Curley finds her calling on appellate court bench

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The Hon. Patricia Curley describes her job as “industrial strength writing.”

As the presiding judge for the Wisconsin District 1 Court of Appeals, Curley spends the majority of her time sequestered in her chambers, researching cases and then scribing opinions.

Curley, 64, acknowledged it is a very monastic existence, but also one which suits her style.

She joined the appellate court bench in 1996 after spending 18 years as a circuit court judge in Milwaukee County.

While her time on the circuit court exposed her to a wide variety of cases, Curley said, the appellate court is not a place for the grammar-challenged judge. As she put it: “If you don’t like writing, this is not the place for you.”

Curley took a break from putting pen to paper to respond to this week’s Asked & Answered.

Wisconsin Law Journal: If you could develop one CLE course for credit, what would it be about?
Patricia Curley: Given my profession, I would have an effective written advocacy course.

WLJ: What was your least favorite course in law school and why?
Curley: Probably trusts and estates. I lived in terror because our professor had a dry sense of humor and was extremely critical of people who did not have the right answers. He called on people by chess moves, so you had to have a good understanding of chess to know if you were the next person to be called on.

WLJ: What do you consider your biggest achievement to date and why?
Curley: Probably being elected six times to my position as a judge, on both the circuit court and Court of Appeals bench.

WLJ: What is the one luxury item you cannot live without?
Curley: My inherited Green Bay Packer tickets I got from my dad. I’ll be using them this Sunday.

WLJ: What is one thing attorneys should know that they won’t learn in law school?
Curley: You can be just as persuasive in eight pages as you can in 16.

WLJ: What is the first concert you went to?
Curley: I cannot remember exactly who I saw, but I remember the venue. I spent a summer in the early ’70s in San Francisco and saw a number of bands at the Fillmore.

WLJ: If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be and why?
Curley: I’d want to be Terry Gross, the host of Fresh Air on National Public Radio. She interviews all kinds of people from musicians to politicians and book writers. I think that would be a great job.

WLJ: What is your motto?
Curley: Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought her back.

WLJ: What is your favorite movie about lawyers or the law and why?
Curley: “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Nothing else comes close to it. All the positive qualities about lawyers and what they can do in society come out in that film.

WLJ: If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what career would you have chosen?
Curley: Probably journalism. I think it would have best meshed with my interests and personality.

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