“We both decided in law school we wouldn’t do any divorce work; we never took the classes,” said Susanna Herro about her and her husband’s career in law.
Now, after extended careers practicing, “I think people know what we’re about,” Susanna continued.
As lawyers, Stuart and Susanna Herro have given much to the Church, the pro-life movement, and the greater Madison community through their knowledge and expertise.
A ‘profession of helping people’
It was in 1974 that the Herros registered as parishioners at Blessed Sacrament Church in Madison.
The next year, they both graduated from UW-Madison Law School and had their first child.
In 1976, Stuart began practicing full-time, and now, after his nearly 50-year career, Stuart “supposedly” retired in January, he said jokingly.
“To me, law is more of a profession of helping people, it’s not about money,” Stuart reflected.
Stuart shared a foundational memory from early in his career, remembering a former senior partner who “was the most decorated soldier of WWII from Wisconsin and a wonderful guy.
“He had big time clients — at the time I think he was representing Exxon,” Stuart continued.
“He lived out in Mount Horeb, and he said, ‘I get a lot more satisfaction from helping a farmer’s widow go through the process of probate or restarting her life [knowing that] she can’t pay much, but that’s much more satisfying to me than representing a big company that can hire anybody they want.’
“That’s always stuck with me,” Stuart said.
Public witness
From then on, “Both of us have dedicated a lot of our free time to doing things in the community, and Susanna much bigger than that, the state and the country,” Stuart said.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s in Madison, the Herros were involved in a city-wide effort of 21 Christian churches that organized each congregation to support various causes.
Their background as lawyers helped the group lobby successfully, Stuart explained, saying, “We were able to force the city’s school board to restore bussing for private schools [when] they wanted to stop it; we managed to keep a massage parlor from being very close to St. James School [in Madison]; and we got licenses required for bartenders, so that each bar that opened had to have a licensed, trained bartender on to enforce rules [on overserving].”
The group brought “people of faith together to try to make a difference in the city,” Stuart remembered.
The Herros’s most influential witness has been advocating for pro-life protections.
After the birth of their firstborn son in 1975, “I felt compelled to use whatever skills I had to help the Respect Life movement,” Susanna said.
Given that Roe v. Wade had been decided only two years earlier, “I knew what those little ones look like and I knew they were humans, and nobody can convince me otherwise,” Susanna remembered thinking at the time.
With her zeal and background, “I eventually became president of Wisconsin Right to Life, the state organization,” she said.
Now, Susanna’s past role with Wisconsin Right to Life has led her to other advisory and leadership boards, especially healthcare organizations.
While Susanna said many of her leadership positions have come from being “in the right place at the right time,” a Catholic voice is increasingly needed nonetheless, Susanna shared, saying that her pro-life beliefs are challenged in the board room from time to time.
But in those challenges, Susanna finds solace in Adoration.
“Whenever I have a serious problem, going and praying quietly is one of the best things I can do,” she said.
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