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Developing relationships: Gartner enjoys focus on development deals

Developing relationships: Gartner enjoys focus on development deals

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Thomas Gartner (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)
Thomas Gartner (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)

For Thomas Gartner, the transition from the City Attorney’s office to Michael Best & Friedrich LLP has been a relatively smooth one.

“I’m doing a lot of the same work, working on putting deals together. The biggest change is figuring out how the computer system works,” laughed Gartner, who is of counsel at the firm’s Milwaukee office.

While with the city, Gartner worked on several high-profile projects, including the art museum and Northwestern Mutual’s development. He also represented various boards and commissions, including the Redevelopment and Housing authorities and the Milwaukee Board of School Directors.

Now with Michael Best, Gartner focuses solely on transactional work.

“There are a lot of projects out there that need to be worked on,” said Gartner, who went into private practice so he could have a flexible schedule and more time off. “There’s a lot of negotiating that goes on in development deals so you need to do all of that and then document it all.”

While Gartner enjoys his work as an attorney, going to law school wasn’t on his mind when he graduated college. Instead, he taught English for a year overseas before returning to the United States, where he pondered getting a PhD in history.

“But there wasn’t a big market there and my friend was going to law school so I thought, ‘that sounds good’ and away I went,” he said.

Gartner became interested in municipal law during law school while clerking at a small firm that handled municipal law cases. He worked there after law school before joining the Milwaukee City Attorney’s office in 1980.

“I thought I would just stay a few years but really enjoyed what I was doing,” he said.

When it came to municipal cases, he was drawn to those with a focus on real estate and financing. He worked to create tax incremental financing districts, as well as secure bonding for various projects.

“I like that what I do has an impact on the larger community. I can look at buildings and say, ‘I worked on that,’” Gartner said. “I really hope that going forward my work can continue to have an impact.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: What makes your work important to you?
Thomas Gartner: Having an impact on the community and knowing that what I’m doing is making things better.

WLJ: Who is your hero in the legal field?
Gartner: Milwaukee’s City Attorney Grant Langley. He’s been in that role since 1984. He’s a low-key guy, but he’s extremely dedicated to his job.

WLJ: What do you do outside of work to deal with stress from the office?
Gartner: I like to leave the office and think about what to make for dinner. Cooking dinner is completely relaxing for me and so different from what I do at work. I also enjoy hunting and fishing.

WLJ: What’s one thing many people get wrong about what you do?
Gartner: They think I just work with paper and what I’m doing is putting stuff down in black and white on piles of paper. I work a lot with people, meeting with them and moving a project forward.

WLJ: What’s your favorite memory from law school?
Gartner: Clerking. I think I learned more from clerking than I did in any class. It definitely gave me a different perspective on the legal profession.

WLJ: Is there a certain case that stands out to you?
Gartner: I had a case go before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Olivera v. City of Milwaukee. They upheld the rezoning of a parcel of land that led to the construction of a major commercial project. It was noteworthy since I not only was in court — which doesn’t happen much — but also led to a major development project. Another project that stands out is working on the Milwaukee Art Museum and being in meetings with (Santiago) Calatrava, who was making all these drawings. That was a big project for the city and it was exciting to be a part of it.

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