LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT – Michael Hatch – Foley & Lardner

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Michael Hatch has played a role in some of Milwaukee’s largest real estate deals during this nearly 50-year career at Foley & Lardner, including the Milwaukee Center, East Pointe Commons and the Harley-Davidson Museum, just to name a few.

“I was very fortunate to have had many opportunities to become involved in significant projects that made a difference in the neighborhoods where they are located,” Hatch said. “I was even more fortunate that most of those opportunities arose in and around the city of Milwaukee, so I could personally see the before, during and after of each of those developments,” Hatch added.

Hatch pointed to the East Pointe Commons, a redevelopment by The Mandel Group of nine blocks in Milwaukee, as one of the most transformative projects he’s been a part of.

“That land had been cleared many years ago for an expressway that was never built, and it had become a major scar and barrier between neighborhoods. That wound was mended by the development of a series of residential, retail and public park improvements, all carefully planned to blend with each other and with the adjacent neighborhoods,” he said.

Hatch’s impact on the community extends past his work at the firm.

“Mick has played leading roles in numerous nonprofits devoted to community revitalization in the greater Milwaukee area, including Menomonee Valley Partners Inc. and Near West Side Partners,” which are both public-private partnerships that received national recognition, said Andy Wronski, managing partner of Foley & Lardner’s Milwaukee office.

A founder and board chair of Menomonee Valley Partners, Hatch said he’s proud to have been a part of the redevelopment of the largest brownfield in Wisconsin. The board’s “common vision, together with our different backgrounds and skillsets, enable us to work effectively to accomplish some very significant achievements,” he said.