Defining Our Profession's Future
July 1, 2000 – June 30, 2001

Dedicated to the Legal Profession and Justice System

Fiscal year 2001 (FY01) was defined largely by the efforts of President Gary Bakke and members statewide to discuss and debate the future of the profession. "Seize the Future" is the title of a series of events that focused on the sweeping changes affecting the delivery of legal services to the public. The initiative began with a conference in Madison, and led into a 10-part Seize the Future Resolution to address specific issues, including multidisciplinary practice (MDP), the unauthorized practice of law, and unbundling of legal services. The resolution was disseminated to the membership at large and was debated among the Board of Governors.

At the Board of Governor's request, the State Bar organized 16 roundtables statewide in spring 2001 to gather input from members. Hundreds of attorneys turned out to learn about the issues and to be heard. Member input greatly impacted the course of the resolution, which was amended and approved at the board's final meeting in May. Among other things, the revised resolution calls for a formal study commission for MDP. The commission will research the impact of multidisciplinary practices on the legal profession and the public, make recommendations in support of or in opposition to MDP, and host hearings on its outcome during FY02. Commission membership will include approximately 25 lawyers and nonlawyers who share different opinions on the benefits and harms of MDPs to the legal profession and the public. For more information, see the Seize the Future homepage.

The State Bar of Wisconsin is dedicated to advancing the legal profession and improving the justice system. Each year, the State Bar offers hundreds of educational opportunities for members; engages in cutting-edge research about the justice system; provides effective means for members to communicate and network; advocates on behalf of the profession in the state Legislature, Congress, and with the Wisconsin Supreme Court; and sponsors an array of public education and service programs. In this annual report, FY01 activities are organized under five categories that describe the nature of the Bar's work on behalf of the 20,000-plus members and the public: education, research, knowledge exchange, advocacy, and public service. Due to space constraints, this report contains only a small sampling of the organization's many activities.

Education

The State Bar provides a variety of educational opportunities for members through continuing legal education seminars and books, convention programs, committee and section involvement, and the Wisconsin Lawyer magazine, among others.

CLE Seminars. In FY01, State Bar CLE collaborated with numerous State Bar sections, committees, other legal organizations, and interdisciplinary professional groups to produce more than 60 individual seminars, resulting in 70 live presentations and more than 450 video presentations. The 520-plus program dates and locations served more than 13,000 individuals.

Web-enhanced CLE. State Bar CLE made history in FY01 with its first Web-enhanced CLE program. The two-hour program, "Wisconsin Resources on the Internet," drew 60 State Bar resident and nonresident members.

Participants "attend" a Web-enhanced seminar from the location of choice - home or office. The speaker's voice arrives over the telephone for reliable, clear, and uninterrupted sound quality. The visual information is delivered via the Internet on a desktop PC. Speakers enhance their presentations by adding live, real-time Web site examples, PowerPoint slides, and a variety of other written and visual materials.

The program, a partnership of the State Bar and the Law Librarians Association of Wisconsin, earned an award from the American Association of Law Libraries for "Excellence in Marketing."

While the convenience of this technology is unmistakable, the challenge is to make CLE programs affordable and usable for all State Bar members.

CLE Books. CLE Books continued to provide top-notch legal resources to attorneys, with the invaluable help of hundreds of volunteer authors who contributed their time and expertise. FY01 proved to be a busy year, producing the following:

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• 18 books were supplemented, including the three-volume Wisconsin Employment Law;
  
  
• 18 titles were completely revised, including: A Guide for Wisconsin Nonprofit Organizations, all five volumes of the popular Wisconsin Judicial Benchbook series, The Law of Damages in Wisconsin, and System Book for Family Law in Wisconsin; and
  
  
• two new titles, The New Wisconsin Rules of Appellate Procedure 2001 and Professional Discipline of Wisconsin Attorneys: A Compendium, copublished with the Wisconsin Supreme Court's Office of Lawyer Regulation.

Major projects underway for FY02 include revisions of Marital Property Law in Wisconsin and Traffic Law and Practice in Wisconsin.

