Boardman & Clark LLP—Banking Group

Fourth Floor, 1 South Pinckney St. • Madison WI 53703 TEL: (608) 257-9521 FAX: (608) 283-1709

Our Group

WBA has relied on Boardman's counsel for over three decades.

Who Are We?


"John Knight is the complete package when it comes to solid advice on all of the challenges and opportunities that our bank faces in today's volatile economy. John's background and experience are renowned. I have always found him to be steady in his demeanor and approach to problem solving and that is a big plus given the current regulatory environment for banking."
-- E. David Locke, Chairman and CEO of McFarland State Bank

See what else our clients have to say about us


We are uniquely suited to serve your unique needs

We understand banking. We understand community banking. We know that the issues facing your bank are different from those of other corporations and other industries. We also understand the differences between community banking and banking that is more regional. These differences are real, and we tailor our services to best suit your bank, your shareholders, your customers and the community you serve. The business of banking and bank regulation are very specialized, and we are prepared to serve the unique needs of community banks.

We serve community and regional banks in Wisconsin and the Midwest

We are bankers' lawyers. The Banking Group at Boardman & Clark has a 35 year history of service to the banking industry in Wisconsin and surrounding states. Our clients include community and regional banks and their holding companies, bank subsidiaries providing related financial services such as insurance agencies, broker-dealers and investment advisers, as well as the Wisconsin Bankers Association, the State's largest bank trade association. We concentrate our efforts on advising Wisconsin community banks on all aspects of their business. Whatever the issues facing your bank, you can count on us to be your partner.

We protect the interests of banks both individually and industry-wide

Our attorneys work closely with your federal and state regulators, and are involved regularly on behalf of the Wisconsin Bankers Association with litigation and lobbying on issues affecting your business. We monitor closely pending legislation and rulemaking that could impact you. Along with the WBA, we help draft new bank-related laws and regulations and analyze the implications of new legal requirements for the banking community. We constantly strive to protect and advance the interests of our clients at the individual, corporate and government level.

We can help you with all aspects of your core banking business

Our core banking services include:

  • new bank and bank holding company formations
  • S corporation elections
  • mergers and acquisitions
  • branch purchases
  • corporate securities and debt/equity offerings
  • stock splits, exchanges, tender offers and reclassifications
  • service provider contracts
  • proxy issues and shareholder disputes
  • board of directors issues
  • business counseling and expansion
  • loan transaction
  • regulatory applications
  • state and federal licensing
  • regulatory, enforcement; compliance matters
  • bank operations and compliance
  • brokerage and insurance services
  • commercial/business litigation
  • problem loan work-outs and restructurings
  • foreclosures
  • lender liability litigation
Click here for a complete list of services



Our firm has the additional expertise to help you with legal issues not specific to banking

Boardman & Clark is a full-service corporate firm. We have specialized attorneys available to assist our bank clients in other critical areas such as employment relations and wrongful termination, employee benefits, executive compensation, employment agreements, incentive plans, tax, intellectual property, leasing and real estate. When issues arise requiring assistance outside of our geographical area, we are able to call on the resources of over 170 law firms in the United States and other countries through our membership in Meritas, a global alliance of business law firms.

The firm regularly provides estate and tax planning services on an individual level to bank executives, employees and shareholders, and can assist individuals with other needs such as real estate.


We are committed to tailoring our services to your specific situation

We pride ourselves on providing superior legal services to the banking industry in an efficient and cost-effective manner. We work as hard for you when documenting your small business loan as we do when helping you purchase another bank, and we are very careful to avoid over-complicating the transactions with which we are involved. Our clients policy has been, and will continue to be, based on respect and appreciation for our clients, a partnership approach to resolution of our client's legal matters, and a goal of complete satisfaction with the end result. We strive to establish a personal relationship with our clients based on trust, informed understanding of our clients' industry, respect and concern for our clients' financial well-being. Our Clients Service Guidelines reflect our approach to doing business.



Our offices are strategically located

We have offices in Baraboo and on the Capitol Square in Madison. We take advantage of our proximity to the courts, the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions and the legislature to more effectively and efficiently advance the interests of community banks in Wisconsin.

Client Service Guidelines

We want our clients to be informed of our guidelines. They are meant to help assure a continuing and successful relationship. We will follow these guidelines when providing professional services to our clients.

  1. We will communicate and explain our fee arrangements with our clients early in the relationship.
  2. We will work with our clients to develop a deadline for every matter we undertake, and every matter will be completed by the established deadline.
  3. We will identify our clients' needs and expectations in every matter and do our best to meet those needs and expectations.
  4. We will make our clients' problem our problem, and our clients' satisfaction our primary goal.
  5. We will inform our clients if a matter is transferred to another attorney.
  6. We will return our clients' phone messages on the day they are received.
  7. We will maintain a "can do" attitude that gives our clients confidence in our abilities, resources and enthusiasm.
  8. We will not consider a matter completed until we have followed up with our clients to confirm their satisfaction.
  9. We will ensure that there are no unforeseen issues for our clients as we approach the deadline.
  10. We will adjust our clients' billing if our services are not satisfactory.

 

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