In litigation and motherhood, the defense doesn’t rest

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As a single mother of two young children and a successful criminal defense attorney, Tracey A. Wood admits that balancing parenthood and her profession is a constant challenge.

But like any good attorney, she is able to compromise.

“I sort of thrive on chaos, but I do have Fridays off to spend with my daughter who is in pre-school,” said Wood, who also has a 12-year-old son. “Although, I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself once she goes to school full time.”

Realistically, Wood likely won’t have any problem filling her time.

Since graduating from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1992, Wood has defended cases in more than a dozen different areas, including drunken driving, which is her primary focus at Van Wagner & Wood S.C. in Madison.

Despite recent scrutiny of alcohol consumption in Wisconsin, Wood takes pride in her niche practice area and ensuring the rights of her clients are upheld.

“There is a sense that everybody looks down on criminal defendants and I would say drunk driving is at the bottom,” Wood said. “But someone needs to make sure their rights are defended and I feel good about that.”

Wood has drawn on her undergraduate degree in psychology and subsequent aspiration of going to medical school to help her in the courtroom.

“You really need to know the science of dealing with those constitutional issues we talk about like arrests and search and seizure, which come into play during drunken driving defenses,” Wood said.

She also says that defense of drunken driving cases is the toughest part of criminal law, if not the most high profile, which is fine with Wood.

In 1997, she gained national attention for winning one of two acquittals in a federal case, which involved the theft of 153 military vehicles valued at $13 million from Fort McCoy.

The scope of the case attracted lawyers from around the country and a mention by Tonight Show host Jay Leno in a monologue.

“I was 29 going on 30 and had just had a baby,” Wood recalls. “I remember my son was in the courtroom on his grandmother’s lap and there were all these famous lawyers and me, the lone girl attorney from Madison.”

“That was the first time anyone really paid attention to me, but now my partner [Christopher Van Wagner] is more the media guy,” Wood said.

She is more content with providing quality representation to clients, trying to finish a book on drunken driving defense in Wisconsin, and satisfying her biggest fan.

“My son thinks my job is really cool and he wants the court to start scheduling trials for Saturdays so he can come,” Wood said.

— Jack Zemlicka