The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) is honored to announce that we have won two awards at the 2024 Annual State Policy Network Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. These awards were created to celebrate organizations like ours that “pioneer new solutions and avenues toward lasting social change, personal freedom, and opportunity at the state and local levels.” WILL was selected to win a Bob Williams Award for Biggest State Based Litigation Win and a Communications Excellence Award. 

The Quotes: WILL President and General Counsel, Rick Esenberg, stated, “At WILL, we pride ourselves in our ability to defend liberty and freedom in Wisconsin and across the country. We are honored to receive this national recognition, and it reflects our organization’s continued growth and strong capacity to make lasting impacts in litigation and policy.”  

The Bob Williams Award: Our victory against the Biden Administration’s discriminatory “Minority Business Development Agency” was chosen for advancing the cause of free markets and federalism, while demonstrating how litigation plays a crucial role in defending and advancing freedom.  

WILL’s lawsuit alleged that the new agency violated the Equal Protection Doctrine, which guarantees that all individuals must be treated equally, without regard to race. The Court agreed with WILL and the MBDA was declared unconstitutional. Subsequently, the court issued a broad, nationwide injunction, ordering President Biden and the agency to stop discriminating against American business owners based on race.  

Communications Excellence Award: Our coverage and advocacy for wedding barns was selected to win the Communications Excellence Award for Powerful Storytelling.  

In May of 2024, WILL filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) on behalf of two Wisconsin wedding barns. The lawsuit is seeking to mitigate the harmful impacts of Wisconsin Act 73, which became law in late 2023 and fully takes effect in 2026. WILL also released a video and marketing effort that can be viewed here.   

As SPN explains, “Storytelling is the most fundamental element of communication. In marketing, storytelling can inform and persuade. An organization that tells powerful stories will boost its brand, spread the message of policy impact, and change public sentiment. This award recognizes the storytelling that truly impacted an organization’s brand image and policy impact.” 

Read and share the press release online here.