Inside the Bar

Lawyers Can Impact Legislation
Lawyers Legislative Action Network

by George C. Brown,
State Bar executive director

LATE ONE SPRING NIGHT A FEW YEARS AGO, State Bar lobbyist Linda Barth and I were sitting in the Wisconsin State Senate gallery waiting for a State Bar bill to come up for a floor vote. Senate President Brian Rude (R-Coon Valley) was in the chair. It had been a long day near the end of a two-year-long legislative session. The Republicans and the Democrats had each met in caucus much of the day to debate the dozens of bills on the day's legislative calendar. Lobbyists had spent the day trying to talk with just one more senator to round up one more vote for the legislation they were supporting, or to prevent last-minute amendments or attempts to kill bills on today's calendar.

By the time Linda and I were seated in the gallery, most everyone had had enough. People were tired and tense. Some lobbyists had given up and gone home. The rest of us, including the senators, wanted to go home as well.

Finally, the State Bar bill was announced. Immediately, Sen. Fred Risser, a liberal Democrat from Madison, stood up to offer an amendment. It was seconded by Sen. Bob Welch, a conservative Republican from Redgranite. The senators on the floor, many of them deep in murmured conversation about other legislation, paused at the sight of two political opposites leading the support for the same amendment.

After Risser and Welch completed their remarks, Sen. Chuck Chvala, another liberal Democrat from Madison, stood to announce his opposition to the amendment. When Chvala finished, Sen. Joanne Huelsman, another conservative Republican, though from Waukesha, stood to announce her opposition. The pause in the murmured conversations on the floor turned to muttered confusion and amused interest. Senate President Rude, gavel in hand, turned toward the gallery, looked straight at Linda Barth and me and said with a rueful smile, "This could only happen with a State Bar bill."

This story is about only one bill. Last session, the State Bar and its sections took positions on more than 200 pieces of legislation. In a time when the headlines are filled with how much money a business or association gave to a candidate's campaign, how does the State Bar - prohibited by the supreme court from participating in political campaigns or having a political action committee - impact legislation?

First, it is having good lobbyists - Linda Barth, Jenny Boese, and Cory Mason. Second, and just as importantly, we have you, State Bar members. Your active involvement in the legislative process through the State Bar's grass- roots program, the Lawyers Legislative Action Network (LLAN), is the key. And legislators listen. They listen for one very good reason. You are their constituents. They know that, as lawyers, you are articulate and you vote. Your occasional phone call or letter can make the difference in whether a legislator supports a State Bar position or not.

Contact Jenny Boese at (608) 250-6045 or at jboese@wisbar.org to join the Lawyers Legislative Action Network and help the State Bar and the legal profession make a positive impact on the legislative process.

Your involvement is important. It is valuable. It is essential.

Wisconsin Lawyer