I've been a client of MKE for over six years across multiple legal matters. They're some of the…read moremost strategic and capable attorneys I've come across, with a level of expertise in constitutional law that's hard to find. They've done what 99% of law firms never do: gone to the U.S. Supreme Court twice (and won both times). That alone speaks volumes. The atmosphere is very down-to-earth, and the whole firm is easy to work with. Greg Erickson (the "E" in MKE), especially, is a straight shooter with a blunt (but great) sense of humor. I've seen him depose defendants for hours on multiple occasions, and it's honestly like watching boxing and ballet in one breath--he's sharp, controlled, and incredibly quick on his feet. John (main paralegal) is like an encyclopedia of constitutional and municipal law--extremely detail-oriented, and Mary (Office Manager) keeps everything running smoothly. It's a boutique firm that runs on word-of-mouth reputation, not advertising. They represent everyone from large banks, corporations, and small business owners to cities, law enforcement, and prisoners. They also take on cases against cities and public officials, which says a lot about their depth and versatility. I want to comment on a recent negative review here from someone using the name "Turbine G." What this person describes does not line up with what I know about the situation. This individual ("Jay") was yelling profanities in the 8th Circuit courthouse that day--I know because I had a hearing there as well. In that context, if Greg advised him to stop acting like "a child," that is more than fair. Lawyers have to maintain professionalism in court--not just for their firm, but for their other clients (I certainly wouldn't want that kind of behavior affecting the judge's view of my case or the court's perception of MKE--would you?). More broadly, I know and respect the attorneys this reviewer criticizes. Greg is quick-witted, highly skilled, and deeply dedicated to his kids. Erick Kaardal is brilliant, kind, and clearly prioritizes his family. These are genuinely good people. As for the younger attorney, Elizabeth--who is also unfairly dragged in that review--I want to be clear: she did an outstanding job. In fact, in a separate case, a district court judge (who had previously presided over one of my own hearings) even wrote a letter to MKE commending her work. She's a young attorney with a very bright future. No law firm wins every case. Outcomes depend heavily on which judge you get and the specific circumstances. That doesn't take away from the quality of the legal work. And to be fair--I do agree with one thing the reviewer said: sometimes MKE drafts come close to deadlines. That's the reality of a busy, in-demand firm handling complex litigation. But what matters is how they show up when it counts. I've had John stay on the phone with me late into the night to make sure everything was accurate before a strict deadline. That level of commitment is rare. For further perspective, I'm a lifelong liberal, and the firm is known for having (mostly) conservative attorneys. It's never mattered. I've always gotten along super well with everyone there. There's a mix of political perspectives among both their staff and clients, and there's clearly mutual respect. It's worth noting that many of the negative reviews on Google don't come from actual clients, but instead appear to be from online trolls reacting to a few controversial cases--something that represents only a tiny fraction of the firm's overall work. Most satisfied clients don't leave reviews--they get what they need and move on. I only felt the need to write something after stumbling upon this person's review because it didn't match what I know or my experience. From my (real) experience as a client: if you want serious, high-level legal representation, this is exactly the kind of firm you want in your corner.

Unfortunately, I feel I am obligated to write this review to hopefully prevent others from going…read morethrough what we have with MKE. We have spent near half a million dollars with this firm to have only 1 meaningless court victory in 5+ years. My personal belief is MKE is more worried about what the judges, court and opposing lawyers think of them than what their client's outcomes are. Frankly, I have typically not left hearings with MKE at my side in which I felt I had a chance to win. Only once have I been comfortable with how MKE lawyers argued in court (out of dozens of hearings). I kept my mouth shut about my perceived incompetence of MKE lawyers over time in hopes that the facts would win out in our favor as we had nowhere else to go and were locked in with MKE. When I presented mild criticism to Greg Erickson (E from MKE) along with my opinion form observing that he and his lawyer both did a terrible job in federal court that day, he literally stated, "You are a child Jay. Elizabeth did an outstanding job" (You got that right, Erickson's response was to denigrate me instead of listen to what I said). Yet Elizabeth got hammered and lost so bad for my wife that MKE has refused to respond to any communications from me or my wife at this point. This includes our longtime attorney, and somebody I thought was a friend, Erick Kaardal (don't let Erick fool you with his stories and charm, he certainly appears to me to not be the good catholic he professes to be). No lawyer at MKE bothered to contact us to determine next steps after the loss, merely decided to shut us out (which certainly appears to be an ethical violation on their part). Further, we had a set fee of $255k for the entire litigation, and when MKE lost because of their own incompetence (not understanding they had to include arguments of why the claim was in federal court), MKE puts their hand put for more money even though they are the ones who screwed up. In fact, we even set up a basically unlosable lawsuit against the city, that MKE somehow seemed to piss down the toilet (because they refused to put forth the obvious facts that would most likely have swayed the judges). Finally, I have won more cases for myself pro se than MKE ever did for us, not even close. In my opinion, If you are looking for a high priced lawyer that does not put forth the arguments you want them to in court, waits until the last minute to get the paperwork done, gets scolded by the judge right in front of you for being excessively wordy, gets half the arguments right and half wrong in court, fails to defend your character when personally attacked over zoning issues, and, calls you names when you put forth some mild criticism of their efforts ... then MKE is your team!! I would suggest otherwise and to stay away.

