EDWBA.org - Website of the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association -

A Profile of the Honorable Thomas J. Curran

After 35 years of legal practice in his hometown of Mauston, Wisconsin, Thomas J. Curran was called to the bench and diligently served in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin from 1983 until his retirement in September 2006.

A World War II veteran who served in the Navy, Judge Curran started his career at a law firm, which had been established in the 1930's by his now-deceased brother, Charles P. Curran, and which also included a third brother, William R. Curran (also deceased). He and his brother William both went on to serve as judges. William was the Circuit Judge for Juneau County for some twenty years.

Judge Curran attended undergraduate and law school at Marquette University. He is a past president of both the State Bar of Wisconsin and the West Central Wisconsin Bar Association. The Fellows of the Wisconsin Law Foundation honored him with the Truman Q. McNulty Service Award in Madison on November 14, 2006. The award had special meaning for Judge Curran because it is named after his late law classmate and friend (Curran and McNulty were members of the Class of 1948 at Marquette). When asked what he considers the highlight of his legal career, Curran pointed to having been named to the federal bench. He was fortunate to have served in a number of notable instances, including presiding over the Milwaukee metropolitan-area school desegregation case, being a member of the three-judge panel that redistricted Wisconsin, and serving on several occasions by designation on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Judge Curran and his wife, Colette, have six children, and three followed in their father’s footsteps pursuing law as a career. His children still work at the family firm in Mauston, now called Curran, Hollenbeck & Orton. Judge Curran enjoys spending time at their place in Mauston and taking his children and now 16 grandchildren on an “annual hunt,” something he started four decades ago to teach a respect for the land and appreciation for nature.

When asked about the greatest challenge facing the legal profession, Judge Curran noted two problems in particular. One is the Rambo-type style of some lawyers and the need they feel to abuse the other side to achieve their goals. Another challenge is that it is getting to the point where competent lawyers are reluctant to run for elected judicial office because of cost and the abuse associated with a campaign. He is concerned that this will diminish the caliber of the judiciary.

The Eastern District of Wisconsin is fortunate to have had the benefit of Judge Curran’s service.

Sofron B. Nedilsky Retires

On November 3, 2006, Sofron B. Nedilsky retired from his position as Clerk of Court of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Mr. Nedilsky’s distinguished career as Clerk of Court spanned twenty-five and one-half years, during which time ten of the twenty judges in the history of the Eastern District held office. He is the second-longest serving Clerk of Court in the district.

In spite of Mr. Nedilsky’s lengthy career in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, he had a remarkable, and some might say at times dangerous, life before beginning service for the federal government. He was born in the Western Ukraine in 1939. However at the end of World War II, his family fled west to Bavaria. Several years later, at the age of ten, Mr. Nedilsky arrived in the United States and his family settled on the East Coast. He became a United States citizen at the age of fifteen where the “officious” judge at the naturalization ceremony left an impression on the young man. Mr. Nedilsky attended undergraduate and law school at Ohio Northern University. Following graduation, he moved to Chicago where he practiced law and also worked for the American Bar Association. In 1971, Mr. Nedilsky began a new position as the first director of Wisconsin’s Office of Judicial Education, which he held for ten years. He created this program, which provides continuing education for judges in Wisconsin. While initially started as an experimental program, today judicial education for Wisconsin judges is mandatory.

On April 20, 1981, Mr. Nedilsky was sworn in as Clerk of Court by then Chief Judge John W. Reynolds. When asked about noteworthy happenings from his years as Clerk of Court, Mr. Nedilsky reported that one does not really look back until retirement. He recalls as a “marvelous memory” the judges that he started with, among them Judges Gordon, Reynolds, and Warren, people of “enormous stature” who were so welcoming to him. Also, there have been tremendous changes around the office between 1981 and 2006. Mr. Nedilsky stated that this generation of clerk’s office employees have seen faster and more dramatic changes than any other generation, and that it is amazing to think of how different things look today compared with twenty-five years ago. Finally, Mr. Nedilsky credits his experienced and hard-working staff for dealing with the dramatic changes, which at times occurred on a yearly basis. The median tenure for his staff is almost fifteen years and, in the end, he states that the staff members deserve the credit for this effective and respected office.

Mr. Nedilsky and his wife, who have been married for forty years, have three children. He takes pride in the fact that all three of his children speak, read, and write Ukranian. He takes even greater pride in the fact that his six-year-old grandchild speaks the language fluently while his other grandchild, aged two, says “sample” words. Mr. Nedilsky and his wife enjoy spending time at their cottage in Price County as well as traveling. Recent trips include New Zealand, Oman, and Indonesia.

