Professional Experience
Mike Fischer counsels employers on a broad range of labor and employment issues involving discipline and discharge, state and federal employment discrimination law (with a focus on disability law, family medical leave and military leave law), and traditional labor law. Mike regularly represents clients before various state and federal courts and agencies (including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, and the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division and Worker’s Compensation Division). Some of Mike’s recent experience includes:
- Successful defense before the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division of a national health care organization in a discharge case involving alleged violations of the Wisconsin FMLA.
- Successful defense of the Wisconsin Soccer Association against the State of Wisconsin’s claim that individuals refereeing for the Association are statutory employees. Wisconsin Soccer Association v. Labor and Industry Review Commission (Milw. Co. Circuit Court, 2008).
- Successful defense of a Milwaukee-based transportation provider in a four-day trial in Milwaukee Co. Circuit Court in a case alleging contractual violations.
- Successful defense before the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division in a case filed by a manager alleging discrimination on the basis of sex and national origin as well as retaliation.
- Successful defense before the Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission of a decision denying a claimant’s appeal in a retaliation claim.
- Obtained summary judgment in a case in which the plaintiff was a member of a national class action of managers alleging discrimination on the basis of race and sex.
- Obtained summary judgment and successfully defended the same before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in a case alleging a pattern and practice of nationwide discrimination against supervisors on the basis of race and sex. Dandy v. UPS, 388 F.3d 263 (7th Cir. 2004).
A former teacher, Mike also gives numerous seminars and training sessions each year, with a focus on the ADA, the FMLA, military leave law, and harassment for clients ranging in size from Fortune 500 companies to small nonprofits. The EEOC has also tapped Mike on three separate occasions to speak at the EEOC Training Institute, on topics including discrimination, race-based harassment, the ADA, the FMLA, and military leave.
Education and Honors
- Harvard Law School (J.D., magna cum laude, 1995)
- University of Michigan (M.A., 1987)
- Yale University (B.A., summa cum laude, 1985)
Phi Beta Kappa (Member).
Bar Admissions
Wisconsin,
1995
Court Admissions
U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit, 2006
U.S. District Court, District of Arizona, 1997
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, 1996
U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin, 1996
U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit, 1996
Professional Recognition
Martindale-Hubbell AV
® Peer Review Rated.
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (2010-present: Employment Law - Management / Labor Law - Management / Litigation - Labor & Employment).
Listed in
Chambers USA® for six straight years as a leading Wisconsin employment lawyer who is “highly reputed,” a “talented name worth mentioning,” and “a phenomenal counselor and educator;” recipient of a 2007 Aegis Award in video and film production for “The Americans with Disabilities Act” (with SAI Global); SAI Global Law and Ethics Advisor.
Selected for inclusion in the 2010-2012
Wisconsin Super Lawyers® lists (Employment & Labor).
Professional and Civic Activities
American Bar Association (Member, Section on Labor and Employment); State Bar of Wisconsin (Member, Section on Labor and Employment); Milwaukee Bar Association (Member, Labor and Employment Law Section). Contributor to the American Bar Association’s treatises
Employment Discrimination Law and
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. Clerk for Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson, Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1995-1996.
Vice President and Board of Directors, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra (current); Milwaukee Choral Artists (2003-2006); Early Music Now (1998-2000); Member, American Theatre Critics Association (current); National Book Critics Circle (current).
Author of the Practical Law Company’s Wisconsin chapters on leave law.