Kuchler keeps legal work all in the family

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For attorney Donna Kuchler, the practice of law has always been a family affair.

While attending the University of Wisconsin Law School, the mother of three would often pack her kids into the car and bring them along to lectures.

After graduating from law school in 1995, Kuchler joined her husband, Gerald Kuchler, practicing criminal defense in Waukesha.

In 2005, her son Tony Cotton joined the firm, now known as Kuchler & Cotton Law Offices.

Kuchler, 57, said the dynamic has worked well and she never has to put on her mom or wife hat at the office.

But sometimes work does follow them home, she said, such as when cash-strapped clients have crashed at their house for a few days.

Throughout her 16-year career, Kuchler, a former paralegal, has developed her practice to include defense of state and federal crimes, such as sex crimes, and in the field of child abuse, shaken baby cases.

In this week’s Asked & Answered, Kuchler reflected on the intricacies of a work-life balance and her affection for beauty pageants.

Wisconsin Law Journal: If you could develop one CLE course for credit, what would it be about?    Donna Kuchler: I believe a course teaching lawyers how to effectively study criminal discovery would be worthwhile and unique. Discovery review is a lot more complicated than just reading the reports that are provided by the district attorney offices. I would like to teach younger lawyers how to spot missing reports, how to spot potential legal issues and how to effectively do open records requests to obtain what the district attorney did not provide.

WLJ: What was your least favorite course in law school and why?
Kuchler: I did not like real estate law. I still have my numerous real estate law school notebooks in my office as a reminder not to be so foolish as to accept work on a real estate case.

WLJ: What do you consider your biggest achievement to date and why?
Kuchler: Raising my children. They are all so special, unique and loving. I am proud of each and every one of them. My wish for each of the children, when they were young, was not that they be a top student or a top athlete, my wish was that they be kind to others. They are.

WLJ: What is the one luxury item you cannot live without?
Kuchler: I’m not much of a luxury item gal. But I can say that I cannot live without my iPod.

WLJ: What is one thing attorneys should know that they won’t learn in law school?
Kuchler: That being a lawyer can be fun. Try to have a sense of humor. Lord knows it will come in handy.

WLJ: What is the first concert you went to?
Kuchler: I saw Johnny Winters at a club in Madison, so I guess that’s not really a concert. Those were my Grateful Dead days so the memory is cloudy.

WLJ: If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be and why?
Kuchler: Probably Oprah Winfrey. She’s such a cool lady. I love her humor, her entertainment and her passion for helping the less fortunate.

WLJ: What is your motto?
Kuchler: Treat others as you would like them to treat you. I know the expression has been around forever, but it remains so true.

WLJ: What is your favorite movie about lawyers or the law and why?
Kuchler: “Twelve Angry Men” has always been my favorite. I’ve seen many since, and that one will always remain my favorite. To watch one man turn around a hanging jury is inspiring to me.

WLJ: If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what career would you have chosen?
Kuchler: To work in the beauty pageant field. My middle son, Andrew, was in a lot of them when he was 3-5 years old and he frequently won. It was just a blast. My other son and law partner, Tony Cotton, a year older than Andrew, always asked why he wasn’t entered into the pageants. The reason is because they didn’t exist then. He doesn’t need to know the truth so don’t show him this column.