By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
It was anything but a carefree and ordinary childhood for Sara Kruse, now in her 15th year as an attorney with Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss.
Her upbringing, which was marked by an "eventful" three-year stay overseas and the divorce of her parents when she was at the tender age of 11, may go a long way in explaining the devotion to her own family and the corresponding desire to help institute a modified work schedule at Jaffe for parents with young children.
She was born in Washington, D.C., while her father was pursuing his Ph.D. in anthropology at Catholic University. By the time Kruse was about to enter the second grade, her father had accepted a State Department assignment in Liberia, the West African nation whose capital city, Monrovia, was named after James Monroe, the fifth president of the U.S.
"In many ways, we lived an idyllic life there," Kruse said of her family, which included her parents, Kathleen and Paul, an older brother, David, and a younger sister, Christine. "At least for a while."
But that changed dramatically in 1980, when a bloody military coup toppled the civilian government, setting the stage for a pair of civil wars that left nearly a quarter-million dead and the country's economy in shambles.
"My family was held at gunpoint, our car was stolen, and our lives were turned upside down," Kruse said of the political uprising. "It went from tranquility to chaos almost overnight. We didn't know if we were going to get out of there alive. Even though I was very young at the time, it was an experience I will never forget."
Within a few weeks, Kruse's mother and the three children were allowed to return to the safety of the U.S. Her father elected to stay behind, hoping to make the best of an unsettled situation that forced the Liberian populace into the confines of martial law.
"We eventually went back to Liberia, rejoining my father but in a totally different setting," she said. "We lived in a guarded complex, subjected to a dusk to dawn curfew that limited virtually everything about our normal way of life. It took a toll on everyone."
It undoubtedly was a factor in the marital break-up of her parents, a divorce that suddenly cast Kruse's mother into the role of primary provider for three children.
Kruse has displayed a work ethic learned from her hard working mother during a legal career at Jaffe that began when she was a summer associate entering her final year at Wayne State University Law School, according to Peter Sugar, a noted attorney and longtime partner with the Southfield firm.
"Sara is very detail oriented with a desire to know as much about a transaction as possible," said Sugar, who specializes in securities regulation, corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions. "She likes to look at a deal from every angle, and demonstrated that natural inquisitiveness from the early stages of her career. She now is deeply experienced in all aspects of transactional work and has displayed an ability to cut to the heart of some very complex matters."
Since the early days of her career, she has worked with Jaffe client Jeff Williams on a regular basis. That relationship dates back to the formation of Genomic Solutions, a life science products company that went public in 2000 and later merged with Harvard Bioscience. One of the state's most recognizable entrepreneurs, Williams most recently contributed to the rise of HandyLab and Accuri Cytometers, leading to the successful sales of both companies to Becton Dickinson.
"It's been a privilege to work on deals of that type and with entrepreneurs such as Jeff Williams," Kruse said of the recent exit transactions. "They have involved companies that are the byproduct of high-tech ideas that have created jobs and opportunities in and around Southeast Michigan."
Despite the rigors of work, Kruse has made her family life a priority since the first of her three children was born more than 12 years ago. The arrival of her daughter Emma, now in seventh grade, followed by daughter Grace, 9, and son Ryan, 7, changed the way Kruse approached her law practice.
Two years into motherhood, Kruse took a "leap of faith," asking the leaders at Jaffe to consider adopting a flex work schedule for staff members with parenting duties. In her case, she preferred a Monday through Thursday schedule, a four-day work week that would afford more of an opportunity to spend time with her kids.
"They embraced the idea, which clearly demonstrated their progressive approach to the modern workplace," Kruse said of the law firm.
Photo by Robert Chase
Attorney Sara Kruse has struck the right balance between her family and professional life at one of the Detroit area's leading law firms.
Published: Thu, Jan 5, 2012
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