SPOONER, Wis. -- For our 8th Dock Talk segment, we sat down with attorney Jon Cuskey for a cup of joe and a chat at our favorite coffeehouse, The Dock Coffee, in downtown Spooner.
What are you drinking today?
A latte.
Is Coffee a part of your day, typically?
It really hasn’t been in the past. My wife Geri spends quite a bit of time at Dock Coffee and she has been easing me into it. When I worked in the cities, nearly all of my meetings were in my office. Since we’ve moved back I’ve already had quite a few meetings at coffee shops. So coffee is now slowly starting to become part of my day.
So you’re originally from Spooner, correct?
Yes, that’s correct. I was born and raised in Spooner and graduated from Spooner High School in 1998. A little fun fact, my class was the very last kindergarten class to attend the Hammill School before it was torn down and the civic center was built. We were the first class to go all four years in the new elementary school. We were also the first class to go all four years through the current middle school. I spent a lot of my childhood at Spooner Golf Club and playing hockey on the outdoor rink up at City Park. My friends and I used to skate until they shut the lights off around 9:00. Back in those days there was a switch on the city light pole on the west end of the rink. Once the warming house closed for the night we would turn on the city light and keep skating until our parents made us come home. Those were fun times.
So where have you been since you graduated and moved back?
After graduating from Spooner High School in 1998 I went to University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. I was actually all set to go to Madison, but at the last second I decided I wanted to try and continue playing sports so I made the decision to go to Eau Claire instead. Back in high school I was a pretty good golfer and Eau Claire had a very good team. I tried out for the team my freshman and sophomore years. Tryouts consisted of three 18 hole rounds and they took the top two players each year. Both years I tried out I was in the top two after the second day but ended up finishing 3rd. Obviously I was a little disappointed I didn’t make the team, but I couldn’t argue with them as they went to nationals several times while I was in school. I graduated Eau Claire in 2002 with a degree in Business Administration and thereafter I went to law school at Michigan State.
Why Michigan State?
After graduating from Eau Claire, I still wanted to have that experience of a big school. I was accepted to Minnesota and Wisconsin. Both have great law schools and were logical choices, but something about the idea of being a little further away from home appealed to me. I guess maybe I was concerned that if I was too close to home that I might have too many distractions. I applied and was accepted to several different schools including Michigan State. My parents and I drove out to East Lansing and checked out the campus. It only took the one trip and I knew that was where I wanted to go. If you are not familiar with it, the campus is over 162 years old, still has much of the old architecture and is absolutely beautiful. One thing I really enjoyed is how everything is located in one place. There are 50,000 students at Michigan State and all of the housing, school buildings, sports venues, recreation fields, etc. are all located in one spot. It is a very large, but organized campus and I found that to be extremely appealing.
Who do you root for when Michigan State plays Wisconsin?
Ha! This is a good question. My friends at Michigan State used to give me such a hard time about this. I had season tickets to the hockey games, my friends and I went to many of the home football games and occasionally we would get to a basketball game. I would always wear my Michigan State Spartans gear . . . until Wisconsin came to town. When Wisconsin was in town I would always break out my Badgers gear. To this day nothing has changed. I will pull for my alma mater . . . except for when they play Wisconsin.
Since you like golf, I have to ask: do you have head covers for your clubs? If so, are they Michigan State or Wisconsin?
Another good question. I actually have one of each. I have Sparty on my 3 wood and Bucky on my 5 wood.
So after you graduated, what was next? Did you take the bar exam right away?
I’m not sure how familiar you are with the bar exam, but it is a 12 hour exam. 6 hours of multiple choice questions one day, and 6 more hours of essay questions the next day. It’s a pass/fail exam and if you fail you cannot take the exam for another 6 months. Classes are offered to help you prepare for the exam. I graduated law school on May 15th and the bar exam was in the 3rd week of July. I spent nearly every day during that two-month stretch attending prep classes during the day and studying in my townhouse in the evenings. It was a miserable two months! That summer was one of the nicest summers I can remember. It was 90’s and sunshine every single day . . . and I spent all of June and July inside studying. I remember there being a terrible storm the week prior to the exam. The power went out and was out for 2-3 days. I went to the store and bought battery operated fans and lanterns so that I could study in the dark. Fortunately the studying paid off and I passed on my first try.
