Michael B. Van Sicklen was a partner and litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. His practice focused on commercial litigation, debtors’ and creditors’ rights, and appellate practice. He represented and counseled clients in a wide variety of civil and commercial litigation, bankruptcy, and insolvency matters, including real estate and lender liability matters, as well as all types of civil cases on appeal to higher courts. He oversaw all litigation in the Ambac Assurance Corporation (Segregated Account) Rehabilitation (see ambacpolicyholders.com). Michael served as head of the Madison office Litigation Team for 10 years and was a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Bankruptcy & Business Reorganizations Practices, as well as the Appellate and Insurance & Reinsurance Litigation Practices.
Prior to joining Foley, Michael served as a law clerk to Justice Nathan S. Heffernan on the Wisconsin Supreme Court (1979–1980), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco (1980–1981), and Judge Robert Boochever of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Juneau, Alaska (1981–1982).
Awards and Recognition
- Van Sicklen was Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale‑Hubbell’s peer review rating system. He was listed in The Best Lawyers in America© for more than 20 years and was named 2012 Madison Litigation – Real Estate “Lawyer of the Year,” 2013 and 2015 Madison Appellate Practice “Lawyer of the Year,” and 2014 Bet‑the‑Company Litigation “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers®. Van Sicklen was also selected for inclusion in the 2005–2014 Wisconsin Super Lawyers® lists, was named a top appellate lawyer by Madison Magazine, and was listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers in the area of complex commercial litigation (2013–2014).
Thought Leadership
- Van Sicklen taught and lectured from time to time on various litigation subjects and spoke at the University of Wisconsin Law School about judicial clerkships and interviewing skills.