Michael Best attorney a Hitt with clients

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Andrew Hitt is driven by a desire to serve the community.

In pursuing his goals, Hitt has to find a way to balance his roles as senior counsel at Michael Best & Friedrich and chief operating officer and partner at Michael Best Strategies. In his legal practice, he focuses on healthcare and regulatory cases. Michael Best Strategies is the firm’s dedicated business-consulting, government-relations and public-affairs affiliate. There, Hitt handles tactical matters and scheduling in his role as COO, while also helping clients better understand public policy, strategic planning and communication.

“I have been fortunate to have a career where everything I do helps the community,” he said. “I have been blessed that I am able to give back.”

Hitt did not start out intending to be an attorney. He majored in medical microbiology and immunology and, after graduation, worked on cancer research. While he enjoyed the work, Hitt said he wanted a career in which he could make a mark much more quickly.

“I saw the law as a way where I could make a daily difference and serve my community,” he said.

After law school, Hitt served as a law clerk to the Honorable Justice Annette Ziegler of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and worked as an assistant district attorney in the violent-crimes unit of the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office. Hitt then served in Gov. Scott Walker’s administration in several roles, including deputy legal counsel, senior advisor and as a member of his cabinet at the Department of Health Services and Department of Administration.

Hitt, who earned his master’s degree in business administration with a healthcare emphasis earlier this year, has considerable experience in the industry and now serves on the board of directors for the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics.

Healthcare and regulatory issues were a good fit for his interests and expertise, Hitt said.

“I really enjoy science and have a lot of background in healthcare, so practicing in that area makes a lot of sense,” he said. “As for regulatory law, again, there is a lot of science involved if you think of the DNR and their work, for example.”

Hitt was recently named chairman of Walker’s Judicial Selection Advisory Committee, which helps the governor select county judges across the state when positions come open.

“We have a group of about a dozen people on the committee and we divide up the initial interviews,” he said. “In the next round, I conduct interviews with the governor’s legal counsel and deputy legal counsel. The last step is making a recommendation to the governor.”

As to how he manages to carve out time in such a busy schedule, Hitt said it all comes down to management and organization. “I work very efficiently,” he said.

Wisconsin Law Journal: What makes your work important to you?
Andrew Hitt: I love being a difference maker and someone who gets results for clients.

WLJ: Who is your hero in the legal field?
Hitt: My heroes in the legal field are all the public servants in the law. They work tirelessly and are often underpaid and sometimes undervalued. Whether it’s a judge, a prosecutor, a public defender or someone serving an elected official, they serve the people of this state and they do it so well. We need to continuously encourage young lawyers to spend some time in these roles.

WLJ: What do you do outside of work to deal with stress from the office?
Hitt: In the fall, I love to duck hunt. I still need to find something else for the other 10 months out of the year.

WLJ: What’s one thing many people get wrong about what you do?
Hitt: As Chairman of the Governor’s Judicial Selection Advisory Committee, some people think what I do is about partisan politics. It’s not. It is about finding an excellent attorney with unimpeachable judgment who believes in the proper role of a judge.

WLJ: What’s your favorite memory from law school?
Hitt: Reading and thinking about the law. The day to day demands of practice as we all know do not permit a lot of time to think about the law like we did in law school.

WLJ: Is there a certain case that stands out to you?
Hitt: Texas v. Johnson, which is a United States Supreme Court case that concluded that Johnson’s conviction for desecrating the American flag was inconsistent with the First Amendment. Justice Scalia joined the majority opinion authored by Justice Brennan and it was this case where I began to really understand the differences between political views and judicial philosophy.