2006 News
CWPB
Attorneys recognized as "Top Lawyers"
Attorneys Steve Bach and Lester
Pines were recognized as "Top Lawyers" in Madison, as
chosen by their area peers in a survey conducted by Madison Magazine.
Results were published in its January
2007 issue. Attorney Steve Bach
was identified for his work in Family
law, and Attorney Lester Pines
was identified for his Criminal
Defense work. December 2006
Class action lawsuit filed against the Carrier
Corporation
Cullen Weston Pines & Bach, along with
Lieff, Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLC , of San Francisco,
and Tousley Brain
Stephens PLLC, and Edwards & Hagen PS of Seattle are plaintiffs'
counsel in a Michigan class action lawsuit filed against the Carrier
Corporation for marketing and selling high efficiency furnaces with
defective secondary heat exchangers. Attorney Tamara
Packard, who is admitted to practice in Michigan, is the lead Michigan
attorney on the case. December 2006
Another
Victory for Professional Police Association
In another victory for a Wisconsin Professional Police Association
bargaining unit, Attorney Tamara
Packard won in part an arbitration brought on behalf of the unit
representing the Department of Public Works employees of the City of
Baraboo. The unit had grieved the City's decision to hire a non-City
employee to operate a street sweeper after the 2004 Great Circus Parade.
Applying the clause in the collective bargaining agreement which strictly
limits the City's ability to hire non-City employees to perform bargaining
unit work, and recognizing that the operation of sweeping equipment
is work regularly performed by DPW employees, Arbitrator Sherwood Malamud
ordered the City to pay the employee who would have driven the sweeper
his lost wages. December 2006.
Victory for Professional Police Association
Contributing another chapter in the ongoing debate over the Constitutional
powers of Sheriffs, the Juneau County Circuit Court ruled that two deputies
are entitled to utilize the arbitration process negotiated between their
union, the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, and the County,
after the Sheriff assigned the detectives to perform the duties of jailers.
The Court agreed with the WPPA, represented by Attorneys Lester
Pines and Tamara Packard,
holding that the deputies are entitled to arbitrate the question of
whether the assignments were demotions or disciplinary, and the Sheriff
could not avoid arbitration and act unilaterally by simply citing to
his Constitutional powers to assign deputies to specific tasks. "The
sheriff's power to demote is not constitutionally protected and, here,
the assignment to the jail, alleged to be a demotion[,] is arbitrable."
Read
the Court's entire decision. December 2006
Super Lawyers and Rising Stars at CWPB
More than half of our lawyers have been named Wisconsin Super
Lawyers and Rising Stars, as announced in Milwaukee Magazine. CWPB attorneys
honored as Super Lawyers, and the practice areas in which they are honored,
are: Attorney Lee Cullen (Utilities),
Attorney Lester Pines (Criminal
Defense), Attorney Steve Bach
(Family Law), and Attorney
Jordan Loeb (Criminal
Defense). Attorney Steve Bach
received the additional honor of being named in the top 50 Wisconsin
Super Lawyers, all categories.
CWPB attorneys honored as Rising Stars, and the practice areas in which
they are honored, are: Attorney Tamara
Packard (Employment &
Labor), Attorney Elise Ruoho
(Family Law), and Attorney
Kira Loehr (Environmental). Only
5% of Wisconsin lawyers are recognized as Super Lawyers, and only 2.5%
are recognized as Rising Stars. The selection process involves peer
nominations and reviews, and evaluation of individual attorney achievements.
We are honored by this recognition from our fellow attorneys, and thank
all of our attorneys and staff for making CWPB a super law firm for
our clients. November 2006
CWPB attorneys lead Jewish Council
Attorneys Jordan Loeb and
Lester Pines were both re-elected
as vice-presidents of the Madison
Jewish Community Council, south central Wisconsin's Jewish federation,
at the organization's annual meeting. November 2006
Madison Teachers Inc. Prevails in an Arbitration
Attorney
Linda Harfst, on behalf of Madison
Teachers Inc., prevailed in an arbitration on behalf of the District's
Early Childhood teachers that strengthened teachers' contractual rights
under the collective bargaining agreement to be assigned to a specific
school. In Spring 2003, claiming that a mistake had been made, the Madison
Metropolitan School District unilaterally changed the contract locations
of the District's Early Childhood teachers, designating all of them
as "Educational Services" on their individual teaching contracts,
regardless of the actual work location of the teacher. The District's
action had the potential to undercut all teachers' rights under the
collective bargaining agreement to continued work at a given school.
