Grisham Courts the "In The know" for his next novel........

Posted 11/22/2005 at 8:01 AM by L. Rodriguez


CAREER PROFILE: Mike Westergren
In-house Counsel

By Liza Rodriguez
CorpusBeat Magazine

Mike Westergren is currently the in-house counsel for Del Mar College. Westergren is a former senior district judge and certified mediator. As the presiding judge in the Selena Quintanilla case, Westergren has received a lot of recognition from the media. He is also active in the arts, preferring sculpture; he won an award from the Corpus Christi Art Center for a bust of former Sheriff J.P. Luby. He spends his free time with family and plays guitar at the Texan Bar in Corpus Christi.

CAREER PROFILE

CorpusBeat: How would you describe what you?
Michael Westergren: I am the lawyer for Del Mar College. My title is in-house counsel, as opposed to outside counsel, a law firm in other words. I am a part of the staff.

CB: What are your main responsibilities?
MW: To provide legal services when called upon by the administration, and primarily my client, the president of Del Mar College. Everyone in the administration looks to me for legal guidance and to review important documents. I do a lot of other things though; I go to court for Del Mar College sometimes. The outside counsel deals with most of the heavy litigation, but I will be in court to assist when they call a witness. Most litigation is handled by the outside counsel. I try to keep the out of the courtroom.

CB: Why does outside counsel get called in for litigation?
MW: That's just the way the board of regents chose to set it up. Also a great deal of litigation is handled by insurance counsel. I could probably handle it, but I would have to be provided a great deal more resources than I currently have. My job is to try to keep us out of litigation. I will not always succeed but I believe I am able to assist the college in avoiding a lot of problems that could lead to litigation.

CB: As Del Mar College’s in-house legal counsel, what types of legal matters do you handle?
MW: I do a lot of unemployment matters and interpreting policies and just anything that comes up. We have strange things that come up; for example, not just at Del Mar, but every school in the country that had distance learning is being legally assaulted by a company who claims they have the right to royalties for downloading visual and audio information. I have to deal with that; it is a copyright issue.

CB: Why is it necessary for colleges to have a legal department?
MW: I am always here and if something comes up I can deal with it. Before, you would have to call a lawyer downtown who charges anywhere from $125-$300 per hour. That is a disincentive for the average administrator to call.

CB: Why did you decide to be part of Del Mar’s legal department? What other ways have you been involved with the college?
MW: I saw the ad and thought, “I can do that, I have done it before, I am sure I can do a good job.” I work very closely with the equal opportunity officer to make sure that there is no discriminatory conduct or violation of federal law.

CB: What was your first experience in the legal profession? MW: My first experience was as a legal aid attorney. I really was not an attorney yet, and it was (during) one of the first major disasters here, Hurricane Celia. I had just gotten out of law school; I helped with the disaster work, and there is always a lot of work when it comes to a disaster.

CB: Why did you decide to go into this field?
MW: It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I was into politics and both of my brothers were lawyers.

CB: What was the first job in your career, and how did it lead you to your current position?
MW: My first job was as a legal aid attorney. After legal aid work, I was licensed and became an assistant county attorney. I was prosecuting, and I was also in-house counsel for Memorial Medical Center. This is not the first time I have done in-house counsel work. I did that after winning the election as a justice of the peace (JP) because you have to wait six months after you’re elected before you can take office. I set up the in-house counsel for Memorial Medical Center; I think the same guy is still doing it to this day.

After becoming the JP, I did some private practice also because JP is really a part-time job. I was the first lawyer to become a JP in the courthouse, so that was unique. I did not have much of a practice but I did do a lot of divorce work and personal injury. In 1976 I ran for and was elected Nueces County attorney, which is a very big responsibility. You’re both prosecution and civil lawyer for the county. Today the County Attorney Jimenez is only the civil attorney. Back then, we were civil and misdemeanor prosecution, which is DWIs and I took a big interest in that. I did that until January 1984. I was re-elected toward the end of my second term as county attorney when (former) Governor Mark White appointed me district judge. I then was a visiting judge from 2000 until August 2004, and that was when I assumed this position as Del Mar College’s in-house counsel.

