Botzau balances work and community

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Steven Botzau planned to be a teacher, until a dispute with a college landlord gave him a taste for the courtroom.

“[My college roommates and I] brought a lawsuit to get out of the lease and get the property condemned,” the Habush Habush & Rottier SC shareholder said. “They hired a lawyer. I represented myself and my roommates, and we had a trial. I won, and I told my roommates, ‘You know, this law thing doesn’t seem so bad.’”

Though he abandoned his plans to become a teacher, the instinct never really left him, which might explain his approach to mentoring new associates, such as Benjamin Wagner, now a partner at the firm.

When Wagner joined the firm in 2003, right after law school, Botzau let him handle cases on his own, including cases that Wagner didn’t have a great shot at winning.

“Steve struck such a great balance in allowing me to succeed and fail on my own,” Wagner said. “He helped me learn to try cases, manage client relationships and, of course, how to win, but also how to learn when you lose.”

Botzau said he feels privileged to be able to give back, whether that’s through mentoring at the firm or volunteering in the community.

He’s a former president of the Racine County Bar Association, which in 2009 named him Volunteer of the Year. He was recognized, in particular, for his efforts to coordinate training for bailiffs statewide, as well as his participation in mock trials as part of Law Day observances with Racine Public Schools.

Botzau also has coached youth sports, serves on the board of directors for Racine Youth Sports and, since 2010, has organized the Gus Macker basketball tournament, which brings together hundreds of athletes each year to raise money for RYS.

“I’m a guy who has a lot of lists,” Botzau said. “I carry them with me and try to get to as many [items] as I can.”

Juggling family, community and church involvement has been the biggest challenge of his career, he said.

His ability to do so is one of the things Wagner said he admires most.

“He’s able to do all these things (within the firm) and still be a father and, now, grandfather, and he also is a community leader,” Wagner said. “He is a true mentor.”