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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    November 01, 1999

    Wisconsin Lawyer November 1999: 1999 Annual Report - Honoring the Past

    Honoring the Past

    Pioneers in the Law - The First 150 Women

    "I was told that if I wanted a job at a law firm, I'd better learn typing and shorthand ... we've come a long way, ladies." - Catherine B. Cleary, 1943 graduate of U.W. Law School

    C150ontributing to the state's 150th birthday celebration, President Susan Steingass's "Pioneers in the Law" project honored the first 150 women admitted to practice law in Wisconsin, beginning with Lavinia Goodell in 1879. Over the next 64 years, 150 women became Wisconsin lawyers.

    Nearly 700 people attended the "Pioneers in the Law" special event and dinner at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison. Of the first 150 women to practice law in Wisconsin, 12 were in attendance.

    As part of the project, the Bar produced a 100-page book of biographies, written by numerous volunteer authors, tracing the lives and accomplishments of the women who pioneered the practice of law in Wisconsin. Research for the book was challenging. While some women have statewide importance and numerous biographers, and others merit local importance or interest, most woman attorneys, like most people, lead lives that do not land them in the biography section of the local library.

    Cornerstone

    A time capsule sealed in the State Bar Center's cornerstone in 1958 revealed, among other items, 22 letters from attorneys predicting what the practice of law would be like in the year 2050. A few, opened early with permission, were surprisingly accurate.

    The "Pioneers in the Law" video, which premiered at the special event, was narrated by Greta Van Susteren, U.W. Law School graduate and cohost of CNN's "Burden of Proof." The 20-minute video was distributed free of charge to Wisconsin high schools, and is also available online in Real Audio format.

    Opening the 1958 Cornerstone

    FY 99 presented the Bar with another unique opportunity to "look back." Early in the fiscal year, the State Bar's first full-time executive director, Phil Habermann, reminded the Bar staff of a time capsule sealed in the State Bar Center's cornerstone in 1958. To commemorate the start of construction on the new facility, Susan Steingass opened the time capsule and found, among other items, 22 letters written by attorneys predicting what the practice of law would be like in the year 2050. With permission from Habermann and two of the authors' families, Steingass read a few letters and uncovered some accurate predictions.

    One of the letter writers, Gordon Sinykin, a Madison attorney, suggested that in the future attorneys would specialize and confine their pursuits to particular fields. "Only in the smallest communities will the general practitioner continue to serve all who may come to him," he wrote. Habermann was on target when he predicted that in the year 2000 the offices of the State Bar would have moved to new and larger quarters.

    Improving the Present>

    Wisconsin Lawyer


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