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Coursin finds life’s work in return home

Coursin finds life’s work in return home

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Drew Coursin (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)
Drew Coursin (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)

Growing up in Madison, Drew Coursin couldn’t wait to get out.

After graduating from Macalester College in St. Paul, he went to Scotland for six months, returning to the U.S. with plans to enter medical school. But just before classes were to start, he realized medical school was no longer his dream and returned home to Madison to determine his next step.

Coursin took a job with healthcare software company Epic and decided to apply to law school.

“When I grew up, I swore I would never live in Madison and now I can’t imagine living anywhere else,” said Coursin, who specializes in helping entrepreneurs and other business owners at Neider & Boucher SC in Madison.

“I strongly believe Madison is on the cusp of being an entrepreneurial hot spot like Boulder, Colo., or the Silicon Valley,” he said. “We have all the right pieces in this community and working with entrepreneurs and small business owners is invigorating.”

Coursin knows has some firsthand experience with what it’s like to run a business since he helped run a custom athletic apparel distribution company following college.

When working with clients, Coursin said he views himself as a partner with the small business owner or entrepreneur rather than “just some guy sitting across the desk from them.”

“I’m amazed by the ideas and energy entrepreneurs have,” he said. “I want to help them with everything from entity formation to employment issues as they get bigger to even succession planning.

“Just like the rest of Madison – the local entrepreneurial culture is vibrant and it’s exciting to be a part of that.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: What was your least-favorite class in law school?
Drew Coursin: A one-credit mentoring class my first year. The professor was even less excited than I was to show up at 8 a.m. on a Friday.

WLJ: If you hadn’t become an attorney, what would you have done?
Coursin: Some combination of hanging out with my dogs and baking chocolate chip cookies.

WLJ: What has been your most challenging case?
Coursin: Attempting to secure insurance coverage for a multinational corporation’s business interruption losses due to the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

WLJ: Which would you choose: Badger football or Packers season tickets?
Coursin: Packers; if only to have something valuable to leave to future generations.

WLJ: What phrase or saying do you tend to overuse?
Coursin: It’s a toss-up between ‘Right on,’ ‘I hear you,’ and ‘Yes, tacos sound great for dinner.’ I do my best to make sure people know I’m listening and actively engaged in our conversations, even if I am secretly daydreaming about tacos.

WLJ: What food couldn’t you live without?
Coursin: Peanut butter: delicious, high in monounsaturated fat and handy in a pinch if I get trapped in an avalanche while lawyering.

WLJ: What activity could you spend hours doing? (besides work)
Coursin: Planning home renovation projects, but not actually doing them. I leave that to the experts.

WLJ: What app couldn’t you live without?
Coursin: Twitter. I don’t tweet much, but it’s the best aggregator of world news, sociopolitical commentary and ‘Breaking Bad’ spoilers.

WLJ: What is your most prized possession?
Coursin: My copy of ‘Dreams’ by Olive Schreiner. It’s a collection of short stories I’ve read dozens of times and it gave me the courage to explore my own dreams.

WLJ: What song is on heavy rotation on your iPod?
Coursin: ‘Triumph’ by Wu-Tang Clan.

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