For Immediate Release
	CONTACT: Christi Powers State Bar of Wisconsin (608) 250-6025

Bakke assumes top legal post in State Bar

August 1, 2000 - Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson swore in Attorney Gary Bakke of New Richmond as the 45th president of the State Bar of Wisconsin on Thursday, June 29 in Madison. Bakke officially took office July 1.

Bakke has a long record of activity in State Bar, serving as chair of the Family Law and Law Practice Management sections, but only recently considered running for president of the State Bar, a statewide association with nearly 20,000 members. According to Bakke, the legal profession is ripe for change and he is eager to help shape it.

"My philosophy is that the status quo is not an option. I decided that it was a good time to try to lead the profession in the direction I think it needs to go."

Bakke has seen vast changes in the legal profession in the past 35 years. For example, as there are fewer "hometown attorneys" who serve all the legal needs of the community, there are more individual attorneys with greater degrees of specialization in a particular area of law. Furthermore, there are a growing number of people who choose to represent themselves in court, seek legal advice on the Internet, or choose to settle their disputes outside of court through mediation and arbitration.

One of the significant current legal trends is the worldwide movement toward consolidating legal and accounting issues, providing for one-stop shopping for clients, according to Bakke. "This is a huge unresolved political issue in the American legal system, but the rest of the world has already moved significantly in that direction," Bakke said.

Although Bakke sees the legal profession evolving rapidly, he is optimistic about the future: "We, as lawyers, have the ability to be good counselors and problems-solvers, and to be cost-effective and efficient."

Bakke said that as lawyers begin to grapple with global changes in the business world, he advocates looking to the future, rather than the past for answers. "Lawyers cannot only be dispensers of information. We must add experience, knowledge and problem solving to our services," Bakke said. "We need all the resources of a Renaissance man or woman."

Bakke is passionate about the law, and even more so about his family. His wife Debbie, two grown daughters, ages 37 and 24, and two young sons, ages 12 and 7 help him keep work in perspective and provide him with the balance necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A former marathon runner and competitive ski jumper, Bakke enjoys physical work as his "recreation."

Bakke would like to see more lawyers follow his lead by balancing their lives between work, family and recreation to maintain a healthy outlook. During his term as president, Bakke hopes to engage his colleagues in discussions about the various pressures they face. He hopes the added attention on lifestyle issues will benefit attorneys, as well as the public they serve.

Bakke, a native of Menomonie, graduated from UW Law School in 1965 and has practiced in New Richmond ever since. He left his original firm in 1985 and partnered with George Norman, and Thomas Schumacher to establish Bakke Norman S.C., with offices in Baldwin, Hudson, Menomonie and New Richmond. Bakke can be reached at the New Richmond office at (715) 246-3800.

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