Spotlight
Behnke Officially Sworn in as ABA President

Michelle Behnke, former president of the State Bar of Wisconsin (2004-05), was officially sworn in as president of the American Bar Association (ABA) last month at the ABA’s Annual Meeting in Toronto. Behnke is only the second Wisconsin bar member to become president in the ABA’s 147-year history (founded in 1878).

Did You Know?
Another Successful Summer for the Diversity Clerkship Program

The Diversity Clerkship program recently celebrated another successful summer for law students who have completed the first year of law school. With 16 employers participating, 16 clerks received assignments in law firms, corporate, and government legal departments.

Over its 33-year history, the Diversity Clerkship program has facilitated 89 employers working with more than 620 law clerks. It is competitive – in 2025, the program received 77 applications for 16 positions.

By the Numbers
$6.8 million

The amount of money that Arch Manning will receive as part of a name, likeness, and image (NIL) deal with the University of Texas Football Program. He will be a redshirt sophomore this year. According to Sports Illustrated, that’s the top NIL deal in college sports. Arch is the nephew of former NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning.

As of May, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) allows NIL deals in high school athletics. WTMJ recently reported that a Milwaukee law firm, Walny Legal Group, signed one of Wisconsin’s first NIL deals with Darcy Doyle, a three-time All-American lacrosse player who is a senior at the University School of Milwaukee.

The article states: “Through the deal, Doyle will help raise awareness around basic legal planning for young adults, including topics like powers of attorney and medical privacy forms. She’ll promote the firm’s mission through social media and community engagement.”

Quotable
“It’s still so early. We don’t know how it’s going to develop, but I do think that if they do not participate right now and put significant resources on this, they will be harmed.”

– Robert J. Couture, senior research fellow at Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession, discussing why law firms must adopt and experiment with artificial intelligence (AI) tools now.

Source: Reuters

From the Archives
Women’s Names in Wisconsin

Fifty years ago, in 1975, the Wisconsin Bar Bulletin (now Wisconsin Lawyer) ran an article titled, “Women’s Names in Wisconsin: In Re Petition of Kruzel.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court had recently ruled that a woman is not required to change her name at marriage.

Kathleen Rose Harney, a teacher in Milwaukee, had never used her husband’s surname of “Kruzel.” But her employer told her she could not apply for group health insurance or keep teaching unless she petitioned the court to change her name to “Harney,” her birth name.

It went up to the supreme court after the circuit court judge denied the petition, stating that couples bearing different surnames could adversely affect any children of the marriage and that if couples cannot at the time of the marriage agree on a common surname, “it would be better for them, any children they may have, and society in general that they do not enter into the marriage relationship.”