Q & A: Carrie M. Risatti
October 20, 2009
Carrie M. Risatti
Age: 36
Education: She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1995, and her law degree from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 1999.
Professional: A principal at Much Shelist, she is a member of its real estate practice group, where she represents clients in all aspects of real estate development and finance.
1. What is the most unusual thing that has happened to you as a lawyer?
I clerked in the Virginia courts after law school, and one of my cases was a murder-for-hire case. It was really interesting, and probably the most dramatic thing I’ve been involved with. … During my clerkship my office made a right angle with the lock-up where the defendants who were being brought in for hearings or trials waited. Every morning they would bring them in at 6 o’clock. By the time you came in at 8 or 8:30 they’d been there for several hours.
And as you can imagine, probably not unlike many law students, I didn’t have a lot of contact with inmates before that. As you can also imagine, given that the door to the judge’s chambers was right by lock-up, there were a lot of locks. I would sit there every morning going through a string of deadbolts and codes. I got to spend a good 10 minutes every morning with the inmates, who were not shy. …
The defendant for the murder-for-hire case was by himself … and he was quiet and very, very intelligent in a deeply disturbing way. And, he would ask me questions. After the first day of trial, he greeted me in the morning and had gone online the night before. He knew a lot of information about me. At the time, when I was hearing it, it kind of rattled me because I thought he knew everything about me. He was a nice person, which was the weird thing. You would sit in court all day and see all this evidence being presented, and it presented obviously a very different picture of him.
2. If you could have lunch with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Coco Chanel.
I think she is often overlooked as someone who has done a great deal for women, especially women professionals. She owned her own company; she never gave it up. As a transactional lawyer, I deal a lot with businesses and I realize how hard it is to start a company and keep a company successful over years and years. … The fact that she did this at a time when women were not allowed to vote, women were not allowed to have bank accounts. … She really did something quite remarkable and it was so far outside of the standard idea of what a woman’s life should be at that time. …
She is known for being uncompromising and unrelenting and very unconventional, which are categories I think, as lawyers, we probably strive to possess in ourselves and our own practices. But she is quoted often as saying fashion is everywhere. Fashion is in the streets, because it’s how you choose to present yourself to the world, which as a lawyer is a big part of my job. Whether or not my clients often get the deal that they want depends on how I present that deal to the other side. It’s a concept that I think about very often in my life and I think it’s probably a concept that transcends the ideas of fashion. …
3. What advice do you have for new or future lawyers?
Always remember that civility is your greatest strength. I went to a law school that is founded on the principles of an honor system and a speaking tradition. When I started my practice in Virginia, these are principles that are almost force-fed to new attorneys by the Virginia bar. … Then I came to Chicago — to a much more sophisticated bar and there are so many more lawyers and we work at such a fast pace — and that isn’t the central focus of the bar. And that’s not a judgment or an indictment against Illinois. It’s the practical reality and the difference in the nature of the practice. As I’ve grown in practice I’ve realized how absolutely fundamental it is. I think it’s very easy to get caught up in what you’re doing … and it’s easy to forget that this community isn’t that big, and all you have to sell is ultimately your character and your integrity. …
4. What do you like the most and the least about being a lawyer?
My favorite part of practicing law is advising my clients. I think, especially in this economy, my practice demands that I be a counselor of law. My job is to holistically advise my clients, and always be cognizant of what their objectives are in any transaction. And that’s great and it’s really, really fun to have a relationship with clients and watch them grow their businesses and do projects and get deals done.
My least favorite part of practice is dealing with difficult opposing counsel. It’s hard to do deals when everyone isn’t on the same page that we are going to do something together, and this is the beginning of a relationship for our clients; and that ideally there are no winners or losers.
I find most attorneys, they want their clients and the transaction to succeed just as much as I do. But occasionally you get someone who is not on board with that plan.
5. If you didn’t become a lawyer, what career would you have chosen?
I, a year ago, helped my sister open a bridal salon in Manhattan. And I’m in the process of designing a line of accessories for her store, and will eventually design a line of gowns. … I am taking classes at night and on weekends over at The Art Institute, and am taking their art and fashion design classes, and it’s an amazing program. … If I wasn’t a lawyer I would be in this program full time and pursuing that.
6. What is your favorite childhood vacation?
My parents sent my sister and me to foreign language sleep-away camps in the summer. And I know it sounds like band camp, but it was great. We loved it. It was probably the most influential experience in my childhood in terms of influencing my world view. …
7. What is your favorite Chicago restaurant?
I love Cafe Spiaggia because they have this wild boar gnocchi that is out of this world.
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