Research

Research on the legal profession took many shapes at the Bar during FY01, including querying members about the image of the profession, conducting public focus groups about trust and confidence in the justice system, and surveying members about the economics of practicing law. In addition, the Bar conducts an ongoing assessment of its products and services, including conducting a member needs assessment every three years, mailing 60-second surveys and holding focus groups to generate input on specific CLE seminars and books, and mailing product/order feedback cards with each product shipment.

Public Image of the Profession. In surveys, focus groups, and roundtable discussions, members have asked the State Bar to "do more" to enhance the image of the profession. As a result, in FY01 the State Bar embarked on a long-range image campaign that involves developing positive public messages about the legal profession. The State Bar reviewed national research, conducted statewide public phone surveys, and organized focus groups with members in Madison, Milwaukee, and La Crosse to collect substantial data on the image of the profession. In FY02, the State Bar will work with a member oversight committee to formulate positive messages about the profession to enhance our existing public relations efforts. The campaign - an ongoing initiative dedicated to enhancing the image of lawyers by increasing the public's understanding of the profession - will help focus all of our external communications around a central theme.

Public Trust and Confidence. The Public Trust & Confidence Committee - a partnership of the State Bar, the Office of the Chief Justice, the Director of State Courts, and the Wisconsin League of Women Voters - issued an action plan in FY01 outlining strategies to improve the justice system and promote public trust. The action plan shapes existing efforts of the State Bar, the courts, law enforcement agencies, and community groups. The committee recommended five actions: provide equal treatment in the justice system; encourage judicial/attorney involvement in the community; enhance satisfaction with the juvenile justice system; increase empathy in the justice system; and improve the selection and treatment of jurors.

This committee reviewed the wealth of national and local research concerning issues of public trust and confidence. Using this research and the committee members' personal experience with Wisconsin's justice system, the committee developed a list of issues that create barriers to public trust and confidence.

In addition, the committee hosted five statewide focus groups, soliciting input from three groups of individuals who had recent encounters with the system (former offenders and their families, civil litigants, and jurors) and two groups comprised of randomly selected people.

The State Bar supports bringing together leaders of the judiciary, the legal profession, law enforcement, local government, and community groups to discuss the plan's implementation. Planning will get underway in fall 2001.

Economics of Practice Survey. At the end of FY01, the State Bar developed its third Economics of Law Practice Survey, a direct result of the hundreds of inquiries received annually from members for up-to-date information on law firm economics. The survey results, available this fall, assist lawyers in measuring their ability to provide cost-effective legal services and gathering information to react to the public's perception about attorney income and overhead. The survey covers law firm economic issues such as: billing practices, time spent on billable and nonbillable activities, attorney hourly rates, overhead expenses, and salary information for associates, legal assistants, and legal secretaries.

Knowledge Exchange

The State Bar, as directed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, provides a forum for exchanging information about the legal profession. The State Bar accomplishes this by hosting hundreds of seminars and meetings annually, organizing an annual gathering of the members, creating committees to address contemporary issues such as enhancing diversity, and producing a host of legal publications, including a monthly magazine that features cutting-edge legal issues and trends. The State Bar also uses its Internet site, WisBar, in a variety of ways to facilitate communication between members. Thousands of members participate in electronic mailing lists on topics specific to their interests.

Convention. More than 700 members attended the CLE programs and social functions at the 2001 State Bar Annual Convention in Lake Geneva in May, where Madison attorney Gerry Mowris was sworn in as the 46th State Bar president.

"Lawyers don't have a great public image," said Mowris. "We need to get back the public trust and confidence so we can effectively do the job of the third branch of government. I am committed to working with the courts and the public toward improving that trust and confidence. We need to educate the public about what we do." Mowris also vowed to support efforts begun by Gary Bakke and the Executive Committee under the Seize the Future initiative. A highlight of the convention was the presidential showcase program on DNA evidence and the broader issue of problems in our justice system, sponsored by the Individual Rights & Responsibilities and Criminal Law sections. Nationally acclaimed DNA evidence expert Peter Neufeld, coauthor of Actual Innocence, led a panel discussion on the growing recognition that persons charged with crimes, whether pretrial or post-conviction, should have access to available scientific and forensic tools to determine innocence.

