State Bar of Wisconsin

Message from the Chair

By Beth Russell, Russell Law

If anyone is well-suited to pen a “message from the Chair,” it’s me.

I almost never leave my chair! I’m guessing many of you are in the same boat.

Good news. The Sports and Entertainment Law section will be providing a welcome opportunity for all of us to get off our…chairs…and start networking with one another. The section is planning an informal networking event to be held early next fall at a popular Milwaukee venue. (The precise venue is yet to be determined, but chances are it will feature a large retractable roof….)

During my first board meeting as Chair, I asked our board members why they’d chosen to become active in the section. Several replied, “in order to network with others.”  We’re guessing that networking is important to you, as well. So please watch your email for details on the upcoming event, and plan to join us for the first of what we hope will become regular opportunities to connect with fellow members of the section.

Speaking of watching your email: the section listserve will soon be back in business. Very few of our members practice either sports or entertainment law on a full-time basis – but almost everyone fields sports and/or entertainment issues from time to time. The listserve will be your opportunity to consult other section members, when those issues land on your desk.

Please note: section members are not automatically members of the listserve. You have to opt-in. We’ll let you know when it’s back online, and we hope you’ll give it a try.

As a section, we must provide value and meet the expectations of our members. In addition to the networking and listserve initiatives, the section has plans to build our website into a significant members-only resource for practitioners. We’re also planning our 2009 convention CLE program (already!) and we welcome your suggestions.  Please email me with your thoughts.

Here’s an interesting thing. The bar asked our section to think about how we will measure our success. The typical benchmark is: get more members. When I reported this to our board, several board members suggested that a more meaningful benchmark, for us, would be this: get the members we have, to participate.

I agree with that suggestion. More members would be great, and we certainly encourage members of the bar to join our section. Indeed, we will actively seek new members. But the real measure of our success will be your active participation. Come to the networking event. Join the listserve. Nominate board members. Contribute material for the newsletter. Suggest resources for the website. Help plan the convention CLE program. Contact any of our board members to get involved.

You’ve already joined the section. Now get off your…chair.

Sports & Entertainment Law Section