By Jeff Muszynski
“Never test the depth of the river with both feet.”
— Warren Buffett
As someone who grew up in Wisconsin and went to law school in Minnesota, I always knew I wanted to be able to practice in both states. When I graduated law school in 2007, most Twin Cities firms were focused on either a strictly Minnesota practice or a more national practice. Minnesota firms kept to Minnesota and Wisconsin firms took care of Wisconsin. At the time, western Wisconsin was seen as too far away and too sparsely populated to justify a focus on building business. From my experience, the western Wisconsin firms largely wanted to keep their client base free from Twin Cities influence and would keep Minnesota interactions limited. There are plenty of stories of western Wisconsin lawyers and judges treating Twin Cities attorneys like big city carpetbaggers. I’ve personally been treated differently in Wisconsin courtrooms when I had a Minnesota address than when I joined a Wisconsin-based firm.
But with the expansion of commuting to the Twin Cities from Hudson, River Falls, and points even farther east, cross-border practice in this part of Minnesota and Wisconsin has become more and more important—and clients want more and more dual-licensed legal services. Hudson’s growth pulls more Minnesota residents into Wisconsin and there are Wisconsin residents who commute to work from many of the western Wisconsin counties.1
Cross-border practice offers new clients, new business, and new opportunities for growth. But it also requires significant work if you want to do more than simply dip your toe in the water. The two markets are significantly different, and building business and a thriving practice in both requires an intentional strategy to be successful. There are certainly more than a few firms with already thriving practices in both Wisconsin and Minnesota. For those firms (small or larger) that want to expand to cross-border practice, these are the tips and tricks I’ve learned in building a truly cross-border practice (and, for the last few years, doing so as a solo practitioner).
Work on your procedures and forms
From highly specialized niche practices to general practice firms, standardized procedures and forms can make all the difference in efficient legal work. Whether you are billing hourly, working on a contingency fee, or even working on a flat fee, efficiency provides a benefit to the client, often makes for better client outcomes, and builds business. Forms and procedures are at the heart of efficient, effective practice when expanding into a different state. It takes time to develop a standardized set of forms, but Wisconsin and Minnesota have some great resources to help with that process. The Minnesota Judicial Branch has civil forms online.2 The Wisconsin Bar Association has a Practice and Legal Forms page with a variety of resources to create Wisconsin-specific documents.3 Other resources for forms include practice-area specific organizations, some of which are quite active and maintain significant databases of forms as well as helpful email lists and archives filled with useful tips and forms.4 I recommend joining state-specific bar sections as well to find resources for building into new jurisdictions. Small firms will find a lot of support with either the Minnesota or Wisconsin bar’s small/solo firm sections.5 The Wisconsin bar maintains a law office management assistance program (Practice 411) that provides resources and an email listserv with lawyers all over Wisconsin for the express purpose of helping deliver more effective and efficient legal services.6
With these resources at your disposal, take the time to draft the necessary forms, pleadings, and practice documents, including fee agreements for state-specific purposes. These forms help you save time, but they also help staff understand the differences between the relevant jurisdictions. The most important forms for practicing across Minnesota and Wisconsin may be your intake forms. Each state has different substantive laws that implicate different pieces of information from your clients. The best training of your intake professionals includes state-specific forms as well as training time spent with these staff members to make sure they understand not only what different information may be needed but also why. It can be best to start with training one person or a small contingent of staff, working on improving the process, and then implementing it across the whole firm.
Having dedicated staff who understand the cross-border legal issues can be a resource to your firm and to your clients. A well-trained intake professional can save your client time, effort, and cost. They can also save your staff and attorneys the time and frustration of having to get more information from the client when the client wasn’t expecting to provide more. This intentionality in training your staff (and keeping these changes small while you work on improving your internal procedures) can make a significant difference in how well cross-border practice works.
Network and get mentoring from Wisconsin attorneys
Meeting with other attorneys, building a referral network, and mentoring are great ways to build a cross-border practice—and to improve the expertise of the bar in both states. There are plenty of attorneys who practice in only Wisconsin or Minnesota and have no desire to cross the border. These attorneys often have successful practices and plenty of work in their chosen areas as well as lots of local connections; they are well embedded in the community. These are the people to meet, get to know, and learn from as you expand your practice. Find out what these people do, who they help, and how you can help them in their own practices.
The best way to build a referral network is to start referring cases out without any expectation of a return. It is also important to learn about the culture of a new area from the attorneys who have been practicing there for a while. Western Wisconsin has a distinctly different culture and vibe from the suburbs of the Twin Cities. Western Wisconsin tends to place a lot of value on who you know and who can vouch for your trustworthiness. Getting to know local lawyers can go a long way toward getting your foot in the door in a practice area that is underserved.
