Fischer finds time to write on and off the clock

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As a practicing attorney, Mike Fischer of Quarles & Brady LLP writes extensively for his job, but it’s his side work as a local theater and book critic that allows him to tap into his creative side.

Since 2003, Fischer has relished the occasional opportunities to write reviews, which he said offer a nice diversion from his labor and employment practice at Quarles’ Milwaukee office.

He has written more than 40 reviews this year, mostly of productions put on by Milwaukee’s major theater companies such as the Milwaukee Repertory Theater and First Stage Children’s Theater.

Fischer, a 1995 Harvard Law School graduate, said the side gig as a critic has allowed him to sharpen his legal writing and better evaluate clients and the stories they tell.

Given that his practice includes state and federal employment discrimination law with an emphasis on disability law, family medical leave and military leave law, Fischer said critical thinking is essential in assessing the merits of a case.

Fischer put his critical thinking to work in this week’s Asked & Answered.

Wisconsin Law Journal: If you could develop one CLE course for credit, what would it be about?

Mike Fischer: Storytelling. Lawyers continually lose sight of the big picture because they’re drowning in detail. Thinking about narrative helps teach one to focus on what really matters and let the rest go.

WLJ: What was your least favorite course in law school and why?

Fischer: Trusts and Estates. It’s much more interesting in Victorian novels than in real life.

WLJ: What do you consider your biggest achievement to date and why?

Fischer: Other than my marriage – more of a blessing than an achievement – I am most proud of having partnered with clients to improve the lives of thousands of employees by promoting a culture of tolerance and respect.

WLJ: What is the one luxury item you cannot live without?

Fischer: Chocolate. It’s good for you, right?

WLJ: What is one thing attorneys should know that they won’t learn in law school?

Fischer: There’s a reason we’re called counselors. Being a good lawyer isn’t primarily about how much law you know, important as that is. It’s about learning how to listen and being practical.

WLJ: What is the first concert you went to?

Fischer: Bruce Springsteen. I saw him in Philadelphia on the same night that John Lennon was killed.

WLJ: If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be and why?

Fischer: Shakespeare. The man had a vocabulary of more than 21,000 words; most of us get by on fewer than 5,000. I’d love to know what it’s like to be able to describe so much, so well.

WLJ: What is your motto?

Fischer: Life isn’t a dress rehearsal.

WLJ: What is your favorite movie about lawyers or the law and why?

Fischer: “Twelve Angry Men.” It provides an always-needed reminder that laws are made by people, and can only be as good as we have the courage to be.

WLJ: If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what career would you have chosen?

Fischer: I’d have chosen to play center field for my beloved Detroit Tigers. But since I can’t hit a curve ball, they’d have never chosen me.

Jack Zemlicka can be reached at [email protected].