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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    April 01, 2006

    Wisconsin Law Foundation History: Charitable Giving Begins at Home

    Through their charitable contributions to the Wisconsin Law Foundation, lawyers transform the lives of state residents and stimulate them as citizens to understand our constitutional rights and responsibilities and to explore the law and our judicial system.

    Marygold Melli; James Garvey; Michael Remington

    Wisconsin LawyerWisconsin Lawyer
    Vol. 79, No. 4, April 2006

    Wisconsin Law Foundation History: Charitable Giving Begins at Home

    Through their charitable contributions to the Wisconsin Law Foundation, lawyers transform the lives of state residents and stimulate them as citizens to understand our constitutional rights and responsibilities and to explore the law and our judicial system. Here is a look at the foundation's history and a reminder that charitable giving begins at home.

    Sidebars:

    by James E. Garvey, Marygold S. Melli & Michael J. Remington

    Charles Goldberg,  Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Grover Broadfoot, and Harold Lichtsin

    The Wisconsin Law Foundation's first major activity was helping to secure financing for and holding title to the first State Bar Center at 402 W. Wilson St., Madison. Facing page (from left): Charles Goldberg, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Grover Broadfoot, and Harold Lichtsin review their comments before dedicating the building.

    The law is a significant force in American society. As taught by the late U.W. Law School Prof. Willard Hurst, the role of law "... has been to organize, channel, legitimize and in a substantial measure to redirect the course of changes that started outside the law."1 Change is one of the most salient features of life in the United States, including in Wisconsin. A broad version of the "Wisconsin Idea" embraces the nature of change, asking the public and private sectors to work together to channel change for the betterment of the state. Wisconsin values embrace Midwestern virtues of decency, honesty, and egalitarianism. But, in distinguishing Wisconsin from other Midwestern states, Wisconsin tradition (including the Wisconsin Idea) does more than that. A faith that people can work together to build a better future reflects Wisconsin history.

    The Wisconsin Law Foundation serves as a bridge channeling change to the future. Through its activities and grant-making, the foundation - through lawyers' financial contributions - transforms the lives of many state residents, especially young people like mock trial competitors and members of Boys and Girls Club of Greater La Crosse, and stimulates them to explore the law and judicial administration. Understanding the foundation's genesis, implementation, and maturation during its more than 50-year life span (from 1951 through 2005) is worthwhile not only for members of the legal profession but also for the public.

    The Early Years

    The Wisconsin Law Foundation was incorporated in March 1951 as the Wisconsin Bar Foundation by five visionary attorneys: S.R. Stroud, G. Burgess Ela, Harlan B. Rogers, Lawrence Hart, and Wade Boardman.2 The foundation was planned as a nonprofit, nonstock corporation, open to any State Bar of Wisconsin member. Its statement of purpose included the goals of advancing professional ethics; promoting the uniformity of judicial proceedings; offering training courses for lawyers; elevating judicial standards; improving relations among State Bar members, the judiciary, and the public; acquiring property; and preserving the American constitutional form of government through education, research, and publicity. All State Bar members were invited to become members of the new foundation. No dues were charged because the founders anticipated receiving gifts and bequests.

    The State Bar appointed the foundation directors, who in turn elected the officers. All staff services were provided by the State Bar, because it wanted to encourage and nurture the foundation. Philip Habermann, then the State Bar executive director, served as the foundation's secretary/treasurer.

    The foundation's initial major activity was playing a role in the construction of the first State Bar Center at the corner of West Wilson and Broom streets, near the State Capitol in downtown Madison. Because there was a question whether the then voluntary State Bar could hold title to real estate, the foundation took title to the two lots purchased for the building and assisted in financing by arranging a mortgage.3 Construction began in the spring of 1957 and ended in August 1958, and the building was dedicated in October 1958. However, in December 1956, the Wisconsin Supreme Court adopted rules that integrated the State Bar, requiring all Wisconsin-licensed lawyers to be members and clarifying the ability of the State Bar to hold property. As a result, in February 1958 the foundation deeded title of the Bar Center to the State Bar of Wisconsin.4

    The 1960s and '70s: The Growth Years

    James E. GarveyJames E. Garvey, Minnesota  1954, is the retired senior stockholder of Garvey, Anderson, Johnson, Geraci & Mirr S.C., Eau Claire. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation.

