Top 25 Milwaukee & Top 50 Wisconsin Lawyers Lists from Super Lawyers

I don't blog much but believe the most important topic I address here is how to find Top Personal Injury Lawyers or other attorneys.  The best way is a referral from a lawyer you already know, like and trust.  However, many folks don't have such lawyers and so the next best way to find qualified reputable Wisconsin attorneys is to use sources that include Best Lawyers in America, Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings (AV® Preeminent™), and Super Lawyers.  Be aware, even those sources have attorneys pay for prime positioning or visibility on their websites, but neither attorney Jeff Zirgibel nor myself pay to be named.  Now, for the second year in a row (2025 and 2026), Super Lawyers has named us on its lists for the Top 25 Milwaukee & Top 50 Wisconsin Lawyers.  

Memorial Day Driving

Top Milwaukee personal injury lawyers recommend safe driving steps


Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Personal Injury Settlement Mills

Personal injury lawyer advertising in Milwaukee is absolutely over the top.  The other day, I was at the dentist and a T.V. was on.  During just one commercial break, I saw five Milwaukee personal injury lawyers ads.  Whether it is T.V. advertising, personal injury lawyers' letters, or phone calls after a car accident, consumers need to be very careful about the law firm and attorney they choose to represent them after an accident.

To get an idea of what some of the problems can be with certain personal injury lawyers, I suggest reading Atlanta lawyer Ken Shigley's post “One call that’s all?” Personal injury “settlement mills” blasted in Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics.
Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorneys

Wisconsin Dog Bite Liability

Find out Who's liable for a dog bite in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Gruber Law Offices Reviews on Google+

The other day I was working with our Internet people and had to put time into our Google+ page, Pasternak & Zirgibel S.C. - Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyers.

While there, I perused various Wisconsin personal injury attorneys' Google+ pages and came across a page for Gruber Law Offices, LLC, which, as I referred to in the previous post, currently saturates Milwaukee with personal injury law firm advertising.  Based on the reviews I read on Gruber Law Offices Google+ page, it seems the firm ought to refocus its efforts.  In fact, the two Gruber reviews at Google+ are so horrible and make awful allegations that I will not reprint them.  For the record, I have no personal experience with that law firm other than what I see on T.V.  I'll also say that I've seen Wisconsin injury lawyers go the other way and load up review sites with nothing but glowing reviews (if it sounds too good to be true, it is). 

Like all forms of opinion and advertising, take this Gruber thing with a grain of salt.  Instead, any consumer hunting for a Wisconsin lawyer ought to use independent sources like Best Lawyers in America (Wisconsin Best Lawyers), Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings (AV® Preeminent™), and Super Lawyers (Wisconsin Super Lawyers).  For a personal injury attorney, also make sure that the lawyers are active members of The American Association for Justice and Wisconsin Association for Justice.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney
Addendum:  It looks like after this post Gruber Law Offices went to great lengths to get "rave" reviews.  It's interesting for sure, and pretty consistent with what we all know about the web, you get what you pay for.  That said, my last paragraph definitely still stands.  See also my recent post on personal injury mills. 

Habush v. Cannon: The Final Chapter?

Wisconsin's Court of Appeals has issued an opinion, Habush v. Cannon - Ct of App decision.  I'm not sure whether this will be the end of the litigation or whether it will go to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but it seems to me that lawyer advertising in Wisconsin is the wild, wild, west.  Then again, it seemed that way to me when I first arrived and saw Habush, at the time, saturating t.v. with advertising.  Today, in the Milwaukee area at least, it's another firm, Gruber Law Offices, but that firm will be the topic of the next post.

ExamWorks - IME's are Big Business

Previously, I wrote about Wisconsin IME doctors, medical defense doctors, and defense ("independent") medical exams and the latter two posts linked to a company formerly known as Verity Medical.  Well, Verity Medical was bought and so you get an idea of how BIG a business it is for insurance companies (and their lawyers) to hire defense medical examination brokers to get them doctors willing to fight legitimate insurance claims - I present ExamWorks. 

