By Jacob Batterman
On Thursday mornings attorney Catherine B. Scherer walks from her modest office on High Street to the Winnebago County Courthouse just a few blocks away and composes her thoughts. She is not headed to the usual court rooms on the upper floors, but takes the stairs to the lower level instead. The staircase leads to the Winnebago Conflict Resolution Center, a place where nearly every week she helps members of the community settle their differences out of court through mediation and conflict management, all free of charge.
“I had heard the mediator training was very beneficial, and it really helped me work on my negotiation skills, Scherer said. “I usually do small claims mediations but sometimes they call me to do other types as well. I’m hoping to eventually expand my practice to include mediation.”
In 2003 she founded Scherer Law, a practice she largely dedicates to children’s law and elder law.
As if running her own law practice wasn’t enough work, Scherer volunteers her time in activities that range from her work at the WCRC to leading a troop of Girl Scouts– all while still managing to spend time with her husband, kids and two adopted cats.
Scherer grew up across Lake Michigan in suburban Detroit and attended the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.
From a young age, Scherer had a connection to the courtroom, a setting she would soon build her life around. Her father, a psychologist, served as an expert witness in several court cases and through his work she was introduced to an assistant prosecutor in Detroit.
“I shadowed this woman for about a day and got to see what her job was like,” Scherer said. “It ended up being very interesting, and I saw it as a way to help people who can’t advocate for themselves.”
She moved to Wisconsin in 1996 after her husband John got a job at Mercury Marine in Hartford. Scherer commuted to nearby Milwaukee where she served as assistant district attorney in the county DA’s office.
In her time there she would meet Mary Moore, an attorney who shared the same interest in Children In Need of Protection and Services or “CHIPS” cases.
Moore said the two often seek each other’s advice on difficult or interesting cases.
“If she wants to bounce some strategy off me then she gives me a call and we talk about what might work and which direction she may want to go,” Moore said.
Moore said Scherer ’s extraordinary patience and open mindedness is what sets her apart from the average attorney.
“I felt she was exceptionally good at being open to more than one side of the story,” Moore said. “I think that made her particularly good at shepherding these cases through the children’s court system. In Milwaukee we have some pretty hardcore child abuse and neglect cases, many of which require a delicate approach.”
In 2000, Scherer moved to Oshkosh and transferred to the Winnebago County DA’s office to continue her career as a prosecutor.
Three years later she started her private practice, Scherer Law.
“I had taken some time off when I had my children and was doing some work part time as a hearing examiner on childhood abuse and neglect appeals with the department of human services, Scherer said. “With my private practice, I can choose to take or not to take a case, and I’m given more discretion. It allows me to be more flexible with my family.”
Scherer Law continues to build uponScherer ’s reputation for helping Oshkosh’s most vulnerable people. In addition to CHIPS cases, she also does guardian ad litem work in which she represents those who cannot advocate for themselves in the courtroom. Some of her clients include minors, the elderly and mentally incompetent adults.
Although she can choose who she wants to represent, the type of cases she specializes in often bring in difficult clients, many who are emotionally distressed.
Scherer said her mediation training helped handle some of her more hostile clients.
“It’s very hard sometimes,” Scherer said. “I do have a lot of clients that are difficult to deal with because of the subject matter. I represent a lot of parents on abuse and neglect cases. Sometimes in law, you're dealing with a lot of high conflict people. They may have hired you to be their lawyer, but that doesn't mean that they don’t stop being a high conflict person.”
Even though she often deals with problematic clients, Scherer said she’s trying to improve the way she initially views people.
“I have to make judgments for my career, but on a personal level I want to be not so quick to judge,” Scherer said. “You have to give people and ideas an opportunity.”
Scherer extends her time and generosity to many different areas of the community. In one of her most recent endeavors, she and a few others formed a committee with a goal of fundraising for Webster Stanley Middle School’s auditorium renovations.
“I went to a meeting there a couple years ago in the spring before my kids even went to school there,” Scherer said. “There were rips in the chair upholstery with exposed springs and stuffing. It looked horrible.”
Scherer said the committee got quotes from local theater experts and eventually developed a budget. Apart from the dilapidated seating, carpets and walls, the auditorium also needed updated lighting and sound equipment.
