Maggie Cook is a shareholder on Godfrey & Kahn’s litigation team and member of the Labor & Employment Litigation, Non-Competition and Trade Secret, and Financial Services Litigation practice groups. She litigates a variety of complex commercial disputes that arise in the business context, including breach of contract actions, business torts, employment litigation, consumer protection laws, and real estate and construction litigation. Maggie has achieved successful outcomes litigating in state and federal courts and before various administrative agencies.
Maggie maintains an active labor and employment litigation practice. She represents employers in wage-and-hour class and collective actions, defends individual discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims, and regularly litigates restrictive covenant agreements, trade secret theft, wage claims, and termination disputes.
Maggie’s financial services litigation experience includes defending companies facing consumer protection claims under state and federal law, including alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and Wisconsin Consumer Act.
Maggie graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School. While in law school, Maggie served as a student attorney in the Criminal Appeals Clinic gaining hands on experience arguing post-conviction motions and writing appellate briefs. Prior to law school, Maggie worked for one year at a law firm in Illinois where she handled various condominium and homeowner association matters. She also worked for two and a half years at Godfrey & Kahn as a litigation paralegal.
Representative Experience
Maggie has been a member of several Godfrey & Kahn trial teams and has contributed to the success of several cases. Examples of some of the favorable results for our clients include:
Summary judgment in favor of employer dismissing claims of race discrimination, retaliation and violation of due process.
Affirmation on appeal of District Court’s dismissal of discrimination claims and award of sanctions for frivolous appeal.
Dismissal of motion for anti-suit injunction filed in Delaware Court of Chancery in favor of case pending in Wisconsin state court.
Dismissal of complaint alleging breach of a non-competition agreement, with the presiding court agreeing the relevant provision was unenforceable as a matter of law.
Secured landmark decision from the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which held that continued at-will employment constitutes lawful consideration to support a restrictive covenant agreement.
Entry of a protective order by a federal court quashing a subpoena by class-action plaintiffs and preventing the disclosure of a corporation's trade secret business methodology in multi-state, federal class action litigation.
Obtained a more than $12 million federal jury verdict for a publicly traded company relating to the theft of its customers by a former sales agent, which was affirmed on appeal.
Admitted To Practice
Wisconsin - 2009
Michigan - 2020
Illinois - 2021
Court Admissions
United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
United States District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
United States District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
United States Supreme Court
Professional Associations
American Bar Association
Association for Women Lawyers
Defense Research Institute (DRI)
Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association
Milwaukee Bar Association
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Bar Association
State Bar of Wisconsin
Activities
Milwaukee Bar Association – Past President
Honors
Recognized as a Wisconsin Rising Star (2015 – 2019)
Honored as a 2019 "Leader in the Law" by the Wisconsin Law Journal
2019 Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation
Winner of the 2020 Association for Women Lawyers Mentoring Award
Education
Juris Doctor, University of Wisconsin Law School, cum laude
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, Minnesota Paralegal Institute, American Bar Association approved
Bachelor of Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Behavioral Sciences and Law, with distinction