Depending on the day, ExamWorks, publicly traded (NYSE symbol EXAM), has been worth about $225,000,000.00 to $900,000,000.00.  How's that for big business!  And that's only one IME broker.  Here's the list companies purchased by ExamWorks between 7/14/2008 and 2/28/2011:

• MES Group, Inc., Warren, MI
• National IME Centres Inc., Thornhill, ON
• Royal Medical Consultants, Inc., Tampa, FL
• BMEGateway, Woburn, MA
• UK Independent Medical Services, Durham, England
• Health Cost Management, Beaverton, OR
• Verity Medical, Madison, WI
• Exigere, Bellevue, WA
• SOMA Medical Assessments, Toronto, ON
• Direct IME, Toronto, ON
• Network Medical Review, Rockford, IL
• Independent Medical Services, St. Paul, MN
• 401 Diagnostics, Sacramento, CA
• Metro Medical Services, East Rockaway, NY
• American Medical Bill Review, Redding, CA
• Medical Evaluations, Minneapolis, MN
• Abeton, Portland, OR
• Medical Assurance Group, Phoenix, AZ
• MedNet I.M.S., Atlanta, GA
• QualMed, Mount Laurel, NJ
• IME Operations of Physician Practice, Boynton Beach, FL
• The Evaluation Group, Southfield, MI
• Benchmark Medical Consultants, Sacramento, CA
• IME Software Solutions, Farmington Hills, MI
• Florida Medical Specialists, Fort Lauderdale, FL
• Marquis Medical Administrators, Roseland, NJ
• Ricwel, Dublin, OH
• CFO Medical Services, Roseland, NJ
• Crossland Medical Review Services, Syosset, NY
• Southwest Medical, Dallas, TX

There are still hundreds, if not thousands, of other "independent medical examination" brokers out there selling doctors to fight diagnosis, causation, allege problems are pre-existing, argue treatment was unnecessary, asserting injuries aren't permanent, etc.

FYI, too, though the companies have become savvy at hiding doctors who work for them, here's a list of the doctors in the area who were working for Verity Medical, and likely now ExamWorks:

• Mark R. Aschliman, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Stephen E. Barron, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• David H. Bartlett, M.D. – Ortho Surgeon – Knees & Shoulders
• Paul D. Belich, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Paul A. Cederberg, M.D. - Orthopedic Surgeon
• Steven C. Delheimer, M.D. – Neurosurgeon
• Steven Donatello, M.D. – Pain Management
• Anthony A. Ferguson, M.D. – Ortho Surgeon - Foot/Ankle
• James C. Foster, M.D., MPH – Occupational Medicine
• Steven P. Friedel, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Dan B. Futch, D.C. – Chiropractor
• James G. Gmeiner, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon/ Spine Specialist
• J. Jay Goodman, M.D. – General/Vascular Surgeon                            
• Thomas W. Grossman, Jr., M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Steven I. Grindel, M.D. – Ortho. Surgeon/Upper Extremity
• Gary N. Guten, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon – Knee Specialist
• Timothy S. Hart, M.D. – Orthopedic/Hand Surgeon
• Scott A. Kale, M.D. – Internal Medicine
• William B. Kelley, M.D. – General Surgeon
• William R. Klemme, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Norman Kohn, M.D. – Neurologist
• Kevin J. Kulwicki, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Paul L. Liebert, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Daniel P. Lochmann, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Thomas A. Lyons, M.D. – Neurosurgeon
• Hani Matloub, M.D. - Hand Surgery
• William T. Monacci, M.D. – Neurosurgeon
• William D. Moore, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• J. Christopher Noonan, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Michael R. Nordstrom, M.D. – Otolaryngology
• Marc J. Novom, M.D. – Neurologist
• Gregory Nystrom, D.C. – Chiropractor
• Ellen O’Brien, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Thomas J. O’Brien, M.D. – Ortho. Surgeon/Spine Specialist
• Timothy S. O’Brien, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Dan M Olson, D.C. – Chiropractor
• Michael W. Orth, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Michael C. Reineck, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Francisco Sanchez, M.D. – Neurosurgeon
• Thomas W. Schueppert, M.D. – Ortho. Foot & Ankle Surgeon
• James E. Self, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• David A. Solfelt, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon
• Morris M. Soriano, M.D. – Neurosurgeon
• Sridhar V. Vasudevan, M.D. – Physical Medicine & Rehab
• Michael A. Weiner, M.D. – Plastic/Hand Surgeon
• Gilbert Westreich, M.D. – Neurology
• John M. Williams, Sr., M.D. – Occupational Medicine
• Michael G. Wirth, D.C. - Chiropractor
• Randal Wojciehoski, D.O., DPM – Internal/ER Med./Podiatry
• John S. Xenos, M.D. – Orthopedic Surgeon

Note, according to New York lawyer Eric Turkewitz, Allstate (Allstate's Obstructing Justice, Allstate exposed, Insurance Companies again,  Allstate's issues continue) is getting its stable of IME doctors from ExamWorks.  Surely, that can be no surprise.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Wisconsin Super Lawyers 2011

Pasternak & Zirgibel is again honored in Milwaukee Magazine via Super Lawyers (December 2011).  Both Jeff Zirgibel and I have now appeared in the Top 50 Wisconsin Super Lawyers, which is an incredible award since there are about 14,000 lawyers in Wisconsin.

