Every case is a highlight

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An anniversary led to Ann S. Jacobs’ law school application.

It was 1987 and the U.S. Constitution was turning 200. In celebration, the University of Wisconsin offered undergraduate classes about it taught by law school faculty.

Jacobs took a course and was hooked. It didn’t hurt that her father and great-grandfather were lawyers, too. All three are University of Wisconsin Law School graduates.

A few years into her first post-law school job with the State Public Defender, Jacobs was excited about the prospect of arguing about a parent’s right to discovery in a TPR before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, only to have the Legislature pass a law agreeing with her client’s argument.

But her chance to “please the court” has since happened, in her current role representing plaintiffs in personal injury cases at Domnitz & Skemp SC in Milwaukee.

In Heuser v. Community Insurance Corp., the Court of Appeals ruled in her client’s favor, holding that a school was not immune from suit when a science teacher failed to take any precautionary measures before a dissection experiment.

It was a successful year, says Jacobs. She also obtained a $161,000 verdict in Kenosha County for her client in Becker v. Wisconsin American Mutual, where the pre-trial offer was $25,000. It wasn’t the highest verdict she’s won; it was “just a good outcome and a wonderful client,” she said.

“When people ask me about the highlight of my career, I always think of the case that’s most recent in my mind. Plus, there’s always the next best case. So anytime you ask me that, I’m going to have a different answer.”

Jacobs is not only passionate about her cases, but also about advancing the status of women in the law.

She’s a founding member of the Women’s Caucus of the Wisconsin Association for Justice, which provides support and networking for women trial lawyers, as well as tackling projects designed to keep women in the organization and law practice.

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“The running joke I have with my law partners is they’ve never walked into a deposition and been asked if they’re the court reporter. But those issues are still out there, and there has to be some recognition of that,” she said.

“By the same token, I see so many bright, well-qualified women practicing in this town, as evidenced by the exceptional people you’re honoring.”