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What is Boardman Clark?
Boardman Clark is a full-service Wisconsin law firm — formally Boardman & Clark LLP — based in Madison. Its own framing is "big-firm capabilities with a small-firm handshake," and it organizes its work around three client groups: businesses, public sector clients, and individuals. The site also highlights a long history ("over a century") and a relationship-driven approach, with an attorney directory for finding someone by name or practice area.
Boardman Clark
H3 What it actually covers
- Businesses: general counsel-style work, plus regular "Business Minute" updates on regulatory changes — for example, FinCEN beneficial ownership reporting and Wisconsin appellate decisions.
- Public sector: a dedicated practice group for municipal and government clients, which is a meaningful specialization rather than a sideline.
- Individuals: estate planning is prominent, including seminars on common misconceptions, powers of attorney, trusts, and planning for mental health, dependency, and family conflict.
- Payments: the site links to an online payment page and a separate trust/retainer payment page, so existing clients can pay bills or fund a retainer without calling the office.
H3 Who it fits, and who it doesn't
If you are a Wisconsin business, a local government entity, or an individual in or near Madison who wants one firm for both routine and complex matters, the three-audience structure is a genuine convenience. If your matter is outside Wisconsin, or you need a narrow national specialist, the regional focus works against you — the firm describes itself as serving clients "throughout Wisconsin and beyond," but its roots and public-sector depth are clearly local.
H3 A practical next step
Start with the "Find an Attorney" directory rather than a general contact form: match the attorney to your issue (estate planning, municipal law, business transactions), then use the relevant payment link only once you are an established client. For a first conversation, the estate planning seminar page is a low-pressure way to gauge how the firm explains complex topics before you commit to a consultation.
How can I find the right attorney at Boardman Clark for my situation?
Start with the practice area that matches your situation, then narrow to a specific attorney. Boardman Clark organizes its site around three client groups — businesses, public sector clients, and individuals — so that structure is the fastest filter. From the firm's own description, its teams hold focused expertise in each area and the firm presents itself as full-service with "big-firm capabilities with a small-firm handshake."
A practical path
- Name your matter in one sentence. Example: "I'm selling my business," "My mother's estate plan needs updating," or "Our village needs help with a contract." This tells you whether you belong under business, public sector, or individual services.
- Check the practice area page first. Read the service descriptions under the relevant group to confirm the firm handles your type of matter, not just something adjacent to it.
- Use "Find an Attorney" to shortlist. Attorney profiles typically show practice focus and background. Pick two or three whose listed focus matches your matter rather than choosing the first name you see.
- Contact the firm and state your situation plainly. A short, factual summary lets them route you to the right person. If the first attorney is not the best fit, ask who else on the team handles this.
- Ask about fit and process early. Useful questions: Who will handle my matter day to day? How will you keep me updated? What do you need from me to get started?
Choosing between candidates
| If your situation is… | Look for… |
|---|---|
| A business transaction, contract, or employment issue | An attorney whose profile lists business or corporate work |
| A municipal, school district, or local government matter | Someone on the public sector team with that specific experience |
| Estate planning, probate, or a personal legal issue | An individual-services attorney focused on that area |
Where clients often go wrong
People frequently pick an attorney by reputation or proximity alone. A better test is whether the attorney regularly handles your exact type of matter. Estate planning is a good illustration: the firm's own event description notes that plans are not one-size-fits-all and that assumptions about trusts, powers of attorney, and keeping property in the family can undermine a plan. That is a signal to ask directly whether your attorney deals with your specific concern — blended families, a business interest, or a family member with special needs — rather than assuming general experience covers it.
Next step
Write your one-sentence situation summary, open the practice area that matches it on Boardman Clark, and shortlist two or three attorneys before you call. If you are unsure which group fits, say so when you contact the firm and let them direct you.
What legal services does Boardman Clark provide for businesses in Wisconsin?
Boardman Clark is a full-service Wisconsin law firm that serves businesses, individuals, and public sector clients, with a dedicated business practice area. For Wisconsin businesses, that generally means help across day-to-day operations and major transactions, rather than a single narrow specialty.
Typical business needs a full-service firm covers
- Formation and governance: choosing an entity, drafting operating agreements or bylaws, and advising on corporate formalities.
- Contracts and commercial agreements: drafting, reviewing, and negotiating vendor, customer, and partnership contracts.
- Employment matters: policies, handbooks, hiring and separation issues, and workplace compliance.
- Transactions: buying or selling a business, mergers, and financing.
- Regulatory and compliance: responding to new rules and reporting obligations.
- Real estate and leasing: purchases, sales, and commercial leases.
- Disputes: business litigation and risk management when conflicts arise.
Evidence of how they work with businesses
The firm's own materials describe "big-firm capabilities with a small-firm handshake" and legal teams with focused expertise serving business clients. Its Business Minute updates track regulatory changes relevant to companies, such as the FinCEN final rule exempting U.S. companies and persons from beneficial ownership information reporting, and Wisconsin Court of Appeals decisions. That publishing pattern suggests an emphasis on keeping business clients current on compliance and legal developments, not only on one-off matters.
