MILWAUKEE – Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. (Reinhart) is pleased to announce that it has received Benchmark Litigation's 2026 top honors as a law firm. The publication also recognized firm shareholders Christopher Banaszak, Steven Bogart, Laura Brenner, Thomas Burnett, Mark Cameli, Robert Driscoll, David Hanson, Patrick Hodan, Pamela Nissen, David Peterson, Jessica Polakowski, Allen Schlinsog, Jr., David Sisson and Ryan Stippich as "Stars" in their respective areas of practice.
Reinhart was awarded Benchmark Litigation's highest ranking for its work in the area of dispute resolution and is recognized for its "consistent flow of positive peer reviews throughout the legal community."
Banaszak is a shareholder and chair of Reinhart's Litigation Practice, a member of the firm's board of directors and a member of the Labor and Employment Practice. With more than three decades of experience, he efficiently identifies issues, provides solutions and addresses problems for clients before they arise. Banaszak represents clients with a variety of legal matters including harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, ERISA and FMLA matters, wrongful discharge, breach of contract, whistleblower, employment discrimination, unemployment compensation, worker's compensation and employee health and safety disputes, with a particular emphasis on matters involving non-compete agreements, unfair competition, trade secrets, shareholder dispute, breach of fiduciary duty and duty of loyalty matters.
Bogart is a shareholder in Rinhart's Litigation Practice who has more than 40 years of professional experience providing representation on liability insurance issues. He advises and litigates on behalf of municipalities, financial institutions, large manufacturers and telecommunications companies while also serving as Reinhart's associate general counsel. Bogart recommends proactive ways clients can protect their businesses and facilitates in finding the right resources to meet their needs. He is often their first call to triage any legal issue. He is known for being exceptionally responsive and skilled in recommending cost-effective solutions for environmental, insurance and other commercial litigation.
Brenner is a shareholder in Reinhart's Litigation Practice and chair of the Commercial and Competition Law Group, a cross-disciplinary group comprised of both corporate and litigation attorneys. Her team practices at the forefront of the law affecting clients whose livelihood depends on buying or selling products and services. Her practice spans many types of business litigation, including antitrust and competition law, dealership and franchise law, eCommerce, supply chain matters, advertising, pricing, unfair trade practice law, and other complex commercial matters. She has been involved in conducting antitrust compliance sessions and preparing antitrust compliance materials for regional, national and global clients. Brenner is familiar with the ever-evolving policies and procedures critical to clients involved in online sales and speaks on Internet distribution issues such as Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies, social media policies and supply chain issues. In addition to her litigation work, she acts as outside general counsel to many companies by helping them develop preemptive strategies to avoid risk in competitive environments.
Burnett is an experienced and practical problem solver with a dual-focused practice in health care and general commercial litigation. As a shareholder in Reinhart's Litigation Practice, he successfully represents clients before state and local courts and administrative agencies at both the trial and appellate levels. Burnett counsels clients in a wide array of litigation matters, including contract disputes, corporate internal investigations, post-acquisition litigation and other complex commercial disputes. In the health care realm, he represents hospices, home health agencies, hospitals, long-term care facilities and other health care providers in connection with audits and compliance investigations initiated by CMS, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, or various government program integrity contractors and auditors. Brunett also provides ongoing compliance counseling to his clients, helping them navigate the complex web of regulations and laws governing the health care sector.
Cameli is a shareholder and chair of Reinhart's White Collar Litigation and Corporate Compliance Team, a former member of Reinhart's board of directors and former co-chair of the firm's Litigation Practice. He is a widely respected litigator with decades of experience helping individuals and businesses navigate crises, remove obstacles and achieve their goals. Cameli is 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 has substantial experience representing companies accused of wrongdoing by whistleblowers, including in the context of qui tam actions. Prior to joining Reinhart, he served as a state prosecutor, then as a member of the Criminal and Civil Divisions of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Wisconsin where he became Chief of the Civil Division.
