School and Municipal Law Group

Schools and municipalities have special legal needs. They are both employers and the providers of public services, requiring compliance with a multitude of laws, regulations, and public expectations.

The attorneys in the School and Municipal Law Group are skilled at guiding schools and municipalities through these legal complexities. Since 1960, our attorneys have served as legal counsel to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB). In addition, we prepare a monthly column, “Legal Comments,” and a quarterly publication, “Legal Notes,” for WASB members on new developments in the law.

We also serve as general counsel to public, private, parochial and charter school clients, offering assistance on issues involving school district elections, referenda, site acquisitions and other real estate matters, student rights and discipline, students with disabilities, school finance, policy updates, and Wisconsin’s open meetings and public records laws.

Our school and municipal law attorneys provide cities, towns, and villages with advice and counsel on organizational matters, the powers and duties of public officials and bodies, the conduct of meetings, the adoption and enforcement of ordinances, issuance and administration of licenses and permits, real estate tax assessments, public finance, public contracts, ethics, open meeting compliance, and public records requests.

Our attorneys are experienced in handling matters that arise with schools and municipalities as employers, including collective bargaining, grievance arbitration, and related labor and employment issues. Cooperating with members of the Litigation Group, we litigate all types of matters before arbitrators, administrative agencies, and courts.

Schools and municipalities rely on us to ensure that they remain in compliance with the countless local, state, federal, and constitutional laws that govern public entities. In addition to providing effective counsel, our attorneys write for a number of public sector publications, offer seminars on relevant legal topics, authors monthly client newsletter (FYI), and are often featured speakers at meetings of public sector groups.

In public sector law, the best defense is information. We make sure our clients are informed and prepared.