Super Lawyers tries to identify Wisconsin attorneys in the top 5% of all Wisconsin lawyers and Rising Stars under age 40. Super Lawyers also publishes a Top 50 list discussed below.

For 2011, there are only eight Wisconsin personal injury law firms represented in the Top 50 list:

• Cannon & Dunphy, Brookfield
• Domnitz & Skemp, Milwaukee
• End, Hierseman & Crain, Milwaukee
• Gingras, Cates & Lubke, Madison
• Habush Habush & Rottier, Multiple
• Laufenberg, Stombaugh & Jassak, Multiple
• Murphy & Prachthauser, Multiple
• Pasternak & Zirgibel, Brookfield

Wisconsin victims of car accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, premises liability, etc., could do far worse than to start by interviewing these law firms to get help with their personal injury cases.  Mostly in Milwaukee personal injury law firms, they have been recognized by peers as outstanding in their field. 

Hiring lawyers or law firms because they advertise a lot on television or Google, chase ambulances with letters or Wisconsin chiropractors or postings on the web or dabble in personal injury is simply a bad idea. 

If you want a high quality “expert,” look for a personal injury lawyer who shares the traits that these firms do.  This includes injury attorneys who are Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings and active members of The American Association for Justice and Wisconsin Association for Justice.
Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

(888) 232-1274 Milwaukee Family Chiropractic?

(888) 232-1274 is a phone number for what appears to be an outfit attempting to contact personal injury car accident victims.  Callers from 888-232-1274 identify themselves as working on behalf of Milwaukee Family Chiropractic.  These Milwaukee Family Chiropractic reps include: Mr. Presley, Yolanda, Tanya, and Shalanda.  Individuals calling from this phone number contact people after Wisconsin motor vehicle accidents.  In fact, they even call individuals as far away as Madison, Wisconsin.

After googling, I found this site.  Anonymous web users report individuals stating they were called the day after a traffic accident and received multiple calls from same number, 888-232-1274.  Others report receiving ambiguous messages stating they were "calling in regards to your accident."  Most everyone reports that callers leave no company name.  Often, people called were not even injured. Some opine that Milwaukee Family Chiropractic is working on behalf of unethical personal injury lawyers. I say unethical because in Wisconsin it is unethical for personal injury attorneys or reps to cold call accident victims.  I hope that this is not the situation, but based on the information below it appears they may be working with at least one Wisconsin lawyer.

I googled "Milwaukee Family Chiropractic" because one report I received regarding its involvement was from a known source and I found this site.  Interestingly, comments there give sordid details about this outfit and have serious allegations including the involvement of a personal injury attorney.

If you get a call from (888) 232-1274, ignore it and don't respond.  In fact, if you get any cold calls from doctors, lawyers, chiropractors, clinics, or anyone else, other than your own car insurer, do not talk to them or respond.  If you're seriously hurt after a car accident, get a referral from a lawyer you trust for reputable lawyers who focus on personal injury cases.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Wisconsin Product Liability Law Proposal

Despite the fact that the Chamber of Commerce ranks Wisconsin in the top half of states to do business in, Governor Scott Walker has recently proposed several changes to Wisconsin tort law, including product liability law changes, claiming these will create jobs. None of the proposed changes will do that and one of these proposed changes will immunize sellers of dangerous and defective products that cause injury or death. No seller of a dangerous or defective product should ever be given what is essentially a blanket immunity.

For a very sad example of how products can kill people, read Asbestos & Insulation Contractors at my Wisconsin Asbestos & Mesothelioma blog.

Wisconsin Injury Attorney

Wisconsin personal injury Super Lawyers 2010

Wisconsin personal injury attorneys Pasternak & Zirgibel are again honored in Milwaukee Magazine via Law & Politics in its annual Super Lawyers issue (December 2010). I am again honored as one of the Top 50 Wisconsin Super Lawyers and Jeff Zirgibel is again honored as a Wisconsin Super Lawyer. Super Lawyers attempts to identify Wisconsin lawyers in the top 5% of all Wisconsin attorneys and the Rising Stars list tries to identify the top 2.5% of Wisconsin attorneys under age 40. Super Lawyers also publishes a Top 50 list discussed below.

