Tuttle helps clients explore all the options

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A court case between two family members opened Debra Tuttle’s eyes to the power of mediation.

Tuttle, who is now executive director and chief mediator for the Metro Milwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Program, was on a case where a grandfather and his teen granddaughter were fighting over the control of an estate left behind when the girl’s mother died.

“This case wasn’t really about money. If it had kept on going, the lawyer fees would have eaten up the money. It was about control,” Tuttle said. “They were both grieving and the grandfather saw things one way while the girl saw it another. Once they were able to see what the real issue was, the case was settled.”

Tuttle’s interest in mediation continued to grow.

She joined the Metro Milwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Program in 2009. In early 2012, Marquette University announced plans to pull its support of the program, so Tuttle and her partner, Amy Koltz, who is director of operations, formed a non-profit organization to continue the program, which is under contract with the Milwaukee County Clerk of Circuit Courts, with primary funding from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice recently asked Tuttle and Koltz to replicate their successful system statewide. That program is known as the Wisconsin Foreclosure Mediation Network and is designed to explore alternatives between lenders and homeowners, using foreclosure as a last resort.

“Most organizations have five doing what Amy (Koltz) and I are doing,” said Tuttle, who still does about three mediations a week in addition to her administrative duties. “We are just super busy getting this set up.”

But the program is working. And while the number of foreclosures have dropped, the number of cases is still above the historical average. If the number of foreclosures drop to a level where her program is no longer needed, Tuttle said it could be retooled to handle other financial cases, such as student debt or credit card debt.

“We have the infrastructure in place that has made mediation a dignified and respectful way to deal with financial problems,” she said. “We could switch out the topics as needed. Mediation is really about communication. There are solutions out there and we are helping people connect with them.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: What was your least-favorite class in law school?
Debra Tuttle: Admiralty or maritime law. I had it my last semester of law school and it was an afternoon class. I was just not tuned in. The professor was wonderful, but it was really nothing I had much interest in.

WLJ: If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what would you have done?
Tuttle: Policy research and analysis. I’m drawn to projects that are big and want to come up with a way to find solutions.

WLJ: What do you consider your biggest achievement?
Tuttle: I think I am at the highlight of my career right now. Amy (Koltz) and I started up this program and it continues to grow and blossom. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been very rewarding.

WLJ: What was your most difficult case?
Tuttle: The one between the grandfather and granddaughter that eventually led me to my interest in mediation. On paper, it looked like it was just about money, but it wasn’t.

WLJ: What was your favorite toy as a child?
Tuttle: I had a Charlie McCarthy dummy that I carried around. I don’t know how good I was, but I could entertain people with it for a couple a minutes.

WLJ: If you could have a drink with one person, who would it be?
Tuttle: That’s hard. I would pick having a glass of wine with Jesus and a glass of scotch with Ben Franklin.

WLJ: Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Tuttle: I couldn’t think of this so I asked my family. My 9-year-old daughter said right away “Brush your teeth.” She has braces and I’m always on her to brush her teeth.

WLJ: What is your favorite thing to do in Wisconsin?
Tuttle: Attend a Dave Matthews concert at Alpine Valley.

WLJ: Complete this sentence. Happiness is…
Tuttle: Being a part of a group you love, whether it’s a family, church parish or an organization and you work together on something hard and complete it.

WLJ: If you could pick one super power, what would it be?
Tuttle: Invisibility.