Exploration second nature for Schopf & Weiss' Heneghan

Patrick J. Heneghan has kayaked “the strange and unique swamplands of southern Louisiana,” as he describes them, where alligators can swim within 15 feet of you.

He has seen ice floating in Montana’s Iceberg Lake in the middle of an 85-degree August day.

He has gone scuba diving in the Florida Keys, canoed the Yukon River near British Columbia, seen Mount McKinley and gone cross-country skiing in Alaska, 75 miles from the Arctic Circle, towing his gear behind him on a sled.

Heneghan — a Schopf & Weiss LLP partner who handles commercial litigation for plaintiffs and defendants — is a Boy Scout trip leader for youths ages 11 to 21 who has guided high adventure treks in 20 states.

But his favorite sight isn’t one of nature’s gems.

“I gain a lot of satisfaction from watching these kids grow from neophytes to gaining experience and confidence and becoming good team members, good leaders and, ultimately, good citizens,” Heneghan said.

“When kids get a certain diet (of trips), their minds are opened forever. What’s the next challenge? What’s the next adventure? It stays with them forever, no doubt about it.”

A new wilderness

It stayed with Heneghan forever, that’s for sure.

At age 11, the West Lawn native’s environment expanded from Chicago’s steel and concrete landscape to the woods of Wisconsin during his first Boy Scout trip.

Scouting appealed to him because of the inherent exploration — of geography and of ideas.

“I loved the outdoors,” Heneghan said. “I loved the adventures. I loved all the new things I was being exposed to as a kid — science and other hands-on learning opportunities.”

Some of that learning occurred during the accumulation of merit badges, which can be earned through physical tasks, such as canoeing or campsite cooking, or through academic studies.

At the time, there were about 100 badges (currently, there are more than 130); 21 are needed to become an Eagle Scout, the highest possible rank.

When Heneghan finished his Boy Scout career at age 15, he had 55 merit badges.

“Most involved subjects I knew nothing about,” he said. “It taught me how to look at an opportunity that was out there and then figure out a way to learn about a subject area.”

A year later, due to a November birthday and a rigorous academic schedule, he graduated high school at age 16 and went to DePaul University to major in forestry.

He transferred to Southern Illinois University, graduated in 1980 and went to Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., for his J.D.

His goal was to work in environmental law, but he became interested in litigation during law school. He joined Schopf & Weiss in 1987 when the firm opened, then became a partner in 1989.

“These trips allow me to mentally escape from — if for only a week or two — the routine as well as the pressure of the practice,” Heneghan said. “They help me put into perspective what work is.”

‘A big world out there’

In August, Jon Gunter, 23, helped Heneghan lead the Louisiana kayaking trip. They closed the adventure with two days of exploration in a different sort of wilderness — New Orleans’ French Quarter.

Heneghan helped steer the group to the New Orleans National Jazz Historical Park and a number of free concerts.

“I heard some jazz and blues and other kinds of music live that I had never experienced before,” Gunter said.

At the end of the day, Heneghan spoke to the group.

“You know guys,” Gunter recalled Heneghan saying, “when you’re on vacation, there’s a lot of well-advertised attractions. But often, there’s stuff that’s hidden out of view and completely free. It’s really cool to look for those things and find them, because they’re right next to you and you don’t even know it.”

Xavier Fraire, 19, and his 14-year-old brother, Pascal, were on that trip, too.

Heneghan placed the brothers in a kayak together. They struggled at first, zig-zagging through narrow waterways and bouncing off shorelines.

Heneghan paddled to them and gave them instructions on how to control their boat.

“Once we got in sync, we got a rhythm going,” Xavier said. “We started gaining speed and going straight.”

Their mother, Jandra, has seen notable changes in her teens since they returned home.

“Pascal, in particular, has matured,” she said. “He doesn’t look to me to make sure he gets to his appointments or ask me to drive him everywhere. He’s much more willing to make his own arrangements to get where he needs to go.”

Carter Shepstone, 14, went on the White Mountains Alaska skiing trip in March. He joined Heneghan’s Scout troop on the advice of a friend.

“(Heneghan) always comes up with these crazy, outrageous trips,” Shepstone said. “When he first mentions them to us, they sound insane, but slowly and slowly, they seem more realistic and we end up doing them.”

Cross-country skiing through Alaska did not, at first, sound realistic to Shepstone.

“I just couldn’t keep up with the group (during training),” he said. “I didn’t have the endurance or strength.”

As the training wore on, Shepstone listened to Heneghan’s encouragement — the scoutmaster telling the youth, “I know you can do this, and you know you can do this, and you will definitely get the hang of it and the rhythm of cross-country skiing.”

Heneghan was right.

“By the time we were on the trip,” Shepstone said, “it felt like nothing.”

Trekking is a family affair for Heneghan. His sons have led trips with him, and he and his wife spent their honeymoon rafting for two weeks down the Colorado River.

“I know he’s a successful lawyer, and he doesn’t have a lot of time to spare,” Gunter said. “That shows you how dedicated he is to the organization and improving kids’ lives.”

Next up for Heneghan is a weeklong trip in northern Minnesota during Christmas break for cross-country skiing and dog sledding.

“We get so confined by the small orbit of our own world that unless somebody shows you how to explore these other opportunities, you can get stuck in your own small orbit,” Heneghan said.

“You realize it’s a big world out there, and our little community of Chicago is only a small part of it.”