Committees, Sections, Divisions. Members exchange information to improve the practice of law and their personal lives through the work of 25 sections, three divisions, and 36 committees. As only one example of the diversity of the work these groups undertake, the Professionalism Committee took on the task of identifying the profession's core values, which will be used as a basis for future discussions on multidisciplinary practice, multijurisdictional practice, and other future of the profession topics. The committee identified three core values unique to the legal profession: respect for the rule of law, maintenance and advancement of the integrity of the legal system, and ethical representation of and service to clients.

Assistant District Attorney Derek Mosley acted out a sentencing hearing based on an actual case involving homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle as part of the third annual Courts and the Media seminar in Milwaukee.

Courts and the Media. Bringing together various players in the justice system to better understand each other's roles, more than 75 circuit court judges, justices, and journalists participated in a lively debate about the justice system at the third annual Courts and the Media seminar, presented by the State Bar's Media-Law Relations Committee and the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Reporters sentenced a defendant based solely upon a news story about an actual case involving homicide by a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Then a group of judges and attorneys acted out a sentencing hearing based upon the information presented in the presentence report and the actual hearing. Reporters' sentences were far more lenient after knowing all the facts. Media representatives shared their sentences with the judges, who suggested headlines based on the sentences.

Diversity Initiatives. One of the great outcomes of members volunteering time and sharing expertise is the development of successful programs aimed at diversifying the profession to better reflect society. One of the most successful of these efforts is the summer minority clerkship program. In FY01, 21 first-year law students from Marquette University Law School and the U.W. Law School were placed in law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies for 10 to 12 weeks. The program offers a rare opportunity to develop real-world legal experience after only one year of law school course work.

Now in its eighth year, the Committee to Encourage the Placement of Minority Lawyers, which coordinates the clerkship program, has given more than 100 students practical exposure to legal environments, while enabling participating employers to promote diversity in their organizations.

Electronic Communication. In response to the growing use of technology to disseminate information and facilitate communication, the State Bar manages nearly 60 electronic mailing lists to support the work of various entities and encourage lawyer-to-lawyer dialog. Email list subscribers send or receive information or advice on matters of common interest. More than 3,300 members subscribe to CaseLaw Express, a popular free service that emails weekly Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions. Other special interest groups, like the Solo and Small Firm Committee and the Family Law Section, sponsor lists for attorneys working in smaller firms or environments, or practicing family law. Questions unique to these groups are quickly answered.

Wisconsin Supreme Court. The State Bar plays an important role in advising the courts on issues affecting the practice of law, from changes to the lawyer regulation system to initiatives for improving the delivery of services to the public. As one example, the State Bar testified at a public hearing on a petition to create a mandatory fee arbitration system for lawyer-client fee disputes, which was opposed by the Board of Governors. The court called for a study on the need for mandatory fee arbitration in Wisconsin.

Advocacy

Many of the State Bar's activities fall under the umbrella of advocating for the integrity and effectiveness of the legal profession. The State Bar's government relations and grassroots program is at the forefront of these efforts, relying heavily upon its network of volunteer lawyers statewide.

Lawyers Legislative Action Network. This grassroots program, which is designed to keep members informed and involved with legislative developments, numbers more than 800 and continues to grow. The network continued to be a moving force behind the success of the State Bar in the State Capitol, and its members play an important role in positively affecting the legislative process.

Legislative Successes. In January 2001, the state Legislature began its new biennial session. The State Bar and its practice sections continue to be heavily involved with a variety of issues pending before the Legislature, including provisions in the state's biennial budget bill, and separately introduced legislation.

The first year of the legislative biennium typically is consumed by action on the biennial budget bill and FY01 has been no different; in the first six months of 2001 only 10 bills were signed into law. Due to the volunteer efforts of LLAN grassroots members and lawyers statewide, the State Bar successfully saw one of its bills among the 10 signed into law. The legislation was UCC Revised Article 9, supported by the State Bar and its Business Law Section.

