May 1, 2024 – State Bar of Wisconsin President Dean Dietrich began volunteering for leadership positions in the State Bar as a young lawyer. And it was through his volunteer work that he found a passion that steered his career path.
Volunteering is not aways an easy step to make when you’re first starting out in the profession, Dietrich said, because you are busy building your career and making time for family and your own wellness. But, Dietrich says, it is one that you really shouldn’t skip – it is what will help you build your career.
Dietrich spoke on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at the State Bar of Wisconsin’s G. Lane Ware Leadership Development Summit, which brings together State Bar leaders and new lawyers to give them the tools and inspiration to become leaders as they begin their careers.
Each year, 24 lawyers nominated by State Bar leaders statewide attend the Leadership Development Summit. Participants display leadership capabilities, demonstrate a strong commitment to the legal profession, and possess the potential to be the next generation of State Bar leaders.
Finding Your Passion, Gaining a Career Boost, and More
What is the value and importance of volunteering in any capacity with the State Bar? “I have made lifelong friends,” Dietrich said, who has many fond memories of the projects in which he was involved.
Shannon Green is communications writer for the State Bar of Wisconsin, Madison. She can be reached by
email or by phone at (608) 250-6135.
Also, it allowed him to use his law degree “for something other than the business of law.” That, he said, “gave meaning to my career and a feeling of fulfillment.”
It was his service on the State Bar’s Professional Ethics Committee – he served by invitation – that helped him discover his passion for professional ethics. “I realized that I had found a place: To teach lawyers about the rules of professional conduct and ethics, and to represent lawyers and proceedings, and that's literally been half of my career. My career in this area started through the ethics committee.”
Dietrich isn’t the only Wisconsin lawyer to find his career path via volunteering with the State Bar.
In 2017, Nilesh Patel talked about how his work on the State Bar Diversity and Inclusion Oversight Committee landed him a job.
You’re Needed: Volunteer with State Bar Leadership Positions
How do you get started? Visit the
Leadership Opportunities and
Committees pages on WisBar.org.
Appointments to standing committees include three-year terms, and appointments to special committees are for one-year terms. All committee appointments begin July 1.
2024 Leadership Development Summit Young Lawyer Attendees
This year’s Leadership Development Summit attendees are:
Jordan Arrigo, Kasdorf, Lewis & Swietlik S.C., Milwaukee Madison Bedder, Cade Law Group LLC, Milwaukee Joshua Ian Bernstein, Gass Turek LLC, Greendale Sara Butler, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, Glendale Andrew Raymond Campbell, The Rose Group SC, Milwaukee Kayleigh Cowan, Disability Rights Wisconsin, Fitchburg Julijana Englander, Neider & Boucher SC, Madison Samantha R. Foran, Pines Bach LLP, Madison Natalie L. Gerloff, Hawks Quindel SC, Madison Megan Gomez, Winnebago County District Attorney’s Office, Oshkosh Anne Gonring, Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc., Milwaukee Kate Marie Goodhart, OVB Law & Consulting SC, Milwaukee
| | Christian A. Hanson, Russell Law Offices SC, Sauk City Morgan J. Hines, Quarles & Brady LLP, Milwaukee Hamza Jaka, Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona, Lake Geneva Nikole M. Kane, Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office, Waukesha Grace C. Kube, University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison Alexander C. Lemke, Meissner Tierney Fisher & Nichols SC, Milwaukee John D. Mathie, State Public Defenders Office, Wausau Aleina L. McGettrick, Moertl, Wilkins & Campbell SC, Milwaukee Abrielle R. Newman, Legal Action of Wisconsin Inc., Milwaukee Tiara Oates, Becker, Hickey & Poster SC, Milwaukee Tara M. Sellen, Law Firm of Conway, Olejniczak & Jerry SC, Green Bay Thomas Luke Swieciak, Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee
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