Jon P. Christiansen is a retired partner, having practiced for 35 years in the Litigation Department of Foley & Lardner LLP. He was formerly the chair of the firm’s Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice and former chair of the Litigation Functional Specialties Group. He was the original chair of the firm’s Distribution & Franchise Practice.
Jon was one of the principal authors of the “Product Distribution Guide,” published by CCH.
Jon is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin and the American Bar Association. He graduated, magna cum laude, from St. Olaf College with a B.A. degree and was awarded his J.D. degree in 1975 by Vanderbilt University, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as editor-in-chief of the Vanderbilt Law Review.
Jon served a judicial clerkship in 1975-76 with Judge Griffin B. Bell, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. He has been a partner with Foley & Lardner since 1982.
Jon has been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review rating system and has been selected by his peers for inclusion for at least 10 years in The Best Lawyers in America® in the fields of “Bet the Company” litigation and franchise law. Jon was also named 2011 Milwaukee Franchise Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America. He is also listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers (2003-2012). Franchise Times selected Jon as one of its “Legal Eagles.” He was also selected for inclusion in the 2005-2011 Wisconsin Super Lawyers® lists.
Jon has been active in numerous bar, charitable and conservation groups. He served on the board of directors of the Milwaukee Bar Association and its Bench and Bar Committee. He was a member of the board of directors of the Milwaukee Young Lawyers Association. He has also served on the board of directors of the Milwaukee Council on Alcoholism. He served for 20 years on the board of directors and was chairman of St. Aemilian-Lakeside, Inc., a treatment home for abused youth. He currently is the Chairman of the National Board of Trustees of Trout Unlimited, a cold-water conservation organization.