Robert K. Sholl is chair of the firm's Labor and Employment Practice, as well as a member of the firm's Litigation Practice. He has been advising and defending employers in the full range of labor and employment law matters for more than 28 years.

Chambers USA:  America's Leading Lawyers for Business writes that Mr. Sholl "comes highly recommended by peers as a 'skillful, analytical and persistent attorney, who is a good evaluator of cases and a practical advisor'" (2008), and that he "impresses his clients with his knowledge, practical advice and 'low-key but incredibly effective courtroom manner'" (2009). Several of Mr. Sholl's clients offered their comments to Best Lawyers in America. Click here to read what they have to say.

Mr. Sholl represents management exclusively. His employment practice encompasses employment discrimination, workplace harassment, noncompete agreements, whistleblower and breach of employment contract lawsuits before state and federal agencies and courts. He defends employers in unemployment and worker's compensation hearings, wage/hour disputes and employee health and safety disputes. His traditional labor practice includes collective bargaining, unfair labor practice hearings before the National Labor Relations Board and labor arbitrations.

Representative Matters and Experience

• Successfully defends race, age, disability and other employment discrimination claims brought after employers terminate underperforming employees. Most recently, he obtained a directed verdict in a disability discrimination lawsuit, in which the plaintiff alleged he was terminated the day after he announced he needed surgery for a chronic medical condition and would be off of work for a significant period of time.
• Counsels numerous companies through reductions-in-force and/or plant closings, including assisting unionized employers in bargaining over the effects of mass layoffs or plant closings and in fulfilling the obligations imposed by their collective bargaining agreements and by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
• Successfully defends unionized employers in labor arbitrations. Recently, in a case in which the union challenged the employer's right to require post-accident medical testing, he obtained an arbitration decision ordering the employee to undergo evaluation by an independent health care provider, thereby allowing the employer to determine whether the employee was "fit for duty," and to satisfy its duty to maintain a safe workplace.

Notable Publications

• Co-author of a three-volume treatise for attorneys, Wisconsin Employment Law, and co-author of Hiring and Firing in Wisconsin, each published by the State Bar of Wisconsin and updated bi-annually; the latter received the Award of Professional Excellence from the American Continuing Legal Education Association.
• Co-author of "Age Discrimination and the Modern Reduction in Force," published in the Marquette Law Review.
• Co-author of "Agreements to Arbitrate Statutory Employment Claims," "Plant Closing Legislation" and "Family & Medical Leave Acts:  Where Lie the 'Greater Rights'?," all published in the Wisconsin Lawyer; the last was awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the State Bar of Wisconsin.
• Author of "Wrongful Discharge in Wisconsin:  The Supreme Court Retrenches," "Does Wisconsin's Fair Employment Act Provide a Private Civil Cause of Action?" and "An Employment Discrimination Hearing on the Merits-If Merited," all published in Milwaukee Lawyer.