Laura Lindner

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Laura Lindner didn’t set out to follow her father’s career path, it just happened that way.

Her father, Dennis Lindner, practiced labor and employment law at Lindner & Marsack SC. Today, she’s a second-generation Lindner practicing labor law at the same firm.

When Lindner, 39, a Brookfield native, left for her freshman year at University of Notre Dame, law was far from her mind. She enrolled as a pre-med major. But, as the lure towards analytical and problem-solving courses became stronger, she changed her major to political science and economics. In 1993, she received her law degree from University of Wisconsin Law School.

“I chose law because of the people aspect of it,” says Lindner, who’s also a shareholder and board member at the firm. “Decisions are made by people, not words in a contract.”

Even though she’d chosen law, Lindner still didn’t have an interest in labor and employment law until she joined the law firm of Ross & Hardies (now McGuireWoods) in Chicago.

“When I first joined the firm, I found the people in labor and employment were excellent lawyers,” Lindner says. “Even though my father was a labor lawyer, it wasn’t always in my head to practice in that area.”

Lindner continued to practice in Chicago until 2004 when she joined Lindner & Marsack. Ironically, her father had retired from the firm in 2001.

“I didn’t have a specific plan of coming back to join the firm,” Lindner says. “His partners contacted me saying, ‘We need you.’”

At Lindner & Marsack, Lindner represents employers in employment and benefits litigation, including claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, as well as claims under FMLA, FLSA, and ERISA, and state tort and breach of contract and non-compete agreement claims.

Her most challenging cases involve sexual harassment, she says. So far, she’s tried four as a defense attorney and won all of them — except one minor claim in a case.

“It’s challenging because of the psychological and credibility issues,” she says. “It can be very challenging because often it’s ‘he said/she said.’”

The biggest change in the profession is the shift from labor law to employment law, she says. Now, more cases involve disability and medical leave of absence disputes.

“Labor work has declined while the employment part has grown,” she says.

Her next step is preparing to become president and chief executive officer of the firm, she says.

When she’s not practicing law or preparing for court, she says she believes in giving back to the community, primarily in her current role as board chair for the YWCA. She also spends time enjoying theater and opera performances in Milwaukee and Chicago — a habit that started at a young age as she attended performances with her parents and grandparents.

Lindner has never herself performed on stage. The closest she’s come was serving as theater critic for her college newspaper, she says, adding, “But in the courtroom, you’re kind of doing that.”