Suite 1400
Dean P. Laing is an attorney with the law firm of O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing S.C., a 31-attorney firm headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he leads the firm’s litigation practice. He has been with the firm for almost 29 years, since graduating cum laude from Marquette University Law School in 1983.
Throughout his legal career, Mr. Laing has been recognized by members of the Wisconsin bar and judiciary as one of the top trial attorneys in Wisconsin:
He was selected in each of the past six years as one of the “Top 50 Lawyers” in Wisconsin by Milwaukee Magazine/Law & Politics (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) - - the only commercial litigator in Wisconsin to have made the list all six years. The honor is given to the 50 Wisconsin attorneys receiving the highest point totals in the state-wide balloting, research, and blue-ribbon peer review process, regardless of area of practice.
He was selected as one of the “Top 25 Lawyers” in the Milwaukee area by Milwaukee Magazine/Law & Politics (2011, its inaugural year). The honor is given to the 25 Milwaukee area attorneys receiving the highest point totals in the state-wide balloting, research, and blue-ribbon peer review process, regardless of area of practice.
He was selected as the “2012 Milwaukee Personal Injury Litigator of the Year” by Best Lawyers®, “the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession.” Best Lawyers selected a single attorney in each specialty in each community for the award.
He has been given an AV Preeminent 5.0 out of 5.0 rating by Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating possible and “a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.”
He has been given a 10.0 out of 10.0 rating by Avvo, a national attorney rating service which uses a mathematical model to rate attorneys based on experience, professional achievements, industry recognition, and professional conduct.
He was selected as a recipient of the 2005 “Leader in the Law Award” presented by the Wisconsin Law Journal, the statewide weekly newspaper for Wisconsin attorneys and judges. The award is given annually to approximately 10 Wisconsin attorneys and judges “whose efforts represent some of the best from our legal community.”
He was described by Judge Kitty K. Brennan, then a trial court judge and now a judge with the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, as an attorney “of the highest standing in [his] profession” and his team as one of the “best sets of lawyers I’ve ever seen” in a Decision issued on April 15, 2005 in Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District v. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc., et al.., Case No. 02-CV-60
He was described by Judge Rudolph T. Randa, the former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, as “an aggressive and indisputable qualified independent counsel” in a Decision issued on September 27, 2001 in Marshall & Ilsley Trust Co. v. Leslie, Case No. 97-C-427.
He was selected as one of “Milwaukee’s Best Lawyers” by Milwaukee Magazine (June 1990), after being in practice for only seven years. The magazine called Mr. Laing “a brilliant, hard-working attorney who has an impressive record and is a guaranteed star in the immediate future. He’s streetwise and he’s bright and that’s tough to get both.”
He was selected as one of “Milwaukee’s Best Lawyers” by Milwaukee Magazine (Feb. 1995). The magazine stated that Mr. Laing is “very bright, hardworking and intense — no one will outwork him.”
He was selected as one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” in Wisconsin by The National Trial Lawyers (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) for his “superior qualifications, trial results, leadership, influence, reputation, stature, and profile in the trial attorney community.”
He was selected as one of Lawdragon 3000 Leading Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in America (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011). The publication lists the “best lawyers nationwide … who are noted for getting the best results and their leadership of the plaintiffs’ bar.” A total of 11 Wisconsin attorneys made the initial list.
He was selected as one of Wisconsin’s “Super Lawyers” by Milwaukee Magazine/Law & Politics (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011). The award is presented to the top 5% of Wisconsin attorneys.
He was selected in two categories for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (2009, 2010, 2011) based on a “peer-review survey comprising more than 2.5 million confidential evaluations by the top attorneys in the country.”
Mr. Laing was the lead trial attorney for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. in the lawsuit relating to the construction of the retractable roof of Miller Park (the home of the Milwaukee Brewers), which Judge Brennan called “the biggest case [Milwaukee] County has ever seen.” The case, filed by the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, sought $50 million in damages from Mitsubishi for alleged defects in the retractable roof, which Mitsubishi constructed. Mitsubishi denied liability to the Baseball Park District and filed a counterclaim seeking additional costs incurred in constructing the roof due to material changes made to the roof’s design after Mitsubishi bid the job. The case involved claims of $140 million, and generated the taking of 162 depositions in three countries, the production of 2.9 million pages of documents, the filing of 96 substantive motions, and several trips to the appellate court. After three days of mediation involving 22 attorneys from seven states, a settlement was reached one week before the scheduled trial, resulting in Mitsubishi paying nothing on the Baseball Park District’s claims and receiving $18 million on its counterclaim.
During his career, Mr. Laing has obtained the following million dollar settlements and verdicts for his clients:
- $24.7 million (medical malpractice case) (co-counsel).
- $18.0 million (construction case).
- $5.4 million (corporate fraud case).
- $5.3 million (breach of contract case).
- $3.5 million (insurance coverage case).
- $3.1 million (medical malpractice case).
- $2.6 million (insurance case).
- $2.1 million (breach of contract case).
- $2.0 million (Americans with Disabilities Act case).
- $1.7 million (products liability case).
- $1.6 million (breach of Asset Purchase Agreement case).
- $1.5 million (medical malpractice case).
- $1.4 million (medical malpractice case) (co-counsel).
- $1.3 million (insurance coverage case).
- $1.3 million (breach of contract case).
- $1.2 million (wrongful death case).
- $1.2 million (auto accident case).
- $1.1 million (breach of contract case).
- $1.1 million (prepayment penalty case).
Mr. Laing is board certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and is a frequent author and speaker on legal issues involving evidence, torts, insurance and trial tactics. He has authored 36 journal articles and book chapters, including the Evidence Chapter of the Wisconsin State Bar’s annual book entitled Annual Survey of Wisconsin Law each year (but one) since 1987; has been an invited speaker at 24 legal seminars/workshops; and has been counsel in 42 published decisions, some of which made new law.
Mr. Laing’s personality and trial skills have allowed him to be one of a select few attorneys who have been able to successfully practice both commercial litigation and personal injury litigation. In addition to representing Fortune 500 companies and other variously sized companies in their commercial litigation needs, Mr. Laing represents severely injured persons in prosecuting their personal injury claims. His passion for those cases is partially derived from his having two brothers with cerebral palsy. As a result of growing up in that environment, Mr. Laing understands what families go through in caring for loved ones with special needs, and is able to communicate that to insurance companies, defense counsel, judges and juries.
Mr. Laing can be reached at 414-276-5000 or dean.laing@wilaw.com.