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Scenery change suits Roher just fine

Scenery change suits Roher just fine

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Jed Roher (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)
Jed Roher (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)

You don’t have to flip through too many television channels to realize the legal profession provides plenty of fodder for good drama. But for Jed Roher, an attorney with Godfrey & Kahn in Madison, the similarities just aren’t in the courtroom.

“There’s a real collaboration theme that you see in the theater as well as in law,” said Roher, who toured the country for four years as a stage manager with musical theater shows and arts festivals before making the decision to attend law school. “You’re trying to get people to all oar in the same direction, whether it’s actors and directors when you’re involved in the theater or clients and other attorneys when you’re working in the law.”

Roher made the career switch after realizing he reached a plateau in his theater career.

“When I was in college I had talked about going to grad school or law school, but then started working in the theater,” he said. “I still had that desire to go back to school and felt like it was a good time.”

And while criminal litigation is what seems to make most legal TV shows and movies hum, Roher said that was never his interest.

“I never really saw myself working in an adversarial situation so I knew criminal litigation wasn’t for me,” said Roher, who works in Godfrey & Kahn’s tax and employee benefits and corporate practice groups. “I always found myself drawn to transactional law. It’s not a zero sum game. Everyone benefits from it at some point.”

When working on mergers and acquisitions, for example, Roher views them as giant puzzles. “It’s a logic question as you try to sort out all the details,” he said.

He also enjoys working with business owners. “They have such passion for what they do and it’s very energizing,” Roher said. “It’s great to learn about the different businesses and industries.”

Roher’s practice is also varied in what he works on for clients. He handles everything from raising capital to looking at a business’ tax structure. “It’s all very different, which is nice,” Roher said. “I’m thrilled with how my career developed.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: What was your least-favorite class in law school?
Jed Roher: Criminal Law

WLJ: What career would you have picked if you hadn’t become an attorney?
Roher: I would have loved to have been an architect, but I guess practically it would have been a stage manager.

WLJ: What was the last book that you read?
Roher: ‘Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix.’ I’m reading the series along with my daughter and it’s been wonderful.

WLJ: What was the first concert that you attended?
Roher: Paul Simon and The Rhythm of the Saints tour at Madison Square Garden.

WLJ: Where is your favorite place to vacation?
Roher: Anywhere that’s warm, has a beach and good snorkeling and scuba diving.

WLJ: Who is someone that you admire?
Roher: My grandfather – my father’s father. He emigrated to New York as a 9-year-old. He came to a brand new place and built something for himself. The process of doing that when you’re 9 is admirable.

WLJ: If you could choose a super power, what would you pick?
Roher: With two children, this is often the topic of conversation in my house. Flying. It’s practical and fun.

WLJ: What’s your favorite thing to do in Wisconsin?
Roher: My in-laws have a pontoon boat on Lake Mendota and being out there is just fantastic. But I also really, really enjoy traveling to other parts of the state. I’m from New York originally and I love to see all of the beautiful parts of Wisconsin. There’s a lot to see.

WLJ: What was your favorite toy as a child?
Roher: My baseball mitt. I used to play catch all the time with my friends. I’ll also admit that I broke my mitt in by wrapping a ball in rubber bands and placing it in the mitt and putting it under the mattress.

WLJ: Do you have a phrase or word that you tend to overuse?
Roher: Totally. I totally overuse the word ‘totally.’

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