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Templen parlays construction experience into legal success

By: Caley Clinton, [email protected]//June 23, 2011//

Templen parlays construction experience into legal success

By: Caley Clinton, [email protected]//June 23, 2011//

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(Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)
(Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)

Lynda Templen is a shark.

At least, that’s what her husband tells her.

“My husband says I have to keep swimming or I’d die, and he’s probably right,” Templen said.

The bond attorney has stayed afloat despite plenty of challenges over the years — from health concerns to juggling family, work and school.

Templen started out working in the construction industry, but decided to tackle law school in her late 30s. She juggled raising three children and working two full-time jobs while completing her degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in three years.

“I’d like to say I’m Wonder Woman, but that isn’t how you do it,” Templen said. “I came to the experience when I was a little older and had life experience.  Organization and time management skills made it easier.”

After graduation, Templen used her previous experience in construction to shape her focus on corporate tax and finance law.

“The majority of my clients are family businesses that are expanding,” she said. “Those are the people I was.

They’ve invested their whole life and sweat equity into their business and are taking a huge risk by expanding and borrowing more money.”

That ability to relate to her clients has been an asset, she said, and she enjoys helping clients “swim through the complicated mess” of transactions.

“I love those people,” she said of her clients. “I love when they take me around and show me their facilities. I love that they know their employees names.”

And the clients love her, said Paul Eberle, chief executive of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek.

“She is laser-focused on her clients, and clients love her because she gets it,” he said. “She’s direct, smart and cuts through a lot of the nuance.”

Despite her success, Templen has had to face challenges related to the fact that she suffers from epilepsy.

She had her first grand mal seizure during law school and has continued to work through times when she could not drive because of her condition.

Her husband of 18 years, Paul Voelker, drove her around during those difficult times and continued to do so for many years after he retired, Templen said, allowing her to visit customers all over the state.

“They say there’s a woman behind every successful man, I say, ‘Look behind me,’” she said. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhyhJI-_vHo

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