DeWitt Earns 17 Tier One Rankings in 2021 “Best Law Firms”

MADISON | MILWAUKEE | MINNEAPOLIS – DeWitt LLP announced today it has earned 17 Metropolitan tier one, nine Metropolitan tier two, nine Metropolitan tier three, and one national tier three rankings in the 2021 edition of the U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms.”

The rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.

The full list of DeWitt’s rankings are as follows:

National Tier 3

• Land Use & Zoning Law

Metropolitan Tier 1

Madison

• Commercial Litigation
• Corporate Law
• Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
• Employment Law – Management
• Environmental Law
• Family Law
• Government Relations Practice
• Labor Law – Management
• Land Use & Zoning Law
• Litigation – Patent
• Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs
• Real Estate Law
• Tax Law
• Trusts & Estates Law
• Water Law

Milwaukee

• Litigation – Real Estate

Minneapolis

• Family Law

Metropolitan Tier 2

Madison

• Banking and Finance Law
• Copyright Law
• Litigation – Intellectual Property
• Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
• Trademark Law

Milwaukee

• Commercial Litigation
• Litigation – Tax
• Tax Law

Minneapolis

• Patent Law

Metropolitan Tier 3

Madison

• Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
• Construction Law
• Municipal Law
• Patent Law

Milwaukee

• Construction Law
• Corporate Law
• Litigation – Insurance
• Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs

Minneapolis

• Litigation – Patent

About DeWitt

DeWitt LLP is one of the ten largest law firms based in Wisconsin, with an additional presence in Minnesota. It has nearly 140 attorneys practicing in Madison and Metropolitan Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a variety of legal areas and has the experience to service clients of all scopes and sizes. The firm is known for its work in several areas, including intellectual property, patents, trademarks and copyright law, civil rights litigation, construction litigation, corporate law, employment, environmental, employee benefits, estate planning, family law, government relations, health care, litigation, real estate, and tax law.  More information is available at dewittllp.com.

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Wisconsin Union: Thanksgiving To Go Returns With Multiple Menu Options, Traditional Favorites

Nov. 6, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE          

Contact Information:
Shauna Breneman, Wisconsin Union
Email: sbreneman@wisc.edu

THANKSGIVING TO GO RETURNS WITH MULTIPLE MENU OPTIONS, TRADITIONAL FAVORITES

Wisconsin Union to offer affordable, gourmet, pick-up Thanksgiving meals

MADISON — The Wisconsin Union team has made affordable, gourmet Thanksgiving To Go meals available for purchase this year, with ordering available now through Nov. 20 and pick-up on Nov. 25.

This year’s menu options include bourbon roasted turkey; gingersnap mustard glazed ham; sage stuffing; mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows; housemade cranberry orange relish; and pumpkin, pecan or fudge bottom pie. Customers can purchase these items à la carte or as a personal-size or family-size meal.

Customers can also order à la carte items or a personal-size meal from a vegetarian menu that includes creamy butternut squash lasagna; herbed green beans; buttered, dill rainbow carrots; housemade cranberry orange relish; a fresh dinner roll with butter; and a slice of pumpkin, pecan or fudge bottom pie.

The Wisconsin Union team will provide the meals cooked, chilled and packed in reheatable containers. The multiple course individual-size meal starts at $14 per person, and the family-size meal starts at $145 for a family of six. The Wisconsin Union is offering University of Wisconsin-Madison students that purchase with a Wiscard a discounted individual-size meal for $10.

This year, the Wisconsin Union team in partnership with the Dean of Students Office will provide UW-Madison students in need with a free individual-size meal. Customers can add a donation to their orders at checkout to help provide a meal to a student in need. Students in need of a free meal can complete the meal request form here.

This year presented unique challenges with modified operations in light of COVID-19, but the Wisconsin Union team worked together to make Thanksgiving To Go, a years-long tradition of the Wisconsin Union, possible.