At the same time, offer your expertise to attorneys looking to expand their practice into the state where you are more comfortable. Be the attorney who makes themselves available for coffee, lunches, mentoring, and introductions for younger lawyers looking to build a cross-border practice. Join the local bar associations and attend meetings. Schedule happy hours and lunches for other attorneys. These kinds of gestures—being a referral source, giving back to the profession, helping others learn, and helping lawyer connect with clients and other experts—can only grow your own practice and build the collegiality of the bar.
Be very conscious about physical and online presence
Wisconsin residents often tend to stay local, especially the farther you get from the Twin Cities. Potential clients are going to want to meet you in person at times, so physical locations that are accessible for Western Wisconsin clients can be important. Virtual options are also helpful, and more people are comfortable with them these days. Think about a physical location for search engine purposes. Renting a remote office or even a mailbox space will give you a physical presence that will show up on the “lawyer near me” type searches. Look into co-workspaces in Hudson or other nearby Wisconsin locations. These “remote” offices can make all the difference in finding new clients and establishing yourself as something other than a Minnesota lawyer. Many clients in western Wisconsin will call an attorney with a local address before they call one across the river.
Because of the more local nature of western Wisconsin, it is also important to get involved in the local bar associations. Go to local meetings and join Wisconsin practice groups and professional organizations to establish yourself to locals as someone who practices in Wisconsin. Use your social media to make announcements and tag yourself going to local businesses in Wisconsin, which will also encourage cross-marketing from local businesses your potential clients are familiar with. It is important to show a desire to be part of the local community, even if you don’t live there. Adding value to the community by participating in events and promoting businesses can go a long way toward getting word-of-mouth business.
In a substantive sense, make sure you review professional responsibility rules for Wisconsin. Particularly review trust account management for Wisconsin clients and cases. There are subtle differences that could be important to your particular practice—and your forms, as mentioned previously, should reflect those differences. You should also make yourself familiar with differences in terminology and procedure on both sides of the St. Croix River. Trial courts in Wisconsin are circuit courts, not district courts. Civil cases are commenced by first filing a summons and complaint with the court and only then serving the summons and complaint on any defendant(s). The plaintiff has 90 days to serve the filed summons and complaint and there is no such thing as hip-pocket filing in Wisconsin, though there is in Minnesota.
It is equally important to become familiar with the judges and the clerks. Many things are done via Zoom but most western Wisconsin courtrooms are open and people can appear in person. Take the time to show up for routine hearings and certainly for motions and substantive hearings. Let the court know so they are prepared to have you there in person. By showing up in person you get the chance to meet the judge and court staff, and let them get more familiar with you. Judges in western Wisconsin are very flexible in their scheduling and tend to let the parties agree to most things together. They will let the attorneys control the flow of scheduling for the most part, and that includes scheduling motions and hearings. Familiarity with the court and staff can make all the difference if you need help with local rules, filing, or scheduling. In short, take the time to get to know the judges and staff personally and you will be a more effective attorney for your clients.
Conclusion
Building a cross-border practice requires an intentional approach and an investment of time to be truly successful. The cultures of each state are different, making the approach to clients significantly different. If done well, cross-border practice can be truly rewarding and your practice can become a valuable resource not only to your clients, but to other attorneys and the bar at large.
JEFF MUSZYNSKI is a civil litigation attorney and mediator practicing in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In 2021 he opened his own firm, Lagom Law, LLC, and his practice now focuses on personal injury, commercial litigation, first party insurance claims, and insurance coverage work along with mediating civil cases in both Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Notes
1 With the rise of remote-working options, this has only increased significantly. St. Croix County is among the counties with the highest rates of remote work. https://wispolicyforum.org/research/the-uneven-rise-of-remote-work/
2 https://www.mncourts.gov/Help-Topics/GetForms.aspx
3 https://www.wisbar.org/formembers/practicemanagement/pages/law-practice-links-practice-and-legal-forms.aspx
4 Organizations like Wisconsin Association for Justice (WAJ) and Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association (MDLA) provide valuable resources for civil practitioners. Other practice areas have various professional organizations with resources for state-specific practice. For example, the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils has local chapters and offers resources for practitioners.
5 https://www.wislawnow.com/organization/solo-small-firm-general-practice-section/ (Wisconsin); https://www.mnbar.org/members/sections/solo-small-practice-experience-section (Minnesota).
6 https://www.wisbar.org/formembers/practicemanagement/Pages/Practice411-LOMAP.aspx