By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
Patrick McCarthy, some six years after graduating from law school, was considering a run for district court judge in 2006.
It was a long shot bid, of course, principally because of his relatively tender age (31) coupled with the fact that he was pitted against a longtime incumbent (Susan Moiseev) for the 46th District Court seat.
Before deciding to jump into the race, the University of Michigan alum sought the counsel of his most trusted legal adviser—his father, Joseph. The patriarch of the family had much in the way to offer, formerly serving as the prosecuting attorney of Gladwin County, an elected position, before capping his legal career in the high-stakes corporate world of two Fortune 500 companies. His advice to his son was frank, the kind of candor that fathers periodically dish out.
“He said, ‘Don’t do it,’” McCarthy related. “He may have said it several times, in fact. He knew it would be an uphill battle and he wanted to paint a realistic picture of what was likely to happen, that I would lose and lose pretty convincingly.”
And that he did, finishing third in the primary, his election dreams of unseating an incumbent dashed before they even began to fully unfold.
“My dad gave me some tough advice, but once I decided to run, he did everything in his power to help me win, becoming my campaign manager,” said McCarthy, now a probate and family law specialist serving Of Counsel with the Bloomfield Hills firm of Witzke, Berry, Carter & Wander. “I was a huge underdog, but I figured that I had nothing to lose and was really intrigued by the political process. I poured everything I had into the race, and it was an experience that I will never regret. Until you are really involved in a race, it’s hard to get a full appreciation for how involved the entire process really is. It was a great education for me.”
A graduate of Birmingham Brother Rice, McCarthy had pre-med plans when he enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1993, a career path that was quickly re-routed. His interest in the law, which was almost an offshoot of McCarthy’s close relationship with his father, began to take hold during his senior year at U-M.
“I was involved in an internship program with an attorney in Ypsilanti who handled a lot of domestic violence cases,” McCarthy said. “As part of my work there, I was in court on a regular basis, which really piqued my interest in the law. It was an eye-opener to see how the criminal justice system operated.”
Upon graduation from U-M, McCarthy took his legal interest up the road to East Lansing, enrolling at Michigan State University College of Law, completing his juris doctorate degree in 2000. His first job was as a judicial assistant for Oakland County Probate Court Judge Elizabeth Pezzetti, a two-year stay that left a lasting impression on McCarthy in several respects.
“Judge Pezzetti proved to be an incredible role model for me,” McCarthy said of his work with the former chief judge of Oakland County Probate Court. “She is smart, dedicated, and insightful, and treats everyone who comes into her courtroom with dignity and respect, whatever their background. She knows the law inside and out, but she has a special knack for getting to the heart of the matter in even the most complex cases.”
While his work with the county whet his appetite for a career in probate and family law, McCarthy also discovered something even more important during his first job out of law school—the love of his life.
His future wife, Kathleen, who earned her master’s degree in psychology from Eastern Michigan and her Ph.D. from the University of Detroit Mercy, was working as an intern at the time for the Oakland County Circuit Court’s Psychology Clinic.
“I guess we are proof that romance can happen at the courthouse,” McCarthy said with a smile, acknowledging that it took him awhile to “muster up enough courage” to ask her out for a date. “We were engaged about 10 months later and we were married in 2003.”
The couple, who share an interest in golf, have three children, Arthur (6), Max (4), and Anna (1). Their busy family life is made all the more challenging by the demands of their respective careers, she with a psychotherapy practice in Birmingham and he practicing law. Both, invariably, see clients at “some of the lowest points in their lives,” according to McCarthy.
“In many respects, there is a lot of common ground in our careers,” McCarthy said of his and his wife’s professional responsibilities. “They can be difficult lines of work that often are all over the map. Family law, which of course centers around divorce and custody cases, can be full of heartache, tears, and financial struggles. There are so many difficult emotional issues that can complicate matters, just as inherently there are in my wife’s line of work.”
The third of four children, the 36-year-old McCarthy said he owes a “debt of gratitude for all the sacrifices by my parents,” Janet and Joseph, now retired in Farmington Hills.
“As a parent myself, I can now fully appreciate all that my mother and father did to raise four kids, providing a Catholic school and then college education for me and my brothers and sister,” McCarthy said. “I hope I can live up to the standards that they set.”
It has motivated him to be involved in the work of the Oakland County Bar Association and to assist in pro bono efforts with the Family Law Assistance Project (FLAP). In addition, McCarthy currently serves as chair of the Probate Estates and Trusts Committee for the OCBA, while also assisting as a member of the Family Law Committee.
“I find my involvement with the Oakland Bar to be very rewarding and a great opportunity to give back to the legal community,” McCarthy said. “Their work in promoting legal aid causes and professionalism speaks for itself.”
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