F WARRIORS
MEET YOUR FELLOW ALUMNI
Each month, The F-Warrior website will feature a fellow Trial Lawyer's College alum. It is our hope that when you are at the Retreat, a Regional, or any of the other TLC events, this page will represent an ice breaker of a sort. So feel free to walk up to them and let them know that you saw your fellow F-Warrior on the website and let the conversation flow!
Jerry Perry
Jerry grew up as the youngest child in a working-class family in one of Milwaukee’s tougher neighborhoods. Life there wasn’t easy, but his path took a meaningful turn thanks to his older sister. Living on a farm in Rochester, Minnesota, with her husband and working as a nurse at the Mayo Clinic, she saw a different kind of summer in store for her kid brother. Starting at age ten, Jerry began spending his school breaks with them, helping with chores, learning the rhythms of farm life, and soaking up a world far removed from the city streets.
He returned every summer until he was seventeen. What began as a family favor quickly became something deeper. Jerry took to the work instinctively, earning a reputation as someone who could be counted on, no matter the job. Those long days in the fields taught him more than practical skills, they instilled in him a rock-solid work ethic and an appreciation for responsibility that would echo throughout his life.
Back home during the school year, Jerry found a different kind of education on Milwaukee’s asphalt basketball courts. The games were fast, competitive, and multicultural, kids from every background thrown together with nothing but a ball and a will to win. It was there he learned to size people up, not by their background or the color of their skin, but by how they carried themselves.
“It doesn’t matter where someone comes from,” he’s reflected. “You deal with everyone one-on-one. Look them in the eyes. That’s how you know who the good guys are.”
That ability, to see people clearly, fairly, and without pretense, would serve him well in every chapter of his life, from the Marine Corps to the courtroom.
After high school, Jerry set his sights on something bigger. He enrolled at St. Thomas University, where he double-majored in Political Science and History, an early sign of the path he was carving for himself. Law school came next, and when he was accepted into the University of Notre Dame College of Law, he didn’t look back. Three years later, degree in hand, he took the next leap, into the United States Marine Corps.
As a JAG officer, Jerry brought the same work ethic and integrity that had shaped him since those summers on the farm. He rose through the ranks to Captain and served as a Special Courts Martial Military Judge, presiding over cases with the same level-headed fairness he’d practiced since his Milwaukee streetball days.
In 1975, he and his wife Kathleen made a pivotal decision. With a young family and a desire to plant roots, Jerry left the Corps and opened his own law practice in Rochester. He built his firm from the ground up, focusing on personal injury, criminal defense, and estate planning, always driven by a commitment to fight for the people who needed it most.
Through it all, Jerry and Kathleen built a life together, one defined not just by careers or cases, but by family. They raised three daughters and now delight in a growing legacy that includes seven grandchildren. Ask them what they’re most proud of after 57 years of marriage, and you’ll hear no hesitation: their family, through and through.
Jerry first arrived at the Trial Lawyers College in July of 2004, and he never really left. Since completing the flagship three-week program, he’s remained a deeply committed part of the TLC family, serving for years as a staff member and as the Region 6 representative on the F-Warrior Board. His dedication and steady leadership eventually led him to the role of Board President, where he helped steer the organization through one of its most challenging chapters: the COVID-19 pandemic. Calm, thoughtful, and unfailingly grounded, Jerry was the right leader at the right time, keeping the mission alive when many institutions faltered.
Ask Jerry what he took away from his time at the College, and he’ll point to one thing: the power of authenticity. Being real, genuinely connecting with clients, jurors, and colleagues, is, to him, the heart of great trial work. And few do it better. With decades of experience, a belief in the dignity of every person, and an unshakable presence, Jerry exemplifies what TLC is all about.
We are honored to have him in our ranks, and better for it!
From the streets of Milwaukee to the fields of Minnesota, the courtrooms of the Marine Corps to the boardrooms of TLC, Jerry’s journey has been marked by integrity, humility, and service. He’s a man who shows up, whether it’s for his clients, his community, his colleagues, or his family.
In every chapter of his life, Jerry has led not with bravado, but with quiet strength and unwavering authenticity. For those of us lucky enough to stand beside him at the Trial Lawyers College, he remains a steady reminder of why we do this work, and how powerful it can be when done from the heart.
We LOVE you Jerry!
But his impact hasn’t been limited to the courtroom or the boardroom. Back home in Rochester, Jerry has long been a pillar in his community. For over three decades, he officiated varsity basketball, quietly shaping the lives of countless young athletes, teaching fairness, resilience, and respect from the hardwood.
