Husch Blackwell’s Du ices hockey career for corporate transactions

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Growing up in Canada, Kevin Du envisioned himself playing pro hockey.

After donning skates for Harvard University, he played professionally for a couple of seasons overseas and started looking into different hockey-related careers.

“I thought about becoming an agent or manager and realized that many people in these types of positions had law degrees,” said Du, an attorney with Husch Blackwell in Madison. “I saw that having a law degree opened a lot of doors for you.”

After playing professional hockey in China and Germany he found a job as a paralegal and began the law school application process.

“I had a lot of great mentors who helped guide me through the process of applying to law school and reviewed different career opportunities with me,” Du said.

Du, who met his Wisconsin-born wife while in a math class at Harvard, applied to the University of Wisconsin Law School. By the time he began law school, Du’s career aspirations turned to being a practicing attorney, rather than working in sports. After graduation, Du began his career as a litigator, but after helping out on a corporate transaction, he knew another change was in the works.

“Being a corporate attorney suits me,” he said.

Du, who majored in economics as an undergrad, uses that background in helping his clients.

At Husch Blackwell, Du works on a broad range of transactions as part of the Corporate, Securities and M&A team, but primarily focuses on mergers and acquisitions and working with banks to finance projects.

“I enjoy helping businesses solve their complex legal problems,” he said.

Wisconsin Law Journal: What makes your work important to you?
Kevin Du: I enjoy helping clients achieve their business goals. I am fortunate, as an attorney at Husch Blackwell, to be able to work with a wide variety of businesses that face complex legal issues. It is both challenging and rewarding to help solve these issues for our clients.

WLJ: Who is your hero in the legal field?
Du: I’ve been very lucky to have great mentors throughout my legal career who have given me opportunities to develop as an attorney. Paul Karch of Husch Blackwell and Paul Curtis and Jonathan Schuster of Axley Brynelson have all been instrumental in my legal career so far.

WLJ: What do you do outside of work to deal with stress from the office?
Du: In the winter I play hockey once a week. I played college hockey at Harvard and professional hockey in Germany and China. While my skills are not quite what they used to be, I still love getting on the ice and competing. In the summer I’m on the golf course trying not to lose too many balls. I also enjoy traveling — Vietnam and France are the last two places I visited with my wife.

WLJ: What’s one thing many people get wrong about what you do?
Du: That we only work with a certain type of client or certain size of business. Given the talent and broad knowledge of our attorneys at Husch Blackwell, we are able to help companies of all sizes and across many different industries.

WLJ: What’s your favorite memory from law school?
Du: In my second year at the University of Wisconsin law School I competed in the Tulane Mardi Gras Sports Law Invitational moot court competition during Mardi Gras, which was a fun time. The issue that year dealt with the NBA lockout and antitrust challenges.

WLJ: Is there a certain case that stands out to you?
Du: Hoffman v. Red Owl Stores, Inc. I remember this case from law school because (1) it happened in Wisconsin; and (2) it was the first time Professor [William] Whitford cold-called me in his contracts class!