President's Report: No Time to be Timid
By David A. Saichek
It is a predictably short step from lawyer-bashing to intimidation of
the judiciary. This year our Judiciary as a
Co-Equal Branch of Government Commission studied the 
concepts of
separation of powers, court accountability, community collaboration and
the building blocks for interbranch cooperation. The report was adopted
unanimously by your elected governors, and President Sorenson has asked
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Jon Wilcox and me to cochair an
implementation committee.
The Board of Governors also overwhelmingly adopted the report of our
Violence and the Justice System Commission that currently is being
implemented under the direction of cochairs Joan Kessler and the Hon.
Gerald Nichol.
We met these issues as an organized bar should - with solid research,
open debate, definitive recommendations and the courage to call for
action - for this is not a time to be timid. We did that while going
full-steam ahead with our initiatives in technology, online CLE, an
award-winning Internet presence, public education and innovations for
the delivery of legal services to low-income citizens. Our cable and
broadcast TV initiative has grown in strength and diversity as a
proactive means to reach out for public understanding of legal issues
and lawyers.
On a personal note, I enjoyed my two years as your president-elect
and president. Our success is attributable to a capable staff serving
hundreds of volunteer lawyers. Special thanks to members and cochairs of
the two commissions and to chair of the Board of Governors, Robert
Goepel, and to Nathan Fishbach and Maria Lazar, coproducers of the "Law Talk" TV programs. My sincere "thank
you" to all State Bar members for giving me the opportunity to
serve.
Wisconsin Lawyer