While urging legislators to act quickly on issues such as Revised Article 9, the State Bar simultaneously was involved in a multitude of provisions in the biennial budget bill, such as funding for the State Public Defender, establishing a court interpreter program, and state funding for civil legal services to low-income individuals. Additionally, the State Bar has been able to see other provisions - reasonable fees for obtaining photocopies of medical records, supported by the State Bar and a priority for the Litigation Law Section; revisions to Wisconsin's corporations, supported by the Business Law Section; language and funding to maintain percentage expressed orders where appropriate, supported by the Family Law Section; and the use of DNA evidence, supported by the Criminal Law Section - included at various stages of the budget process.

Public Service

The State Bar is committed to educating the public about the legal system and helping serve the public's legal needs. The State Bar reaches out through numerous law-related education activities, consumer publications, grants, and Internet legal resources.

LegalExplorer and Lawyer Referral. With the launch of LegalExplorer.com at the beginning of FY01, the State Bar became one of the first bar associations in the country to produce a comprehensive, public-focused legal Web site. The Web site has already reached thousands of consumers.

LegalExplorer offers consumers a starting point for resolving a legal issue; provides answers to frequently asked questions; alerts and educates the public about consumer news; allows consumers to search a database of State Bar publications, videotapes, and programs; and exposes educators and students to law-related education.

LegalExplorer also has enabled the State Bar's Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) to greatly expand its reach beyond telephone referrals. After nearly a year's experience, approximately 30 percent of the LRIS referrals are coming from LegalExplorer. The Web site's existence has not decreased the number of phone calls to the service, which remained at more than 50,000. Internet users access the LRIS database through LegalExplorer and receive referrals by typing in a legal practice area and the geographic location where the legal services are required. As with LRIS's telephone referral service, online referrals are made on an impartial, county-by-county rotation basis.

LRIS continued throughout FY01 to provide qualified, prescreened telephone referrals. Experienced legal assistants screen calls and refer only one in six callers to an LRIS panel attorney; the remaining callers are given necessary information or referred to a community agency or other legal resource.

LRIS's sophisticated computer system helps ensure an accurate attorney-client match using detailed information provided by panel members. A statewide publicity effort, including Yellow Pages advertising, brochures, and Internet publicity, gets the word out about LRIS's direct link to panel members' services.

Legal services statewide planning. In FY01, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) asked the State Bar to participate as a stakeholder in a statewide planning effort to reconfigure and possibly merge Wisconsin's four federally funded agencies: Legal Action of Wisconsin, Western Wisconsin Legal Services, Legal Services of Northeastern Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Judicare. The Board of Governors unanimously approved further study of the Legal Services Planning Group recommendations for the future of Wisconsin's legal services programs by the Finance, Legal Assistance, and Strategic Planning committees.

Pro Bono. As part of its commitment to providing legal services to low-income citizens, the State Bar has fielded Team Pro Bono. Team volunteers provide free or reduced cost legal services to prescreened clients, advise lawyers who provide direct legal services to clients, organize pro bono projects and motivate team members, and contribute financial assistance.

In FY01, nearly 130 attorneys attended the first-ever "Future of Pro Bono: Mandatory Reporting? Voluntary Service?" conference sponsored by the Legal Assistance Committee. The free conference included a plenary session addressing the pros and cons of mandatory pro bono reporting in Wisconsin, as well as breakout sessions covering technology in legal services delivery, pro bono volunteer recruiting, courthouse pro se centers, and tips from experts involved in Wisconsin's legal services delivery system.

Peer Mediation. Educators from 20 elementary schools statewide learned about peer mediation and ways to teach it at the annual PEACE (Peers in Education Addressing Conflict Effectively) program during FY01. Two days of intensive workshops were cosponsored by the State Bar, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Wisconsin Law Foundation. Now in its fifth year, the PEACE program helps reduce violence in Wisconsin elementary schools by teaching children communication and problem-solving skills.

Approximately 23,870 Wisconsin elementary school students currently participate in the PEACE program, which includes pairing teachers with attorneys in their communities to serve as consultants.

Mock Trial Tournament. The State Bar of Wisconsin High School Mock Trial Tournament attracted 600-plus attorneys and judges statewide who volunteered their time and expertise to make the FY01 program a success. In addition to attorneys and judges, more than 150 teachers and 28 regional coordinators helped organize the tournament, made up of 173 teams. The number of teams has more than doubled since its inception in 1983.

