Moskol emerges as health law leader

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A strong mentor can make all the difference in someone’s career.

For attorney Kerry Clancy Moskol, that guiding force has been Quarles & Brady’s Sarah Coyne, whom Moskol met while interviewing as a 1L at the firm.

“I thought she was hilarious,” Moskol recalled.

With Coyne’s encouragement and advice, Moskol, 36, has emerged as a leader in the state’s health law community.

She is a past-president of State Bar’s Health Law Section, and is widely regarded as a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act expert.

“What I like about my job is, all of my clients are trying to do the right thing — by their patients, by their employees and by the government,” she said. “It can be very challenging— it seems like there are a million laws that come into play. It’s rare that anything comes up twice, which is both good and bad. And, it’s a very dynamic field, now especially.”

Moskol also tackled a pro bono challenge, when she played a key role on a team that successfully represented a Chinese woman seeking asylum as a Falun Gong practitioner.

“It was a huge relief for her and a very difficult case because she didn’t have past persecution in her country, which put a much larger burden on us,” Moskol said.

— Jane Pribek

What was your most useful law school course?

Contracts with Professor Bill Whitford. It wasn’t necessarily the content of the class, but he was just a phenomenal teacher who taught us answers aren’t always black and white. We learned to question things more and not to think so concretely about legal issues.

How many countries have you visited? Which ones?

After college, I taught English in Argentina for a year. I’ve also been to Brazil, Uruguay, Spain, Italy, England, Ireland and Mexico.

What can you spend hours doing that’s not law-related?

Hanging out with my husband and kids at a beach

What would you never wear?

Never say never, because the styles keep coming back around again. But for me, I’ll never wear rolled up jeans again – they’re coming back, unfortunately. And I really find nothing appealing about overalls.

If you could be a superhero, who would you be?

Whichever of them that has a teleporter. I’d love one of those

What profession would you not want to participate in?

Anything that involves getting very dirty. And I’m a bit claustrophobic, so being in a submarine for a prolonged period of time would not work for me.

What is your favorite thing to do in Wisconsin?

Eat fried cheese curds. We used to go on what we called “The Fried Cheese Curd Taste Test” after work, where we’d go to different places that serve them and usually feel a little sick by the fourth stop. And when they serve them at firm events or when I just go out to eat with people, everybody knows I’m going to need my own basket.

What is the first concert you went to?

Duran Duran. My dad took me, and I was really embarrassed when he started dancing.

What are you craving right now?

Chocolate and a latte