Perfect balance lodi11/13/2023 Croix County, and Lodi, in Columbia County. Tom Schumacher, a partner at Bakke Norman in New Richmond, grew up in Janesville and went to college at UW-Madison.īut he’s spent his 43 years as a practicing attorney in small towns – New Richmond, in St. “If you’re interested in something, you can likely drum up enough interest and get a group together to get it done.” “I think people would be surprised,” Graff said. The key to building a life outside the office in a small town is initiative, Graff said. “Medford’s population is 5,000 but we have a phenomenal children’s museum because several younger families who’d moved into town got together and they dreamed it and did it, and raised enough money to hire a director,” Graff said. But the way Graff sees it, small-town culture offers creative spirits a blank canvas. Some attorneys complain that there’s less to do in rural counties. “I still feel like there’s time in front of me and I’m not getting home at nine o’clock at night just because the traffic’s terrible,” Graff said. Even when Graff’s workload forces her to put in 50-hour weeks, the stress is manageable. “You have to be open to continually growing and paying attention to the business side of it.”īut a rural practice also has advantages. “You’ve got to have a little something else beyond just passing the bar,” Graff said. He can be reached by email or by phone at (608) 250-6126. School of Law 1997, is a legal writer for the State Bar of Wisconsin, Madison. Graff said that building a successful practice in greater Wisconsin requires a different skill set than it does in an urban setting. “I work my butt off and I have an amazing support staff, and I take a lot of business courses.” “I’m earning over $100,000 annually,” Graff said. Graff also handles adoptions and termination-of-parental-rights cases from outside Taylor County.Ī popular misconception is that attorneys practicing in greater Wisconsin make less than their big-city counterparts. “It’s unique and changes a lot, which I appreciate,” Graff said. ![]() Her firm handles the corporation counsel duties for Taylor County, which means advising the county board, representing the board in court, and handling tax foreclosures. The bulk of Graff’s practice is devoted to municipal law and family law. She also had no desire to live in Milwaukee or Madison. Graff said she looked for her first legal job in greater Wisconsin because, given that she has a law degree from a small out-of-state law school, she figured the big firms in Milwaukee and Madison would not be interested in hiring her. But she always intended to return to Wisconsin to practice law.Īfter a short stint with a firm in Wausau, in 2012 Graff took a job with a law firm in Medford, in Taylor County. Graff obtained her law degree from Ave Maria School of Law, in Naples, Fla. Graff grew up in Phillips, a small town located in Price County, 60 miles from the shores of Lake Superior. Practicing law in a rural county didn’t require much adjustment for Courtney Graff, a partner at Schmiege, Graff & Koch Law Firm in Medford. Call it the “Great Relocation” – moving to rural areas, where the need for legal services presents intriguing opportunities. Some labor economists dubbed it the “Great Resignation.”Īttorneys looking for a diverse practice and better work-life balance should consider something similar. It does not store any personal data.During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers quit their jobs seeking higher pay and better working conditions. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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