This Wisconsin personal injury lawyer is once again honored to be chosen to be among the Top 50 Super Lawyers in Wisconsin. Only 7 plaintiffs personal injury law firms are represented in that Top 50:

Cannon & Dunphy, Brookfield
Domnitz & Skemp, Milwaukee
End, Hierseman & Crain, Milwaukee
Habush Habush & Rottier, Various
Laufenberg Law Group, Milwaukee
Murphy & Prachthauser, Milwaukee
Pasternak & Zirgibel, Brookfield

Accident victims in Wisconsin (car accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, premises liability, etc.) would be off to a great start in interviewing these law firms to get help with a personal injury case. These Milwaukee personal injury law firms have been recognized by their peers as outstanding in their field. Simply going to a lawyer or law firm that advertises a lot, chases ambulances with letters, or dabbles in personal injury but really practices in other areas of the law is irresponsible. Additionally, though all different, the Wisconsin lawyers at these firms share several common professional traits. Such traits include being Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings, and being active members of The American Association for Justice and Wisconsin Association for Justice.

Congratulations to all who made Super Lawyers! It surely is an honor to be listed given that there are about 14,000 lawyers in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Injury Lawyer

Habush v. Cannon Part XI

Habush v. Cannon & Dunphy continues to be litigated. The future court activity in Milwaukee County shows motion hearings in January and February and then two separate trials. One trial will begin April 4, 2011 and the other June 6, 2011. Given that I just searched Yahoo, Bing and Google and still got a "Cannon and Dunphy" paid for result in Google, I'm sure Habush is anxious to precede. The paid result comes up whether one searches Google for "Habush" "habush habush rottier" "Bob Habush" "Rottier" or "Dan Rottier."

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Habush v. Cannon - Part X

Today, this Wisconsin Law Journal article talks about the Habush, Habush & Rottier and Cannon & Dunphy lawsuit.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Insurance Settlement Scam on Attorneys

Having read various emails directed to me and on lawyers listservs, I thought I'd link to this lawyers settlement scam story. Below are tips from secretservice.gov:

How do I report a case of advance fee fraud (also known as "4-1-9 fraud")?

The perpetrators of advance fee fraud, known internationally as "4-1-9 fraud" (after the section of the Nigerian penal code which addresses these schemes), are often very creative and innovative. A large number of victims are enticed into believing they have been singled out from the masses to share in multi-million dollar windfall profits for no apparent reason.

If you have suffered a significant financial loss related to advance fee fraud, please contact your local Secret Service field office. Telephone numbers are available in the Field Office Directory on this website or may also be found on the inside cover of your local telephone directory. Any investigation regarding this type of fraud will be conducted on a case by case basis at the discretion of the local Secret Service and U.S. Attorney's Office.

If you ever receive an e-mail or fax from someone you do not know requesting your assistance in a financial transaction, such as the transfer of a large sum of money into an account, or claiming you are the next of kin to an wealthy person who has died, or the winner of some obscure lottery, DO NOT respond. These requests are typically sent through public servers via a generic "spammed" e-mail message. Usually, the sender does not yet know your personal e-mail address and is depending on you to respond. Once you reply, whether you intend to string them along or tell them you are not interested, they will often continue to e-mail you in an attempt to harass or intimidate you. If you receive an unsolicited e-mail of this nature, the best course is to simply delete the message.

Due to a number of aggravating circumstances, such as the use of false names, addresses, stolen/cloned/prepaid cell phones and remote email addresses, verifying the location of and subsequent prosecution of these persons or groups is difficult. The act of sending an email soliciting strangers' assistance in a financial transaction is not, in itself, a crime. The installation of a credible spam filter and contacting your Internet Service Provider may help deter these unsolicited emails. However, there is currently no available program to completely block these types of messages.

How can I protect myself against check fraud?

-Don't give your checking account number to people you don't know, even if they claim they are from your bank.
-Reveal checking account information only to businesses you know to be reputable.
-Report lost or stolen checks immediately.
-Properly store or dispose of canceled checks and guard new checks.
-Report any inquiries or suspicious behavior to your bank, who will take measures to protect your account and notify proper authorities.
-Do not leave your automated teller machine receipt at the ATM; it may contain account information.
-Check your bank statements carefully and often.
-Use direct deposit.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Habush v. Cannon - Part IX

Loaded onto scribd some court documents. If one has time, it makes interesting reading. A document of note is the Habush, Habush, & Rottier Press Release regarding this Cannon & Dunphy lawsuit since in my first post on this epic battle I hypothesized about the media angle.

