Bomrad finds fulfillment in family law

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Dolores Bomrad admits she fell into family law.

“It wasn’t what I planned to do,” said Bomrad, who worked in private practice and with the corporation counsel offices in Walworth and Kenosha counties before getting into family court.

But, since 1991, she has overseen primarily family law cases as a circuit court commissioner in Washington County.

“It’s a calling,” she said. “It’s not something you do to make a lot of money or because it’s easy, because it’s not.”

The work has left Bomrad with a sense of satisfaction, knowing she might have had a positive effect on children’s lives.

Now, as president-elect of Wisconsin’s new chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, she wants to give lawyers and other family court professionals the tools to have the same effect.

Despite having its headquarters in Madison, the international organization did not have a Wisconsin chapter until June.

“There is room here for the AFCC,” Bomrad said. “We fill a niche that no other organization does,” offering educational and support services for lawyers, commissioners, judges, psychologists, sociologists, mediators, social workers and financial planners, among others, all in an effort to improve the system for families.

AFCC international does that through a series of education events, including brown bags and annual conferences.

Still, Bomrad said, the Wisconsin chapter is still young, and even with more than 150 members, it is too soon to know what direction it will take.

But the group offered its first half-day educational program in October and expects to host another in fall. Leaders also want to offer lunchtime teleconferences so members from around the state can participate in brown bag-style events.

Wisconsin Law Journal: What do you consider your biggest achievement so far?
Dolores Bomrad: I don’t know about a biggest achievement, but I’m proud to be a two-time recipient of the Washington County Child Abuse Prevention Blue Ribbon Award. I’m proud to be an active member of the Wisconsin State Bar. I’m a former president of the Wisconsin Family Court Commissioners Association. I’m a member of the Wisconsin Inter-professional Committee on Divorce. And I am especially proud to be part of the group that founded the chapter of Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

WLJ: What is the best part of being a commissioner?
Bomrad: It’s being able to, hopefully, make a positive difference in the lives of children. The second best is it’s endlessly interesting. Not a day goes by that I don’t learn something. There never comes a day where you’ve heard it all. At least once a week, just when you think you’ve heard everything or you’ve dealt with most things that would come up in family court, there’s something new. I love the intellectual challenge in family court. I like the child-focused part of it and the personalities.

WLJ: What can you spend hours doing that’s not law-related?
Bomrad: Reading purely for pleasure, being on or near the water, kayaking, bicycling, cooking, walking in my woods. Just being outside.

WLJ: What trait do you most like in others?
Bomrad: Politeness. It really is becoming a lost art. I savor the rare instance where people say ‘Please’ or ‘Thank you’ or wave when they let you in a line or in traffic. I also enjoy people who are intelligent, and I really enjoy people who are funny. I’m terrible at telling jokes.

WLJ: What do you consider to be the most overrated virtue?
Bomrad: I can’t think of a virtue that is overrated. I can think of virtues that are difficult. I think patience is the most difficult virtue.

WLJ: What was your least favorite course in law school?
Bomrad: Uniform commercial code. I’m certainly a fan of commerce, but I’d rather have a tooth pulled than study the uniform commercial code because tooth pulling only last a few minutes. I absolutely could not stand that course.

WLJ: What was your most useful course in law school?
Bomrad: Legal research and writing. Those are the most important tools of our trade, no matter what we do as lawyers.

WLJ: If you could develop one CLE course for credit, what would it be about?
Bomrad: I have had the opportunity to do it. But, in my ideal world, I’d do a weeklong course — no one would come to it — but it would focus on how important interdisciplinary study and collaboration is in family and juvenile law. I’d include some mental health classes, some child development, some information on personality disorders, some information on alienation, some information on domestic abuse, as well as legal information.

WLJ: Which famous person would you most like to have a drink with? What would you drink?
Bomrad: I would love to have a drink with Lavinia Goodall. She is the first woman admitted to the Wisconsin State Bar back in 1874. I would love to have a glass of wine with her, but I would probably drink whatever she drank. I’m guessing probably tea, but I don’t know.

WLJ: What is your greatest fear?
Bomrad: My greatest fear is losing compassion, patience, becoming burned out, succumbing to political pressure. Anything that would make me less effective doing this work because I really am dedicated, and I really do feel privileged to be able to do it.