Complex litigation highlights Lovern’s work at von Briesen

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When Susan E. Lovern thinks of 2009, she thinks of trains, planes and automobiles.

It was a hectic year for Lovern, but also an extremely satisfying year for her commercial litigation practice with von Briesen & Roper SC in Milwaukee.

Lovern led the litigation team representing CBC Coating Inc., one of some 20 defendants from whom Appleton Papers and NCR Corporation were seeking contributions for the $1 billion-plus it will spend in cleaning up the Fox River. A three-month trial was scheduled for January until the court entered summary judgment in December.

The case isn’t over, Lovern notes — there are still counterclaims, motions and appeals in progress. “But it was a fabulous experience to work on that type of litigation with attorneys from all over the country.”

Last year also brought Lovern success before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital v. National States Ins. Co., the court held, 7-0, that the “Benefits after Medicare Stops” provisions of a Medigap insurance policy were ambiguous, so coverage existed and Froedtert, her client, must be reimbursed for a woman’s hospital stay.

Lovern thrives on her job’s variety. “What I love about litigation is, you really immerse yourself in whatever the substantive underlying problem is,” she said. “It’s fascinating to learn about Medicare supplemental insurance policies for one case, and polychlorinated biphenyls for the other one.”

She never considered any other path after a seventh-grade mock trial program set her course for a career in litigation. von Briesen offered her a second-year summer clerkship during law school, and then an associate position. Her husband, Milwaukee County Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern, followed her here. They have two sons, ages 3 and 6.

Balancing work and family is a delicate task.

“A lot of times at a deposition or mediation, I’m the only woman there. Litigation can be hard to balance family with a practice, because your schedule simply isn’t your own,” she said.

“I hope it will change in the coming years. It’s encouraging to see technology help people work from outside the office, and that will help women generally balance any type of law they practice, litigation too, with the other things they do in their lives.”

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