December 27, 2013 at 5:20 p.m.
Rhinelander defense attorney appears on cover of legal magazine
Rhinelander defense attorney appears on cover of legal magazine
Amy Ferguson, a 2005 Rhinelander High School graduate and criminal defense attorney at the O'Melia, Schiek & McEldowney law firm, was chosen to grace the cover of the magazine and is featured in an article about the impact of high school mock trial.
"It was a huge honor," Ferguson said of making the cover. "It was definitely a bit of a surprise, but it's a huge honor. It's something that we're all very excited about and by we I mean everyone at my firm, certainly my family and friends."
Ferguson said other lawyers in the area have been calling to congratulate her.
"All the lawyers that are licensed in Wisconsin get a copy of the magazine, so all the lawyers in the community around here have been very supportive and have reached out to me and congratulated me," she said. "It's been kind of a fun thing."
Ferguson's boss, John O'Melia, said the firm is very proud of Ferguson's success.
"It's a great accomplishment," he said. "She was very vital with regards to the mock trial team back in her days in Rhinelander. I think it's just a very nice recognition of what she did all of her years in high school. We're very happy for her."
It was during a tour of the Northwoods that the State Bar of Wisconsin first learned about Ferguson and her mock trial credentials.
"We had a meeting with some of the leaders of the state bar. They were taking a tour of the Northwoods just to kind of check in and explain some of the services that the state bar offers to all of its attorneys. Somehow we got on the topic of the National High School Mock Trial tournament which is being held in Madison this year," Ferguson said.
"Of course, the state bar is a huge sponsor of (the tournament) and is trying to fund raise and get lawyers and judges actively involved in the tournament so they can act as judges. They wanted to do a piece in the magazine about mock trial for high school students - what a good program it is and trying to get positive attention for it to get people involved in the national tournament."
During the conversation, Ferguson mentioned that she participated in mock trial during her high school years.
That simple remark opened the floodgates.
"Somehow, with these leaders from the state bar, I mentioned that I was in mock trial in high school. Of course, everyone is quite familiar with the Rhinelander program because it's just been so successful (Rhinelander won a national title in 1989 and has numerous state titles to its credit) and they said, 'Well, we'd love to talk to you about some of your experiences,'" Ferguson said.
"They had someone from the magazine interview me and take some photos. I guess they just liked the one photo so much they decided to put it on the cover."
Long before she was doing photo shoots or interviews, a young Ferguson was dreaming about becoming a lawyer. It was those dreams that set her on the path that brought her to where she is today.
"It's really the only thing I've ever wanted to do," she said. "I think I'm kind of one of those few strange kids who gets this idea early on that they want to do something and I've decided to do it and I actually followed through with it."
Ferguson said she knew participating in mock trial would be ideal training as she pursued her dream.
"I always wanted to do the type of work I'm in, so one of the reasons I was in mock trial in high school is because I knew some day I wanted to go to law school. I thought (mock trial) would be a good step," she said. "I never really knew how great of a thing it was going to be until afterwards."
Ferguson said mock trial helped her become the attorney she is today.
"It was just such a great thing. I'm so glad I did it. It's one of the best things I've ever done," she said. "It's helped me so much. You learn at a very early age, when most kids I think are afraid of public speaking, you learn how to present yourself in public, in front of real lawyers and judges. Just that practice getting up and speaking and thinking on your feet. That has helped me not only as a lawyer, but in all aspects of my life. I think that's something very important for people to learn how to do."
With experience came confidence, Ferguson explained.
"It's also helped build our confidence. All of the kids on our team went on to do great things and I think one of the reasons is because we just were so disciplined and confident and strong as a team, and that really helped," she said. "We also learned how to become very organized and on top of things and dedicated. All of these skills have helped me in my legal profession. I'm certainly more organized and prepared and I think a lot of that has to do with that great training we had all that time during high school."
Ferguson said the highlight of her mock trial career came in Charlotte, N.C., when her team was competing in the national tournament.
"It has to be the time that we were in the finals at nationals. Nationals is like the ultimate tournament. We won regionals, we won state, and we made it to nationals never really expecting to do as well as we did, and we made it to the finals," she said. "Appearing in the finals for a chance to become the national champs, there was just nothing cooler. We lost by essentially a point, which was unfortunate, but it was by far the coolest memory of mock trial - possibly one of the best memories I have yet."
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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