A practical next step
Start by identifying whether your need is transactional (contracts, formation, deals), compliance (employment, regulatory reporting), or dispute-related. Then look for an attorney whose listed practice matches that category rather than contacting the firm generally. If you are a Wisconsin business weighing a specific question — for example, how a new reporting rule affects you — a short consultation is often the fastest way to learn whether you need ongoing counsel or just a one-time review.
You can browse practice areas and attorney profiles at Boardman Clark.
How does Boardman Clark help public sector and local government clients?
Boardman Clark serves public sector and local government clients as one of three core client groups, alongside businesses and individuals. The firm describes itself as a full-service practice with "focused expertise" in this area, working with Wisconsin municipalities and public entities on the legal issues that arise from running a government: governance and procedure, contracts and procurement, employment matters, land use, and litigation exposure.
What that means in practice depends on your role:
- City, village, county or town officials typically need ongoing counsel rather than one-off help — meeting procedure, ordinances, records and open-meetings compliance, and personnel decisions.
- Public entities facing a dispute need litigators who already understand how public bodies make and document decisions.
- Boards and commissions often want advice before a vote, not after, so the value is in preventive review of policies and contracts.
The practical trade-off: a full-service firm gives you one relationship across many issues, but you should confirm the specific attorneys assigned to your matter have direct municipal experience. Firm marketing pages list broad client categories; they do not tell you who handles your type of file.
A useful next step is to use the firm's attorney directory to filter by public sector or municipal work, then ask in an initial call: how many Wisconsin public bodies do you currently represent, and who would be my day-to-day contact? Their events and publications are also a low-commitment way to gauge fit — for example, the firm runs seminars on planning topics such as estate planning misconceptions, and publishes short updates on regulatory changes, which shows the kind of client education they invest in.
What should I know about estate planning before attending a Boardman Clark seminar?
Boardman Clark is a full-service Wisconsin law firm, and its estate planning seminar is aimed at both new and experienced planners — so you don't need to be an expert to attend, but a little preparation will help you get more out of it. The firm's own framing is that estate planning is not one-size-fits-all and that common assumptions often miss the full picture.
What the seminar covers
Based on the firm's event description, expect discussion of:
- Misconceptions about keeping property in the family
- What powers of attorney can and cannot do
- The different roles of various types of trusts
- Planning for difficult issues such as mental health, dependency and family conflict
The stated goal is to correct assumptions that can undermine an estate plan's effectiveness. That suggests a conceptual session rather than a document-drafting workshop.
How to prepare
Before you go, gather a rough personal inventory so the material connects to your situation:
- People: Who you'd want to make decisions for you if you couldn't, and who should inherit.
- Assets: Your home, accounts, retirement plans, and any business interest — note which have named beneficiaries, since those pass outside a will.
- Existing documents: Any will, trust, power of attorney or health care directive you already have, and when it was last updated.
- Open questions: Write down two or three. "Does my current plan still work after a move, marriage or death in the family?" is a common starting point.
A realistic reader scenario
Suppose you're a Wisconsin business owner with adult children and an aging parent. You might attend expecting a checklist, then discover the more useful takeaway is understanding why a trust, a power of attorney and beneficiary designations do different jobs — and where they can conflict. That reframing is often the real value of a seminar like this.
Your next step
Register and treat the session as a diagnostic, not a solution. If the topics match your situation, the natural follow-up is a consultation to review your actual documents; the firm lists attorneys by practice area on Boardman Clark. For broader background before you attend, general explainers from American Bar Association and consumer guidance from the FTC can help you arrive with better questions.
How do I make a payment or set up a trust retainer with Boardman Clark?
Boardman Clark provides two separate online payment links on its site—one labeled "Make a Payment" and one labeled "Trust / Retainer." Both route through ClientPay, a third-party payment platform, so you complete the transaction on ClientPay's page rather than on the firm's own website.
Which link to use
| Your situation | Likely link |
|---|---|
| Paying an invoice for completed work | Make a Payment |
| Funding an advance deposit / trust retainer | Trust / Retainer |
If you are unsure which applies—for example, if you have both an outstanding invoice and a retainer request—confirm with the attorney or staff member handling your matter before submitting, since trust funds are held and applied differently from payments for fees already earned.
Before you pay
- Have your invoice number or matter reference handy; payment pages often ask for it to credit the right account.
- Check whether your matter has specific wire instructions instead. Large retainer deposits are sometimes handled by wire rather than card, and the firm's page does not spell out accepted methods.
- Keep the ClientPay confirmation—it is your receipt, and the firm may not send a separate one.
Next step: if the correct link is not obvious, call the firm's main office and ask for the billing contact for your matter. That is faster than guessing and risking a misapplied payment. General information about the firm and its practice groups is at Boardman Clark.
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