When asked to give advice to attorneys who are recently admitted to practice in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Mr. Nedilsky responded, “Piece of cake!”

EDWBA Sponsors Media Inquiries CLE Seminar

The December calendar was full of ethics CLE seminars, and the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association’s calendar was no exception. On Thursday, December 7th, the EDWBA sponsored an ethics CLE on how to handle media inquiries. Program moderator Michael Matthews began by introducing the distinguished panel comprised of U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic, Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek partner Nathan Fishbach, General Counsel-Media for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Paul Kritzer, and President of Zeppos & Associates Evan Zeppos.

The panel was presented a hypothetical situation and asked to respond. Each panelist gave his perspective based on his position. Mr. Biskupic addressed the government perspective and shared how the attorney’s in his office are expected to handle such situations with the media, including what they can and cannot say. He touched upon when in the investigative process the government responds to inquiries and if the government responds to inquiries regarding search warrants.

Mr. Fishbach took the perspective of the corporation counsel and talked about the point at which steps are taken to address media inquiries as well as who should be consulted to formulate a response and a timing of the response. Determining what can and cannot be said in situations poses many questions. For example, Mr. Fishbach gave his perspective on what to do if a reporter asks whether an attorney’s client denies the other side’s allegations or if the client is guilty as charged. Mr. Fishbach strongly recommended being proactive and developing a response plan before something happens.

Hearing from the media consultant helped CLE attendees put things in perspective. Mr. Zeppos talked about the considerations an attorney should raise with the client in deciding whether to respond to the media inquiry, but felt a response was certainly better than “no comment.” He also discussed what an attorney should do when there is inadequate information and what should not be said in those cases. Mr. Zeppos warned the audience that reporters work on deadline and they need answers to questions when the questions are asked.

But what about the reporter in search of information for his or her story? Mr. Kritzer talked about how much information a reporter needs before the story can be reported as well as how many sources are necessary. He also explained reporter “codes,” such as off the record vs. on the record. The obligation of the press to ensure a fair trial was also taken in to consideration during the panel discussion.

The panel provided much insight and perspective for attendees. Not only was the hypothetical situation discussed, but the explosion at the Falk Corporation the day prior was used as an example. Everyone benefited from the seminar and the expertise of the panelists.

EDWBA Committee Updates

Bankruptcy Committee

The Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association ("EDWBA") is attempting to integrate Bankruptcy practitioners into the Association. At the Bench-Bar Lunch on November 6th, Attorney Bruce Lanser moderated a panel consisting of Bankruptcy Judges McGarity, Shapiro and Pepper, which addressed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 – One year later.

In addition, the EDWBA will coordinate a joint program with the Bankruptcy Section of the Milwaukee Bar Association and feature a Bankruptcy Program at the EDWBA annual meeting. Shortly after the new year, the EDWBA Bankruptcy Committee will meet to plan these events. Lawyers interested in serving on the Committee should contact Bruce Arnold at barnold@whdlaw.com or Peter Blain at pblain@reinhartlaw.com.

Pro Bono Committee

The EDWBA Pro Bono Committee is engaged in several exciting projects. The Committee is organizing a half-day CLE program focused on prisoner civil rights litigation scheduled for March 29, 2007. The program will be offered free of charge in exchange to each attendee’s agreement to add his or her name to a list of attorneys willing to accept pro bono appointments from judges in the District. The program is designed to educate attendees in an area of law for which appointments are often needed, while simultaneously diversifying the pool of attorneys willing to accept appointments.

Before year’s end, the Committee submitted to the Executive Committee a proposal for the establishment of a fund to be used to reimburse attorneys for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the course of pro bono appointments. Availability of reimbursements will help ease the burden on appointed attorneys. The establishment of a reimbursement fund has been a goal of the Committee for several years, and the Committee hopes to bring the project to fruition in the coming year.

The Committee will soon turn its attention to other possible projects, including establishing an annual award for outstanding work in pro bono litigation, obtaining malpractice insurance coverage for attorneys accepting pro bono appointments, and creating a program through which law students can assist practitioners in pro bono matters.

The Committee is always open to new ideas for improving the availability of quality representation to indigent litigants. If you are interested in joining the Committee, or in helping the Committee on these or other projects, please call Katy Flierl Borowski (414-276-5933), Jennifer Hong (414-297-1483), or Tony Baish (414-287-9435). Call Jennifer Hong if you would like to add your name to the list of attorneys willing to accept pro bono appointments.

Newsletter

January 2007