An appealing argument for change

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A recent oral argument before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals was memorable for Madison lawyer Mary Kennelly.

The three-judge panel consisted entirely of women, and the vibe during the arguments was very different and refreshing, she said.

Even better, the court affirmed a verdict Kennelly had obtained in a retaliation and race discrimination case, Blue v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

When Kennelly first starting practicing, every panel consisted of men, she said, and took place in a courtroom with photos of male jurists on the walls. “So things are changing, in a very positive way,” she said.

Kennelly has spent her entire 26-year career in litigation, principally representing employees in employment and civil rights cases.

“It [trial work] wasn’t a typical area for women to go into,” she said. “It’s more common now than it used to be. But I definitely would see a lot of men on the other side and appeared before all male judges, and found often that I wasn’t taken seriously, but I was able to work that to my advantage.”

Among her first significant successes was Feldmann, et al. v. McCaughtry, et al., where she won a verdict for six correctional officers, finding willful violations of their First Amendment rights.

“It was a 55-question verdict, every one answered in our favor,” she recalled about the 1994, two-week trial. “Fifty-five questions is huge; usually there’s two or three. So it was pretty amazing to sit there and listen to the court read them all.”

Another big win came in 2003, in Bicknese v. Sutula, where Kennelly prevailed before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The justices affirmed a verdict, holding that a university official wasn’t entitled to discretionary immunity after reneging on a job offer made to her client.

Then in 2004, in Elestwani v. Nicolet Biomedical, a jury in the Western District of Wisconsin found race discrimination and retaliation, and awarded $1.56 million in damages, including punitives, plus reinstatement.

Madison lawyer Jeff Scott Olson, who has tried cases with Kennelly, said her work is inspiring.

“What’s most impressed me is she’s developed a completely well-rounded mastery of shepherding a civil rights damages action, from initial intake all the way through trial and appeal,” Olson said. “There are lots of lawyers who are pretty good, but they have strengths and weaknesses, and weaknesses can sink the ship. But Mary doesn’t really have any weaknesses. There’s not an area of achievement for a lawyer bringing a case along that you could say she’s not strong in.”