I’ve heard that the first year of law school is horrible.
The saying I heard when entering law school goes: The first year of law school they scare you to death. The second year they work you to death. The third year they bore you to death. The first year was certainly different than anything I had ever experienced before. They teach law school by using the Socratic method, which is essentially a dialogue between professor and student. Everyone is required to read the lesson for the day and when class starts the professor would call on one student and have them stand up. For the next 30 to 45 minutes the professor and that student would have a conversation about the cases we read for the day in front of the entire auditorium. If you weren’t prepared, it was pretty embarrassing because the professor would not let you off the hook. You quickly learn to be prepared at all times. I guess it’s a way to weed out the people that don’t really want to be there.
Where have you practiced law?
I began my career working for Miller Law Office, a general practice law firm in Wyoming, Minnesota. After 3 years, I joined Peterson, Fram & Bergman, P.A. in downtown St. Paul where I practiced in the areas of real estate and banking law for 9 years. In April of this year my wife and I moved back to the area and I joined Coe Law Office, S.C. in Rice Lake.
Why the decision to move back to your hometown?
Even though I’ve lived away from Spooner for 19 years, I still love the community and spent a considerable amount of time here. I would drive up from the cities many weekends to spend time with friends and family, hunt, fish, be out on the lake, etc. My wife Geri is originally from Hayward and volunteers for many of the events in Spooner. We’ve known each other since we were in college, but it was actually at the Spooner festivals where we finally connected and started dating. We were married in May 2015 and this past November we learned that we were expecting our first child. Even before we were married we discussed moving back to the area. Once we found out Geri was pregnant however we decided to set the plan in motion. We always wanted our children to grow up around family and in a smaller community was we did. This is a wonderful place to raise a family and we are extremely excited to be back.
Wow, Congratulations! Are you ready to be a parent?
Absolutely! Well I better be anyway . . . our due date is next week. I’m told that the baby is coming whether I’m ready or not.
Why did you choose your law firm in Rice Lake?
I was presented with a great opportunity I couldn’t pass up. The Coe Law Office has been around for a very long time and has a very good reputation. Mark Coe is a 4th generation attorney. The firm was started by his great grandfather many years ago. Mark was looking for another attorney to join the firm and the timing couldn’t have been better for me. Plus its only 20 miles down the road from Spooner. It takes me about the same time to drive from Spooner to Rice Lake as it used to take to drive from my house in St. Paul to my office in St. Paul. I have to say though, my commute now is much more enjoyable.
What kind of law do you practice?
My primary practice areas at Coe Law Office are real estate law, business law, estate planning and family law. I also handle other matters such as small claims court matters, foreclosures and collections.
If someone wanted to contact you about legal advice or to hire you, how would they do that?
Visit our website at: http://www.cdczlaw.com, or reach me by telephone at 715-234-9074.
Your dad is the mayor of Spooner, and I think before that he was in local politics/government as well, do you have any desire to be part of that world?
Correct. My dad has been involved in City Council since I was a little kid, and more recently he has been the Mayor. When I was living in larger cities, getting involved in politics wasn’t something that I really ever gave much thought to. Now that we are back in the area, it’s something that I might consider someday. With all of the recent changes in our lives and new baby on the way, I don’t think it is something I would want right now however.
Thanks for the chat. Last thing: what are a couple things about you that people might not know?
- When I was a senior in high school I had a hole in one on number 9 at Spooner Golf Club which is a par 4. Sadly, we were just practicing for regional finals the next day and it was my second shot from the tee . . . so it didn’t count.
- I love to hunt and fish and spend most of my free time doing something in the outdoors.
Last Update: Aug 09, 2017 7:16 am CDT
