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Norland charts his own course

Norland charts his own course

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Daniel Norland (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)
Daniel Norland (Photo submitted by Daniel Norland)

Solo practioner Daniel Norland knows to stick with what he does best.

When he graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2010, he faced a tough job market and didn’t land any he applied for.

Determined to use his law degree, he decided to go solo.

All sorts of clients approached the La Crosse lawyer, but he knew better than to stray from his plan to practice criminal law.

“Some attorneys who are on their own try to grow business by being an expert in everything,” Norland, of Norland Law Firm LLC, said. “That doesn’t work for me. If I had started out by taking everything that came through the door, it would not have worked.”

Norland started taking cases through the state’s public defender’s office to build his criminal law practice. He has since added family law to his offerings because, he said, “there is such a high demand for those cases.”

As his practice grows – he now employs a paralegal and uses interns during trial weeks – Norland said it can be challenging to juggle case work and the business management side of running a firm.

“Law school is very different than actually practicing law,” he said. “I’ve learned so much by talking with other lawyers and utilizing the local bar.”

His focus on what works is serving him well, however.

“My advice to lawyers thinking about having a solo practice,” Norland said, “is to pick an area of the law you’re comfortable with and focus on that and also make sure you have a good network of people around you that you can tap into.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: What advice would you give a law student?
Daniel Norland: When you start practicing, make sure you treat your paralegal well. They will save your life, so do what you can to keep them around and happy. My legal assistant, Jenna Jensen, has saved my butt more times than I can count.

WLJ: What’s the last non-law related book that you read?
Norland: ‘Inferno’ by Dan Brown.

WLJ: What’s in heavy rotation on your iPod?
Norland: Most of the time, I’m listening to sports podcasts or sports radio. I am a diehard Badger and Packer fan. When I listen to music, I’m usually just a Top 40 type of guy.

WLJ: What was your favorite toy as a child?
Norland: As a kid, I got a plastic bow with rubber suction cup arrows when we were on vacation one year. I loved that thing. I took it into my third-grade classroom for show and tell one year and my teacher taped a little target on the wall for me to demonstrate my prowess. I somehow shot the arrow nearly straight up in the air and took out a dried out beehive that was hanging from the ceiling! I think it was at that moment that I realized a professional sports career was not in the cards for me and I better focus a little more on my schoolwork.

WLJ: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Norland: I would love to be able to freeze time. Man that would save me a lot of headaches. My coffee addiction would probably subside as well.

WLJ: Which living person do you most admire?
Norland: My mother – she is the most compassionate, intelligent, hard-working and driven person I know.

WLJ: Finish this sentence. Happiness is …
Norland: when the Badgers and Packers win on the same weekend. Or for a more serious answer, happiness is a job well done: whether at work, at home, in a personal relationship or any other avenue, following through on promises and getting results is happiness for me.

WLJ: What activity could you spend hours doing (besides working)?
Norland: Golfing. I love going. I am not good at it, but I love it anyway.

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