The arbitrator declined to believe that a mistake occurred. He held
that in changing the contract locations, the District had not exercised
its discretion reasonably, nor consistently with the intent of prior
written agreements. He ordered that the District correct the individual
contract locations for the affected individuals. He also ordered the
District to issue individual contracts for Early Childhood teachers
for 2007-2008 consistent with the location categories previously agreed
by the parties. October 2006
$80,000 Dispute Claim Settled
Attorney Lester Pines, assisted
by paralegal Genny Gibbs-Benesh, who
coordinates the Cullen Weston Pines & Bach workers' compensation
practice, settled a disputed claim for $80,000 for a special educational
assistant who was a member of Madison
Teachers Inc. She was in her early sixties when she suffered a disabling
back injury and subsequently retired from her position with the Madison
Metropolitan School District. The District and its insurer had denied
that she was disabled. October 2006
Pines Debates Constitutional Marriage Ban
Attorney Lester Pines appeared
as a panelist on a Milwaukee Public Television broadcast of the 4th
Street Forum's debate on the proposed constitutional amendment to ban
same sex marriage entitled: "Will the 'Marriage Protection Amendment'
Make Us a Better Society?" This was one of numerous presentation
he made this Fall in opposition to the amendment. A podcast of the program
is
available online. October 2006
Brief filed in response to Mark Green petition
On behalf of the Wisconsin
Democracy Campaign, Attorney Tamara
Packard filed this
amicus curiae brief in response to the petition in the Wisconsin
Supreme Court filed by Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Green
seeking leave to proceed in an original action before that court to
challenge the order of the Wisconsin Elections Board directing him to
refrain from using $495,000 that he improperly transferred from his
federal campaign account to his state campaign account. Before filing
in the Supreme Court, Green had unsuccessfully sought an injunction
against the Elections Board in the Dane County Circuit Court. The Supreme
Court accepted the amicus brief. The case is pending for a decision
as to whether the Court will allow Green's action to proceed. October
2006
Permanent Injunction Obtained on Behalf of Sierra
Club
In
a citizen's lawsuit to enforce the provisions of the Clean Air Act,
Attorneys Kira Loehr and Lester
Pines, representing the Sierra
Club, obtained a permanent injunction from the federal court in
the Southern District of Illinois against Franklin County Power of Illinois
LLC, EnviroPower, LLC, and Khanjee Holding (US), Inc. prohibiting them
from constructing a 500 MW coal-fired power plant in Benton, Illinois
that they were attempting to build in violation of their Clean Air Act
permit. Read
the court's decision. October 2006
CWPB Councels Class Action Lawsuit
Cullen Weston Pines & Bach, along with Lieff,
Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP, of San Fransciso, and Tousley
Brain Stephens PLLC, and Edwards & Hagen PS of Seattle are plaintiffs'
counsel in a class action lawsuit filed in Wisconsin against the Carrier
Corporation for marketing and selling thousands of high efficiency furnaces
that have defective secondary heat exchangers. Attorney Lester
Pines is the lead Wisconsin attorney on the case. Review the Plaintiffs'
Complaint. October 2006
Packard Speaks Against Gay Marriage Ban
Topping off numerous speaking engagements on behalf of the Fair
Wisconsin campaign to defeat the proposed constitutional amendment
banning civil unions and marriage for gay and lesbian couples, Attorney
Tamara Packard explained to
Rotary club members in Waukesha and Waunakee how the amendment failed
the Rotary "Four Way Test." Read
her presentation. October 2006.
MTI Grievance Settled
After a full day of arbitration, and just prior to a second day of hearing,
Attorney Linda Harfst, representing
Madison Teachers
Inc., settled a grievance on behalf of educational assistants in
the Madison Metropolitan School whom the District had refused to consider
as internal transfer candidates for vacant nurses' assistant positions.
The District took this position despite the fact that these workers
were current employees who possessed the required qualifications for
the nurses' assistant positions and who were in the same bargaining
unit. In the future, as a result of this settlement, educational assistants
who possess nurses' assistant qualifications will have a full opportunity
to compete for those jobs internally before the District can seek outside
candidates. September 2006.
CWPB Attorneys Ranked Best Lawyers in America
Three Cullen Weston Pines & Bach attorneys were recently
selected by their peers for Inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America
2007 (copyright 2006 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.). Attorney
Lee Cullen was selected in the
fields of Communications Law, Energy Law, and Labor & Employment
Law. Attorney Lester Pines was
selected in the fields of White Collar Criminal Defense and Criminal
Defense. Attorney Steve Bach was
selected in the field of Family Law. September 2006.
Ruling: Calumet County violated Bargaining
Agreement
In
a case tried by Attorney Nick
Fairweather, Commissioner Susan J. M. Bauman of the Wisconsin Employment
Relations Commission, ruled that Calumet County violated its Collective
Bargaining Agreement with the Calumet County Law Enforcement Employees
Unit and the Wisconsin Professional Police Association/LEER Division
when it unilaterally imposed a medical certification requirement on
County employees represented by the Union. The County was ordered to
make the employees whole for any losses incurred as a result of the
certification requirement. September 2006.