    Marygold S. MelliMarygold S. Melli, U.W. 1950, is Voss-Bascom Professor of Law Emerita at the U.W. Law School. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and was founding executive editor of its journal. She is a member of the American Law Institute, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation.

    Michael J.   RemingtonMichael J. Remington, U.W. 1973, is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. He is also a former long-time chief counsel of the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property and an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University School of Law and Columbus School of Law, Catholic University. He is a Fellow of the Wisconsin Law Foundation.

    Beginning in 1961, the form and purpose of the fledgling foundation began to take shape.5 In December 1961, foundation president Alfred LaFrance outlined its purposes as being to provide:
    • financial aid to law students;
    • financial aid to legal aid societies;
    • assistance to State Bar legal research programs;
    • aid to indigent lawyers in need;
    • aid in development of historical projects;
    • promotion of study and development of judicial selection methods;
    • promotion of development of uniform rules of court; and
    • promotion of study and adoption of uniform codes.

    The foundation engaged in several projects in the 1960s that were in keeping with these purposes. In 1962, at the request of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, which was building Stonefield Village - a replica of an 1890s village at Cassville, Wis. - the foundation raised $5,500-plus from lawyers to build and furnish a pioneer law office. The pioneer law office, which opened in 1964, continues today as an integral part of Stonefield Village.

    In 1963 the foundation established a modest student-loan program, based on the advice of the Marquette University and U.W. law schools on the need for student loans. The program was terminated in 1968 on the ground that there was no longer a need, but the foundation provided emergency funds to law students on specific requests by the law schools. In February 1969 the program was reestablished to provide law students with loans payable without interest until two years after graduation and at 5 percent interest thereafter.

    In 1965 the foundation began working with the Wisconsin Supreme Court to obtain pictures of all the justices who had served on the court and to establish a continuing photo file of justices.

    The foundation's first major undertaking was establishing Project Inquiry, which was initiated by attorneys Christopher Wilcox and Gerald Conklin in 1969. Lawyers statewide made presentations to high school classes on legal subjects, advising the students about their rights and responsibilities and explaining our system of government. The foundation prepared the program materials and coordinated the presentations with teachers.6 Project Inquiry was very successful, receiving accolades from the Wall Street Journal, the Milwaukee Journal, Parade Magazine and others. In the early 1970s, programs were conducted statewide in more than 200 schools each year, with attorney/coordinators active in 64 counties.

    The 1970s saw the development of several more projects that, like Project Inquiry, sought to inform the public about the legal system and citizens' rights and responsibilities. In 1975 the foundation developed a program called "Law for Everyone." This program provided local bar associations with outlines to use in their public outreach efforts on six subjects: estate planning and probate, taxes, consumer law, real estate law, family law, and civil lawsuits. On every sixth Saturday morning the foundation held workshops on these subjects in Madison and Milwaukee for persons with impaired hearing. Also in 1975, the foundation presented, with the Wisconsin Education Radio Network, a series on public radio of 15 segments on the topic "Inquiry: The Justice Thing."

    From 1977 to 1979 the foundation sponsored the Law Related Education Project, which was underwritten by the Federal Law Enforcement Assistance Administration and cosponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. This program trained teachers and produced model curriculum materials for law-related education. In the 1970s, the foundation also began to maintain a library of law-related educational materials for teachers and lawyers. It contained mock trial scripts, outlines for "Law for Everyone," and video and audio tapes of programs developed by the foundation.

    In 1978 the foundation produced a television program named "Judge for Yourself," involving a law quiz with questions answered by attorneys Maryann Schacht of Beaver Dam and Richard Cates of Madison, that was aired on public television stations statewide. The program was followed by lawyer hotlines - 15 lawyers each in Madison and Milwaukee television stations answered simple legal questions from callers. In 1979 "Judge for Yourself" received the American Bar Association Gavel Award.

    Based on the success of the pilot hotline program, in October 1978 foundation president Jack R. DeWitt requested funding from the State Bar for a foundation-sponsored "Lawyer Hotline," which would use volunteer lawyers to answer basic questions by telephone. Callers with more difficult questions would be advised to contact the Lawyer Referral Service at the State Bar. A toll free line, appropriate telephone equipment with answering devices, and modest advertising were estimated to cost $3,750 for the first year of operation. Following vigorous debate over the propriety of giving legal advice over the telephone and potential liability problems, the State Bar funded the Lawyer Hotline with $3,750. The Hotline began operating and soon became such an active and integral part of the Lawyer Referral program that the State Bar completely took over operating the Hotline. In its first two years, 300-plus volunteer lawyers answered more than 111,000 calls placed from more than 400 Wisconsin communities.

    The mid-1970s saw a revision of the foundation structure to broaden its membership base. Under the leadership of foundation president Gordon Sinykin, in 1976 the foundation amended its articles of incorporation and bylaws to make all active members of the State Bar members of the foundation. The State Bar elected additional foundation directors, supplementing the existing system under which all State Bar past presidents served as directors. By "going public," giving every State Bar member a vote for directors, and doubling the number of directors, the foundation gained considerable new blood and enthusiasm.

    The 1980s and '90s: Maturation

    In the 1980s the foundation began a program to recognize the importance of law in society. In 1982 it established the annual Charles Goldberg Distinguished Service Award to honor a Wisconsin lawyer for lifetime service in the public interest. The award is named for Charles Goldberg, a distinguished and public-spirited lawyer who had served as president of the State Bar and of the foundation. Goldberg Award recipients have been outstanding leaders of the bar, the Wisconsin academic community, and the bench.7

    During the 1980s, the foundation also continued to develop innovative programs, including a brochure explaining the legal rights and responsibilities of reaching the age of majority in Wisconsin, entitled On Being 18. Distributed free to schools statewide, the brochure won the ABA's Silver Gavel Award in 1986. This publication has seen regular revision and the 37-page booklet is still being distributed in hard copy and online via LegalExplorer, the State Bar's consumer Web site.

    In 1983 the foundation instituted a Case Mediation Program in conjunction with a Dane County Bar Association project. The program, administered by Morris Slavney, who had chaired the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission for many years, handled an average of 100 mediation cases a year in its first five years. With the success of that project, the foundation assisted other local bars to develop case mediation programs.

    In 1984 a Mock Trial Program, based on earlier mock trials that were part of Project Inquiry, began on a statewide basis. The Mock Trial Program has been one of the most successful foundation projects ever launched. In May 1992, the foundation hosted the National Mock Trial Tournament in Madison with high school students from about 35 states participating. Fundraising to finance the event took various forms, including the sale of Holstein cow-inspired "M-o-o-o Shirts." In 1989 Wisconsin's champion, the Rhinelander High School Mock Trial team, was crowned national champion in competition in Louisville, Ky. Rhinelander repeated as Wisconsin champion from 1988 to 1991 and again from 2000 to 2004. In 2005, more than 1,700 students from 179 high schools across the state - including a team from the Wisconsin School of the Deaf - competed in the Mock Trial Program.

    In 1987 the foundation developed a project to commemorate the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution. It provided statewide coordination of a national bicentennial essay contest and cosponsored the bicentennial commemoration activities with the State Bicentennial Committee on the Constitution, the State Bar Bill of Rights Committee, and the State Bar Young Lawyers Division. In 1990 the foundation arranged for Prof. Gordon Baldwin of the U.W. Law School to write a booklet on the Bill of Rights. Called The Bill of Rights: An Introduction, it is distributed free to high school students with the booklet On Being 18.

