Recent News

Bach Shares Knowledge

Attorney Steve Bach, widely recognized as one of the best family Law attorneys in Wisconsin, shared his knowledge and skills with other Wisconsin attorneys as one of the faculty for a State Bar-sponsored continuing legal education seminar.  Titled Build your Practice:  Handling a Basic Divorce, the day-long comprehensive program introduced attorneys to issues and resolutions unique to divorce proceedings and supplied valuable information to successfully manage divorce actions from beginning to end.  March 2010.

Character Approved

For the third time in a year, Attorney Tamara Packard helped a client successfully pass the character and fitness evaluation by the Wisconsin Board of Bar Examiners and gain admission to the Wisconsin Bar.  January 2010. 

CWPB Facilitates Acquisition of Wind Energy Facility

On behalf of Emerging Energies of Wisconsin, LLC, CWPB successfully completed the sale of a controlling interest in the Shirley Wind Project in the Town of Glenmore, near Green Bay. The project will feature eight state-of-the-art 2.5-megawatt Nordex N100 turbines and produce 64 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, supplying enough energy for approximately 8,000 homes.

Attorneys Lee Cullen, Carol Grob, Curt Pawlisch, and Jeff Vercauteren have represented Emerging Energies since 2006 in the development of the project. CWPB facilitated the acquisition and $50 million investment by a subsidiary of CH Energy Group, Inc. CWPB also negotiated a twenty-year power purchase agreement with Wisconsin Public Service Corporation. The project will use local contractors and provide the State of Wisconsin with approximately two-thirds of the required energy to meet its Renewable Portfolio Standard requirements for state-owned facilities. December 2009.

CWPB 2, Dirty Coal 0

Attorneys Kira Loehr and Lester Pines continue to rack up victories in environmental litigation.  Earlier this month, Kentucky's Energy Secretary issued a Final Order prohibiting Kentucky Mountain Power from building a coal plant on its property in Knott County, Kentucky, without obtaining a new permit under current environmental laws. The Secretary found that a prior permit, issued when the environmental laws were less stringent, had expired. Attorney Loehr represented the Sierra Club in that case, which opposed the building of the plant.

In another case handled for the Sierra Club, Attorneys Loehr and Pines secured an award of $475,000 against EnviroPower and Khanjee Holding, after the United States Supreme Court declined an appeal of a lower court's finding that the two companies violated the Clean Air Act by proposing to construct a power plant in Benton, Illinois without the required permit. The award includes a $100,000 fine, to be paid to two Habitat for Humanity programs in the Benton area. The balance of the award is attorney's fees and costs associated with winning the case. December 2009.

Bach Again Honored as Top of the Top

The annual listing of Wisconsin Super Lawyers and Rising Stars is out, and Steve Bach, who practices Family Law, was again honored among the top 50 Wisconsin Super Lawyers, all practices.  Nearly half of CWPB attorneys join him on this year's lists, published by Milwaukee Magazine. Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are chosen for inclusion in the Super Lawyers list, and only 2.5% are chosen for the Rising Stars list. CWPB attorneys honored in the 2009 Super Lawyers list, and the practice areas in which they are honored, are: Attorney Lee Cullen (Energy and Natural Resources), Attorney Lester Pines (General Litigation), Attorney Steve Bach (Family Law), and Attorney Jordan Loeb (Criminal Defense).  Attorney Kira Loehr (Environmental Law) was also honored as a Rising Star.  November 2009. 

Pines Receives NAACP Award