Endless variety draws Triebenbach to construction law

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Like many people in construction, Lauren Triebenbach is attracted to the industry in large part because of its endless variety.

But it’s not as if she’s someone out in the field trying to provide a solution on the fly to an unforeseen engineering or structural problem. Triebenbach, a partner in the Michael Best & Friedrich’s real estate practice group, instead comes to the industry from a legal perspective.

The law, she says, gives her all the variety she needs.

“I don’t feel like my job is at all formulaic,” Triebenbach said. “Every one of my cases is slightly different. That keeps me interested and keeps me on my toes. And that’s what has kept me in this area of practice, and construction is always going on. You are never going to run out of things to do; you are never going to run out of new projects or new disputes.”

Triebenbach has always been up for a little adventure. After growing up in the Houston area, she decided it was time for a change and came to Milwaukee after being accepted at Marquette University Law School. Having lived here for 15 years, she now considers Wisconsin home.

Her first job in the legal field was at the firm von Briesen & Roper. There she was taken under the wing of Roy Wagner, a lawyer who has long made construction a specialty.

“He had a bunch of construction-law cases coming in, and I was looking for work,” Triebenbach said. “So he and I started working together. Almost immediately, I was really drawn to it.”

“From early on, Lauren eagerly accepted challenges of engaging and understanding this vital and complex industry,” Wagner said. “Today, 13 years later, I look to Lauren as a peer and trusted partner, and I appreciate the reasoned counsel and advocacy she provides our construction professional clients. It is obvious they value and trust her advice — whether in contract drafting or helping resolve a dispute.”

Triebenbach works with groups such as the Wisconsin Chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Women Network, the National Association for Women Lawyers in Construction and the Association for Women Lawyers.

“It’s still very much a male-dominated field. You don’t have many women with a seat at the table and becoming decision-makers at their construction firms,” she said. “Which is a shame, because as women, we tend to pay a lot of attention to detail, focus on schedule, focus on budget. These are all things that play into our strengths as women.”