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Tom Vilsack is preparing a speech on education policy. He has just returned from Brussels, Belgium, and London, where he discussed climate change with European Union officials.

Catch him on another day, and Vilsack could be preparing for trial in a personal-injury case or representing a client in an adoption or a business development.

Meet Tom Vilsack, former Iowa governor and currently of counsel in the Des Moines office of the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP.

Being of counsel means that Vilsack is among the lawyers who fill a variety of needs for area law firms; in some cases they are partners who have retired or are preparing to retire, but many are lawyers who have changed careers and bring special expertise to their firms. In some instances, they bring high visibility and prestige.

In Iowa, of-counsel lawyers must have a continuing relationship with another lawyer or firm. They cannot divide their time between firms, even if the firms are in different cities. They are not owners or partners in their firms, meaning they can work out creative compensation plans.

As one of-counsel lawyer put it, “We eat what we kill.”

Of-counsel attorneys must meet continuing-education requirements and abide by the same professional and ethical standards as in-house lawyers.

A good fit for a fomer governor

Vilsack is the only of-counsel lawyer in Dorsey & Whitney’s local office. The firm’s Minneapolis office boasts the of-counsel presence of former Vice President Walter Mondale, who can also claim stints as a two-term U.S. senator and former ambassador to Japan on his resume.

Vilsack brings credentials as a trial lawyer, a former mayor and state senator, not to mention his eight years as governor.

“This is a particularly good firm for me because there is an understanding within the firm of the transition that takes place once you move from politics into law,” Vilsack said.

For Vilsack, that means the opportunity to return to his roots as a trial lawyer while having the ability to take on the “big issue” policy debates of the day.

“It gives me a chance to practice law, which I love to do, and at the same time continue to have the ability to contribute in the policy area,” Vilsack said.

It is difficult to imagine Vilsack straying far from a policy debate, let alone far from the public eye. He still looks at, ponders and expounds on issues such as education, health care and renewable energy that have been dear to him throughout his career.

There are few questions that stump him and several that trigger a journey across the universe of his opinions. He apologizes if he climbs “on a soapbox.”

Having Vilsack on board “does tremendous things for this firm,” said David Claypool, a Dorsey & Whitney partner who heads up the Des Moines office. “It gives us another very bright, very capable lawyer who not only has statewide recognition, but, in many cases, international recognition for his talents and expertise.”

The firm allows Vilsack to remain on policy task forces and travel the globe. He is co-chair of the Council on Foreign Relations task force on climate change and participates in the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices as it looks at establishing an electronic health-records system for the country.

Vilsack is well-versed in contemporary issues, and that is a plus for an international law firm, Claypool said.

“Tom’s interests and abilities, not only as a trial lawyer, but his interests in issues like renewable energy, that are relevant issues for the day and into the future, adds tremendous credibility to our firm,” Claypool said, noting that many of the firm’s clients are in the “energy field.”

“All of that melds very well together,” Claypool said. “It keeps us informed in what is going on in that area of practice and we can pass that info along to our clients.”

Benefits flow both ways

Vilsack said he hopes that his work in and out of the office helps bring more attention to Dorsey & Whitney, particularly within the state.

“My hope is that what the firm gains is someone who is a team player and who is able to contribute to the clients of the firm and is able to encourage a better understanding in the community of the kinds of services this firm can provide,” he said, while also pointing out that the firm might be better known nationally and internationally than it is in Iowa.

“I’m not sure it’s as well-known within the state in terms of the capacity it has, so this is an opportunity, I think, perhaps for a brighter light to be shined on the firm,” Vilsack said.

But it also is an opportunity for Vilsack to step out of the public eye and reconnect with his passion for law.

As governor, “you don’t necessarily see that one person whose life you directly impact; as a lawyer you do.” Vilsack said. “One of the great beauties of being a lawyer is the capacity to impact or effect change in a single life or, in this law firm’s case, of a single community.

“The beauty of this is that I get to do both. So long as people want me on task forces and as long as this law firm sees them as a benefit for them, it’s a good opportunity for me.”

Out of business and into the firm

Pat Martin and David Milligan seized good opportunities when they left careers in the private sector and joined the Des Moines firm of Ahlers & Cooney P.C.

