DeMeuse goes overtime for his clients

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Jeff DeMeuse enjoyed playing sports in high school and at Lawrence University. So when the time came to settle on a career, he sought out one that would allow him to show his competitive side while keeping him engaged.

“Litigation seemed a natural fit for me,” said DeMeuse, an attorney at the Corneille Law Group in Green Bay, where he defends people and businesses in both federal and state court. “I also enjoy people and working with them to help them solve their problems.”

DeMeuse also expressed an affinity for medicine, particularly for learning about how various conditions are diagnosed and treated.

“I enjoy taking difficult things that you do not deal with daily and break it down so it’s easy to understand and then communicate that to jurors, judges or other people,” he said. “I think it’s very similar to what teachers do.”

Mark Budzinski, managing partner at the Corneille Law Group, said it would be impossible to summarize DeMeuse’s three decades as an attorney. Even so, he pointed out that DeMeuse has successfully defended clients in cases involving catastrophic personal injuries, medical malpractices, insurance coverage and product liability.

“Jeff has distinguished himself not only as a formidable trial attorney, but he has garnered the respect of his adversaries in the plaintiff’s bar with who he has worked and tried cases against over time,” he said.

DeMeuse’s reputation led to other lawyers seeking him out as a mediator in their cases.

“I don’t even know how it all got started, but I know when I picked mediators it was because I thought they were fair and see both sides of the case with new eyes,” he said. “I hope that is why people select me as their mediator.”

Given the increased expense of litigation, more cases are going to mediation and the demand for DeMeuse’s mediation services continues to increase. Budzinski said it is rare for defense attorneys to be mediators and said he takes it as a sign of respect that so many other attorneys are choosing DeMeuse to mediate their cases.

“Jeff’s professionalism, demeanor and judgment are the reasons why his clients continue to request his services when they find themselves in difficult situations and why attorneys request his services when they are unable to resolve disputes between themselves,” he said.

DeMeuse also plays a role in helping younger lawyers at Corneille, not only with the ins and outs of litigation, but also with methods for winning the trust and respect of the attorneys and judges they’ll be working with.

“I tell them that more stuff can get done not by arguing or being confrontational, but by sitting down and talking and sharing information,” he said. “Be yourself, be a good person and be respectful.”