Right Track Lawyer treasures his running, newspaper roots at Michigan

By Sheila Pursglove Legal News Adam Zuwerink, an attorney with Parmenter O'Toole in Muskegon, is used to overcoming hurdles. Literally. Not only was he a hurdler with the University of Michigan track team, a high school track and field coach, and an assistant to the University of Virginia Cavaliers track squad, but he still enjoys lacing up his running shoes. The Fremont native was salutatorian of his graduating class at Fremont High School where he ran indoor and outdoor track all four years and played football for two years, before heading to U-M to earn a bachelor's degree in cultural anthropology and political science. "I was being recruited by the Division II and III schools in Michigan to run track, but I had always been a Wolverine fan as a kid and knew I wanted to run there even if it was only as a walk-on," he says. "I absolutely love U-M and Ann Arbor, and I was fortunate as a freshman to have a roommate who was from Ann Arbor and also a hurdler on the track team, so he knew the area. "While U-M can be a large, daunting place I never felt like it was that big even though the freshman class alone is bigger than Fremont. Also, being a cultural anthropology major, a lot of the class sizes were small - 10 to 20 students - and taught by full professors at the 200 level and up. The undergraduate experience at U-M is second to none." When he wasn't in class, Zuwerink was training hard with the Wolverine track and field team. "A large part of the U-M track experience was surreal," he says. "Nike provided more equipment than you knew what to do with, a lot of which I still wear 10 years later, and I was training with national champions and Olympians on a daily basis. Unfortunately, my U-M track career was hampered by multiple stress fractures in my foot. I guess my body didn't like all of the pounding into the ground from hurdling." Zuwerink's other passion was writing for The Michigan Daily, where his experience as a news editor taught him how to write clearly and fact-based for legal briefs, and showed him how newspaper writers report on stories. Two news features are particularly memorable for him. The first was about the large number of Wolverine grads who went on to explore space and, relatedly, the plaque on the moon that signified its place as a U-M Alumni Association chapter. "It was amazing interviewing the Gemini and Apollo astronauts about their experiences," he says. The second was his feature about the Starlight Children's Foundation, which provided video networking access for youngsters staying long term at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, enabling them to interact with fellow patients at hospitals across the country. "I first discovered the system when I was visiting the hospital as part of a U-M athletes' visit, and the story ended up winning a news feature award from the American Medical Association," he says. "The story really touched me and it's the only award I keep in my office." After Zuwerink graduated from U-M in December 2000, with 3-1/2 years under his Wolverine belt, Zuwerink had a semester break before leaving for law school. Originally intending to apply for a number of positions in the political arena of the nation's capital, he heard about an opening at Dexter High School as head coach for the girls' track and field team. He jumped at the chance, and became a substitute high school teacher in Washtenaw County. The position offered a slight hiccup: although Zuwerink knew how to coach sprinters and jumpers, he had never worked with a distance crew. "Thankfully, Greg Meyer, former U-M track team member and the last American to win the Boston Marathon, lived in Dexter and wrote a distance training program for the girls," he says. "Coaching 45 high school girls was an interesting experience and probably the most rewarding thing I've done in my life, and it led to the most touching thing anyone has ever done for me." While coaching in the spring of 2001, Zuwerink was torn between attending law school at U-M or the University of Virginia School of Law. The Dexter track students, who knew he was leaning towards UVA because of a generous scholarship, decided to take matters in hand. "Unknown to me, about a dozen of them wrote letters to the dean of admissions at U-M Law basically telling her the school needed to give me more money so I could stay in Ann Arbor and keep coaching them for three more years. It was quite a surprise when the dean of admissions called me personally to explain she had a pile of letters on her desk about me." Despite the best efforts of the Dexter students, Zuwerink ended up at UVA for a change of scenery. "It must have been the right decision, because I met my wife Beth at UVA while she was getting a master's degree in elementary education and we were married right after law school," he says. When Zuwerink headed to UVA in Charlottesville, he figured his track career was in the rear view mirror for good. But he introduced himself to Randy Bungard, then-head track coach for the Cavaliers, only to find that a primary assistant had left for Duke University and the Virginia squad needed help. Zuwerink spent two years as a volunteer assistant for the Cavs, helping with the sprints and hurdles and traveling with the team. The third year was spent in a paid intern position with the NCAA rules compliance office at Virginia. Writing loomed large again at UVA, where Zuwerink served as an editorial board member of the school's Journal of Law and Politics, and the Sports and Entertainment Law Journal. Life finally brought him full circle back to Muskegon. After interviewing for law clerk positions from Georgia to Maine, the last firm he interviewed at was Parmenter O'Toole during a Christmas break back home in Fremont. "Chris Kelly, the managing partner, was just returning from playing hockey on his lunch break and he sold me on the atmosphere of the firm and the vision for a redeveloped Muskegon," Zuwerink says. "Despite the economic struggles in Michigan over the past few years, I've never regretted the decision to practice in West Michigan. Oftentimes, we are our own worst enemy and need to do a better job of communicating what a great place Michigan is when speaking to friends and colleagues from other parts of the country." When he's not at his desk, Zuwerink enjoys staying active. He enjoys running with his black Labrador, Haley, and has competed in several 5-km races over the years. "Life sneaks up on you after law school while having a desk job for the past five years, and I just recently returned to my college weight," he says. "It was refreshing to spend the last 12 weeks training, and I even got back on the track once a week this fall." And last fall he got back into the realm of high school athletics again, this time working as a football referee. "I like to joke that I did it because there wasn't enough verbal abuse in my life." Published: Wed, Dec 23, 2009

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