I highly recommend Todd Gadtke at Gadtke Law firm in Maple Grove…read more I had an issue with my Jeep Grand Cherokee, with zero follow up with Chrysler for weeks. I reached out to Todd from a recommendation and he was fantastic. He always responded very quickly, and kept me up to date on the case with Chrysler. It was resolved in my favor, just as he said in our first meeting! Thank you for your compassion, quick follow up, and hard work on my case! In a world with very little guest service now a days, I can't thank you enough for all that you did to help me get resolution from Jeep/Chrysler and your great follow through! Kristine Beltrand

I phoned this law firm, after having called 8 others, with no one bothering to return my calls. The…read morefollowing morning after leaving a message, attorney Todd Gadtke returned my call. While not being able to take my case, as his practice is limited to mainly Lemon law cases, he nonetheless spent 40 minutes speaking with me, regarding my case & options. This... with no compensation whatsoever! Who/what attorney does this? An attorney with empathy, integrity, morals & concern for others, that's who! A good man! Now... this really put a dent in my belief, and that of many others... that most attorneys ride along on the underbelly of a fungus, that inhabits the bottom of slime-dwelling creatures! A welcome breath of fresh air-- a refreshing belief in the remaining good in humanity. If you're looking for someone to represent you with intelligence, loyalty and empathy, look no further than this exceptional law firm! I am honored to wholeheartedly recommend them, as the best of the best!

Mr Dittrich represented me in my very difficult divorce. More than that, he was patient,…read morecompassionate, and gave me sound advice that resulted in the best possible outcome in what was a very difficult situation for myself and my family. I've had the pleasure to have Mr Dittrich represent me in mediation and consult with me multiple times in the 7 years since my initial divorce. I worked with 4 different lawyers during the 3 years that it took to achieve a settlment in my initial divorce and I was very fortunate to find Dittrich Law Firm. I can honestly say that Greg is the best. I highly recommend Dittrich law firm..

This office was amazing. I sincerely thank them for the services provided on my file. It was…read moremanaged efficiently. Could not recommend them more highly!

Wanta Thome wasted a great deal of my time, and I understand they have great reviews - so I don't…read moretake putting a 1 star lightly because I appreciate good business. *** BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE - THEY DEMAND 40% CONTINGENCEY FEE FOR PRE-LITIGATION WHICH IS HIGHER THAN USUAL, AND IT GETS WORSE*** I was referred by AI which maybe was my first mistake - but the website looked legitimate and the language seemed to match what I was looking for. I was on the website, and, without acting - a calendar popped up. I was strong-armed into booking an appointment with Carla the intake Lead. Well I book it, but then in the morning Carla e-mails me and tells me she's kicking it down to an entry level intake employee - which I resisted because my case is complex and I wanted someone with experience. Well I didn't get my way, the firm insisted that I get a greenhorn. The new intake person ended up getting fired or quit, but not before wasting my time. The first call was a standard 25 minutes and I submitted a timeline for her as well. 6 days later I get a text saying "Since you're not fired, we can't represent you, but reach out to us immediately if you DO get fired." Those were exactly the terms of rejecting me and leaving the door open. Well a few weeks later my employer ramps up the shenanigans threatening to fire me, then finally does - so I reach back out as instructed. The file is re-opened at Wanta, I'm told GREAT NEWS the attorney is taking a look! Then I had an attorney Kristan call me for another intake. I took the time to send her a detailed updated timeline. She called back with a retainer offer on another day and asked me to open it on the phone. I questioned the high fee and the fact that Wanta Thome will NOT coordinate with EEOC or NLRB inquiries/charges. Compared to what the website says, this seems to make no sense for an employee who did diligence before getting fired who already wants to use those agencies to help out his co-workers and himself. What's disturbing is the amount of wasted time. I TOLD THEM RIGHT AWAY ON THE PHONE AND IN MY TIMELINE THAT I HAVE AN NLRB CHARGE AND EEOC INQUIRY!!! IT TOOK THEM 45 DAYS TO REALIZE IT. I could have been told that initially, it could have been listed on the website in some form. Nobody on the planet it my situation would read the website and be led to believe anything otherwise. The intake process was wonky. Kristen on multiple phone calls assumed I was in Minnesota WHEN I CLEARLY AM IN CHICAGO and corrected her multiple times. They're just not paying full attention. ALSO she said She'd have to ask the partners about the EEOC/NLRB clause in the contract - she said she can't speak with them for 5 days because they're "away" -- I'm sorry, You have a huge law firm in multiple states - and the top 2 partners are going to be off the radar for a week? Do they meditate in the far east? That makes no sense. I respect any attorney's decision to decline a case for whatever reason - but at no point was I led to believe anything other than WANTA THOME IS THE PERFECT FIRM TO REPRESENT ME. I knew it was a wonky process but I told myself - as long as I get retained and they can help me - it'll be worth it. I was wrong. They offered to retain me - and all I said was "hey - do they mind doing something that their website makes it seem like they would totally do?" Advice to the firm - don't put Retaliation, Wrongful Termination, Discrimination on your website if you're not going to coordinate with NLRB or EEOC. Just put in big letters at the top "WE WANT TO SEND A LETTER FOR A HIGH FEE AND IF IT DOESNT WORK WE'RE BACKING OUT." A severe waste of my time - it's not OK - I'll never get it back. They don't really pay attention. I'm not sure what types of cases these reviews come or if they're incentivezed to send them in - but for the sake of helping people who need help - if you see any of these warning signs, consider going somewhere else. IM SO GLAD I DIDNT SIGN THAT RETAINER WITHOUT FIGHTING FOR A SENSIBLE CONTRACT. Change your website

