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  3. Robert F. Henkle, Jr.

Bob Henkle offers clients focused, practical and efficient advice from a business and legal perspective. As of counsel and former co-chair of the firm’s Corporate Law Practice, he advises clients ranging from large, national public companies to closely held, mid-sized businesses. He is especially skilled in assisting in business transition strategies and ownership disputes, where he provides clients with straightforward, actionable advice to help them fully achieve their goals. 

Bob works with clients through the entire business life cycle, serving as a responsive, creative legal partner helping to address the uniquely complex legal and business matters each client faces. His extensive experience enables him to see possibilities and opportunities in each phase, including startup, acquisition, operation, financing and, ultimately, sale or transition. He frequently works with clients in the food, transportation and financial industries. 

Bob has invested deeply in the next generation of legal expertise in the community. He led Reinhart’s professional development program for more than 30 years to support all practices in preparing attorneys to meet ever-changing client needs. He also created and led Reinhart University, an in-house platform to train attorneys in their respective disciplines while promoting a wider understanding of the legal issues and challenges their clients face. 

In his free time, Bob enjoys playing golf, reading and working on home improvement projects.

Education

  • J.D., cum laude, University of Wisconsin Law School (Order of the Coif)
  • B.B.A., with highest distinction, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Personnel and Industrial Relations)

Bar Admissions

Wisconsin

Matters

  • Regularly counseling large, national companies on management of multiemployer pension plan withdrawal liability exposure totaling in the $100s of millions.
  • Assisting clients in complex multiparty, multitranche corporate financings and restructuring.
  • Advising a large national branded food products company on product development, marketing and distribution issues.
  • Counseling organizers and directors in the formation and funding of community banks and their holding companies.
  • Assisting family-owned businesses in transferring ownership through multiple generations, assuring management continuity and saving millions of dollars in taxes while avoiding business disruptions.
  • Counseling closely held business owners on strategies to gain control of or exit from the business.

Honors & Affiliations

Honors

  • Best Lawyers in America (Corporate Law; Franchise Law)
  • Wisconsin Top Rated Lawyer Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated
Affiliations
  • State Bar of Wisconsin (former director and chair of the Business Law Section)
  • American Bar Association
  • Milwaukee Bar Association
  • Support & Fundraising for St Marcus School

News & Insights

Publications

  • "The Corporate Transparency Act: What Companies Need to Know," Privacy & Cybersecurity Journal (Jan 2024)