Other documents are:
Cannon & Dunphy's Motion to Dismiss the Habush, Habush, & Rottier Lawsuit
Cannon & Dunphy's Appendix to the Motion to Dismiss
Habush, Habush, & Rottier's Response to Cannon & Dunphy's Motion to Dismiss

According to CCAP at the hearing, Bob Habush was in court along with his Foley & Lardner attorneys James R. Clark and Adam Crawford, as was Bill Cannon along with his attorney J. Ric Gass.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Habush v. Cannon - Part VIII

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Bruce Vielmetti's story today Legal firms begin clash over Web-search tactic chronicles last week's hearing in the titanic battle between Milwaukee law firms Habush, Habush & Rottier and Cannon & Dunphy.

Bill Cannon and Pat Dunphy's defense attorney Ric Gass - who's firm is known for defending corporations like Cargill, CBS, Crown Equipment, Humana, Lennox, Northwestern Mutual Life, Toshiba, Trek, and a handful of insurance companies - made an argument to the Court relating to http://www.yellowpages.com/ and how it shows a Habush ad when one searches for certain lawyers. Out of curiousity, I went to yellowpages and searched various personal injury lawyers names, and yes, the Habush ad is shown on the right along with a variety of personal injury law firms in the Milwaukee area. However, the site does state above the ads that those are "category-related advertisers." It seems to me, at least, that these yellowpages ads are different from the purchases Habush is suing Cannon & Dunphy over. The Google strategy was one chosen by Cannon, whereas the yellowpages results appear to chosen by yellowpages and aimed more generally at personal injury lawyers in Milwaukee.

Bottom line, Bob Habush and Dan Rottier's case against Bill Cannon and Pat Dunphy continues but as described in the article it goes on without the law firm of Habush, Habush & Rottier as a plaintiff.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Habush v. Cannon - Part VII

Followed up on the Bob Habush v. Bill Cannon lawsuit pending in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. The Wisconsin court has a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 9:15 a.m. on Cannon & Dunphy's motion to dismiss the complaint of Habush, Habush & Rottier.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Habush v. Cannon - part VI

Wonder if the media is following up on the Habush v. Cannon lawsuit. Checked CCAP, Robert L Habush et al vs. William M Cannon et al, Milwaukee County Case Number 2009CV018149, and there's a phone conference right now with Judge Kahn.

For those who have not seen it yet, the Habush, Habush & Rottier vs. Cannon & Dunphy Complaint.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Habush v. Cannon - part V

A quick note too, the recent Journal-Sentinel article is wrong in asserting that the "Sponsored link [is] gone."

I again just searched Yahoo! and Google as well as Bing and all three have sponsored links when you search for "Habush" or "Rottier" that lead to the website of Cannon & Dunphy.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Habush v. Cannon - part IV

JS Online now as an article about the war of words and a quote from Cannon saying of the lawsuit and Habush, "It's ridiculous. He looks like a buffoon." Personally, I don't think either is true here. Let's take a look at the legal basis for the Habush v. Cannon lawsuit:

Wisconsin's Right to Privacy law, Wis. Stats. §995.50, states:

(1) The right of privacy is recognized in this state.
***
(2) In this section, “invasion of privacy” means any of the following:
***
(b) The use, for advertising purposes or for purposes of trade, of the name, portrait or picture of any living person, without having first obtained the written consent of the person or, if the person is a minor, of his or her parent or guardian.
***
(3) The right of privacy recognized in this section shall be interpreted in accordance with the developing common law of privacy, including defenses of absolute and qualified privilege, with due regard for maintaining freedom of communication, privately and through the public media.

Thus, it seems to me, that the question here is whether Cannon's use of Habush's name through Google is permissible under subsection (3). Certainly, there's a possibility it was permissible. The question though is whether that's a question of fact (for a jury to decide) or a question of law (for a court of law to decide). Lawyers may want to see H & R Block E. Enters. v. Swenson, 2008 WI App 3, 307 Wis.2d 390, 745 N.W.2d 421. The bottom line is that we might eventually see this case in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, or perhaps the U.S. Supreme Court.

Consumers curious about the legal issues in Habush v. Cannon may want to review the Citizen Media Law Project's Using the Name or Likeness of Another.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer