State Bar of Wisconsin

Letter from the President

By Joe Cardamone, YLD President (2007-08)

Well, this will be my last time writing as president of the Young Lawyers Division. It has been an honor to do so this past year, and I feel very confident that the Division is in the good hands of the incoming President, Jessica King, and the new President-Elect, Nick Vivian.

While I don’t want to step on their toes, I can tell you that they have some very big ideas for the coming year. There are plans in the works to try and build a more dynamic committee structure for the division, providing more members with opportunities not only to serve, but to build their leadership skills. There are also discussions about trying to further use technologies to connect young lawyers around the state with chances for public service and pro bono work.

But I digress. Those plans are for someone else to discuss. My main purpose in this last message is to once again emphasize how important it is that we all get involved. There are many ways to get involved. Get on a committee, either for the Division or for the State Bar. Work on a public service project like Law Day. Consider running for a position in a section. Get involved in your local bar association. Present at a CLE. And you don’t have to wait for opportunities to come to you. If there’s something you want to do, the State Bar and its divisions, sections, and committees will help you find somewhere to present that idea.

We are part of a noble profession, with a heritage and a history stretching back centuries. In my experience most people who go into this profession do so because they want to help others. Helping to grow and strengthen the profession, through the efforts made by the State Bar and all of its pieces, is a part of that tradition and that desire to serve. Take up the challenge to get involved and stay involved in something that you feel passionately about, whether it be judicial election reform or ensuring that legal services are provided to those who can’t afford them. Help to keep this a noble profession; one of which we can all be proud.

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YLD Celebrates Law Day with More than 1000 Kids Throughout Wisconsin

By Jill Kastner, YLD Treasurer

During the week of May 1st, more than 1,000 school children in more than a dozen Wisconsin counties received a special visit from an attorney volunteer who helped educate them about our legal system.

"The YLD would like to thank the nearly 100 attorneys who were willing to volunteer their time on Law Day to go to classrooms throughout the State to teach students about the rule of law and the legal profession," said Jill Kastner, a volunteer from Milwaukee and one of this year's Law Day Coordinators.

For the third year in a row, the YLD has organized a legion of attorney volunteers to go into classrooms around the state. This year, the YLD expanded the program to include more classrooms in more counties in Western, Central and Southeastern Wisconsin. Many of the schools served were in rural and/or non-affluent areas.

"Volunteering for law day was a great experience," said Deanne Koll, a volunteer from Menomonie." It gave me the opportunity to connect with the youth and emphasize the importance of the Rule of Law and how it affects our everyday lives. I'm sure that both the 5th graders and I learned something from each other that day."

The YLD is committed to the Law Day program because it benefits students, attorney volunteers and the community. Not only are students educated about our legal system, but they get the opportunity to have a positive experience with an attorney. For many of these students, whose only image of an attorney is what they see on TV, this is a unique opportunity.

"Spending an hour with at-risk high school students is a rewarding way to remove the myths about lawyers and share what life as a lawyer is really like," said Sherry Coley, a volunteer from Green Bay.

This year's Law Day topic was the Rule of Law. For the younger students, this meant interactive learning and role playing about why we have a court system to make decisions based on facts and not suspicions or speculation. For the older students, this entailed an interactive discussion about how the rule of law impacts speech rights on the internet.

"All of the teachers I've spoken with tell me the students really enjoyed this year's program and got a lot out of the experience," said Jill. "We are already looking forward to next year's program, when we hope to reach even more classrooms throughout the state." If you are interested in learning more about the YLD's Law Day program or how more schools in your county could participate next year, please visit the YLD Web site or contact Jill Kastner.

The YLD would like to extend a special thank you to the following volunteers:

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NEWS

YLD Elections

Nick Vivian, Elected President-Elect of the YLD

The YLD Board is happy to welcome three new members and also to welcome back six returning board members – two in new leadership positions.

Nick Vivian, who works in Stillwater Minnesota but lives in Wisconsin, was elected as the YLD's new President-elect by mail-in ballot. Nick will serve as President-Elect in 2008-09, President in 2009-10, and Past President in 2010-11.

During the YLD's May 9, 2008 elections, held at the State Bar Annual Convention immediately following the YLD's CLE program, the YLD members in attendance voted on two Executive Board Members. Jill Kastner, of Milwaukee, will return as YLD Treasurer. Sherry Coley, of Green Bay, has taken over as Secretary.

Current board members Stacia Conneely (Madison), Lydia Chartre (Milwaukee) and Deanne Koll (Menomonie) were re-elected to the YLD Board. Three open slots went to: MYLA President, Jonathan Gruhl (Glendale), Amanda Ashley (Milwaukee) and Ben Manski (Madison). You can learn more about our new members in the Features article below.