Martin was one of the firm’s first female partners until she left in 1994 to do employment and labor law work for Maytag Corp. She eventually became vice president, deputy general counsel and secretary, and was involved in the company’s acquisition by Whirlpool Corp. She decided to leave the company and strike out on her own.

“I looked around and wanted to be connected with business. I love that about in-house counsel,” Martin said. “You’re all on the same team; you’re working toward a common goal. You’re working on problem solving, but a lot of what you do is prevent problems.

“I did not find another job that looked as good as coming back to my old friends here.”

Milligan retired in 2006 after serving as a trust officer, loan officer, general counsel, chairman and chief executive officer of West Bank, where he had worked for 28 years.

“It’s a very different environment from a law firm,” he said.

Though he was ready to dip his “toes in the retirement pond,” he was not ready to step completely away from the workaday world.

“I wasn’t ready to fish all day or golf all day,” said Milligan, who is a former president of Des Moines Golf and Country Club. “For me this is sort of halfway. I love being active; I love being involved with people.

“If I want to go to Mexico for a couple of weeks or Florida for a couple of weeks, I can do that as well.”

Martin and Milligan carry some of the fast-paced business climate into the law firm.

“You understand what businesses need and how fast they move,” Martin said.

“They are very bottom line in terms of “what are the key things I need to know, what are the risks, and tell me how to avoid this major risk.’ Then we make a decision and we move on.

“It’s very fast paced and we can identify some of the issues that our clients are coming up with and what they really need.”

For Martin, being of counsel means she can essentially work full time building a practice in business law. She is particularly interested in helping entrepreneurs.

Milligan can continue to ply his expertise in financial and business law. And, he can gain some credibility in the legal world by being associated with a well-known firm.

“There’s a broad level of support,” Milligan said. “The people here have a reputation in the legal community and the business community that by being associated with them, brings some credibility to me.

“The other side of that equation is that through my fairly specific knowledge of what I did, it maybe augments some of the knowledge that the firm has. I can be a resource to some of the attorneys when their cases go into areas I have some expertise in.”

Clients and attorneys can relate

They both provide advice and direction to other members of the firm, and they rely on the firm for support.

“This firm has such a broad spectrum you could find anyone who knows something about just about almost anything,” Martin said. “If we had put out our own shingle ourselves, we would know what we know and I think both of us being in house have had a broad background, but it’s great to have 40 attorneys to go to to help our clients.

“Anymore you can’t know everything. There are so many specialties, and I like to be broader and not specialize in any certain thing.”

Wade Hauser III, a partner with Ahlers & Cooney, said that Martin and Milligan complement the firm’s partners.

“You can’t replicate their business experience,” Hauser said. “They bring perspective, perspective as to how the clients think about their business problems … that even a fully experienced business lawyer doesn’t have in terms of point of view. The decision-making processes that private businesses use, all of the understanding that one can garner of that are very beneficial to the law firm.

“I think clients love to work with lawyers who have previously been in business roles, because the clients appreciate having someone function as their lawyer who has been faced with the same decisions they have been faced with.”

Brad Winterbottom, executive vice president at West Bank, agreed.

Winterbottom and Milligan have worked together as business partners and now as lawyer and client.

“He knows and understands most of our customers,” Winterbottom said. “Now, when we go to him for help in terms of documentation of, for example, complex loan transactions, or other issues, Dave is just very insightful and knows how the banks work to make it a little easier.”

Pay packages are more flexible

Martin and Milligan noted that their compensation packages are more flexible than those for the firm’s partners.

Hauser said such flexibility is a bonus for lawyers who are of counsel as well as for the firm.

“We can work out deals that we all are comfortable with, but yet our young partners are not uncomfortable with,” Hauser said. “You don’t have an issue, if you do it through the of-counsel route and remain flexible, of some senior person coming in and taking a great big piece of the pie at the expense of younger members of the firm.”

Hauser said of counsel could provide an attractive entry into the profession for law school graduates who might not be interested in obtaining partner status.

As an example, “if a patent lawyer wanted to move to Des Moines and had worked in Silicon Valley and didn’t want to work full time or wanted to pursue other arrangements, we would consider an of-counsel deal,” he said.

Because there is less of the financial entanglement and expectation that comes from a shareholder arrangement, of counsel offers the chance to strike a creative deal, he said.

“You just have to think of it as a very flexible way to associate yourself with a law firm. People right out of college could be of counsel,” Martin said.