We also represent clients before state agencies, including the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), Department of Revenue, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Department of Workforce Development (DWD), Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF), Division of Hearings and Appeals, Department of Regulation and Licensing and other state agencies.

The senior shareholder of the firm, Robert J. Kay, started his career as an assistance attorney general for the state of Wisconsin and as an assistant to the United States attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. As a former federal prosecutor, he worked extensively with both state and federal law enforcement agencies.

Kay & Andersen has a long history of vigorously representing clients in legal matters before both state and federal agencies. Our commitment to our clients is demonstrated by Attorney Robert J. Kay’s representation of the prevailing party in the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision of Voight v. Washington Island Ferry Line, Inc., 79 Wis. 2d 333, 255 N.W.2d 545 (1977) where the Supreme Court affirmed a trial court decision reversing the Wisconsin Public Service Commission’s denial of its client’s application to operate as a common carrier of passengers by water out of Door County, Wisconsin. In that case the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the failure of the public service commission in denying Voight a certificate to explain what evidence it relied on to reject the findings of the hearing examiner and reach an opposite conclusion required a reversal of the Commission’s order and a remand to the Commission for further proceedings. Voight ultimately obtained the certificate he was seeking from the Public Service Commission.

Agribusinesses today face many challenges which often involve unique legal issues. We represent producers, suppliers and cooperatives in a wide variety of legal matters, including real estate transactions, contracts and business transactions, employment law matters, business acquisitions and sales, collections and enforcement of creditors’ rights, matters before state and federal agencies, and litigation.

Our longstanding commitment to meeting the legal needs of Wisconsin agribusinesses started with Robert J. Kay. During his career, Mr. Kay has advised and counseled many family and corporate farms in Wisconsin and has represented feed and fertilizer companies, serving Wisconsin’s farming community. He has represented dairies, milk producers and cheese makers. He successfully challenged the state law in Wisconsin prohibiting the sale of nondairy creamers resulting in a celebrated decision, Coffee-Rich, Inc. v. Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, 70 Wis. 2d 265, 234 N.W.2d 270 (1975), where the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the State could not constitutionally prevent the sale of non-dairy products in Wisconsin. He has also represented Dean Foods in regulatory litigation and counseled the Wisconsin Crop Improvement Association which is responsible for seed certification in Wisconsin.

Attorney Randall Andersen also has extensive experience representing Wisconsin agribusinesses. He comes from a family farm background, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Economics. Mr. Andersen represents a wide variety of agribusinesses. A significant part of Mr. Andersen’s practice involves the representation of cooperatives.

Kay & Andersen regularly represents architects, engineers, prime contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers and real estate owners in arbitration and mediation proceedings. While court litigation is sometimes the only viable alternative for the resolution of design and construction disputes, mediation or arbitration are often preferable for resolving disputes in these fields.

Investor claims against brokers and brokerage firms are frequently subject to mandatory arbitration provisions. We represent investors in National Association of Security Dealers (NASD) arbitration proceedings.

Attorney Robert Kay regularly serves as an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association, and is on the AAA’s Wisconsin and National Panels of Construction Arbitrators.

Kay & Andersen represents clients in all facets of business planning, including the formation of C Corporations, S Corporations, Limited Liability Companies (LLC’s), Limited Partnerships (LP’s) and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP’s).

Kay & Andersen regularly represents clients in the acquisition and sale of businesses, including asset sale and stock sale transactions. We also assist with formalizing relationships between co-owners, including the drafting of buy-sell agreements, shareholder agreements and operating agreements and in creating employee stock option plans (ESOPs).

Our business clients frequently require legal assistance with the collection of delinquent accounts and enforcement of creditor’s rights. Strategic decisions made early in the collection process often determine whether an account will be collected. We assist creditors with all aspects of collections and enforcement of creditor’s rights, including the representation of creditors in bankruptcy proceedings.

Kay & Andersen, S.C. represents clients in the development and creation of condominiums.

We also represent condominium associations. Condo associations face a host of challenges in maintaining a well-run organization. Often, these challenges involve legal issues which are unique to condominiums.

Condominium association boards benefit from having an attorney available to assist with legal issues, such as:

Legal issues frequently tax the time and energy of association boards, many of whom are volunteers. Obtaining proper legal advice before acting helps the board to make the right decision the first time. Legal advice from a qualified lawyer does not have to be expensive, and having the right lawyer available to answer legal questions and give recommendations can boost the morale of the board and avoid problems which come from acting without a good working knowledge of Wisconsin condominium law.

Kay & Andersen, S.C. has for many years been a well-known provider of legal services for the construction industry. We represent contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, architects, engineers, owners, developers and governmental entities, in disputes involving defective construction and design claims, cost overruns, change orders, warranty claims, theft by contractor claims, delay damages, breach of contract, betterment, bond claims and wrongful termination.

Our senior shareholder, Robert J. Kay, practices extensively in the field of design and construction law. He has tried design and construction cases in many Midwestern states in both state and federal courts. He writes monthly articles on design and construction issues for the Wisconsin Society of Professional Engineers and for the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association. Mr. Kay also lectures frequently at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Executive Education, School of Business on the subject of Managing Construction Projects.

Attorney Randall Andersen and Attorney Robert Mich also regularly represent clients in matters involving construction law. Attorney Andersen regularly gives presentations on construction law issues for construction trade associations and continuing education programs.

