Vol. 76, No. 9, September
2003
A Solid Foundation
As we review our achievements, let us recall all
those members before us who built the solid foundation from which we
proceed.
by George Burnett
For the past year I have regularly attended conferences for
state bar presidents and other bar executives and leaders. Invariably,
someone comments upon the State Bar of Wisconsin's success. Last month,
a nationally known speaker called our Bar's efforts "legendary." I
mention this because it is important for our members to know the high
regard with which our association is held.
Our success is due in no small part to the dedication and talents of
our lawyer volunteers and the commitment and experience of our staff.
Last year, two staff members received awards of national recognition:
Dee Runaas for mock trial and Joyce Hastings for communications. Past
President Steven Sorenson was recently honored as Sole Practitioner of
the Year by the ABA General Practice Section.
These accomplishments characterize the State Bar's 103 programs,
which range from the most broadly based to the most individually
centered. For example, the State Bar sponsors hundreds of CLE programs
annually. Some program topics appeal to a broad audience, while other
topics have narrower appeal. An important part of the Bar's mission is
to ensure that legal education in all important fields is enhanced. Our
organization offers more than 50 books and other publications are
published to help our members succeed in the daily practice of law.
Our organization is ever mindful of the importance of our profession
to the public. For example, we fund the annual mock trial competition
for high school students and the chief justice's conference on the legal
system for teachers. We frequently are called to comment on legal issues
of public importance. Our association is looked to with respect by
Wisconsin lawmakers. The association contributes to no campaigns, so our
contribution at the legislature is attributable to our experience,
judgment, and integrity.
CLE webcasting - offering CLE via the Internet - debuts this month.
Easy access to CLE from a computer should prove especially attractive to
our 7,000 nonresident lawyers, who sometimes have difficulty in
obtaining mandatory ethics credits. Any webcast attendee will find the
quality of these CLE programs remarkably high.
Likewise, this award-winning magazine is a model for others, as is
our WisBar Web site, which won a national award just a few years ago and
is now undergoing a major redesign.
The Mentor Council, which assists new lawyers in the difficult
transition into the profession through the guidance of experienced
volunteer lawyers, and the ethics hotline, serves members with immediate
answers to their ethical questions. Under study is a program to assist
our members in the business management side of their practices, so that
they are less distracted by those issues and better able to serve the
clients who employ them.
WisLAP, operated by lawyer volunteers and a dedicated staff member,
Shell Goar, helps our most vulnerable colleagues who face drug, alcohol,
and emotional challenges while trying to cope with the pressures of this
difficult profession. WisLAP helps avert a handful of suicides a
year.
I mention these points with the recognition that this organization
succeeds today because of those who have gone before us. Isaac Newton
once said, "If I see farther, it is because I stand on the shoulders of
giants." Those words are still true today, and they apply with equal
force to strong and effective organizations. The State Bar of Wisconsin
is no exception.
The profession will face increasingly more difficult challenges. As
the problems become harder, we must do better. But all the same, as the
State Bar of Wisconsin enters its 126th year, it is important to recall
that the thousands of members who went before us built the very solid
foundation from which we proceed.
Wisconsin
Lawyer
