Monday Profile: Rebecca Takacs

Rebecca Takas grew up in Taylor and earned a BBA from the University of Michigan School of Management in Dearborn. She worked for two years at Electronic Data Systems as a Chevrolet roadside assistance customer service person, then left to pursue a law degree at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Takacs worked at Dickinson Wright's Detroit office for nearly 10 years, the last four, as partner. In 2008, Takacs became a senior attorney in the Ann Arbor office of Pear Sperling Eggan & Daniels, P.C. Takas has extensive experience in contracts, business torts, shareholder rights, employment matters, non-compete clause litigation and creditor's rights issues, as well as facilitation, mediation, arbitration and non-litigation settlement. Residence: Livonia What is your idea of perfect happiness? My idea of perfect happiness is to meet God in heaven after I pass from this world, where I will be able to see all of my loved ones again. Which living person do you most admire? The living person I most admire is my mother. She has lived her life without forgetting that all others are entitled to respect (even when they do not deserve it) because of their mere presence on the planet. She works hard to maintain empathy, cooperation and peace among others. What is your most treasured possession? My most prized possessions are my driver's license and my car. Without those two items, I would feel stranded. There is nothing like the feeling of freedom that comes with being able to drive wherever you need, whenever you need. What kind of car do you drive? What would you drive if money were no object? My car is a red Ford Escape, which I love! It's small, but holds my entire family and it's quick but not fast enough to get me into trouble, as I might be a little inclined to do. If money--and weather--were no object, I'd drive a Chevrolet Camaro convertible. What are your favorite websites? Other than the sites I need to do my work daily, my favorite personal website is Facebook, because I have family out of the state and friends in other countries. I find Facebook is the fastest way to share pictures and events in our family with other family members and friends. It's 7 a.m. Monday. How are you feeling? Every Monday, I wake up excited to begin another work week with the great people at PSED. What would surprise people about your job? I think people would be surprised at how much time attorneys spend talking on the phone and working at a computer. People have a general impression that attorneys are always in court or secreted away in conference rooms, but really, a lot of our work is research and communication related. Would you rather save money or time? I would easily rather save time than money. Time with family and friends is precious and cannot be compensated by money. What would you say to your 16-year-old self? If I could meet my 16-year-old self, I would tell her that as long as she continues on her current path, life gets more fun as she ages. What's the oddest thing you ever bought? The oddest thing I ever bought was a purple people eater Halloween stuffed monster for my sons. They thought it was hilarious. What one thing do you wish people knew about your work? The one thing I wish people knew about my work is that lawyers have one of the most fun jobs ever. Each day you learn something completely new about some subject you never even thought existed. I have learned some facts that make the best conversation starters from taking depositions and reading cases and legislative history. Who is your favorite character of fiction? I love a good pop culture tale of mystery and fun, so my favorite set of books are the series of books based on the character of Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich. I think Stephanie Plum would be a fun person to know if she were real. Favorite movie: My favorite movie is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Favorite place to spend money: My favorite places to spend money are Marshalls and TJ Maxx, because you just never know what kind of interesting things you can find there. I love those stores! Published: Mon, Jul 16, 2012