Reardon reared on law

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Tim Reardon grew up around the law doing yard work and maintenance at his father’s law office in Brookfield.

But when it came time for Reardon to choose a career for himself, he steered away from the sort of insurance-litigation work that had made up the bulk of his father’s practice. He instead found himself drawn to business. That eventually led, after he had obtained his law degree from Marquette University, to his current expertise in mergers and acquisitions, tax structuring and day-to-day corporate work.

He’s now a shareholder in Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren’s corporate law and tax practice and a member of the firm’s board of directors. His clients hail from industries as diverse as manufacturing, construction, distribution and real estate.

“What I really like with our client base, we have the ability to add value — with legal and business counseling — to their bottom line,” Reardon said. “And it’s also the relationships and adding to the success of clients, who many have become friends. I enjoy that aspect of it.”

Although Reardon didn’t set out to be mainly a litigator, his practice nonetheless does require him to take up his clients’ interests in disputes. His liking for business litigation comes in part from the fact that it lets him work toward solutions that are in everyone’s interest.

“I like everyone be happy, or at least be in a position to go back to their business and not have litigation and the expenses associated with it,” Reardon said.

Mike Pepke, who was on the committee that hired prospective attorneys at Reinhart, said if he heard of a business client who was looking for a lawyer, “I’d hire Tim Reardon, even before I’d hire me.”

“He has a rare combination of IQ and EQ,” Pepke said. “You don’t always see that in a lawyer.”

For young lawyers, Reardon has some simple advice: “Be prepared to work hard and be diligent in all that you do. And seek to develop relationships because it’s a very enjoyable part of the profession.”