Michael Rusco

Michael Rusco
Michael Rusco
Senior Litigation Attorney

University of Wisconsin Law School

University of Houston

Michael D.O. Rusco (Cooweeja Mįįnąk) is a Senior Litigation Attorney at Lloyd & Mousilli.

Attorney Rusco has spoken, published, taught, and practiced extensively in the areas of litigation, appellate advocacy, commercial law, tribal law and federalIndian law. He has published articles on legal writing, tribal sovereignty, and tribal citizenship. He has advised businesses and tribal governments on a variety of high stakes matters including commercial contracts, business structures, construction law, constitutional law, employment law, gaming, taxation, wildlife and natural resources defense, tribal code drafting, U.S. Supreme Court appeals, and collection of tribal court judgments. He is a former University of Wisconsin William H. Hastie Fellow and law professor.

Attorney Rusco has practiced trial and appellate law for more than 12 years. During that time, he served as Senior Tribal Counsel for the Ho-Chunk Nation (“HCN”), Staff Attorney for the HCNJudiciary, an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin, and a business litigator at Adair & Myers, PLLC.

During his time with the Ho-Chunk Nation, Attorney Rusco’s primary area of responsibility was advising the Nation’s Department of Business, the Ho-Chunk office that oversees the Nation’s $1B-plus gaming, retail, and smoke shop enterprises. In that capacity, he provided advice on contract review and enforcement, construction law, employment law, RFPs/RFIs, and taxation.Two of Attorney Rusco’s largest assignments were to provide legal support to the Nation’s multimillion dollar casino renovation project and guidance on a multimillion dollar dispute with an information technology services vendor.

During his tenure with the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Attorney Rusco presented oral argument before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the WisconsinSupreme Court (State of Wisconsin ex. rel. Hensley v. Endicott, 245 Wis.2d 607, 629 N.W.2d686 (Wis. 2001)). He now lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with his wife Shanna, son Samuel, and daughter Poppy.

Attorney Rusco is licensed to practice in Texas.

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." - Goethe

Admissions

  • Ho-Chunk Nation
  • Texas
  • 7th Circuit
  • 5th Circuit
  • U.S Supreme Court

Advocacy, Pro Bono Work, & Community Service

  • Hindsight Distorted: Dispelling Misconceptions about Native Society Prior to 1492-Annual Native American Heritage Month presentation. Kiwanis Club, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Nov. 17, 2022; Southern University Law Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Nov.5, 2021 and Nov. 11, 2020; and Houston Community College, Houston, Texas Nov. 22, 2019 and Nov. 26, 2018.
  • Ho-Chunk Nation-Acting Attorney General requested research and a substantial memorandum analyzing whether the federal Fair Labor Standards Act applies to tribal enterprises located on trust land.
  • Texas Green Party-Researched and drafted a successful brief to the Texas Supreme Court addressing a ballot access issue. Note: the brief was filed under the signature of the attorney of record. A letter from the party chair acknowledges my participation. In re
    Green Party of Texas, 630 S.W.3d 36 (Tex. 2020).
  • Wisconsin Department of Justice-Successfully represented the Wisconsin Department of Corrections before the Wisconsin Supreme Court on an appeal of the state Prison Litigation Reform Act’s exhaustion requirement. State ex rel. Hensley v. Endicott, 245 Wis.2d 607, 629 N.W.2d 686 (2001).

Associations

  • Legal Writing Institute, Member, August 2006 to Present.
  • Tribal In-House Counsel Association, Board of Directors, March 2017 to 2019.
  • Journal of Legal Communication & Rhetoric, Article Reviewer, Sept. 2014 to June 2016.
  • Association of Legal Writing Directors, Survey Committee, Nov. 2013 to March 2016.

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