Packard Negotiates Employment Separation
Agreements
Attorney Tamara Packard negotiated
employment separation agreements on behalf of numerous employees this
summer. Because such agreements are private, we cannot report the specifics
of any one case. However, these agreements, also referred to as "severance
agreements," typically involve an agreement to end the employment
relationship in exchange for continued health and other benefit coverage,
an agreement on how requests for references will be handled, and a cash
payment to the employee, among other terms. In every case, Packard was
able to improve on the terms initially offered to the employee. In several
cases, the cash payment to the employee was substantially increased
by Packard's identification of potential discrimination and other claims
which were settled in conjunction with the separation agreement. Summer
2006
Action Wisconsin Education Fund Names Packard
Board President
Attorney Tamara Packard has
been re-elected to a one year term as President of the Board of Directors
of Action Wisconsin Education Fund. The Education Fund is the charitable
arm of Action Wisconsin, and provides educational resources on legal
matters and other issues for Wisconsin's lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgendered citizens and their families. It also exists to educate
the general Wisconsin public about the consequences of anti-LGBT prejudice.
June 2006
Pines Appears on Court TV
Attorney
Lester Pines appeared on the Court
TV in the documentary The Investigators: Tracing Audrey. where he discussed
the legal strategy he and his co-counsel used in the defense in 2004
of Audrey Seiler, the University of Wisconsin student who feigned an
abduction and was then charged with obstructing a police investigation
by failing to be truthful with the detectives who interviewed her.
May 2006
Pines Successfully Defends former UW Vice Chancellor
Attorney Lester Pines successfully
defended Paul Barrows, the former Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, against claims that he had sexually
harassed an employee and a student. The University's Academic Staff
Appeals Committee unanimously exonerated Dr. Barrows. The Barrows matter
has been the focus of significant media and legislative attention. Read
the Committee's decision. May 2006
Madison School District Handed Cease and Desist
Order
In another arbitration in a series interpreting Madison
Teachers, Inc.'s special agreement with the Madison Metropolitan
School District governing the unique Four Block Schedule at LaFollette
High School, Attorney Lester Pines
successfully argued that the District's failure to schedule time for
LaFollette teachers to collaborate on their class planning, violated
the agreement. The arbitrator ordered the District to cease and desist
from any further violations. May 2006
CWPB Attorneys Recover Over $14K in Attorney
Fees
In a case before the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission,
Attorneys Nick Fairweather
and Lester Pines recovered over
$14,000 in attorneys fees from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture
Trade and Consumer Protection following their successful claim that
the Department, in violation of the State's civil service rules, had
improperly transferred state career executive into a non-executive position.
May 2006
Fairweather Named Member of Board of General
Practice Section
Attorney Nick Fairweather
has been named as a member of the Board of the General Practice Section
of the State Bar of Wisconsin for a term expiring June 30, 2008. April
2006
Significant Decision in MTI Case
In a significant decision in a case tried by Attorney Tamara
Packard for Madison
Teachers Inc, Arbitrator Henry Hempe ruled that the school district
had no right to discipline a teacher who had shared with MTI's attorney
legitimately-acquired information relevant to a grievance, even through
the employee might otherwise have been prohibited by confidentiality
rules and laws from disclosing such information to third parties. The
arbitrator explained that the union member's "contractual right
to choose a representative to present her grievance would be a hollow,
meaningless right -- indeed, an impediment -- if the representative
were not allowed the same rights as [the member] herself, possessed,
to review potential evidence against her." The case arose when
a teacher was disciplined for sharing a student's redacted special education
materials with MTI's attorneys and using those materials to defend herself
in a prior arbitration. March 2006
Loeb and Packard Named CWPB Partners
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Cullen Weston Pines & Bach is pleased to announce that Jordan Loeb and Tamara Packard have become partners in the firm. Jordan is a 1994 graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School who concentrates in criminal defense and civil litigation. He joined Cullen Weston Pines & Bach as an associate in 1998. Tamara is also a 1994 U.W. law school graduate. She concentrates her practice in civil litigation with an emphasis in labor and employment. She joined the firm as an associate in 1999. Both Jordan and Tamara have strong community ties in Madison and Wisconsin as a whole, and look forward to the continued development of Cullen Weston Pines & Bach's connections to clients in Madison and throughout Wisconsin. February 2006
Favorable Settlement in Employment Discrimination
Case
Attorney Nick Fairweather
obtained a favorable settlement of a employment discrimination case
involving an employee with a criminal conviction record and the termination
of his employment by a Madison company. The parties settled the case
after the Madison
Equal Opportunities Commission found probable cause to believe that
the employer discriminated against their former employee. February
2006
CWPB Work Praised by Judge
"High quality" was the description given by Milwaukee
Circuit Court Judge Patricia McMahon about the representation of Action
Wisconsin, Inc. by Attorneys Tamara
Packard and Lester Pines.
She praised their work, saying that their "written materials were
consistently well prepared, timely filed. . .appropriately addressed
the issues," and demonstrated "a depth of knowledge of the
case both factually and legally." January 2006
