Best Lawyer to Sit Next to at a Law Event

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Carl R. Kugler, Foley & Lardner LLP, Madison

Madison lawyer Carl R. Kugler’s CLE attendance rules: Always arrive early enough to secure a back-row seat. And, if the speaker deserves heckling, it’s polite to do so quietly, only among your back-row compatriots.

Kugler says he’s always dreamed of winning Wisconsin Law Journal’s highly coveted distinction as the “Best Lawyer to Sit Next to at a Law Event.”

In his day job, Kugler, a partner with the state’s

largest law firm, primarily provides legal counseling to business clients with an emphasis on commercial transactions, contract law and product distribution matters.

By night, he is continually auditioning for The Last Comic Standing. OK, maybe not. But his friends say he is funny enough to make the cut.

“Carl is definitely someone I’d seek out to sit with, especially if it’s going to be a long session,” says Jason W. Allen, at Foley & Lardner’s Milwaukee headquarters. Allen first learned of Kugler’s keen wit in law school, and the two joined Foley at the same time.

Joseph D. Shumow, a second-year associate at the firm, confirms that Kugler is indeed quite humorous – “But he’s also very smart, too. He makes comments that are both funny and very insightful.”

Kugler says he wishes more lawyers would take themselves less seriously. They’d enjoy their jobs, and their lives, much more.