WisBar News
March 24, 2005
Statement on Mandatory Assessment of Lawyers for Civil Legal Service Funding
Because the Court announced its intention to impose a mandatory $50 assessment on our members following the January 12, 2005 hearing, the State Bar was aware this order would be coming. We are in the process of reviewing what the Court has said in its order and how the Court analyzed the issues surrounding the assessment.
Statement on Mandatory Assessment of Lawyers for Civil Legal Service
Funding
Michelle A. Behnke, President, State
Bar of Wisconsin
March 24, 2005
Because the Court announced its intention to impose a mandatory $50
assessment on our members following the January 12, 2005 hearing, the
State Bar was aware this order would be coming. We are in the process of
reviewing what the Court has said in its order and how the Court
analyzed the issues surrounding the assessment.
The State Bar is pleased that the Court recognizes that "many
individual attorneys provide pro bono legal services and contribute
monies to legal services providers" and also recognizes that "the State
Bar, existing legal services programs, many law firms, private entities,
and individual citizens are also deeply committed to our shared
responsibility to ensure that all citizens have access to justice." The
State Bar is also pleased that the Court's majority acknowledges that,
"the legal profession, alone, cannot solve the problem of adequate civil
legal representation for the poor, nor should it be expected to do
so."
The State Bar notes that the dissenting opinion in this matter
recognizes the fundamental concerns that were the heart of the State
Bar's arguments. The objection of the Bar to the solution proposed by
the WisTAF petition is not and never has been to the dollar amount
requested, but to the respect for the separation of powers envisioned by
the founders of our state and nation and respect for the individual
constitutional rights of each lawyer.
