About Trevor Kupfer
Trevor Kupfer is a senior editor on Super Lawyers’ staff. He is editor of the Illinois, South Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin magazines, in addition to being a writer and fact-checker of Super Lawyers’ other projects. He has a degree in journalism from an accredited program (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire) and has written for such newspapers and magazines as Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, Volume One, Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times, Global Food Forums, and various publications under the groups Tribune Media Services, Capital Newspapers, and Conley Media. He has served on crime and courts beats and, in college, he aided an investigation through the Wisconsin Innocence Project.
Articles written by Trevor Kupfer
When Do You Call a Tax Attorney Versus an Accountant?
When you’re already behind on paying or filing taxes, the thought of reaching out to a paid tax professional is understandably daunting. An additional worry is what kind of tax professional you need. If you already have an accountant, do you need a tax lawyer? While an accountant generally handles financial planning and bookkeeping, a tax lawyer can provide legal advice about your financial decisions and tax liabilities. So, if a tax dispute with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) takes a …
What Counts as Healthcare Insurance Fraud?
Health insurance fraud is any act committed in order to improperly take advantage of the health insurance process. Individual claimants, healthcare professionals, and third-party businesses can commit healthcare fraud. Health insurance fraud is more common in the American insurance industry than you may think. There are many federal and state laws and regulatory agencies that exist to protect injured parties, whistleblowers, and the insurance companies paying insurance claims. To understand …
Long Overdue
How (and why) Mickes O’Toole made diversity its brandIn April 2016, more than a decade after they started their firm, Tom O’Toole and Tom Mickes made a decision that transformed their brand. They named two new hires—Vince Reese and Jeff St. Omer, both African American men—equity partners. “There was opportunity to be aggressive on the diversity front, to be a minority- and women-owned law firm, and make that a focal point of the next generation of the firm,” Reese says. “From a business perspective, and from a competitive perspective, …
Why Homeowners Associations Need To Hire Attorneys
Though homeowners associations, condominium associations, co-ops and summer resorts have the same types of legal concerns, each is subject to different state and federal statutes. This makes the job of governing tricky to navigate. So, when a board of directors attempts to amend its bylaws, contract with a vendor, or complete many other common actions without legal counsel, it can lead to trouble. “Boards that rely on the advice of professionals have protection from liability. Boards …
Not BigLaw
How Roger E. Barton developed a more transparent compensation systemThere was no aha moment. Though he once worked for a big law firm, he doesn’t recall reflecting on it much after he stepped away in 1991. The epiphany came slowly. “A general counsel once told me, ‘The BigLaw system is broken,’” Roger E. Barton recalls. “‘Where are the loyalties? Are the loyalties to try to get as much money out of a client as you possibly can so the firm is profitable, or is your loyalty to do what’s right for that client and establish a long-term …
When Generic Drugs Are Expensive, an Antitrust Lawsuit May Help
It’s no shocker that branded drugmakers occasionally take pharmaceutical companies that make generic versions of their products to court. What may be more surprising is how those disputes are sometimes resolved. “During the course of litigation, the brand and the generic companies discuss potential settlements, which impacts the interest of consumers and health insurers who are not part of the discussion,” says Michael M. Buchman, an antitrust and consumer protection attorney with Motley …
Suing New York City for a Pothole Injury
To the attorneys who practice in personal injury, potholes are no mere vehicular annoyance. Sometimes they don’t even involve vehicles. The majority of pothole cases handled by Stephan H. Peskin at Tolmage, Peskin, Harris, Falick, for example, are trip-and-falls on sidewalks. “Sometimes they injure themselves quite seriously—from simple wrist fractures, because you put your hands out and your wrist isn’t ready for that kind of jolt, all the way to fractured femurs or head injuries.” …
Washington's Human Composting Law and How It Works
In May 2019, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a bill that allows natural organic reduction—or, in layman’s terms, Washingtonians can now opt to have their dead bodies composted. “I’m not surprised that Washington is the first state to do this,” says estate planning attorney Xan Gerson. “Maybe it’s me living in a Seattle bubble, but what I’m writing most often into [disposition of remains] documents is some manner of ecofriendly burial.” The details of what this means …
How Do I Protect a Patent Internationally?
Protect your patent internationally by filing your patent with the WIPO for Paris Convention countries or by direct filing with foreign patent offices for exclusive rights in the global market. Under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, patent owners can submit a PCT application for international filings to get an initial claim priority date to enter the country-specific national phase process. Patent owners should consult foreign counsel for translation requirements for regional patents to get …
Lawyer Chris by Day, Magician Kristoff by Night
Christopher Harristhal shows off his sleight-of-hand chopsChristopher Harristhal is a business litigator with an employment focus at Larkin Hoffman in Bloomington, Minnesota. But he’s also been performing as a magician for decades. His obsession began when he was 6, watching his older brother do tricks with a silk handkerchief. “It drove me nuts,” he says. With the aid of countless books and props, “for the next 15 years, I tortured him at every turn with, ‘Pick a card, any card,’” Harristhal says. While Harristhal loves …
Find top lawyers with confidence
The Super Lawyers patented selection process is peer influenced and research driven, selecting the top 5% of attorneys to the Super Lawyers lists each year. We know lawyers and make it easy to connect with them.
Find a lawyer near you