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Zeratsky keeps a cool head during tricky deals

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//August 30, 2011//

Zeratsky keeps a cool head during tricky deals

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//August 30, 2011//

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WLJ Photo by Kevin Harnack

A few days before the Fourth of July weekend, many lawyers were thinking of vacation time with their families.

Jessica Zeratsky, 34, was hard at work, but thinking of her family nonetheless. While putting in extra hours to close an up-and-down financial deal just before the holiday, Zeratsky said she looked to the example her parents, who run an electrical engineering and contracting company in Rhinelander, had set.

Her parents’ cool-headed, straightforward approach to business helped Zeratsky turn around the deal she was working on from incalculable to signings in a matter of days, she said.

“Sometimes in the banking business world, when things are going so fast and a lot of things are at stake and a lot of emotions running high, I try not to lose sight,” she said. “I worked hard and maintained my honesty throughout this entire transaction and I hope people realize they can trust me.”

Zeratsky’s efforts on financial restructuring at state banks and commercial and creditor’s rights make her a leader at von Briesen & Roper SC, said president and CEO Randall Crocker.

She works hard at home, too, waking early to spend time with her daughter and wrapping up the Fourth of July deal in time to celebrate her husband Matt’s birthday.

— Justin Kern

What trait do you most like in others?

Honesty

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

Psychiatrist

What is the first concert you went to?

Janet Jackson

What was your most useful law school course?

Legal Writing

Which living person/people do you most admire?

My parents

What is your greatest extravagance?

Anything my daughter wants — I can’t say no to her.

What is your most treasured possession?

My daughter

Where would you like to live?

On a lake in northern Wisconsin

Who is your favorite writer?

Willa Cather

How would your mother describe you in one word?

Loyal

What word in the English language do you wish you had invented?

Serendipitous

What do you miss most about your childhood?

Summer break with my sister — we didn’t have a care in the world

What is the best part of being an attorney?

I practice in an area of the law that is very fast-paced and presents new and challenging issues every day. I really enjoy, under those circumstances, being able to present my clients with timely and creative solutions to those issues.

What is your greatest fear?

Disappointing anyone (whether it be myself, my family, my friends, or my clients)

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