    In 1989 the foundation initiated a community legal education program for senior citizens and produced a video, "In Your Hands: The Tools for Preserving Personal Autonomy," and published other pamphlets and guides. Under the foundation's auspices experienced trial lawyers also conducted mock trials at the Wisconsin State Fair, and lawyers presented law-related education (LRE) programs in Wisconsin high school classrooms on a variety of legal topics.

    By the late 1980s, the foundation's flourishing programs and the shortage of money to run them produced considerable concern. In June 1991 foundation president Donald Heaney and State Bar president-elect Daniel Hildebrand appointed a committee, chaired by Gerald O'Brien, to review the foundation's work and make recommendations about its future. That committee concluded that the foundation's primary role should be raising money and that it should not be overly burdened with operating and administering projects. The committee therefore recommended that, although the foundation should continue its role as an innovator to develop new project ideas, it should not actually operate programs. To implement the committee's recommendation, the Mock Trial Program was turned over to the State Bar, although the foundation continues to be one of its major financial sponsors. The committee also recommended that the Wisconsin Bar Foundation change its name so that the difference between it and the State Bar would become clearer. In July 1992 the name of the Wisconsin Bar Foundation was changed to the Wisconsin Law Foundation and its programs were transferred to the State Bar. Today, the foundation is solely a grant-making entity.

    Finally, in 2000 the board of directors was restructured to provide for a total of 22 directors: nine elected by foundation members, nine elected by all past presidents, and four appointed (one each by the State Bar, the Nonresident Lawyers Division, the Government Lawyers Division, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court). The directors elect officers for one-year terms. The foundation has been fortunate in being led and served by a distinguished list of presidents.8

    2000 and Beyond: Challenges of the Millennium

    The millennium saw the foundation issuing its first newsletter, Letter of the Law, to its membership. Under president John Skilton the foundation welcomed the newsletter as a new communication tool.

    The Fellows Program, instituted in 1999, developed programs on timely legal issues, starting in 2001 with a presentation by former ABA president Jerome J. Shestack, entitled "Reflections on Lying and the Honest Lawyer." In 2002, a symposium was held at the Marquette Law School on "Terrorism and Civil Liberties." Keynoted by Fr. Robert Drinan S.J., the symposium included presenters Dean Howard Eisenberg, Prof. Gordon Baldwin, and U.S. Army (JAG) Major John Bickers. In 2003 the Fellows heard from Marquette Law School Dean Joseph Kearney, and in 2004 from David S. Ruder, former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In 2005 Robert J. Grey, ABA immediate past president, discussed the jury system.

    During 2003 the Wisconsin Supreme Court celebrated its 150th birthday and the State Bar its 125th. Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson appointed a Legal History Committee, which generated a variety of activities. The foundation participated in the celebrations by providing seed money for celebratory activities and long-lasting projects (including a video about the supreme court shown to members of the public who visit the court). To celebrate the 125th year of the State Bar of Wisconsin, Foundation Fellows convened at the supreme court and reenacted the first State Bar meeting.

    Success creates challenges for almost all charitable, nonprofit activities. The foundation's future lies in meeting four challenges: funding, staffing, grant-making, and communicating its message.

    Funding. Financing for the foundation has been a continuing challenge. In 1976, at the suggestion of State Bar member John Joanis, the foundation and the State Bar agreed that the State Bar dues statement include an assessment of a $10 contribution to the foundation to be collected along with State Bar dues. Members could opt out of the contribution, but use of the dues statement facilitated payment - producing more than $60,000 in contributions for the foundation in 1976 and more than $50,000 in 1977. However, the opt-out contribution caused resentment from some State Bar members who were opposed to the integrated bar and who used the automatic contribution as one of the arguments against the integrated bar. In response, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered the State Bar to provide only a line in the dues statement for a voluntary contribution of no set amount, and contributions then fell dramatically to only a few thousand dollars a year.

