Wessels takes legal expertise to the masses

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In 2005, elder law attorney Carol Wessels learned a valuable lesson about always answering the phone.

On the other end of the line was a producer from Dr. Phil McGraw’s syndicated talk show, who wanted Wessels to appear as an expert on an upcoming show.

In private practice at the time and without a secretary, Wessels answered the phone on a whim and less than a week later appeared on the show to provide legal guidance for the family of an elderly woman with schizophrenia.

Wessels, 47, said the 15 minutes of fame didn’t necessarily translate to a boom in business, but she enjoyed the experience. Throughout her career, she said, she has been a speaker on elder law and mental health issues.

After 15 years practicing with a handful of nonprofit organizations, Wessels joined Wauwatosa-based Nelson, Irvings & Waeffler SC full time in 2007. She focuses on powers of attorney, Medicaid planning and representing victims of elder abuse.

This week, she shared her insight, both legal and personal, in this week’s Asked & Answered.

Wisconsin Law Journal: If you could develop one CLE course for credit, what would it be about?
Carol Wessels: How lawyers can talk, write and act like normal people while still thinking like lawyers.

WLJ: What was your least favorite course in law school and why?
Wessels: Ironically, it was Trusts and Estates, which I do a fair amount of these days. It was the year the Marital Property Act was going into effect. I was completely confused by the whole thing and found it immensely boring.

WLJ: What do you consider your biggest achievement to date and why?
Wessels: In my legal career, it is probably losing a case in the Wisconsin Supreme Court and then not having it heard by the U.S. Supreme Court because it led to getting the law changed in the state. In briefing the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, federal counsel agreed with me that Medicaid patients who pre-pay for nursing home care for the first month are eligible to have that money refunded in Wisconsin. The law ended up being changed here, so I got the legal victory, but as far as the process, I was a big loser.

WLJ: What is the one luxury item you cannot live without?
Wessels: A massage. I’ll say that because I am still in denial about the iPhone addiction.

WLJ: What is one thing attorneys should know that they won’t learn in law school?
Wessels: When to turn down a client. Unfortunately you usually learn that only by bitter experience.

WLJ: What is the first concert you went to?
Wessels: The first concert I went to was the Pink Floyd “In the Flesh” tour in the late ‘70s at  County Stadium. I didn’t actually have tickets, but you really didn’t need them because you could hear the whole concert from far outside and could see the flaming pig that flew out of the stadium. Hmmm I never thought about this before, but maybe that explains why I like the phrase “when pigs fly…”

WLJ: If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be and why?
Wessels: If I have to pick, it would be God, for many reasons — none related to power. One, to see if God really exists; two, to see the whole world in a day; three, to talk to my Dad and some dear friends again; four, to make my dog live as long as I do and five, to figure out which, if any, of my theories on why bad things happen to good people is true.

WLJ: What is your motto?
Wessels: Take your pick, they all work for me at different times: “Fear is just excitement without the breath.” “The more honest you are, the less you have to remember what you lied about.” “The more I know, the more I know I don’t know.”

WLJ: What is your favorite movie about lawyers or the law and why?
Wessels: “Miracle on 34th Street.” Because it shows the value of a creative defense and because I figure just about everyone else said “To Kill a Mockingbird” so I wanted to be different, even though that one is really the best.

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