CB: What are some of your most memorable moments?
MW: The Selena Quintanilla case. I was the presiding judge over that case and had it moved to Houston and was able to completely dispose of the case in a little less than three weeks, so everyone thought that was a good job.

CB: Why did the case move so quickly?
MW: I think a lot of it had to do with my not allowing cameras in the courtroom. That was a controversial decision. Although I generally approve of cameras in the courtroom I did not think it appropriate in this particular case.

CB: Why is it good for a case to be resolved quickly?
MW: Justice delayed is often justice denied. Case should not be arbitrarily pushed to trial without regard to the nature of the litigation but cases should not drag on forever either. People need to know where they stand so that their lives can return to normal as soon as possible.

CB: What prepared you for your career as a district judge? MW: There were some things that help prepare me for a district judge — becoming a lawyer and a county attorney. I got the feel for it once I became a judge. You have to go through a lot of training and you have to maintain a certain level of training each year. That was helpful.

CB: What were the major differences between being an attorney and being a judge?
MW: Being an attorney, I think it’s a lot less pressure really. You can advise your clients and they can either take it or leave it. Being a judge you have to rule who gets the child, the custody. He (a judge) decides things about life, liberty, money, property, and children, so it’s a lot of pressure if you want to do things right. Of course cases have juries to assist you, but a lot of divorces are actually tried by a judge. Most other cases have juries and you have to move to settle these disputes. As a lawyer, really all you do is concentrate on your client. It makes it really simple. I have a few personal clients but not many.

CB: Did your outlook change once you transitioned from an attorney to a district judge?
MW: Once you become a judge, you are no longer an advocate. You start considering the whole issue and about what’s best for society and not your client, so it is a different focus. As an attorney, you are more focused on your client; that is your job, to represent the client.

CB: Which profession did you prefer?
MW: I really enjoyed being a visiting judge because I got to travel to the (Rio Grande) Valley and to Dallas a couple of times.

CB: What has been your biggest challenge during a trial?
MW: Havner vs. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals comes to mind. It was a very long liability case. It went to the Supreme Court and made a determination that in order to establish medical causation you had to have a certain level of statistical proof.

CB: How many cases have you presided over during your career?
MW: I have presided over and average of 20-to-30 jury trials a year and hundreds of non-jury trials a year.

CB: What types of cases do you see the most of in Corpus Christi?
MW: Mostly divorces and personal injury, some criminal cases. Here in Corpus Christi we do not specialize; everybody does everything. The district court does all of the felony criminal cases, so I tried a lot of burglary and armed robberies, murders, and about four or five capital murder cases.

CB: What are the skills needed to be successful in the legal profession?
MW: People need to know how to read; believe it or not, reading skills are paramount. You have to be able to consume large amounts of material that are very boring. It is not like reading a novel; you really have to hone your skills as a reader. You have to learn to think on your feet of your going to be a lawyer and be quick and decisive. You also need to learn how to talk to people like human beings, or you’re not going to get anywhere. You need to learn to forget all that legal stuff sometimes and get down to their level; ordinary people don’t think in terms of all this legal logic. Sooner or later you end up in the appellate court trying to uphold something you have done in the trial court and if you do not have that good human contact, you are not going to get anywhere with the jury, and they are the ones that make the decisions either for a plaintiff or a defendant. You have to convince the jury you’re right or you’re not going to do so well as a lawyer.

CB: Why did you decide to retire from the bench rather than seek re-election?
MW: I got tired of being in the courthouse and doing all those administrative duties. People do not realize that judges have a lot of administrative duties aside from being a judge. My preference is to be a visiting judge because I did a lot of judging without the administrative work.

