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Exploring unfamiliar territory

By: Jack Zemlicka, [email protected]//April 15, 2011//

Exploring unfamiliar territory

By: Jack Zemlicka, [email protected]//April 15, 2011//

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Milwaukee attorney Yehuda Handler, photographed outside the federal courthouse in Milwaukee, and other newer attorneys who opened their own firms during the recession have had to balance the need to make money with the temptation to take on cases beyond their level of experience. (Photo by Kevin Harnack)
Milwaukee attorney Yehuda Handler, photographed outside the federal courthouse in Milwaukee, and other newer attorneys who opened their own firms during the recession have had to balance the need to make money with the temptation to take on cases beyond their level of experience. (Photo by Kevin Harnack)

2010 law school graduate Yehuda Handler never intended to take on traffic law and bankruptcy cases after studying immigration and international business law, but limited options in a tough market changed his course upon graduation.

Handler’s options were scarce after finishing his studies at Chicago-Kent College of Law, he said, compounded by a move from Chicago to Milwaukee because of his wife’s residency at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center. The new lawyer opted to open his own law firm on Milwaukee’s northwest side and takes cases as he gets them.

“I started doing traffic law and bankruptcy because that’s the work I’ve been getting,” Handler said.

To better prepare himself for those types of cases, Handler said, he has sought out advice from veteran attorneys in both areas before taking on clients.

But other solos in similar situations have not been as savvy.

Each year, about 50 percent of the money paid out by the Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Co. for legal malpractice claims is due to attorneys practicing in areas they do only 10 percent of the time, said senior vice president Tom Watson.

While the payment percentage has remained steady during the recession, Watson said, there is an elevated risk of attorneys dabbling in areas they probably shouldn’t be with the poor economy forcing more to hang out their own shingle.

“In an effort to build a client base, they end up taking on cases in areas where they have less experience, and that increases the risk of mistakes and potential malpractice claims,” he said.

Legal malpractice litigator Kelly Centofanti said the majority of cases she handles for plaintiffs deal with attorneys practicing beyond their skill set as a lawyer.

Centofanti said she hasn’t seen a spike in incidents, but acknowledged the increased danger with more new graduates jumping into private practice with no mentor or back-up.

“Most malpractice is people venturing out of their comfort zone, no question,” she said.

When 2010 Marquette Law School graduate Michael Heller started his own firm in Milwaukee, he said, he knew the risk associated with jumping into practice with no safety net.

He had hoped to catch on as a transactional lawyer in the banking industry after graduation, but found the market to be virtually nonexistent, and began taking referrals from the Milwaukee Bar Association.

Now he handles a wide range of cases, from small claims to construction disputes and collections.

“I had a friend who works at a construction litigation firm who I called and said, ‘I have no idea what I’m doing, can you point me in the right direction’,” Heller said. “I probably make one of those calls each week.”

Heller also has relied on the sage advice of his uncle and grandfather, who are both attorneys, to help guide him. But when the work is too far outside his comfort zone, he has turned it away, he said.

“Someone called and needed a will drafted and I said, ‘Unfortunately, I have no idea where to start,'” Heller said.

Heather Richmond, a 2009 graduate and self-employed attorney in Algoma, knows the feeling.

Richmond had aspirations of working for either the State Public Defenders Office or as a prosecutor after law school, she said, but started taking guardian ad litem cases to sustain her practice.

Her interest during school in family law courses equipped her with the basic knowledge to handle GAL cases, Richmond said, but she referred inquiries related to wrongful termination and worker’s compensation complaints to other, more well-versed attorneys.

“Malpractice is my main concern,” she said. “As a solo practitioner with a new firm, I have to weigh whether this is going to help my bottom line versus putting my license in jeopardy.”

Watson acknowledged that is not an easy decision to make for new lawyers faced with six-figure student loan debts and pressure to generate income.

But he would prefer not to hear as many attorneys come into his office and say “I knew I shouldn’t have taken that case,” he said.

“What we always tell lawyers is that ‘no’ is a complete sentence,” Watson said. “They can’t be afraid to say ‘no’ on occasion.”

Jack Zemlicka can be reached at [email protected].

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