Interview with Charles N. Clevert, a judge for 30 years in Wisconsin.

Byline: Jack Zemlicka

As a teenager in Richmond, Va., Charles N. Clevert knew he wanted to pursue a legal career after an encounter with then-attorney L. Douglas Wilder, who went on to become governor. Clevert went to Georgetown University Law School and then to Wisconsin as an assistant district attorney in Milwaukee County under E. Michael McCann. After three years, he became an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. At age 30 he became the youngest U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in the nation and spent 19 years, including his last decade as chief judge, in that role. In 1996 President Clinton appointed him to the Eastern District Court. He was also the first African American in Wisconsin to be appointed as an assistant U.S. attorney (1975-77), U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge (1977-96) and U.S. District Court judge (1996-present). About to turn 60, Clevert is expected to become the next chief judge in the Eastern District and shows no signs of slowing down, because as he says, he can't. He sat down with Wisconsin Law Journal reporter Jack Zemlicka on Sept. 6 in the jury room behind his courtroom in the Eastern District Courthouse to discuss his greatest influences, the effectiveness of a "rocket docket" and his passion for singing.

*Wisconsin Law Journal: You are a native Virginian. What brought you to Wisconsin to start your legal career and what has kept you here for more than three decades? Charles N. Clevert: I came to Wisconsin to work as an assistant DA in the office of E. Michael McCann and I remained here because of things that developed in my career. I left the DA's office after getting an offer from William J. Mulligan to join his staff here and while serving as an assistant U.S. attorney, I applied for and got an appointment as a bankruptcy judge at a time when bankruptcy law was going through a great transition. I fully anticipated that I would serve as a bankruptcy judge for a year or so and have the option of moving on to another place with a wider variety of experience. But I thoroughly enjoyed my work in the bankruptcy court and wound up staying for 19 years. Then of course I met my wife and that totally changed my plans. We met when I was an assistant DA and so after meeting her and marrying her after a very short courtship, Wisconsin has been my home and I have not regretted it.

*WLJ: You served 19 years as a bankruptcy judge and now 11 years as a district court judge in the Eastern District. What are...