Author: LawtonCates

Most people know asbestos is a serious health hazard. But what might surprise many is how prevalent it still is today despite years of dire health warnings and the continued risk of exposure in schools, businesses and homes. This month, the latest. Backpack: check. Pencils: check Respirator: ??? Two years ago, the Ocean View School […]

On March 27, Governor Evers issued a statewide ban on foreclosures and evictions. The order, a copy of which is available online here: https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/WIGOV/2020/03/27/file_attachments/1412941/EO%2015%20Ban%20on%20Evictions%20and%20Foreclosures%20PDF.pdf It prohibits landlords from taking any steps to terminate a tenancy if the termination is based on a failure to pay rent. This means that the landlord cannot give you a […]

In this video I explain your rights when interacting with the police during the context of a traffic stop. Part 3 of this short series will focus on police citizen encounters in the context of your residence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqTbEeKmn8w Your rights, and the prohibition against unreasonable government searches and seizures arises from the Fourth Amendment to […]

We see insurance companies in action almost every day. While not all of them act in bad faith, many of the largest companies changed business tactics in the 1990s to maximize profits while minimizing claim payments. Many of these are also the companies with the catchy advertising slogans and the quirky commercials. This month we […]

One of our nation’s most sacred promises to veterans is that we will take care of them if they are hurt in battle. But that promise is too often broken. As Veterans Day approaches on Nov. 11, we take a closer look at the issue of veterans’ benefits. Right now more than 240,000 veterans have […]

Bill Kraus said it well. One of the stories comes from Bill Dixon, an old friend who was on the Rodino staff. As I was preparing remarks for Cates’ service I called Bill. He gave this gem. Rodino needed a trial lawyer and Bob Kastenmeier recommended Cates. Dixon reports that when Dick Cates came in […]

Richard Cates ’47, a trial lawyer who was instrumental in the Watergate inquiry that led to former President Richard Nixon’s resignation, died Wednesday at age 85. Cates died of natural causes in his home in Madison, Wis. “He was probably the most magnificent trial lawyer, at least in the state of Wisconsin, during the time […]

Longtime Madison trial lawyer Richard Cates, who advised the U.S. House committee that voted to impeach President Richard Nixon in 1974, died Wednesday in Madison of natural causes. He was 85. Born in New York City, Cates served in the Marine Corps and earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College before attending law school at […]

Richard Cates, a Madison trial lawyer who historians credit with playing a critical role in the Watergate inquiry that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon, died Wednesday at age 85. Cates was already a distinguished Wisconsin lawyer with more than two decades of experience as a Dane County Assistant district attorney, Wisconsin state […]

Lawyers Should Emulate Cates

The last time I was in a Dane County courtroom in the City-County Building was in late October, and former state Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala was pleading guilty to two felonies. As I sat in the spectator seats in Judge David Flanagan’s small courtroom, it dawned on me it might be my last time […]