The two teams that compete in state finals argue a fictional mock trial case - written by the State Bar's Law-related Education Committee - before five Wisconsin Supreme Court justices. Mock trial sponsors include the State Bar's Environmental Law Section, Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, Legal Auxiliary of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Wisconsin Law Foundation, and individual attorneys and citizens.

Teaching Institute. In February 2001, 30 high school teachers participated in the second annual Wisconsin Justice Teaching Institute. Assisted by supreme court justices, circuit court judges, attorneys, and university professors, the teachers took part in a sentencing exercise, analyzed actual supreme court petitions for review to determine whether they had been granted or denied, learned how to pick "teachable" appellate court cases, heard a panel discussion on judicial independence, and much more. A new book, Connecting to the Courts: A Teacher's Guide to the Wisconsin Courts, and the "Teaching about Wisconsin Courts" Web site were unveiled. These new resources provide valuable materials for teaching about the courts and the law. The institute is a partnership between the State Bar's Law-related Education Committee, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the U.W. Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

Project Citizen. During FY01, the State Bar cosponsored the "We the People, Project Citizen" competition - a hands-on civic education program for middle school students to promote competent and responsible participation in state and local government.

The competition attracted 10 teams statewide to the State Bar Center for a day of judging. A panel of seven judges - state legislators, government leaders, and marketing professionals - scored the entries. Project Citizen was sponsored by the Wisconsin Law Foundation, the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Center for Civic Education, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the U.S. Department of Education.

We the People ... The Citizen and the Constitution. In FY01, the State Bar's Law-related Education Committee took over the administrative responsibility for the "We the People ... The Citizen and the Constitution" program. In existence since 1987, We the People is a national program directed by the Center for Civic Education and funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Based on curriculum designed to promote a deeper understanding of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the goal is to promote civic competence and responsibility among elementary and secondary students.

In addition to numerous Wisconsin schools using the We the People material, seven schools participated in a mock congressional hearing last January by testifying at the State Capitol before panels of teachers, lawyers, elected officials, and community leaders. The winning school went on to represent Wisconsin at the national tournament in Washington, D.C., last April.

Local Bar Grants. The Local Bar Grant Competition Committee continued in FY01 to award funds to local or specialty bar associations that develop and produce public service projects. Bar associations can receive up to $2,000 for a public service project that has statewide application. In FY01, $10,000 was awarded for grant projects, including Spanish translation of traffic laws, and videotapes addressing the family court mediation process and marital and nonmarital finance issues.

Business Dispute Resolution. The State Bar's Business Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution sections launched a new program in FY01 called "Fast Track" to assist businesses in solving problems. After both parties consent to using the system, a mediator or arbitrator is selected, and a date is set. Mediated settlements can take place within 10 days and arbitration awards in fewer than 30 days. Fast track helps businesses avoid lengthy court battles. This is the first time two sections have collaborated on a public service project.

Clients' Security Fund. The Wisconsin Supreme Court established the Clients' Security Fund in 1981 to reimburse people who lost money through dishonest acts of attorneys. All active Wisconsin-licensed attorneys subsidize the fund through an annual assessment of up to $15. During FY01, the committee acted on 56 claims against 15 attorneys. Of these, 33 were approved for reimbursement (totaling $252,885), eight were denied, and 15 were deferred to FY02.

What Lies Ahead

In the coming year, Gerry Mowris will focus on boosting awareness among members and the public of the State Bar's existing programs, including its many public service initiatives aimed at educating people about the justice system. Mowris also wants to build on the efforts of the Public Trust & Confidence initiative, begun during Leonard Leob's term. The Seize the Future initiatives will be a central focus of the upcoming year, and years to come.

At the end of FY01, the Board of Governors adopted a seven-part Seize the Future Resolution, which includes creation of a multiprofessional commission to examine the pros and cons of multidisciplinary practice (MDP). The commission will hold public hearings and ultimately will present its recommendations to the board in FY03. The 25-member commission will begin its work in FY02. Progress can be tracked on WisBar, and updates will be shared with members in the State Bar Inside the Bar newsletter and Wisconsin Lawyer magazine. