Where Has the Time Gone?

Thirty-five years ago today I walked through the front doors of 7235 Ohms Lane, the words “Chadwick, Johnson & Condon, P.A.” stenciled in gold and black letters on the front window of the low-slung, non-descript office building in Edina housing the law firm.?I had just finished my second year of law school at the University of Minnesota. Joining me as summer law clerks in 1987 were Chris Pierson, a fellow U of M student, and Tom Emmer, who attended what was then called William Mitchell Law College of Law. Chris went on to a distinguished career in business law and is a partner in his own firm in Wayzata, MN. Tom practiced law for a couple of decades before finding his true calling, politics; he won election to the Minnesota House and in 2014 ascended to the U.S. House of Representatives serving Minnesota’s 6th congressional district.?Three and a half decades later, I am fortunate to continue working in the law firm that took a gamble on a skinny, young man with a smullet (small mullet) of curly dark hair, a skeezy mustache, an average intellect and a decent work ethic.

As I sit hear gazing back over my time at the firm, now O’Meara, Leer, Wagner & Kohl, P.A., I am more than anything simply GRATEFUL.

-Grateful for my parents and grandparents; all except my mom have “shuffle[d] off this mortal coil”. They raised me in my faith which has been a bedrock in my life. They sent me to Sts. Peter & Paul in Milwaukee, where the School Sisters of Notre Dame taught me in elementary school, and to St. Lawrence Seminary High School in Mt. Calvary, WI, where the Capuchin brothers and priests challenged me in the classroom, coached me on the football field and basketball court and helped raise me into a man. I owe much of what I’ve achieved in life to the selfless sacrifice of those religious men and women

-Grateful for my college cross country and track coach, Rick Witt, who gave a guy who never competed in either sport an opportunity to join the teams at UW-Stevens Point, to modestly excel, and through training and competition, to learn life lessons that never left me and to develop life-long friendships with him and my teammates.

-Grateful for my college poli sci professor and advisor, the late Mark Cates, who first kindled my interest in law with his Constitutional Law class, encouraged me to go to law school and to attend the University of Minnesota because “you should be different, everyone goes to Madison.” In the fall of ’85, despite having never set foot in the Land of 10,000 Lakes or hearing the phrase “Ski U Mah”, I began classes as a 1L at Minnesota.

-Grateful that Jon Iverson, then a partner with the firm, ran into me in the hot tub at U.S. Swim & Fitness and told me that the firm was interested in making me a job offer. (Not the most conventional setting, but it worked!)

-Grateful for many unbelievable mentors, some who have moved on from this life and some who left the firm to join other firms or start their own firms.?Rick Riemer, Mike Koshmrl, Jim Pikala, and Candi Hektner went to work elsewhere, but left lessons with me that I won’t forget. Some people like Jon Johnson and Mark Condon, have moved on from this life, but made an indelible impact on my life.?Mark taught me many of the “soft skills” of practicing law- things they don’t teach in law school. Jon in particular took me under his wing and taught me how to be a lawyer, to interact with and represent clients, to treat others with kindness and respect, to constantly emanate a joie de vivre and, most of all, to be a gentle-man who values his family.

-Grateful for an opportunity to work with some unbelievably smart, talented, motivated and genuinely kind people who served the firm in different roles. People like Dick Stephenson, Jon Johnson’s uncle, who after retiring as a farmer became our maintenance man and jack of all trades. Dick took pride in doing what some considered a modest job in an extraordinary manner. I could name another 100 staff people and fellow attorneys who in large ways and small helped me on my journey, many of whom remain employed by the firm after 10, 25 and even 40 years of service.

-Grateful to work and serve our clients in a profession that has always been demanding, challenging and, yes, even stressful. As they say, you can’t get to the top of the mountain without occasionally going through the valley, and I am thankful for the valleys that inevitably confront a lawyer because they have sharpened me, strengthened me and allowed me to enjoy the view when I reach the top of the mountain.

- Grateful to earn a living that allowed me and my wife of nearly 33 years, Bonnie, to raise four unbelievable children- Chantel, Colette, Bennett and Gavin- to build a house that remains our home, and to put our four kids through college and into careers that they enjoy and find meaningful. My family is everything to me, and the firm helped me provide for them, while encouraging me to fulfill my roles as a husband and father.

When I go to sleep tonight, I will be thankful and recall Maya Angelou’s wish to “Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”