Contracts and contacts: Heaton excels at both

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After years of experience in private practice as in-house counsel and starting his own firm, much of how Paul Heaton sees the law still comes down to an epiphany he had in law school.

“I remember I was sitting in contracts class and it just struck me how practical and powerful the information I was receiving was,” said Heaton, a shareholder with Godfrey & Kahn, where he is part of the Milwaukee litigation group.

Contracts are a common thread in our personal and professional lives, a point Heaton sees illustrated regularly as a commercial litigator with a specialty in insurance and financial services.

But, really, Heaton said, “That could be said of law, in general. When you study law, you’re learning the tools and skills that apply broadly in politics, in business, in personal settings. It runs the gamut. And, once you finish law school, you can do almost anything.”

Heaton found his path as a trial lawyer, but said his 10 years as in-house counsel at an insurance company gave him insights that he still uses today, such as seeing a problem from the inside out.

“As an outside attorney you don’t live the problem in quite the same way as when you’re in-house and defending your employer,” Heaton said.

Starting a boutique firm in Milwaukee gave him similar insights, but his passion for the courtroom pulled him back to private practice in 2004.

“I realized over time I missed being a full-time trial attorney,” Heaton said. “Frankly I had an itch to get back into the courtroom. It’s basically an applied use of the law, when you’re litigating; and it’s a bit of theater, too.”

It’s also a rewarding and awesome responsibility.

“The challenge, I think, is stepping back and looking at issues in new ways rather than follow well-trodden paths,” he said. “It’s just always one of those things you have to remind yourself.”

Apparently, it’s paid off.

Heaton recently was named a 2013 BTI Client Service All-Star, one of 307 attorneys in the country nominated by clients for exceptional client service.

Wisconsin Law Journal: What is the best part of being an attorney?

Paul Heaton: There are times when our clients entrust us with their most difficult and significant problems. As a trial attorney, clients have placed their careers, their businesses, the welfare of their families, sometimes their entire life’s work, into my hands, and have trusted me and my colleagues to get them through ordeals they cannot possibly handle on their own. That’s an awesome responsibility, and it can be incredibly rewarding to help a client safely through those difficult moments in their lives.

WLJ: If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what would you have done?
Heaton: I’ve always been fascinated with history, and in another life I think I would have enjoyed studying and teaching military history. War is a microcosm for history. If you study the causes, methods, and consequences of war, you can go a long way in understanding the type of people and events that can change history.

WLJ: If you could be a superhero, who would you be?
Heaton: I’d have to go with Underdog. Who wouldn’t want to be a cape-crusading canine?

WLJ: What was your most useful law school course?
Heaton: Contracts was the most practical law school course, by far. Contracts permeate every aspect of our lives, both personally and in business. If you understand contracts you can play a great offense and defense. Contracts provide the tools for managing most of the other subject areas that are taught in law school, from property to torts to corporations. Contracts are king.

WLJ: What was your least-favorite course in law school?
Heaton: Trust and estates. Not sure why; it just didn’t capture my interest.

WLJ: If you could develop one CLE course for credit, what would it be about?
Heaton: It would be fun to teach a CLE course titled First Principles to emphasize my preferred approach to analyzing, resolving and then advocating solutions to complex legal issues in litigation. Attorneys all too often immerse themselves in the minutiae of statutes and decisions without first grappling with the underlying first principles of law that should be driving their analysis. Consideration of first principles can broaden your thinking and can lead to solutions that wouldn’t otherwise come to mind. I think this could be a good subject for a CLE topic for new attorneys.

WLJ: How would your mother describe you in one word?
Heaton: Jokester.

WLJ: What do you miss most about your childhood?
Heaton: I suppose the Peter Pan complex comes into play here. As a kid I spent the summers roaming the neighborhood with my friends from sun up to sun down, just having fun. Who wouldn’t miss that?

WLJ: What do you consider your biggest achievement?
Heaton: My greatest achievements to date are my two children, Alex and Caitlin.

WLJ: Finish this sentence: Happiness is …
Heaton: A verdict form with all of the questions answered correctly.