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YLD Looking For More Young Lawyer Leaders for Committee Positions

By Jessica King, President-Elect (2007-08)

The YLD has so many ongoing projects and programs, that it is expanding its leadership opportunities for young lawyers. The YLD has two primary objectives, to assist young and new lawyers in the practice of law and involve them in public service.

As President-Elect of the YLD, it is my pleasure to announce the committee application process for this year. The YLD will be appointing members to five committees including:

(1) Public Service;

(2) Pro Bono;

(3) Skills Training;

(4) Membership Communication,

and last, but not least (5) Social.

Each committee will meet in person or by telephone as needed to conduct its work. If you would like to be considered for a position with one of these committees, please complete the application form and return it to Jessica King prior to July 14, 2008.

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YLD Email List Helping Young Lawyers Across the State

By Nick Vivian, Newly elected YLD President-Elect (2008-09)

Earlier this year, the Young Lawyers Division Board introduced a new email list (e-list) to facilitate communication amongst lawyers throughout the state. To date, the e-list has proven to be a great tool for communication which has linked young lawyers from Green Bay to LaCrosse and Rhinelander to Milwaukee. Regular discussions focus on specific questions from various areas of practice. Young lawyers have also found the e-list to be an excellent resource for identifying attorneys to whom cases can be referred. While still early in concept, the YLD Board has viewed the productive e-list discussions as a success.

The development of the e-list has not come without challenge, however. The value of any e-list centers upon the content posted and the responses offered by the attorneys involved in the discussions. The YLD also originally approved the concept of an opt-in e-list to foster participation and involvement by members. We realize that e-lists are not for everybody and we have appreciated the patience shown by members as we work through the challenges involved in developing this worthwhile communications tool.

For those interested in monitoring the e-list discussions but are concerned about clutter in your in-box, please consider using an email filter. For example, Outlook allows you to direct emails by simply clicking on the Tools menu, then following the templates provided under the Rules and Alerts tab. Quite simply, you can direct all of your YLD-related emails to an individual YLD e-list folder.

The YLD Board would like to express its gratitude for our members' willingness to participate in this project. We thank the staff at the State Bar for assisting us with the technical support to make the e-list a success. If you have comments or concerns regarding the e-list or would like to provide feedback on how we can develop it into a more useful communication tool, please fee free to contact me at nvivian@eckberglammers.com.

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The BOG Report

By Amy Wochos, YLD Past President (2007-08)

Amy Wochos completes term as YLD Rep but continues on as an elected member of the BOG.

During the May 7, 2008, Board of Governors meeting, which occurred prior to the State Bar Annual Convention, the Board:

• Unanimously approved by voice vote President-elect Diel’s appointments to the Chairperson of the Board nomination committee.
• Unanimously approved by voice vote a motion to support the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation petition to the Wisconsin Supreme Court on comparable interest.

Amy Wochos is completing her term as past president of the YLD and YLD representative to the Board of Governors. She will continue in her post through the upcoming June meeting. Joe Cardamone, 2007-08 president and 2008-09 past president will become the Young Lawyers representative to the Board starting July 1, 2008.

Amy will be staying on the Board of Governors as an elected representative for District 2. If you have questions or comments for her, Amy can be reached by email at amy.wochos@wicourts.gov.

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ABA News

By Jill Kastner, Newly Elected ABA YLD Representative for WI and MN

In April, several Wisconsin Young Lawyers went to Washington, D.C. for Lobby Day – a day for ABA Young Lawyers and others to meet with their state senators and representatives and advocate for such issues as access to justice. Law Day was followed by an ABA YLD conference and a diversity summit.

Although the ABA YLD's conferences generally include a wide range of CLE topics, this conference was held jointly with the ABA Litigation section. As such, the conference included a number of litigation-related CLEs, including an interesting and funny keynote regarding how the law is portrayed in film. You can never get too much of My Cousin Vinny!

The final day of the conference was devoted to the ABA YLD's Diversity Summit – where the young lawyers discussed current challenges to diversity in the workplace and means of increasing diversity in the legal profession.

The Wisconsin YLD was well-represented by: YLD President Joe Cardamone, President-Elect Jessica King, Treasurer Jill Kastner, newly elected Secretary Sherry Coley, and board members Patrick Bertrandt and Donald Dudley.

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Congratulations to Wisconsin YLD Members Given Top Spots in ABA YLD

By Francine Bailey, YLD Board Member

The YLD congratulates Jill Kastner and Francine Bailey in their new leadership roles within the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.

Jill was elected as the District Representative for Wisconsin and Minnesota. She will also be serving on The Affiliate Newsletter Team.

Francine was appointed to a top spot with the ABA YLD's premiere newsletter, The Affiliate. Francine will be serving as The Affiliate Newsletter Team Assistant Editor.

If you are interested in learning how you can become more involved with the ABA YLD, please contact Jill at jkastner@reinhartlaw.com.

