Skwierawski joins family in legal profession

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After 10 years as a software developer, Andrew Skwierawski decided it was time for a change.

Eschewing the solitary career of a software developer also meant he could touch people’s lives, something he wanted to do.

“My dad always talked about and believed that the basis of being a lawyer is helping people,” he says. “So that became a part of my personality. Being a lawyer is just one way to do that in your career.”

Skwierawski, 36, said he had always thought about going into law, following the path his father and sister took. His father is the Hon. Mike Skwierawski, a retired Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge, and his sister, Audrey Skwierawski, is assistant attorney general and Violence Against Women Resource Prosecutor at the state Department of Justice.

Skwierawski has built his practice at Friebert, Finerty & St. John SC on business and environmental litigation and electronic discovery. A major client of his is the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.

Working on highly technical cases is right up his alley, Skwierawski said.

“Even if it’s an area out of my wheelhouse, the language of science is relatively intuitive for me,” he said. “Having worked in software and computer systems, it really helped to have that background.”

— Shayna Miller

What was your most useful law school course?

Business organizations

What was your worst law school course?

Estate planning

What is the best part about being an attorney?

For me, it’s learning and mastering new things. Every time a new case comes along it brings with it new knowledge to absorb.

If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what would you have done?

Well, I was a software architect for 10 years prior to becoming an attorney, but I also loved to act.

What is your favorite thing to do in Wisconsin?

I love to take my kids to my cabin near Devil’s Lake and play in the streams.

What is your greatest fear?

That I won’t be able to teach my kids how to live life better than I have

What is your greatest extravagance?

While I really love to eat way too much at a good meal, my wife and I love to travel.

What is the first concert you went to?

I honestly don’t recall, I have never been big on concerts. But my first piece of Shakespeare I ever saw was Randall Duk Kim doing Hamlet at the American Players Theatre. That was amazing.

Who are your favorite writers?

I love J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series, which I now read with my daughter.

What trait do you like most in others?

Passion and kindness

What is your most prized possession?

My photo collection on my computer

What song is in heavy rotation on your iPod

The Best of Gilbert and Sullivan

What famous person would you like to have a drink with?

The Coen brothers. Or John Stewart.