Kay & Andersen offers employment law services for both employers and employees. We represent parties in discrimination claims for the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division (ERD) and the United States Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), including age discrimination, race discrimination, disability discrimination, sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

We also represent clients before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC).

Other services provided by the firm include the negotiation, drafting and review of employment contracts, severance agreements, restrictive covenants, non-competition agreements and confidentiality agreements and the litigation arising from employment disputes.

Kay & Andersen, S.C. represents clients in matters involving environmental issues. We regularly represent clients in real estate transactions which involve environmental issues.

Our lawyers also represent clients in litigation involving environment claims, including claims relating to contaminated soil and groundwater, landfills, leaking underground storage tanks and superfund sites.

Estate planning services available through Kay & Andersen, S.C. include the drafting of wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. We take pride in efficiently meeting the estate planning goals of our clients, which may range from the preparation of a simple will to the drafting of a revocable trust (also known as a living trust) to avoid probate and reduce the impact of estate taxes. Various estate planning options are available. We assist our clients in choosing the most effective and efficient estate planning tools, which are customized to match the needs of the clients, to provide for their children, dependents and intended beneficiaries, and reduce the impact of estate taxes.

The lawyers at Kay & Andersen, S.C. have represented many clients in divorce, paternity and child support proceedings. We also regularly assist clients with the drafting of marital agreements, prenuptial agreements, marital property agreements, and postnuptial agreements.

Kay & Andersen represents insurance carriers and their insureds in claims involving personal injury, product liability and professional liability, and in actions brought against contractors and design professionals. Our lawyers represent clients in insurance claims involving liability, property damage, surety and casualty, including automobile accidents, premise liability claims, product liability claims, errors and omissions claims, professional liability and malpractice claims, and surety bond defense. We also regularly represent contractors and design professionals whose insurance carriers reject a request for an insured defense. In one such case handled by the firm, which has been the subject of numerous published articles, American Family Mutual Insurance Company vs. American Girl, Inc., 204 WI 2, 268 Wis. 2d 16, 673 N.W.2d 65, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that a contractor’s commercial general liability policy covered the contractor’s liability to an owner arising out of negligence of the contractor’s subcontractor.

Kay & Andersen, S.C. represents town and county governments and their local officials, and citizens who have disputes with cities, villages, and towns. Attorney Robert J. Kay presents lectures for town and county officials and other associations regarding the legal status of streets, roads and highways. The Wisconsin Society of Land Surveyors appointed Mr. Kay as an honorary member of its association as a result of his work in U.S. v. Zager, 338 F. Supp. 984 (E.D.Wis. 1972), U.S. v. Zager, 280 F. Supp. 877 (E.D.Wis. 1968), and Zager v. U.S., 256 F. Supp. 396 (E.D.Wis. 1966), where the Court held that the United States government unlawfully claimed that private lakeshore was public land even though the original 1859 survey was erroneous, because land surveys in that time of the country’s history were often irregular.

We represent individuals who have been injured in auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, bike accidents, slip and fall cases, and persons who have been injured during the course of their employment. We also represent clients who have been injured by defective products and merchandise, including food and beverages, prescription medicine and other drugs, defective equipment and devices, and dangerous products.

One of Attorney Robert J. Kay’s noteworthy cases is reported in Sumnicht v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., 121 Wis. 2d 338, 360 N.W.2d 2 (1984), where he established before the Wisconsin trial and appellate courts that a Toyota automobile was defective and caused his client’s quadriplegic injuries, recovering $4.7 million. He also recovered $1.9 million for an individual client in Erickson v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. et al. tried in the circuit court of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin in 1996.

We assist clients with probate and trust administration. We strive to complete probate proceedings and trust administration promptly and efficiently, without unnecessary expense. We assist our clients in reducing administration expenses and taxes, while promptly administering the estate.

Kay & Andersen, S.C. represents lawyers, accountants, architects, engineers and physicians before the regulatory boards of Wisconsin that grant and suspend professional licenses. Our attorneys represent individuals and businesses in professional license investigation and discipline proceedings before the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing. We also represent broker-dealers and investment advisors in licensing issues involving the Wisconsin Uniform Securities Laws and FCC regulations.

We represent individuals in actions brought against professionals for malpractice, including licensed healthcare providers.

Kay & Andersen, S.C. represents clients in transactions involving the purchase, sale and development of real estate. A substantial part of our practice involves the creation of condominiums and representation of condominium associations. We are experienced in dealing with varied situations which arise in real estate transactions, such as contamination and environmental issues, boundary disputes, easements, zoning issues, conditional use permits, undisclosed conditions, riparian rights, matters disclosed by surveys, title defects and title insurance claims.

We represent clients in claims against financial and investment advisors, and broker dealers involving misrepresented investments, unsuitable investments, failure to diversify, churning and excessive trading, fraud and misrepresentation, and breach of fiduciary duty.

Kay & Andersen, S.C. is a long-time, well-respected provider of litigation services. Our attorneys are admitted to practice before all courts in the State of Wisconsin, and many state and federal state courts located outside of Wisconsin. We are committed to vigorously representing clients in matters which require litigation or appellate services. Experience and vigorous representation often determine whether success will be achieved in litigation. Our attorneys have many years of experience successfully representing clients in litigation and appellate matters.