Sept. 7, 2011 – State Bar of Wisconsin President Jim Brennan has appointed a dues evaluation committee. This committee will review the State Bar's existing dues structure, recommend to the Board of Governors whether the existing dues structure should be changed, and propose a dues policy to guide the State Bar in the future.

All information being reviewed by the committee will be accessible to members through the State Bar’s website, WisBar.  The committee also intends to hold seven member hearings throughout the state in the next three months to listen to members' thoughts about the State Bar's existing dues structure.  The hearing schedule has been tentatively set as follows:

• Wednesday, Sept. 21, 5:30 p.m., at the Grand Lodge Hotel, 805 Creske Ave., Wausau
• Thursday, Sept. 22, 12 noon, at the Hotel Sierra, 333 Main St., Green Bay
• Friday, Oct. 21, 12 noon, in Madison
• Friday Oct. 21, 5:30 p.m., in Eau Claire
• Saturday, Oct. 22, 9 a.m., in La Crosse
• Friday Nov. 18, 5:30 p.m., in Milwaukee
• Saturday Nov 19, 9 a.m., in Kenosha

At each hearing, members will be able to review information about the State Bar dues structure.  The committee hopes to elicit feedback on member satisfaction with current State Bar benefits and services, as well as input on benefits and services that members would like the State Bar to offer.  In addition, the committee would like members' views regarding the current dues amount. In particular, the committee is interested in whether members are willing to increase dues to allow the State Bar to continue or add to current benefits and services, or whether members believe that the State Bar should cut benefits and services to maintain or reduce the current dues amount.

Committee members include: cochairs Jim Boll and Sue Collins, both of Madison;  Art Harrington, Milwaukee; Kelly Nickel, Elkhorn; Jill Kastner, Milwaukee; Richard Summerfield, Bloomer, Thomas Gehl, Chicago; and Kelli Thompson, Madison.

More detailed information about hearing dates, times, and locations are available at http://www.wisbar.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Dues_Evaluation .  Members in each of the seven geographic areas also will receive an email notice of the time and location of the member hearings in their area.  Members who are unable to attend a hearing are invited to email their comments to the committee at DuesEvaluation@wisbar.org.