Strategic Partnerships
Cosponsored Programs
Cosponsorships increase the State Bar's capacity
to produce quality programs for lawyers and the public at a reasonable
price.
by George C. Brown,
State Bar executive director
A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, MANY OF YOU RECEIVED A CLE seminars brochure
advertising a program titled "Business
Valuation: What Judges, Attorneys, and Business Appraisers Need to
Know." In many ways this is a typical seminar produced by the State
Bar. It is a topic of interest and value to a wide range of our members.
But it has one important difference from many of our other seminars. It
is cosponsored by three major associations whose members also will
benefit from such a program, including the Wisconsin Institute of
Certified Public Accountants, the National Association of Certified
Valuation Analysts, and the American Society of Appraisers.
These cosponsorships illustrate an upward trend in the association
world that already has occurred in the for-profit business world: the
growth of strategic partnerships in order to help bring value to our
members at a reasonable price.
These strategic partnerships can occur with organizations outside the
State Bar as well as entities within the Bar association. Many of you
have attended or seen advertisements for seminars or convention programs
cosponsored by various State Bar sections and divisions. This year
alone, CLE Seminars will partner with other entities for 24 of the more
than 60 separate programs they will produce. Eight of those are with
sections, divisions, or committees. The remainder are partnerships with
other associations much like the business valuation program, or with
various other entities such as the Corporate Practice Institute or
WILMIC.
Many State Bar public service programs are produced in partnership
with other entities. The High School Mock Trial Program, the annual
Teachers' Institute, and Court with Class all are produced in
partnership with the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Many Law Day activities
are developed through a partnership with the State Bar, the American Bar
Association, the supreme court, and local bar associations.
For more than 10 years, we have partnered with the Wisconsin Academy
of Trial Lawyers on the annual State Fair Mock Trial program. We also
partner with the Department of Justice on the PEACE Initiative that
trains teachers in peer mediation techniques, and we bring public forums
on justice system issues to communities statewide in partnership with
the Office of the State Public Defender.
Last year's highly successful Life
Planning program resulted from a partnership of the State Bar, the
State Medical Society, the Wisconsin Health and Hospital Association,
and Gunderson Clinic in La Crosse.
And we partner with many of you to bring quick, free legal advice to
Wisconsin citizens through Hometown Hotlines hosted by law firms in
communities across the state.
Strategic partnerships increase the State Bar's capacity to produce
quality programs that benefit you in your practice. They also increase
our ability to develop meaningful public service programs that help make
Wisconsin a better place to live.
Wisconsin Lawyer
