With rule change, Dwyer’s work a game-changer

Listen to this article

The son of a Milwaukee alderman, Michael Dwyer grew up with an interest in politics. He worked for small law firms early on and, representing mostly poor clients, gained experience in criminal, juvenile, family, probate, real estate, unemployment, worker’s compensation, bankruptcy and small-business law.

He started his own firm, but grew dissatisfied with the litigation system ostensibly used for the efficient resolution of disputes. He became a trained mediator and gradually stopped handling litigation cases, ending his private practice doing mostly real estate and business transactions.

“It is significant that, during my entire career, every client I represented, were run by individuals who paid for legal services out of their own pockets. This made me very sensitive to the impact of litigation and its costs on individuals,” Dwyer said.

Elected to the bench in 1997, the father of five’s first assignment was to children’s court. Dwyer is now in his third rotation in the Family Division, where he is the presiding judge, and he helped found the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts’ Wisconsin chapter.

“I love family law. It’s an area where a lawyer can really help people and make a difference,” he said. “The reality is that most parties in family cases resolve their cases by agreement. Where there are children, the importance of doing so is obvious. As a result, the role of the judge is to provide a process by which each family can resolve their issues if at all possible.”

In an attempt to help the court system adapt to recent increases in the number of pro se cases it’s asked to handle, Dwyer served as chairman of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Planning and Policy Advisory Committee’s Limited Scope Representation-Mediation Subcommittee. The subcommittee proposed Rule 16-4 to allow lawyers who mediate family-law cases to act as neutral parties that can draft and file legal pleadings.

“This is a game-changer in providing affordable legal assistance to parties who want to reach agreements in family cases. Without question, the passage of the mediator drafting rule is my proudest achievement,” he said.

Susan Hansen, a family-law attorney at Hansen & Hildebrand, praised Dwyer’s work on the rule, saying it has been of great benefit to parties who are trying to represent themselves.

“This national trend-setting approach to help address the needs of the growing numbers of self-represented parties in family cases is the direct result of his efforts and commitment,” she said.