Driscoll is a shareholder in Reinhart's Labor and Employment Practice and chair of the Appellate Litigation Group. He counsels employers to help them avoid disputes with an emphasis on discrimination (including disability discrimination), wage and hour issues and employment contracts of all kinds. Driscoll's practice also includes all areas of traditional labor law, such as collective bargaining, labor arbitrations, proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, and advising employers of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Understanding that trials can be costly and time-consuming, clients appreciate that he offers creative options to resolve disputes without litigation. However, when litigation is unavoidable, he's a confident and diligent legal partner, devising effective strategies for prevailing. Driscoll's litigation experience includes wage and hour claims (both individual and class actions), employment and fair housing discrimination and noncompetition agreements. He also represents clients in appeals.
Hanson is a shareholder in Reinhart's Litigation and Intellectual Property practices and is chair of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Group. 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.
Hodan is a shareholder in Reinhart's Litigation Practice with decades of uniquely focused experience and a pragmatic approach to navigating the complexities of commercial and product liability litigation. Much of his practice centers on helping major manufacturers in the United States and Canada with fire-related claims. Hodan's extensive experience handling product recall issues with both the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada make him especially skilled in resolving issues efficiently. He's been involved in ground-breaking fraud cases before the Wisconsin appellate courts and has developed a keen understanding of the duty to disclose in business transactions. Hodan also counsels and defends banks, lenders and investors involved in commercial disputes, including Wisconsin Chapter 128 litigation. More recently, he has devoted substantial time assisting clients concerning contaminants, including Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS (including PFOA and PFOS).
Nissen is a shareholder in Reinhart's Employee Benefits Practice and Multiemployer Plan Team. She works extensively with jointly trusteed benefit plans in a broad spectrum of matters and issues, and has served as plan counsel to pension, health and welfare, vacation, apprenticeship training and industry promotion plans. Nisson works with trustees and serves as plan counsel representing plans in matters related to benefit plan administration, representing fiduciaries, claim appeals, compliance, plan drafting, trust agreements, qualified domestic relations orders, participant communications, service provider agreements, investment manager agreements, subrogation, U.S. Department of Labor audits, collection of employer contributions, apprenticeship standards, student handbooks and policies, and employment policies. She also counsels apprenticeship training funds boards in their unique roles, navigating compliance requirements from the state and federal apprenticeship authorities as well as ERISA fiduciary duties.
Peterson is a shareholder in Reinhart's Litigation Practice and serves as the firm's general counsel. 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's significant trial, mediation and arbitration experience helps 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.
Polakowski is shareholder in Reinhart's Intellectual Property and Litigation practices, where she helps clients successfully navigate the world of complex litigation. She is active in both administrative and regulatory matters and has helped clients obtain (and retain) permits from agencies such as Wisconsin's Public Service Commission and Department of Natural Resources. She also advises and assists clients in protecting their intellectual property rights and pursuing issues regarding unfair competition. Polakowski litigates and advises on issues such as trademark disputes, false advertising, copyright issues and more. Her 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. Polakowski 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.
Schlinsog is a shareholder and co-chair of Reinhart's Product Liability and Safety Recalls 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, Schlinsog 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 him to handle their cases, their problems and goals become his own, and his three decades of legal experience have prepared him to successfully defend his clients' reputations and their products. He is an aggressive litigator who develops creative solutions to complex problems.
Sisson is a shareholder in the firm's Litigation and Labor and Employment practices, where he manages complex civil litigation with a focus on issues that involve all aspects of employment and fiduciary relationships. 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. Sisson has also acted as Special Public Service Prosecutor for the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.
Stippich is a shareholder in Reinhart's Litigation Practice and is a member of the White Collar Litigation and Corporate Compliance Team. Highly skilled in these complex areas of the law, he blends sophisticated financial concepts, technical knowledge and trial experience to successfully advocate for his clients in high-stakes cases. Stippich represents investment advisors, banks and financial institutions, public companies, officers, directors, actuaries, accountants, investment advisers and other professionals, provides regulatory compliance advice, and defends against False Claims Acts cases. He often counsels board committees of independent directors in conducting internal investigations, disputes with shareholders or in litigation arising out of transactions, such as mergers or acquisitions. He also regularly collaborates with Reinhart's Institutional Investor Services Team to provide independent litigation review services to public pension funds and other institutional investors.
About Benchmark Litigation
Benchmark Litigation is the definitive guide to the world's leading litigation firms and lawyers. It provides law firm and lawyer rankings based on extensive interviews with litigators, dispute resolution specialists and their clients as well as analysis of the market's most important cases and firm developments.