Brady Butak joins Medford law firm as clerk under Rural Clerkship Program

A program working to address a shortage of attorneys in rural communities has brought a new law clerk, Brady Butak, to Taylor County for the summer.

A Chippewa Falls native, Butak is going into his second year at Marquette Law School in Milwaukee, and is getting first-hand legal experience as a law clerk at Jensen, Scott, Grunewald and Shiffler Law Firm as part of the Rural Clerkship Program sponsored by the Wisconsin State Bar.

Butak went through an interview process with attorneys Bill Grunewald and Mike Shiffler for the summer law clerk position. He said one of the reasons he was excited about the opportunity to come to Medford is because his family owns land near Lublin which gave him a place to stay while working here this summer.

He explained that his primary responsibilities since starting on May 19 have been to do legal research.

Lawyers at the firm give him assignments and he goes through and finds the appropriate case law to find an answer as soon as possible for the attorneys. Butak noted this was his first official internship. Prior to this he had some shadowing experience at Raihle Law Office in Chippewa Falls before law school.

“This is my very first internship and experience in the legal profession,” Butak said.

Butak said the idea of working at a large firm doesn’t appeal to him in part because of the reputation large firms have of heavily over-working young attorneys. He said he has been pleased that at Jensen, Scott, Grunewald and Shiffler Law Firm, they keep a more normal work week.

“It’s a really great opportunity here. I like the small town feel as well,” Butak said.

Butak explained that he applied to several firms seeking internships. “Here was always my number one choice,” he said, but noted that in doing interviews elsewhere was surprised to learn about rural counties that had no attorneys in them.

He said this shortage of attorneys in rural areas is alarming, because the important role lawyers have in advising clients on all manner of legal questions including things like the types of permits that may be needed for construction projects.

While he is open to learning about all areas of the law, Butak said he has an interest in family law. “I’ve been able to work with Mike Shiffler quite a bit on family law cases and they do have a particular interest to me,” he said. He said he has also gained an appreciation for the real estate law and its complexity. “It is something I’ve always been interested in, but it’s a little overwhelming at times,” he said. He said he was grateful to have the opportunity to learn while working with attorney Bill Grunewald who is very knowledgable in that area.

Butak said one of the positive experiences is seeing how a law firm works in day to day operation. He said in law school they might be given one brief to research for an entire semester where researching in a law firm occurs at a much faster pace. “I am excited to see how that changes my perspective of law school,” he said.

“I though my first year of law school was very stressful,” he said, noting that real-world experience has been eye-opening and that he estimated he did more writing in his first week of working at Jensen, Scott, Grunewald and Shiffler Law Firm then he did in his entire second semester of law school. He said it is also a valuable perspective to see how this legal research is used in law firms versus just in an academic setting.

Butak said his long-term goal is to be a partner at a smaller firm. “I want to have my last name on the door,” Butak said, noting that is probably a dream of every lawyer.

He said that he enjoys the feel of Medford, noting there are many similarities between Medford and where he grew up in Chippewa Falls. He said that although Medford is only about a quarter of the size of Chippewa Falls, it has amenities similar to a larger community. At the same time, he enjoys being able to go back to Lublin each night.

“I feel at home,” he said, noting that everyone has been very welcoming. “Everyone waves all the time,” he said.

When not at the law firm, Butak enjoys spending time with his girlfriend of almost four years, golfing, bowling, and is very interested in computers having built his own. “I'd say I'm very passionate about electronics and stuff like that, I also love the outdoors, love four-wheeling on our land over in Lublin,” he said.