Ball finds new challenges ‘appealing’

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Creating an entirely new section of the State Bar sounds like a daunting task.

But it comes naturally when it happens to be an attorney’s passion.

Colleen D. Ball helped found the Appellate Law Practice Section in 1999 and three years later formed her own firm, Appellate Counsel SC, after 11 years at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren.

In 2008, she joined the Wisconsin State Public Defenders Office and became the First Assistant in Milwaukee’s Appellate Office.

Ball also formed the state’s Pro Bono Appeals Program in 1998, a service which links volunteer attorneys with indigent litigants in the state’s appellate courts.

Find out below just how appealing she found this week’s version of Asked & Answered.

Wisconsin Law Journal: If you could develop one CLE course for credit, what would it be about?

Colleen D. Ball: You know the movie “Freaky Friday”? Through some feat of magic a mother and her 15-year old daughter exchange bodies, but keep their own brains, for a day. Imagine a CLE where a lawyer and client reverse positions while retaining their own minds. It could change how lawyers interact with their clients and how clients view lawyers. And it could be much funnier than the mother-daughter swap.

WLJ: What can you spend hours doing that isn’t law-related?

Ball: Jogging, walking my dog, and researching family history.

WLJ: What is your favorite website and why?

Ball: On Point, of course (www.wisconsinappeals.net). It’s the State Public Defender’s blog analyzing Wisconsin appellate decisions. Bill Tyroler’s informative, but sometimes irreverent, take on the issues makes me laugh.

WLJ: Which actor would play you in a movie and why?

Ball: None who cared about her career, but I’d like to see Tina Fey try.

WLJ: What is one thing attorneys should know that they won’t learn in law school?

Ball: Don’t go to law school. I’m half kidding. It’s a demanding career. More like a marathon than a 50-yard dash. The profession does not encourage or reward pacing oneself, but law students should understand the need for it.

WLJ: What is the first concert you went to?

Ball: Either Puccini’s “La Bohème” or the Bee Gees. I saw both in 7th grade but can’t remember which was first.

WLJ: If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be and why?

Ball: If you mean literally trade places, then (Wisconsin Supreme Court) Justice Michael Gableman. That could be fascinating for both of us.

WLJ: What is the hardest thing to tell a client?

Ball: “You are wrong.” Not “you lost,” but “you are wrong.”

WLJ: What is the one luxury item you cannot live without?

Ball: Time.

WLJ: If you were State Bar President for a day and could make one permanent change to the profession, what would it be?

Ball: Require every lawyer to represent at least one indigent client per year.

Jack Zemlicka can be reached at [email protected].