“Thanksgiving To Go takes so much stress out of Thanksgiving,” said Carl Korz, associate director of dining and hospitality at the Wisconsin Union. “Instead of spending hours planning and cooking, with Thanksgiving To Go, customers can have a gourmet, affordable meal that helps them maximize time with the people they care about. We also want to ensure those students that need to stay on campus during November break have a delicious, cost effective meal option.”

Customers can pick up their Thanksgiving To Go orders on Nov. 25 in Tripp Commons in Memorial Union or curbside at the west entrance to Memorial Union on North Park Street. While ordering, customers will select a 30-minute period during which they will pick up their orders.

Customers must wear a mask or another form of face covering for curbside and in-person pick-up, and those students that order with a Wiscard must bring their Wiscards to pay for the meal on-site.

Those interested in learning more or ordering Thanksgiving To Go may visit union.wisc.edu/thanksgiving.

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About the Wisconsin Union

The Wisconsin Union enhances the lives of members and visitors through recreational, cultural, educational and social opportunities. Formed in 1907, the Wisconsin Union is a membership organization that blends study and leisure to create unique out-of-classroom opportunities. Learn more about the Union and its tradition of providing experiences for a lifetime: union.wisc.edu.

To read this release online, visit union.wisc.edu/about/news/thanksgiving-2020.

DeWitt Attorney Butler Designated Distinguished Faculty by the National Judicial College

MADISON | MILWAUKEE | MINNEAPOLIS – DeWitt LLP announced today Attorney and Former Justice Louis B. Butler Jr., has attained the designation of Distinguished Faculty by the National Judicial College headquartered in Reno, Nev.

This honor is reserved for men and women who have contributed 15 years or more of volunteer teaching service to the College, where judges from across the nation and around the world take continuing judicial education classes. In the more than half-century that the College has existed, fewer than 150 individuals have taught for 15 or more years.

As the first African American to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Attorney Butler participated in many decisions which have had significant legal impacts in the State of Wisconsin. In addition to being a law instructor, he spent a great portion of his career as a public servant, acting as a criminal defense attorney, an appellate attorney, a state court judge and city judge as well.

Since his time on the bench, Louis, who recently retired, focused his private practice on providing his clients with advice in litigation, construction litigation, environmental issues and appellate matters. He also had more than nine years of exclusive criminal appellate experience.

Attorney Butler, who earned a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School and a B.A. from Lawrence University, also holds an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities (2007) from Lawrence.

About DeWitt

DeWitt LLP is one of the ten largest law firms based in Wisconsin, with an additional presence in Minnesota. It has nearly 140 attorneys practicing in Madison and Metropolitan Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a variety of legal areas and has the experience to service clients of all scopes and sizes. The firm is known for its work in several areas, including intellectual property, patents, trademarks and copyright law, construction litigation, corporate law, employment, environmental, employee benefits, estate planning, family law, government relations, health care, litigation, real estate, and tax law.  More information is available at dewittllp.com.

UW Health: Developing a COVID-19 Winter Resilience Toolkit is Important for Mental Health

Media Inquiries
Emily Kumlien
(608) 516-9154
ekumlien@uwhealth.org

COVID-19
UW Health COVID-19 Resources

UW Health: Developing a COVID-19 Winter Resilience Toolkit is Important for Mental Health

Madison, Wisconsin – Approximately 4-6 percent of the US population experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression that typically occurs during the winter months, and another 10-20 percent have a milder form of the condition.

Cold weather and a lack of sunlight seem to be triggering factors for this condition, and Wisconsin will have no shortage of either one of these over the next six months.

Between the end of daylight saving time this weekend, the colder temperatures, stress related to COVID-19 and even the political divisions facing our country at election season, people are more at risk than ever to experiencing SAD and the winter blues.

