Tomislav Z. Kuzmanovic

Clients of Tomislav Kuzmanovic receive the full benefit of his more than 35 years of U.S. and international trial and dispute resolution experience. He has handled international arbitrations, litigated cases to verdict in state and federal courts in Wisconsin, and argued appellate matters in the Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal.

Tom manages a wide variety of business and commercial litigation for his clients and has extensive experience in class action and appellate matters. His practice also encompasses complex business litigation, transportation, toxic torts, health, long-term care, construction, hospitality, security, product and premises liability, employment and noncompete litigation, international and human rights law, as well as foreign and domestic investigations.

Tom joined Hinshaw in 1988. He currently serves as the partner in charge of the Milwaukee Office and is a former member of the firm's Executive Committee.

• American Bar Association
• Association of Defense Trial Attorneys
• Wisconsin Defense Counsel
• Conference of Freight Counsel
• Transportation Lawyers Association
• Association of Croatian American Professionals
• Defense Research Institute
• International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ADC-ICC)
  • Association of Defence Counsel
  • Executive Board, Vice President, 2009 – 2010
  • Disciplinary Board, 2014 – 2015
• Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow
• Milwaukee Bar Association
  • Bench/Bar Civil Committee, 2005 – 2015
• State Bar of Wisconsin
  • International Practice Section, Board of Directors

• Selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© for Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, 2022 – 2025; Transportation Law, 2023 – 2025
• Recognized by the Association of Croatian American Professionals (ACAP) with the Professional Excellence Award in Law, Governance, and Public Policy, 2024
• Recognized on the Super Lawyers list by Wisconsin Super Lawyers magazine in Business Litigation, 2005 – 2012, 2014 – 2024
• Croatian American Bar Association's (CABA) 2012 Vinodol Code Award, 2013
• Profiled in "A Small Part to Play," an article in Super Lawyers magazine describing his litigation practice and his human rights work on behalf of independent Croatia, 2006
• Awarded the Order of the Croatian "Pleter" by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, 1996
• Recognized by the City Council of the Croatian City of Slavonski Brod for his contributions to its defense, 1992
• Milwaukee Young Lawyers Association Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Community, 1991
• Holds the AV® Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating for ethics and legal ability
• American Bar Foundation, Fellow

In May 2012, Tom argued the appeal of General Mladen Markač before the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, Netherlands. General Markač, who served as the Assistant Minister of Interior and Commander of Special Police (equivalent to Special Forces) in Croatia in 1995, had been sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment by the ICTY's Trial Chamber for allegedly committing crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war from August to September 1995. Tom began representing General Markač in 2007, with the trial commencing in March 2008 and concluding in August 2010. General Markač was acquitted on all charges when the Appeals verdict was rendered in November 2012.

Tom represented the Order of Friars Minor (OFM), the worldwide order of Catholic Franciscan Priests based in Rome, in defense of a class action lawsuit. The case alleged that the OFM was involved in the transport and misappropriation of gold bars allegedly stolen from the Croatian State Bank at the end of WWII. After six years of litigation, beginning in Federal District Courts in Los Angeles (where it was dismissed) and San Francisco, and progressing through U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit ultimately dismissed the case in its entirety.

Tom has successfully represented the Republic of Croatia in both federal litigation and international arbitration. In Kahvedzic v. Croatia, he obtained a dismissal of claims made by a plaintiff who alleged that the Croatian government misappropriated and converted assets from a Bosnian business owner during Croatia’s war for independence. The federal district court in Tampa dismissed the case and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the plaintiff’s petition for a writ of certiorari. In Lalich v. Croatia, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed the plaintiffs’ $3.5 billion claim for reparations for property allegedly stolen from them by Croatia during the Second World War.

Tom also successfully defended Croatia in international arbitration against claims brought by the military contractor L3 Communications. After an arbitration hearing in London, the three-person arbitration panel dismissed all claims related to Croatia's war for independence in the 1990s.

Other representative examples of Tom's trial experience include:

• Harvey v. Western Diversified, Milwaukee County, Judge Michael Skwierawski. Insurance bad faith and toxic tort.
• Pettit v. Vassos, Kenosha County, Judge Michael Fisher.  Professional liability/architect.
• Pilkington-Theesfeld v. Bornstein, Walworth County, Judge John Race. Premises liability/equine. 
• Prosecutor v. Delalic, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Command responsibility.
• Weimer v. Dynaweld, Jefferson County, Judge William Hue. Product liability/trailer. 
• Zahran v. Cleary, Federal District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge Robert Warren, Judge Charles Clevert. Breach of contract and fraud case. 
• H. K. Mallak, Inc. v. Fairfield FMC Corp., Federal District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge Lynn Adelman. Premises liability/security.
• Heritage v. Intermatic, Inc., Federal District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge William Griesbach. Product liability/timer.
• Schulz v. Grunau Project Development, Inc., Milwaukee County, Judge Daniel Noonan. Construction defect.
• Jenkins v. American United Taxicab, Milwaukee County, Judge David Hansher. Commercial vehicle.
• Wells-Valentine v. Active Foam Products, Inc., Milwaukee County, Judge Jeffrey Kremers. Commercial vehicle.

Tom's appellate experience includes:

• Briggs v. Farmers Ins. Exchange, 2000 WI, 234 Wis. 2d 178.
• H. K. Mallak, Inc. v. Fairfield FMC Corp., 209 F.3d 960 (7th Cir. 2000).
• Malinowski v. DeLuca, 177 F.3d 623 (7th Cir. 1999).
• Carney v. White, 843 F. Supp. 462 (E.D. Wis. 1994), aff'd 60 F.3d 1273 (7th Cir. 1995).

Tom frequently appears on the Political Power Hour with Steve Scaffidi on 620 WTMJ, 620 AM in Milwaukee, discussing current national legal issues and international law topics. He is also a regular guest on "International Focus," a weekly television broadcast sponsored by the Institute of World Affairs at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee. Additionally, he is an active speaker at professional and community events across the country.

His presentations include:

• "The Decisive Battle of the Croatian War of Independence: A Primer on the ICTY Appeals Judgment That Proved Operation Storm was a Lawful Military Operation,"Crodiaspora Webinar, August 4, 2020
• "War Stories from a War Crimes Trial," Society of Trial Lawyers, Chicago, Illinois, September 2014
• "Foreign Corrupt Practices Act—What You Need to Know," presenter and co-panelist, 2013 Wisconsin Real Estate and Business Law Institute, Madison, Wisconsin, June 2013
• "The Role of International Criminal Courts and Tribunals; How Do We Measure Success?," Panelist, ABA Section of International Law, Paris, November 2010
• "Present and Future Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina," 39^th National American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS) Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 2007
• "National Leadership Conference of Bosnian and Croatian Americans," moderator, Chicago, Illinois, March 2006
• "Contract Law for Contractors," Project Manager / Project Executive Peer Group Meeting, Gilbane Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, December 2005

• The Federation of Croatian Societies Inc., Milwaukee, President, 2018 – Present
• Village of Greendale, Fire and Police Commission, 2012 – Present
• Croatian American Association, Board Member and Vice President, 1994 – 2002
• University of Wisconsin-Madison, National W Club