Gerleman takes his career for a spin

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Spinning yarn and thread gives Plymouth lawyer Thomas Gerleman the physical distraction his brain needs to focus on solving some of his most difficult case problems.

“You can be spinning and creating thread, and your mind enters sort of a right-brain state,” said Gerleman, of Law 4 Kids, which concentrates on children’s law and criminal defense. “For some reason, that physical, creative activity helps you tap into the creative part of your brain.

“When you need to create a theory of a case, if you can occupy your hands, it helps free up your mind.”

His interest in spinning started in 1987, when Gerleman, who has combined law and education throughout his career, was teaching farm law for a University of Wisconsin-Extension Agricultural Outreach short course for students with farming backgrounds.

A dyslexic teenager named Matthew confided in Gerleman that he’d been called retarded since fifth grade, Gerleman said. Gerleman, however, told Matthew dyslexia is a sign of brilliance, and the two decided Matthew would record the classes and learn with his ears, Gerleman said.

Matthew earned the highest grade in the class, and Gerleman found a specialist at Cardinal Stritch University who introduced Matthew to other learning strategies.

As a gesture of appreciation, Matthew’s mother visited Gerleman’s classroom at the Wisconsin Center for Gifted Learners in Milwaukee to demonstrate how to spin. The students and Gerleman were fascinated, he said, and it all took off from there.

“This was something I could do with some training that allows me to create something by hand, without modern technology,” Gerleman said. “I think that’s an important part of our culture that, unfortunately, we’re losing.

“All these kids play video games, and I think we should be teaching them how to make and build things with their hands before they attempt to with a computer.”

For Gerleman, that extends to making and building cases.

“When you take a case, you start with this mass of facts that looks like a tangled mass of raw wool,” he said. “And you have to clean up and organize the facts.”

The parallels between law and spinning continue, Gerleman said, as the facts eventually get lined up and neatly arranged.

“You spin your facts to create a story for the judge or jury,” he said. “And if you’ve spun them correctly, they will pick up the thread of your story, see it and feel it.”