But UW Health psychologist Shilagh Mirgain says that developing a COVID-19 winter resilience toolkit can help people stay happier and healthier this winter. The following are some important tools that Mirgain says we should develop as we enter these winter months:

• Be active: Regular exercise has been shown to reduce depression and help prevent it.
• Shift your focus: Instead of dwelling on your problems turn your perspective outside of yourself, such as do a kind act, help someone, express gratitude to others or feel awe for the world around you.
• Stay connected: Connect with others in person or virtually.
• Get outside: Spending time outdoors is always good for mental health.
• Engage in self-care: Eat healthy foods, prioritize good sleep, and maintain a daily routine.
• Vitamin D3: In northern climates, like Wisconsin, the sun’s rays are not strong enough to give us what we need. Talk with your doctor about supplements. The daily recommendation in the U.S. is 1,000 international units. Mushrooms and fish are also a natural source of vitamin D.
• Light therapy: Consider using a light therapy box, which have been proven to be effective for certain individuals with SAD.
• Call your doctor: Speak with your physician if you experience feelings of being down and have no interest in doing the things you used to enjoy, especially if these symptoms are disruptive or you are having thoughts of suicide.

Some of the most common symptoms of SAD include loss of interest or pleasure in things typically enjoyed; fatigue; concentration problems; sleep problems; weight gain; feelings of sluggishness or restlessness; irritability; sense of helplessness or hopelessness.

WPS Health Solutions plans new Support Center on Madison campus

Contact:
DeAnne Boegli
Vice President of Communications
608-977-7343
deanne.boegli@wpsic.com

WPS Health Solutions plans new Support Center on Madison campus

MADISON, Wis.—Oct. 30, 2020—WPS Health Solutions is embarking on the first phase of a Facility Master Plan for its Madison campus, which includes construction of a new Support Center and the potential sale of the Nordby Building, adjacent parking ramp, and excess land available for development along the Yahara River.

Some components of the plan are driven by the desire to vacate two off-campus facilities before leases expire. The Support Center, proposed to be built near the Koenig Building, will consolidate operations from Todd Drive and the Veridian Building. The Support Center will house print and mailing operations, a distribution center (warehouse), and technology support services.

“WPS continually works on long-term planning to anticipate changing business needs, with a strategy for competitiveness, growth, modernization of facilities and technology, and enhanced data security,” said President and CEO Mike Hamerlik.

“The Facility Master Plan has been in development for over a year and is not a direct reaction to COVID-19, although the company expects a number of employees temporarily working at home because of COVID-19 will ask to become permanent remote workers when the pandemic subsides,” he said.

With the transition to more remote workers over the last several years, WPS has experienced a need for less office space on the Madison campus. The Broadway Building, which currently has minimal occupancy, will absorb some of the employees moving from Nordby. Corporate Center and the Koenig Building also will accommodate some of the employees from the Nordby Building. A specific timetable for the moves has not been determined.

The Facility Master Plan also includes the potential to construct two more buildings on the Madison campus. Phase 2 proposes to construct a hub attached to the west end of Corporate Center. It would feature a new main entrance and lobby for the campus. Phase 3 proposes to add a building to the hub if additional space is necessary.

The Facility Operations team, led by Ken Roseth and Andrew McCready, is coordinating the project. Their goal is to modernize the campus and build facilities that can accommodate WPS for many years ahead.

“Moving forward on this long-term master plan will modernize WPS facilities and shows the company’s commitment to the Madison area,” Roseth said.

The Nordby property is listed through Andrew Jensen of Cushman & Wakefield Boerke.

About WPS Health Solutions

Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation is a nationally regarded benefits administrator for a variety of U.S. government programs and a leading not-for-profit health insurer in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation utilizes “WPS Health Solutions” to refer to our entire enterprise. Within our enterprise, there are three divisions, including Government Health Administrators, Military and Veterans Health, and WPS Health Insurance/WPS Health Plan/EPIC Specialty Benefits. WPS Government Health Administrators manages Medicare Part A and Part B benefits for millions of seniors in multiple states, and WPS Military and Veterans Health serves millions of members of the U.S. military and their families through TRICARE and Veterans Affairs programs. Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation has been based in Madison, Wis., for nearly 75 years. For more information, please visit wpshealthsolutions.com.

Schematic design of the Support Center, next to Koenig, is subject to change.

Exterior schematic view of the Support Center, subject to change.