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MILWAUKEE - A local law firm is at the center of a major Senate controversy.

Roland Burris, the appointee of embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, used to work in the Chicago office of Milwaukee-based firm Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan, and that firm now represents him as he fights to take his seat in the Senate.

"We really believe in Senator Burris and it's really exciting to be helping him," said Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan attorney Jeff Krill. "But it's really exciting for our firm to work on really a national basis and be part of that team."

From his office in Milwaukee, Krill researches and writes documents for the Burris case and sends them to Illinois and Washington, DC.

"I knew him before and I always had a lot of respect for Senator Burris," Krill explained. "We called him 'The General' because he is a former attorney general."

Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan is one of the largest minority-operated law firms in the country, and it has doubled in size in the past two years.

"Milwaukee has been a good home for Gonzalez, Saggio, and Harlan, both growing here and as a place for us to launch in to other cities," said partner Jerry Gonzalez.

The firm just expanded into Phoenix and Los Angeles, there buying out Johnnie Cochran's old firm.