The state of Wisconsin is in the Central portion of the US, falling in the Seventh US Court of Appeals Court system. The state is bordered by two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, and the states of Michigan and Illinois. The state is the 20th most populous, and 23rd largest US state by area. Madison is the state capital while Milwaukee is the largest city in the state, which is divided into a total of 72 counties. It was the 30th state admitted to the Union on May 29, 1848.

During early parts of the 19th and 20th centuries, the state was emigrated into by Scandinavian and Germans from Europe. To this date, the state is still a major hub for Scandinavian-American and German-American residents like its neighbor, Minnesota. Prior to European settlement in the state, it was inhabited by Native American tribes, and Paleolithic groups.

The state is known as “America’s Dairlyand” and is a major producer of cheese, milk, eggs, and other dairy products. Manufacturing of paper products, the IT industry/sector, and tourism, are all major contributors to the state’s economy. The state’s tourism industry is greatly driven by National Parks including the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, North Country National Scenic Trail, and Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, among others.

Information on specifics related to Wisconsin’s state government is available in the Wisconsin Blue Book, which state residents can request through their state representatives.  The state has a three-pronged government, with an executive, legislative, and judicial branch.  The Executive Branch is headed by the governor, along with five other elected state-wide positions.  The Legislative branch is bicameral, broken into the Assembly and the Wisconsin State Senate. 

The Judicial Branch is comprised of a court system broken into four levels: municipal courts, circuit courts, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. Local ordinance matters are handled by the Municipal courts.  The Trial courts are the circuit courts, with original jurisdiction for both civil and criminal cases.   Challenges to these courts are hard by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, which is 16 judges broken into 3 judge panels. 

The highest court in the state is the  Wisconsin Supreme Court, which hears appeals as well as original actions, and is in charge of regulating the practice of law across Wisconsin.

Two major law schools in the state are the University of Wisconsin School of Law in Madison, Wisconsin and Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The National Law Review covers cases, news stories, legislation, and agency news from the state of Wisconsin. Legislation like “ban the box” affecting labor and employment laws, wage and hourly law legislation, Medicare/Medicaid, telemedicine, real estate property rights, and other cases and stories are published regularly by NLR, providing visitors up to date information about the state.