity for Madison women to connect with like-minded professionals while learning about the YWCA Madison and the ways in which they promote racial and...

Attorney Katherine Charlton Honored By Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee

Attorney Katherine Charlton was one of fifteen Milwaukee-area women honored by the Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee at their annual fall luncheon on October 21, 2016 for their work advocating for others and providing leadership in the Milwaukee community.  Charlton was recognized for her 30 plus years of pro bono work and leadership in various organizations advocating for access to justice for economically-challenged and diverse populations....

Attorney Carlson to Lead Training Session on New Overtime Rule at Center for Change

Attorney Lara Carlson will lead a training session at the Center for Change, sponsored by Community Shares of Wisconsin, on October 26, 2016. Attorney Carlson’s presentation, entitled “The New Overtime Rule or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace the Change,” addresses FLSA coverage for nonprofits and their employees, as well as strategies for complying with the Department of Labor’s updated overtime regulation, which increases the...

Attorneys Richard Saks, Michele Sumara, and Barbara Quindel Assist in Pressuring Wisconsin Elections Commission to Reverse Course on Absentee Ballots

HQ Attorneys Richard Saks, Michele Sumara, and Barbara Quindel advised and represented the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin in successfully pressuring the Wisconsin Elections Commission to reverse course on a needlessly strict policy that would have disenfranchised thousands of absentee ballots due to a technicality for the upcoming November 8 election.   HQ Attorneys worked closely with the Fair Elections Legal Network in advising the...

Attorney Saks’ Article on Photo ID Laws Published by Milwaukee Bar Association

Attorney Richard Saks'  article, entitled 2016 Photo ID Update: Cases in Wisconsin, Texas, and North Carolina Provide Interim Remedies and Potential Long-Term Implications, is featured in the current issue of MBA Messenger issued by the Milwaukee Bar Association. In the article, Attorney Saks discusses the status of several key pieces of litigation addressing photo ID laws around the country and their potential impact on the upcoming...

CHARLTON AND HALSTEAD CO-CHAIRS AND PRESENTERS AT THE 2016 ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT UPDATE

Attorneys Kathy Charlton and Aaron Halstead will again co-chair the Annual Employment Law Update, sponsored by the State Bar of Wisconsin.  This year’s seminar will be held on October 13 and 14, and Attorneys Charlton and Halstead will present on important developments in federal and Wisconsin employment case law.

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