    In 1978 the foundation launched Lawyers Pro Bono Publico, a program to recruit lawyers to give $50 a year for 10 years, or $500 total, to support the foundation's work. In the board meeting minutes for January 1979, it was noted that 150 lawyers became members. The Pro Bono Publico program was active for several years and raised money for the foundation's operating expenses.

    In 1981 the foundation began another fund-raising project, Lawyers Endowment for Public Service (LEPS), which encouraged 1,000 lawyers to pledge $1,000 each to create a $1 million endowment fund, with the income to be used for foundation operating expenses. By 1986, 302 lawyers had each contributed $1,000. In 1988, as a result of another drive, 280 lawyers provided a total of $126,000. Together, these funds formed the endowment that is today a main source of operating funds.

    Also in 1981, following the example of the Florida Bar Foundation, the Wisconsin Bar Foundation began to explore the possibility of using interest on lawyers' trust accounts to fund the foundation. Although the Wisconsin Supreme Court provided for a pooled interest-bearing account for nominal or short-term client funds, the court directed that the interest be paid not to the foundation but instead to the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation Inc. (WisTAF), which would grant money to various organizations. The foundation received some limited funds from WisTAF to support individual programs but, unlike in many states, the interest on lawyers' trust accounts in Wisconsin never became a major source of foundation support.

    By 1996, showing little or slow growth, the endowment fund of the Wisconsin Law Foundation totaled $420,000. In 1997, in an effort to grow those funds at a faster rate, foundation leaders considered several possible innovations, including conducting a major capital fund drive, but no such fund drive was authorized or conducted. Nevertheless, foundation coffers continued to grow through the generosity of its donors, reaching $558,000 in 1998 contributed from 1,100 foundation members. By 2000, after grants had been distributed, invested funds totaled more than $800,000. Shortly thereafter, a national economic recession may have stunted participation, resulting in 673 foundation members in 2002 and net assets approximating $754,000. In 2004, the minimum membership dues amount was increased to $50, and this likely contributed to a drop in memberships to 536 and net assets of $738,000. However, by the end of 2005, memberships had risen to 610 and net assets topped $736,000. During these last four years, while endowment funds derived from general membership declined, development director John Daugherty was pleased to find that donations designated for specific programs or for foundation purposes had actually increased.

    Over the years various foundation programs, particularly the Mock Trial Program, the Bicentennial of the Constitution, and the Dane County Case Mediation Program, have received support from other foundations and corporations, including grants from the Evjue Foundation, American Family Insurance Co., the Doctor Scholl Foundation, the Norman Bassett Foundation, the Patrick and Anna M. Cudahy Fund, McDonald's Corporation, and the Bradley Foundation.

    The Foundation Fellows program was begun under the leadership of Truman McNulty in 1999. It had a threefold purpose: to honor accomplished State Bar of Wisconsin members who also had made significant contributions to their communities; to offer quality educational programs to foundation members; and to raise additional funds for the foundation. Lawyers elected as Fellows are expected to contribute $1,500 over 10 years. The initial class of Fellows in 2000 consisted of 83 members. By 2005 membership was at 161 Fellows.

    Staffing. In 1974, with increased activity and more contributions, the foundation hired its first staff director, David Mills. Subsequent directors included Gary Wilbert, Linda Mundt, and Gladys Kaufman, who had served as director of the foundation's Law Related Education Program. When Kaufman resigned in June 1986, Cathryn Balliett served as director, followed by Rhonda Lagoni and Karen McNett. Later, the State Bar began providing administrative assistance on a part-time basis with the foundation reimbursing the Bar for staff time. That practice continues today.

    In 2003 the foundation retained John D. Daugherty, an experienced fund-raising executive, as its first fund development director to formulate and lead fund-raising strategies. Under his direction, increased donor support was sought from nonlawyers for law-related education and public service projects in Wisconsin, and a Heritage Society of the Wisconsin Law Foundation was created to recognize those who made the foundation a beneficiary in a will, trust, or insurance policy.

