Reinhart and 8 of Its Attorneys Receive Benchmark Litigation’s Highest Rankings

Milwaukee – Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. (Reinhart) is pleased to announce that it has received Benchmark Litigation 2023’s top honors as a law firm. The publication also recognized firm shareholders Christopher P. Banaszak, Mark A. Cameli, Robert S. Driscoll, David G. Hanson, David G. Peterson, Allen C. Schlinsog, Jr. and David J. Sisson as “Local Litigation Stars.” Additionally, Shareholder Jessica Hutson Polakowski was named a “Future Star.”

Reinhart was awarded Benchmark Litigation’s highest rankings for its work in the areas of dispute resolution and labor and employment and recognized for its “consistent flow of positive peer reviews throughout the legal community.”

Chris Banaszak is a shareholder in Reinhart’s Labor and Employment Practice, serves as chair of the Litigation Practice and is a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. He regularly represents clients involved in a range of employment-related disputes before state and federal courts as well as governmental and regulatory agencies. Banaszak is a skilled attorney who has experience representing clients with harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, ERISA and FMLA matters, non-compete agreements, wrongful discharge, breach of contract, whistleblower, trade secret, unfair competition, shareholder dispute, breach of fiduciary duty and duty of loyalty matters, employment discrimination, unemployment compensation, worker’s compensation, and employee health and safety disputes.

Mark Cameli is a shareholder and chair of the firm’s White Collar Litigation and Corporate Compliance Team, a former member of Reinhart’s Board of Directors, and a former co-chair of the firm’s Litigation Practice. He also serves as chair of the firm’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and co-chair of the Pro Bono Committee. Cameli is as a mediator in high-stakes and complex disputes who employs strategies to help all parties find common ground. He defends companies and individuals in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement actions and conducts internal investigations for companies concerned with securities compliance-related issues. Representing a broad range of clients, Cameli frequently works with manufacturing, health care, religious organizations, defense contractors and others who are targets or victims of fraud, including government program fraud. He also has substantial experience representing companies accused of wrongdoing by whistleblowers, including in the context of qui tam actions.

Rob Driscoll is a shareholder in Reinhart’s Labor and Employment Practice. His practice covers a wide variety of litigation-related issues facing employers, including claims of unlawful discrimination and/or retaliation, disputes over non-compete agreements and other restrictive covenants, and wage and hour claims (both individual and class actions). He also represents clients in appeals and counsels employers to help them avoid disputes before they start, emphasizing discrimination (including disability), wage and hour issues and non-compete agreements. With more than a decade of experience, Driscoll takes the time to get to know his clients’ needs and goals in order to provide proactive and effective legal solutions. His clients appreciate that he respects their budgets by carefully evaluating the costs and benefits and providing available options that would allow them to resolve disputes without the need for litigation. However, when litigation is unavoidable, Driscoll works with his clients to devise an effective strategy for prevailing in the case.

Dave Hanson is a shareholder in Reinhart’s Litigation and Intellectual Property practices. He is an experienced litigator who believes persuasive storytelling is the key to winning trials. Hanson translates complexity into clarity to ensure lay juries and judges fully understand his client’s position. He handles patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret cases as well as Taft Hartley and ERISA litigation, including withdrawal liability matters. Hanson’s nationwide practice spans many industries, including engineering, mechanical and electrical technology fields. He has represented clients involved in materials handling, mining, cloning and gene sequencing, construction, manufacturing and various consumer product industries. Hanson partners with clients to understand how technical and intellectual assets drive their business and position in the competitive landscape.

Dave Peterson is a shareholder in Reinhart’s Litigation Practice, where he provides clients with creative strategies that contribute to their business success. He primarily handles business litigation and contract disputes in the manufacturing, real estate, banking and service provider industries. Peterson also represents clients in corporate governance disputes and tax assessment valuation matters. His significant trial, mediation and arbitration experience help him anticipate challenges and see possibilities for his clients. He excels in working closely with opposing counsel to keep cases moving forward efficiently. Peterson is a practical, level-headed and nimble litigator who quickly finds solutions to his clients’ problems so they can return their focus to their business. His accounting background equips him to handle complex post-closing purchase price disputes and understand the multiple variables and financial intricacies that can impact a client’s overall goals and vision.

Jess Polakowski is a shareholder and chair of Reinhart’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice, where she litigates and advises on issues such as patent infringement, trademark disputes, false advertising, copyright issues and more. She is a creative, results-oriented partner who works to understand the full scope of an issue, its larger business ramifications, and critically, her clients’ goals before developing and implementing strategies. Polakowski’s clients include electrical and mechanical designers and manufacturers, biotech and health care technology companies, software and website developers, real estate owners and developers, service firms and product distributors. She is also active in both administrative and regulatory matters. Polakowski has helped clients obtain (and retain) permits from agencies such as Wisconsin’s Public Safety Commission and the Department of Natural Resources.

Al Schlinsog is a shareholder and chair of Reinhart’s Product Liability and Safety Group and past chair of the firm’s Litigation Practice. He handles complex commercial litigation and intellectual property cases, but his practice focuses primarily on the defense of complex product liability claims involving regulated products, including those of the mining, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Over the course of his career, he has gained considerable experience in significant class actions, product liability and mass tort proceedings. As national counsel for several clients, Schlinsog regularly appears in state and federal courts across the country. When clients hire Schlinsog to handle their cases, their problems and goals become his own, and his three decades of legal experience have prepared him to defend his clients’ reputations and their products successfully. He is an aggressive litigator who develops creative solutions to complex problems.

Dave Sisson is a shareholder in the firm’s Litigation and Labor and Employment practices. He excels at solving problems that arise when critical personal business relationships end. These include disputes involving departing key employees and shareholders in closely held corporations and others who owe fiduciary duties. Whenever possible, Sisson helps clients develop creative theories to avoid litigation and achieve amicable separations even after threats and provocative actions have occurred, including all forms of alternative dispute resolution. He is an experienced trial lawyer who has successfully prosecuted and defended clients in numerous trials before juries in federal and state courts, and before state agencies and arbitrators. He has also acted as Special Public Service Prosecutor for the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office. David regularly lectures employers, trade associations and attorneys on employment and litigation matters.

About Benchmark Litigation

Benchmark Litigation is the only publication to focus exclusively on U.S. litigation. Research is conducted through extensive interviews with litigators, dispute resolution specialists and their clients to identify the leading litigators and firms.