CRIMINAL DEFENSE
At the Waukesha District Attorney's Office Mr. Adent successfully prosecuted murder, sexual assault, reckless homicide and other criminal cases. After only one year as an Assistant District Attorney he was promoted to the position of Deputy District Attorney.
He also taught college level classes in law enforcement and served as an advisor to local law enforcement. After leaving the district attorney's office he was successful in obtaining favorable jury verdicts in some highly publicized alleged sexual assault and homicide cases.
Among the cases that Mr. Adent has handled one involving an accusation by the convicted murderer that Mr. Adent's client hired the murderer to kill a pregnant woman. The murderer implied that the woman was pregnant with Mr. Adent's client's child. Mr. Adent's client had consistently denied involvement in the murder. However, Mr. Adent's investigation revealed that the convicted killer had a relationship with the woman. Further, evidence was introduced by Mr. Adent that the convicted killer had told numerous conflicting stories. After a five day jury trial and three days of deliberation the jury returned a verdict favorable to Mr. Adent's client.
Another case involved a young man who accused five Episcopal priests, four of which were Wisconsin residents, of sexually assaulting him. After a five day trial a jury returned a favorable verdict for Mr. Adent's client. Mr. Adent was able to show that a therapist influenced the young man. The psychological testimony placed grave doubts on the young man's recollections. Three other priests were convicted or pled guilty.
These cases illustrate the competency of Mr. Adent in the criminal law area. He has successfully handled numerous other criminal cases including fraud cases, traffic cases and Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of an Intoxicant. He has obtained many favorable verdicts and negotiated favorable plea agreements for his clients.
PRODUCT LIABILITY
Mr. Adent was hired to sue the Jeep Corporation for negligence in the manufacturing of a Jeep. The accident occurred in Northern Wisconsin. The client's spouse was in the back seat sleeping when the driver swerved to avoid a deer. The driver and front seat passenger survived. The client's spouse died. By electing to pursue the insurance company and the Jeep Corporation a settlement was reached in excess of six figures. The insurance company paid policy limits but the wrongful death limited the client's widow's recovery.
A client of Mr. Adent's was injured when a defective cable on a tree stand broke and he fell sixty feet to the ground. The client was a cement mason who suffered multiple foot fractures which lead to two triple arthodesis. An investigator was sent to northern Wisconsin to retrieve the tree stand. An expert from Canton, Ohio was hire to analyze the tree stand and determined that the manufacturer was negligent. The manufacturer was sued and at depositions in Illinois, it was learned that the manufacturer was bankrupt and did not have products liability insurance. The manufacturer had been approached by a Texas Cable Company who promised him that the cables would be safe. When the manufacturer learned that they were not he sent out recall notices to sellers including one to Cabelas Catalog Company. Cabelas' denied having any customer information that would allow them to notify customers. After numerous depositions, the information was produced by Cabelas. The unfortunate hunter received a settlement totaling almost One Million dollars the week before the scheduled trial date.
In the Fall of 2002, Mr. Adent settled a medical malpractice case which had lasted for four years. It involved experts from Houston, Texas and Los Angeles, California. At the deposition of the defense doctor, Mr. Adent elicited testimony that it was the opinion of their own witness that the doctor's treatment of Mr. Adent's client's diabetes was below the standard of care of the medical profession and this negligence was one of the causes of the client's medical problems. This case settled for $190,000.00 one week before trial. Mr. Adent handled other malpractice cases including one where the hospital staff and the doctor failed to realize that a baby was born with only one-half of a heart.
WORKER'S COMPENSATION
In the worker's compensation area, Mr. Adent has received settlements and awards for reflex sympathetic dystrophy, back and neck injuries and death. In one case, the client was the widow of an individual who had been electrocuted. She came to Mr. Adent because the insurance company refused to pay an $800.00 emergency room bill. The insurance company claimed the deceased had a heart attack and cited his weight of 300 pounds as a natural cause of death. By obtaining expert medical and engineering testimony, Mr. Adent was able to obtain the maximum $80,000.00 settlement for the client.
Recently, Mr. Adent settled a worker's compensation case involving Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. The insurance company had denied that his client had RSD. After retaining an expert who confirmed the condition and retaining a functional capacity report, a vocational expert was then hired. The settlement of this case in the amount of $121,251.93 occurred one week before the scheduled hearing. These cases are merely representative of the diverse nature of injury cases Mr. Adent has handled.
INJURY
Mr. Adent successfully handled many auto accident cases. A case that stands out is one where a 17-year-old who wanted to be a airplane mechanic was broad-sided by another vehicle and suffered severe spinal injuries. These injuries resulted in two spinal fusions. The insurance company's last offer was $80,000.00. After a five day trial in West Bend, Wisconsin, the jury returned with a $427,000.00 verdict and found that Mr. Adent's client was not negligent.
FAMILY LAW
Mr. Adent has had extensive experience in family law. While family law cases are stressful they are very important to the family's future. Mr. Adent's approach to family law cases is to provide aggressive representation but to always try to be fair and realize that the parties will always have a continuing relationship if children are involved. In a divorce case fairness is important.
OTHER
Appeals
While not specializing in appellate cases, Mr. Adent has been involved in writing briefs and supreme court and appellate court arguments in cases that he has appealed or the other side has appealed. They include:
In re the Estate of Paul R. Sharpley, Sr., 2002 Wis. App. 257 Wis.2d. Where the court upheld the trial court's decision favorable to Mr. Adent's client. The court held in a probate case where the father had disinherited his son in favor of Mr. Adent's client, the grandson, that there was no right to a jury trial in a probate case and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in not disqualifying itself because it had other cases with the Sharpleys. The supreme court refused to hear the appeal from the appellate court.
In the Interest of DUB, 158 Wis.2d 398, Mr. Adent argued successfully before the appellate and supreme courts that the trial court did not have jurisdiction because the district attorney's office filed a juvenile waiver petition after the child's 18th birthday. This established the principle that an action is commenced on the date of filing. Based upon the supreme court decision no charges were filed.
Bussewitz v. Bussewitz, 75 Wis.2d 78 established the principle that the contributions of a non-working wife is at least equal to the contributions of a working husband. Mr. Adent argued that his client was entitled to a larger that 50% share of the marital estate even though she did not work during the marriage. This case has been cited as precedent at least 26 times by the appellate and the supreme court.
Sabella v. Melendez, Ct. App. 2000 Case No. 99-0870 was a real estate case where Mr. Adent's client came to him after signing an Offer to Purchase and had changed his mind and did not want to sell the real estate. The trial court ruled against Mr. Adent's argument that because another attorney did not deliver the earnest money check to his client, the offer was void. The appellate court accepted Mr. Adent's argument and his client kept the real estate.
Federal Court
Mr. Adent has handled both civil and criminal cases in Federal Court. Some of the subject matter includes bank robbery, cultivation of large fields of marijuana, discrimination, injury and other violations of federal law.