    Grant-making. The foundation continues to make grants to aid a variety of popular law-related projects in Wisconsin, including longstanding foundation-originated programs such as the High School Mock Trial Tournament and On Being 18 (soon to be published in Spanish and Hmong translations). In the late 1980s grants were awarded for a program for legal aid for farmers (conducted by the Young Lawyers Division) and for a program for assistance to aliens in obtaining legal resident status (conducted by the Milwaukee Young Lawyers organization). More recently, grant recipients include programs to fight sexual assault, to instruct social studies teachers on the U.S. Constitution and the justice system, to assist the federal court pro bono program, to conduct community adolescent programs, to operate county teen courts, and to protect the legal rights of parents with disabled children. The impact of these programs on the public has been significant.9

    The variety of grants is further illustrated by the 2002 efforts to assist the Wisconsin Supreme Court in creating a legal history society and efforts to aid in creating a Native American Tribal Code Information Clearinghouse. This variety continues, as shown by the 2005 grant projects, which included a legal information manual for incarcerated parents, development of a roster of attorneys to assist families of children with disabilities, and a Spanish language brochure for tenants.

    Programs aided by the foundation have used disparate strategies and delivery systems, from traditional seminars and institutes to law-related comic books, educational supplies and brochures, booklets for students considering law as a profession, new juror orientation videotapes, and televised legislative hearings on cable television.10

    Communications. The foundation's early communications to its members and the public were conducted principally through State Bar publications, including the Wisconsin Bar Bulletin. For many years, the Bulletin carried the bi-monthly "Bar Foundation News." In that column the foundation president published an annual report and presented the foundation's goals and plans for the year. Committee chairs or Bar staff would announce foundation activities and accomplishments, including reports on that year's High School Mock Trials and the annual presentation of the Charles Goldberg Distinguished Service Award, and would urge lawyers to become paying foundation members. From 1989 through 1991, the redesigned and renamed magazine, Wisconsin Lawyer, regularly published "Serving the Public - Wisconsin Bar Foundation," a column reporting on the foundation's activities and progress. The frequency of articles lessened with the foundation's change of emphasis in 1992; however, the State Bar still reports on foundation activities in the magazine, with additional coverage provided by the Inside the Bar newsletter, articles on WisBar and LegalExplorer (the State Bar's member and consumer and law-related education Web sites), and the foundation's and sections' newsletters.

    In Fall 2001 the foundation introduced Letter of the Law, a newsletter that reports at least annually on the foundation's many activities and events, advocates for financial support of foundation programs, and discusses relevant matters affecting the foundation. Letter of the Law articles are penned by foundation officers, directors, committee chairs, and other volunteers and State Bar staff; it reaches all foundation members and law and educational libraries in Wisconsin.

    The foundation gained an electronic presence with the creation of its Web page, www.wisbar.org/wlf, on WisBar, the State Bar's member Web site. When WisBar underwent a major redesign in 2004, the foundation gained improved linkage with all State Bar entities' Web pages, including those of its divisions, sections, and committees. These improvements promise a greater ability to inform State Bar members about the foundation through increased use of its Web site.

    Conclusion

    Institutions that deal with change in a rational way, in the words of Prof. Hurst, are "to be counted one of the truly basic instruments of civilized living."11 The Wisconsin Law Foundation is one of those instruments. The foundation mission remains true to its roots: to fund charitable and educational programs that promote citizen comprehension of the law. In educating Wisconsinites - especially young people - about this country's constitutional and statutory justice system, the foundation truly has changed lives. Nicole Opelt, a volunteer member of the Clark County Teen Court, eloquently said: "Every case that I have heard has touched my heart in some way. I have become a role model for other teens, changed several teens' lives along with their families, and also helped better my community. I am given the opportunity to make a difference in peoples' lives every day and in return I have made a difference in my own."

    Endnotes

    1James Willard Hurst, The Growth of the Law - The Law Makers 19 (1950). (Prof. Hurst was a pioneer scholar at the U.W. Law School in the field of legal history.)

