Lester Pines

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Don’t always take the conventional route.

That’s the idea that’s served Madison’s Lester Pines well over his 30-plus years as a lawyer.

He could’ve taken one of the jobs he was offered post-law school, to gain a little experience while earning a salary. Instead, he started his own firm with a couple of law school friends. Never mind that they had no mentors to speak of, or law firm management know-how.

He could’ve opted to represent employers in the early days of Title VII and Title IX; there was more work on that side in the mid-1970s. Instead, he opted to represent individuals, who almost always have far fewer resources than management.

And, he could stay warm and dry on chilly days. Instead, he habitually works out, training for “sprint triathlons,” a one-third mile swim, a 15-mile bike ride, and a 5K run. “The hardest part is getting to the pool, getting your suit on and getting into the water, especially in winter,” Pines observes.

Pines, of Cullen Weston Pines & Bach LLP, has built a reputation as one of Dane County’s top-notch employment lawyers, and as a tough trial court and appellate litigator.

He has a well-rounded practice. From day one, he also took on criminal defense cases, and he branched into personal injury and commercial matters. He has been involved in two original actions before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in addition to many other significant appeals.

He considers Luder v. Department of Corrections a career highlight so far. He and law partner Tamara Packard represented more than 120 employees of the Columbia Correctional Institution in their dispute over overtime pay. The case lasted four years and was fought in both state and federal court. Ultimately, in 2004, they obtained an extremely favorable settlement from the state.

Pines’ firm represents several labor unions: teachers, police and nurses. They perform some of the most difficult jobs in our society, and, for the most part, are not highly compensated.

“I find it very gratifying, for example, when we represent certified nursing assistants — the people who take care of our elderly relatives in nursing homes — who are treated incredibly poorly. Or police — people we think would be treated well by their counties and cities. It’s not always true.”

Pines is a passionate advocate. Yet, he says, “I’ve always said to my associates, and to my students at the pretrial civil advocacy course I teach at the University [of Wisconsin Law School], that when you’re going to trial, you should be sufficiently well-prepared, so that if the judge were to say, ‘I want you to switch tables,’ you should know the case and understand the law well enough to be able to do that. It makes you a better trial lawyer.

“People can get wrapped up in the ideology of one side or the other. That tends to make you myopic.”