Flaherty is invested in family, staff and community

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As city attorney for Brookfield, Karen Flaherty understands the importance of foresight and the preparation needed to keep the city on track.

She said being an in-house attorney requires doing what you can to avoid liability and to provide policy-makers with whatever guidance they might need to make an informed decision. Although she spends much of her time in the background, she takes satisfaction from knowing that her work helps keep the public’s business moving.

“You do everything you can to make your employer the best community in the state,” she said, adding that as a Brookfield resident, she has a vested interest in making it a wonderful place to life.

“When my friends and neighbors comment on things that they like, I am proud of my role. When they complain about something, I talk to the department involved to try and get the situation changed,” she said.

Flaherty received an undergraduate degree in education and expected to practice juvenile law. She took up municipal law only after serving as a clerk at a general practice firm that also represented a small city in Wisconsin.

When she was hired on to her current position, she became involved in all sides of municipal law – from traffic prosecution to open-records litigation to a hearing before the Fire and Police Commission related to the firing of a police officer.

She became the assistant attorney for the city of Wauwatosa and then took a four-year break to have children. When the youngest of her three children turned one, she returned to a law firm that provided her with a benefit of flexibility that she now tries to pass on to her employees.

“If someone decides that it is best for her family to work part time, or if she needs to leave to be with a sick child, and that flexibility can be accommodated, I have offered that to those whom I supervise,” she said, adding that she makes a point each week to check in on how each of her employees is doing in their lives away from the office.

“What I find amazing is she’s always willing to help anyone who asks,” said Attorney Mary Woehrer of Woehrer Law Office, who was Flaherty’s classmate in law school.

Flaherty made her way to the Brookfield city attorney’s office in 1994 and now serves as department head for the city attorney, city clerk and the mayor.

“Karen has the unique ability to effectively work with diverse segments of the community,” Woehrer said.

“She is a talented attorney and a leader who is always open and receptive to other people and ideas.”