Personalities stick out for seasoned Richter

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The “bloodied veteran” of 216 cases tried to verdict, Ward Richter says each case tells its own story.

“My clients have trusted me to take their cases to trial where the amounts at stake have ranged from hundreds of dollars to many millions,” said Richter, who has worked as a civil litigator at Madison-based Bell, Moore & Richter SC since 1974.

And regardless of the amount, Richter has often won. He is one of 10 lawyers selected to serve as a charter member of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and also has been chapter president. He is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Richter said some of his trials have been made memorable because of their particular facts, or the laws they’ve created, but the personalities of the parties involved in the cases frequently made them stand out.

“There was a trial early in my career when we settled on the instructions just before breaking for lunch,” he said. “We came back after lunch for closing arguments. As I was giving my argument based on a particularly significant instruction, the judge interrupted to apologize for failing to tell me that (after spending the lunch hour in the sauna with some cronies at the YMCA), he had decided not to give the instruction central to my argument. I explained to the jury that I apparently did not know the law, but I thought I knew the facts. Fortunately for my client, we got a favorable verdict anyway.”

For the most part, Richter’s straightforward and respectful demeanor has helped him get along just fine with most judges.

“By and large I think I have had good relationships with the judges before whom I have been privileged to practice,” he said. “Things that are important to me in the courtroom, being prepared, getting to the point and being considerate of the jury, also resonate with most judges.”

Marie Stanton, a fellow civil litigator who works for Hurley, Burish and Stanton SC, said one of Richter’s greatest skills is his insight.

“That’s why he connects so well with judges, opposing counsel, clients and colleagues,” she said. “He has the vision to see what others feel, and appreciate their perspectives, even while challenging them.”

Stanton said Richter is a worthy ambassador for lawyers, as he keeps his word and speaks his mind.

“There are no curves in his arguments,” she said. “It’s all head on.”