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Diversity Outreach Committee

The Diversity Outreach Committee seeks to foster a racially and ethnically diverse State Bar and a legal profession that is conscious of differences, that is committed to valuing those differences and that is committed to ensuring equality while also valuing commonalties

For more information on the Committee's work, please contact Patricia Morgan, staff liaison, at (800) 444-9404, ext. 6107 or (608) 250-6107.

2009 Diversity Counsel Program
Diversity and Empowerment:  Your Competitive Edge

The 2009 Diversity Counsel Program has been submitted to the Wisconsin Board of Bar Examiners (BBE) for accreditation.  As soon as we receive accreditation notification, attendees will be notified by email.

This year’s Diversity Counsel Program included an October 1, 2009 Meet and Greet Speaker Reception with John Quiñones and the October 2, 2009 Diversity and Empowerment:  Your Competitive Edge main event.

Click on links below to view pictures from the event.

Committee Formation and Background

In December 1993, the Greater Madison African American Lawyers Association (GMAALA) invited then State Bar President Pam Barker to attend a meeting. The focus of that meeting was how to increase participation of minority lawyers in the bar. President Barker indicated that she had been involved in similar discussions with members of the Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Association of Minority Attorneys (WAMA). She presented her thoughts and suggested that there were several possible ways to "formalize" the effort to increase minority participation. She suggested that a State Bar committee could be formed, or that minority/specialty bars could join together to seek the creation of a State Bar section.

After some discussion between members of GMAALA and WAMA, a small group of individuals decided to ask the State Bar to form a committee to address the issue of the lack of minority participation in the State Bar. Simultaneously to this ad hoc committee's request, President-elect Gary Sherman had a similar idea. He indicated to the group that he intended to form such a committee during his term as president of the State Bar. Atty. Jerry Gonzalez and Atty. Michelle Behnke became the committee’s first co-chairs. More

Initiatives

Committee resources


Highlights

  • Meet and network with lawyers who share your professional background - State Bar sections. More
  • Get confidential support for coping with the stress of practicing law. More
  • Fee Arbitration program  - helping lawyers and clients resolve fee disputes. More

Volunteer Opportunities