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FEATURES

Farewell to the YLD

By Isa Gonzalez-Zayas, Retiring YLD Board Member– Who will be very much missed

I would like to thank all of those who served with me for the past five years on the State Bar’s Young Lawyers Division Board.  As part of the YLD Board, I was able to participate in ABA meetings and be part of ABA/YLD newsletter The Affiliate. To all of you Young Lawyers out there that want to bring diversity to other young lawyers, and commit to what I believe is our true calling as lawyers, which is to serve and advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves, the YLD needs you! This is your time to make a difference!

It has been a wonderful experience! Mil gracias!

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Meet Three of Our Newest Board Members

Jonathan Gruhl

Thank you for reading my information. I went to Nicolet High School in the North Shore of Milwaukee. I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where I graduated with distinction and received a degree in legal studies. I am a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School. At Madison I focused on business law and litigation and was a member of the Moot Court Board and the Board for the Business and Tax Law Association. I currently live and work in Glendale, WI.

I am the Managing Attorney of Gruhl Law Firm LLC, started in 1977, where I focus on employment law, civil litigation and business law. I practice with my father, Edward Gruhl, who serves as Of Counsel to the firm.

I am the current president of the Milwaukee Young Lawyers Association and I am also a member of the Milwaukee and Waukesha Bar Associations. I am volunteering for the Young Lawyers Division to continue to work on my goals of public service, strengthening the profession and increasing the value of client services by attorneys. I look forward to working with others who share my goals. Thank you.

Amanda Ashley

Hello everyone:

I am quite excited about becoming more involved with the Young Lawyers Division. I look forward to assisting with creating and implementing stronger support networks, training, and collaboration among new and experienced lawyers alike.

I'm originally from Colorado and have lived in the Milwaukee area almost seven years. I went to Marquette Law School and completed undergrad at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri, focusing on English and Psychology.

My primary practice area is criminal defense.  I have experience as a solo practitioner and as an associate at smaller firms.  I strongly believe in equal justice and the preservation of constitutional rights for all, regardless of one's race, economic status, or creed.

Ben Manski

I have been practicing law for three years as a fellow with the Liberty Tree Foundation, a national pro-democracy organization based in Madison.  I specialize in election law, local government law, national security law, higher education law, and broadly, constitutional law.

I graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2005, and with a B.A. in Sociology from UW-Madison in 1999.  I grew up in Madison, and graduated from Madison West High School in 1992.

Between high school and college, I worked on the staffs of Wisconsin's Environmental Decade, Greenpeace, and Democracy Unlimited of Wisconsin.  I drove cab while in college.  Between my undergraduate and law years, I was employed by Ralph Nader and Progressive Dane and served as co-chair of the national Green Party.

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MEMBER SERVICES

YLD's CLE program at the State Bar Convention

From left to right, YLD Program Chair Jill Kastner, presenter James Swiderski, presenter Steven Kohn and YLD Program Chair Donald Dudley.

If you missed the YLD's CLE program at the State Bar Annual Convention in Madison on May 9, 2008, you missed a tremendous opportunity to learn how to grow your client base from two great leaders in our business..

Steven Kohn of Kohn & Smith Law Offices and James Swiderski of Weiss Berzowski Brady LLP shared their knowledge and wisdom as to how lawyers, especially young lawyers, can build their business and, put bluntly, make more money.

Steven Kohn, well known as a criminal defense attorney, emphasized the basics that every attorney should know – and yet many do not follow. "You need to look like a lawyer – Dress like a lawyer" and "You need to act like a lawyer," said Kohn during his presentation.

James Swiderski, an up-and-coming attorney on the civil and business side, had a strong message for young associates who believe that all they need to do is work hard and they will be rewarded by their firm. "Yes, you need to work hard," said Swiderski, "but if you don't start networking . . . you will regret it." He advised young lawyers to keep up with their law school, college and family networks and to work to expand those networks into their area of practice.

The YLD extends a very appreciative THANK YOU to Steve and Jim for an excellent presentation and sound advice.

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PUBLIC SERVICE

Law Suit Drive

By Stacia Conneely, YLD Board Member

Thank you to those who helped get the word out and to those who donated to the YLD’s Law Suit Drive at this year’s State Bar Annual Convention. We received about 70 pieces of used professional clothing at the convention. So far, we have donated some of the women’s clothing to Green Haven Family Advocates, Inc. in Monroe, Wisconsin, which is a community-based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the individuals and families of Green County affected by abuse and violence through prevention education, advocacy, support and services.

If you did not bring a clothing donation to the convention, but still want to give, you can, and we will be happy you did! Please continue to donate throughout the year by leaving your used, clean professional clothing in the YLD section of the coat closet at the State Bar Center. Feel free to contact Stacia Conneely for more information or to refer a recipient site. She can be reached at (608) 256-3304.

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