CB: What are the main challenges facing the legal profession?
MW: I feel we need to do a better job of selling our service to the public. We have taken lots of hits lately with torte reform and (the idea of) greedy plaintiff lawyers; although for the most part I don’t think it (the idea of greedy plaintiff lawyers) is true. For instance Plaintiff lawyer receive no compensation when they loose a case, even though they may have spent $100,000+ in expenses, and untold hours of legal work. But I am also not saying it never happens.

I think there needs to be another side to that story; about what lawyers do in the public interest, for instance to help the ordinary citizen stand up to big government, big business and big labor. I think we have let torte reform rule the day. People need lawyers; people get messed up by big business and insurance companies. You need a lawyer to help deal with those powerful entities. I think there need to be some balance with torte reform.

CB: What qualities or qualifications do you look for in hiring a young job applicant?
MW: Honesty, integrity, ability to get the job done, and being able to project a good impression in the interview. First impressions are hard to change. Credentials, background and experience are also very important.

CB: What opportunities are there for student internships in your department?
MW: Supposedly the legal department can provide me with internships and we have talked about in general terms, but I really do not have a place to put anyone. I might get a bigger office in the future and then I might have somewhere to put them. I have the need; I just don’t have a whole lot of room to put them anywhere.

CB: Have you or your organization won any awards? If so, what specifically was the award given for? When was it given?
MW: Yes, I received Outstanding Judge for the year of 1995-1996, conferred by Criminal Justice Section, State Bar of Texas. I also won an award from the Corpus Christi Art Center for a bust sculpture of former Sheriff J.P. Luby.

CB: Please describe any event or person from high school or college that helped direct you to this career.
MW: My neighbor growing up was a lawyer and he influenced me; my two brothers were also lawyers.

CB: As a sculptor, were do you find your inspiration?
MW: I love faces; I like to do sculptors of faces. I read a book called “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards, I highly recommended it. It explains the differences between the right (side of the) brain and the left (side of the) brain. The left brain controls most of what I do as a lawyer; the right brain controls most of what I do as a sculptor. It describes how to let the left brain take over and become and artist.

CB: Do you sell your work?
MW: No, I have never sold any of my work. I love my work so much I don’t like to get rid of it. I have made two pieces I have given as gifts of love. I made a bust of former Sheriff Luby and he has it. The other one is of my cousin and she has that one as well.

CB: Outside the office, what do you do to mentally unwind? Why does that relax you?
MW: I enjoy being at home with my wife of 34 years and our son, who just returned from serving our country in Iraq. I play guitar sometimes out at the Texan Bar.

CB: What anecdote or story can you share that relates to your work or choosing your career?
MW: There was a controversial thing where the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) sued me, the city and several police officers, but I was vindicated in that. They were claiming that I was prosecuting people that I knew were innocent. Of course that was not true. Apparently they had been doing that in the (Rio Grande) Valley and the ACLU was successful in their trial but not here.



SOURCES: Westergren, Mike. Personal interview. 2 November 2005.

VITAL STATS


Name: Michael J. Westergren
Age: 59
Occupation title: In-house counsel, Del Mar College Education: Associate’s degree in art, Del Mar College; bachelor’s degree, University of Texas; J.D., University of Texas
Career path: Legal aid, assistant county attorney, justice of the peace, county attorney, district judge, visiting judge; Del Mar College in-house counsel (presently)
First job: Construction work
Best job: His current position
Salary during 20s: About $800 a month
Biggest challenge: The dilemma with the ACLU



RELATED CORPUSBEAT ARTICLES

Sculptures by Westergren
Mediation Lawyer- Michael Elliot
City Attorney- Mary Kay Fischer
Lawyer- Doug Allison
Attorney- Guy Watts


OTHER LINKS OF INTEREST:
Del Mar College
Nueces County Justices of the Peace
In-House Lawyers Career Profile




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