To discuss the budget, Scherer and the others held a meeting with Oshkosh Area School District representatives in Webster Stanley’s decaying auditorium to help drive the point home.
Overall the renovations were expected to cost around $175,000, but the OASD promised to match whatever donations came in, leaving the group with a goal of $87,500.
The fundraising plan was approved by an OASD Facilities and Finance Committee in December 2013. The denominations of the donations varied extensively and came from many sectors of the community. Less than a year later, the renovation committee, with the help of individuals, corporations, foundations and even student groups, had exceeded their donation goals by $8,500.
“The conditions were so obviously bad and I think people just really wanted to help the school,” Scherer said. “It’s also a venue that the community can use and rent at a lower cost than other places in town. Community theatre groups can use it, music groups, meetings– we really want it to be a community space.”
Scherer is also active in the Girl Scouts. A scout herself as a child, she decided to become a troop leader after her daughter showed interest in the organization the summer following first grade.
Scherer said because her troop is a little older, they have a lot of say in the kinds of service projects they participate in. Much like Scherer , her girls feel obligated to help those who can’t help themselves.
Her troop of middle-schoolers recently earned a Girl Scout Silver Award for their community service efforts.
“The girls were concerned about abused and neglected children who are also homeless,” Scherer said. “They decided they wanted to bring more joy into these kids lives and that they would put on these kids camps. They taught the kids how to play tennis, set up craft stations, and then served them lunch at Father Carr’s.”
Scherer makes an effort to be an active participant in many other areas of the community as well. She served on the city’s plan commission for five years, and is currently on the foundation board for Evergreen, a retirement community in Oshkosh. She is also co-chair of the Oshkosh Yacht Club’s Xtreme Regatta, a sailboat racing event that her kids participate in every year.
Scherer devotes much of her time to helping others and her calm, respectful demeanor fits very well with the needs of some of Oshkosh’s most troubled citizens.
“You don’t have to pound on a table and yell and scream to be a good lawyer, Moore said. “I think her style is really well suited to effectively helping people who find themselves in a really tough, disadvantaged position.”
On Thursday mornings attorney Catherine B. Scherer walks from her modest office on High Street to the Winnebago County Courthouse just a few blocks away and composes her thoughts. She is not headed to the usual court rooms on the upper floors, but takes the stairs to the lower level instead. The staircase leads to the Winnebago Conflict Resolution Center, a place where nearly every week she helps members of the community settle their differences out of court through mediation and conflict management, all free of charge.
“I had heard the mediator training was very beneficial, and it really helped me work on my negotiation skills, Scherer said. “I usually do small claims mediations but sometimes they call me to do other types as well. I’m hoping to eventually expand my practice to include mediation.”
In 2003 she founded Scherer Law, a practice she largely dedicates to children’s law and elder law.
As if running her own law practice wasn’t enough work, Scherer volunteers her time in activities that range from her work at the WCRC to leading a troop of Girl Scouts– all while still managing to spend time with her husband, kids and two adopted cats.
Scherer grew up across Lake Michigan in suburban Detroit and attended the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.
From a young age, Scherer had a connection to the courtroom, a setting she would soon build her life around. Her father, a psychologist, served as an expert witness in several court cases and through his work she was introduced to an assistant prosecutor in Detroit.
“I shadowed this woman for about a day and got to see what her job was like,” Scherer said. “It ended up being very interesting, and I saw it as a way to help people who can’t advocate for themselves.”
She moved to Wisconsin in 1996 after her husband John got a job at Mercury Marine in Hartford. Scherer commuted to nearby Milwaukee where she served as assistant district attorney in the county DA’s office.
In her time there she would meet Mary Moore, an attorney who shared the same interest in Children In Need of Protection and Services or “CHIPS” cases.
Moore said the two often seek each other’s advice on difficult or interesting cases.
“If she wants to bounce some strategy off me then she gives me a call and we talk about what might work and which direction she may want to go,” Moore said.
Moore said Scherer ’s extraordinary patience and open mindedness is what sets her apart from the average attorney.