    2In his 1986 History of the Organized Bar in Wisconsin, online at www.wisbar.org/BarHistory, long-time (1948-1974) State Bar executive director Philip S. Habermann recounted how the foundation was conceived. In the summer of 1950, Habermann and Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Marvin Rosenberry were driving back from a meeting of the Rock County Bar in Janesville. Habermann related that an elderly Rock County attorney inquired if there was a bar organization to which he could direct a bequest. Habermann expressed concern that no such entity existed, and Justice Rosenberry suggested that the State Bar needed a foundation to accept gifts. Rosenberry drafted articles of incorporation for such an organization in September 1950. Soon after, the State Bar executive committee allocated $500 to cover organizational expenses and the cost of producing a leaflet explaining the new foundation to Bar members. The Rock County attorney who had raised the issue died without mentioning the foundation in his will.

    3A prominent attorney, Charles Crownhart, who was secretary of the State Medical Society, was instrumental in arranging a mortgage for the State Bar with the society's Wisconsin Physicians Service (WPS) medical insurance plan.

    4The transfer was subject to the condition that if the integrated State Bar was ever abolished as an integrated association, title would revert to the foundation. The transfer was subject to the mortgage from WPS. A special reason for transferring title was that the foundation could not get a tax exemption for gifts for the pledge drive; however, the State Bar as a state agency could and did receive a favorable tax ruling. The real estate also was expected to be exempt from property taxes.

    5A July 1961 review of the status and usefulness of the foundation conducted by the State Bar Executive Committee concluded that the foundation could serve a constructive purpose for the State Bar but recommended changing its structure to provide that State Bar past presidents would serve as the foundation board of directors.

    6The lawyers primarily responsible for preparing the materials and doing much of the instruction were Christopher Wilcox and Gerald Conklin. These young lawyers worked with Phil Habermann and Gordon Sinykin. Subsequently, they prepared mock trial scripts for lawyers statewide to use.

    7To date, the Charles Goldberg Award recipients have been: Ralph Hoyt (1982), Robert B.L. Murphy (1983), Dean Robert Boden (1984), Victor Miller (1985), James D. Ghiardi (1986), Gordon Sinykin (1987), Steven Keane (1988), John A. Kluwin (1989), George K. Steil Sr. (1990), Rodney O. Kittelsen (1991), Jack R. DeWitt (1992), Margadette Demet (1993), Francis J. Wilcox (1994), the Hon. Patrick T. Sheedy (1995), Chief Justice Nathan S. Heffernan (1996), Prof. Frank Remington (1997), Philip S. Habermann (1998), Ben L. Chernov (1999), Gerald M. O'Brien (2000), Truman Q. McNulty (2001), Frank M. Gimbel (2002), Howard B. Eisenberg (2003), Donald L. Heaney (2004), and Richard L. Cates and G. Lane Ware (2005).

    8Harlan B. Rogers (1952-55), Frederick N. Trowbridge (1955-56), Alfred E. LaFrance (1956-70), Gordon Sinykin (1970-77), Jack R. DeWitt (1977-83), Rodney O. Kittelsen (1983-85), Wayne E. Babler Jr. (1985-87), Don R. Herrling (1987-89), Donald E. Heaney (1989-91), Donald J. Tikalsky (1991-92), Maryann Scheftell Schacht (1992-94), Daniel W. Hildebrand (1994-96), Gerald M. O'Brien (1996-98), G. Lane Ware (1998-2000), John Skilton (2000-02), Cheryl Furstace Daniels (2002-04), John Stevens (2004-05), and Kathleen Grant (2005-07).

    9The success of Wisconsin's teen courts was previously featured in this magazine. See Dianne Molvig, Justice, Teen Style, 75 Wis. Law. 10 (Aug. 2002).

    10Wisconsin Law Foundation Grant Distribution Report 2005 - 1996. Total Grants made 1996-2005: $270,300.

    11Hurst, supra note 1, at 19.


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