Benedict Linsenmeyer informed me that my case is well rounded and I don't need representation…read moreunless their is a failure in the system. Most law firms don't have the decency to not snactch 40% of your money for green. Wanta Thome is a good lawyers and morally decent.

Pam Rochlin was very pleasant to work with and I appreciated her availability to speak whenever I…read moreneeded her advice. Her office staff are extremely efficient and they kept me apprised of each step taken regarding my case. I highly recommend.

Pam and her team are exceptional! The expertise, support, and level of care that they provide can't…read morebe matched. Our daughter suffered a dog attack at a young age and we were unsure of what options we had. The experience was overwhelming and emotional to say the least, and Pam helped us all along the way, and was critical in helping us have a positive outcome and do what we believed was the best thing for our daughter. We will never forget Pam and the support that she provided our family.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Ms. Markiewicz!!!…read more This is a late review and I completely dropped the ball on posting this. Ms. Markiewicz was extremely helpful when I got married in 2017 by preparing and negotiating a prenuptial agreement for me. She was extremely fair and knowledgeable, because I had no clue how to navigate some of the challenges of negotiating a prenup and feeling extremely overwhelmed. Ms. Markiewicz was very understanding, professional, and respectful when things got heated between my fiance and I and she took my fiance's calls and responded to his emails. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a prenup or any other representation. Ms. Markiewicz was patient and worked with me while I was going through an extremely stressful time and she literally held my hand all the way to the end. Thank you!!!

IF I COULD AWARD NEGATIVE STARS, I WOULD!!!…read more My fiance' and I recently engaged Ms. Markiewicz to help prepare a prenup agreement and had an absolutely horrific experience. It appeared that Ms. Markiewicz approached our prenup as a hostile divorce (rather than a loving marriage) pitting my future bride and I against each other, employing emotionally charged adversarial negotiation tactics and dragging out an expensive lawyer intensive process to...literally...the day before our wedding. She dismissed the process I had proposed where my fiance' and I would work together (doing much of the work ourselves) to craft a fair and equitable agreement through an amicable collaborative process with guidance and feedback from our respective counsel. She also ignored my request to provide an overview of the process, key milestones and timeline that she would suggest as an alternative. Instead, she just moved forward in a manner that lead to a drawn out, time consuming, resource intensive (read "lots of billable hours") process that dramatically increased our legal fees; created intense stress, conflict and emotional trauma; and dragged the "negotiation" process out to...literally...the day before our wedding. And to top things off, she billed us double the hours that our other lawyer did...even though he crafted and authored the multiple drafts of the proposed prenup and the key legal documents. This nightmare of a process resulted in prenup that neither one of us felt good about, legal fees that were 3-4 times what we had expected, a prenup that got signed the AFTERNOON before our wedding and an excruciatingly stressful...downright traumatic...process that led to my fiance' and I "breaking up" twice in the two weeks prior to our wedding (including 4 days before). I can not possibly overstate how brutal the process was or how much disdain I hold Ms. Markiewicz in. In my humble opinion, if you want to hire a pitbull to inflict as much damage as possible in a very nasty divorce, Ms. Markiewicz may be a suitable candidate. But if your objective is to collaborate with people you care about to achieve a a fair and equitable outcome that all parties can feel good about through a professionally managed expedient process at a reasonable cost (both financially and emotionally), I would recommend running in the opposite direction as fast as humanly possible. P.S. This review features no embellishment or exaggeration (and I have the email audit trail to back up every word). I had never met...or even heard of...Ms. Markiewicz prior to this prenup process, do not work in the legal profession nor have any other potential conflicts of interests. I invested the time to write this review solely in the interest of helping others avoid repeating what was one of the most traumatic professional experiences of my life. One that came very close to aborting my wedding and costing me the woman that I love, adore and cherish with all my heart.