“I felt she was exceptionally good at being open to more than one side of the story,” Moore said. “I think that made her particularly good at shepherding these cases through the children’s court system. In Milwaukee we have some pretty hardcore child abuse and neglect cases, many of which require a delicate approach.”
In 2000, Scherer moved to Oshkosh and transferred to the Winnebago County DA’s office to continue her career as a prosecutor.
Three years later she started her private practice, Scherer Law.
“I had taken some time off when I had my children and was doing some work part time as a hearing examiner on childhood abuse and neglect appeals with the department of human services, Scherer said. “With my private practice, I can choose to take or not to take a case, and I’m given more discretion. It allows me to be more flexible with my family.”
Scherer Law continues to build uponScherer ’s reputation for helping Oshkosh’s most vulnerable people. In addition to CHIPS cases, she also does guardian ad litem work in which she represents those who cannot advocate for themselves in the courtroom. Some of her clients include minors, the elderly and mentally incompetent adults.
Although she can choose who she wants to represent, the type of cases she specializes in often bring in difficult clients, many who are emotionally distressed.
Scherer said her mediation training helped handle some of her more hostile clients.
“It’s very hard sometimes,” Scherer said. “I do have a lot of clients that are difficult to deal with because of the subject matter. I represent a lot of parents on abuse and neglect cases. Sometimes in law, you're dealing with a lot of high conflict people. They may have hired you to be their lawyer, but that doesn't mean that they don’t stop being a high conflict person.”
Even though she often deals with problematic clients, Scherer said she’s trying to improve the way she initially views people.
“I have to make judgments for my career, but on a personal level I want to be not so quick to judge,” Scherer said. “You have to give people and ideas an opportunity.”
Scherer extends her time and generosity to many different areas of the community. In one of her most recent endeavors, she and a few others formed a committee with a goal of fundraising for Webster Stanley Middle School’s auditorium renovations.
“I went to a meeting there a couple years ago in the spring before my kids even went to school there,” Scherer said. “There were rips in the chair upholstery with exposed springs and stuffing. It looked horrible.”
Scherer said the committee got quotes from local theater experts and eventually developed a budget. Apart from the dilapidated seating, carpets and walls, the auditorium also needed updated lighting and sound equipment.
To discuss the budget, Scherer and the others held a meeting with Oshkosh Area School District representatives in Webster Stanley’s decaying auditorium to help drive the point home.
Overall the renovations were expected to cost around $175,000, but the OASD promised to match whatever donations came in, leaving the group with a goal of $87,500.
The fundraising plan was approved by an OASD Facilities and Finance Committee in December 2013. The denominations of the donations varied extensively and came from many sectors of the community. Less than a year later, the renovation committee, with the help of individuals, corporations, foundations and even student groups, had exceeded their donation goals by $8,500.
“The conditions were so obviously bad and I think people just really wanted to help the school,” Scherer said. “It’s also a venue that the community can use and rent at a lower cost than other places in town. Community theatre groups can use it, music groups, meetings– we really want it to be a community space.”
Scherer is also active in the Girl Scouts. A scout herself as a child, she decided to become a troop leader after her daughter showed interest in the organization the summer following first grade.
Scherer said because her troop is a little older, they have a lot of say in the kinds of service projects they participate in. Much like Scherer , her girls feel obligated to help those who can’t help themselves.
Her troop of middle-schoolers recently earned a Girl Scout Silver Award for their community service efforts.
“The girls were concerned about abused and neglected children who are also homeless,” Scherer said. “They decided they wanted to bring more joy into these kids lives and that they would put on these kids camps. They taught the kids how to play tennis, set up craft stations, and then served them lunch at Father Carr’s.”
Scherer makes an effort to be an active participant in many other areas of the community as well. She served on the city’s plan commission for five years, and is currently on the foundation board for Evergreen, a retirement community in Oshkosh. She is also co-chair of the Oshkosh Yacht Club’s Xtreme Regatta, a sailboat racing event that her kids participate in every year.
Scherer devotes much of her time to helping others and her calm, respectful demeanor fits very well with the needs of some of Oshkosh’s most troubled citizens.
“You don’t have to pound on a table and yell and scream to be a good lawyer, Moore said. “I think her style is really well suited to effectively helping people who find themselves in a really tough, disadvantaged position.”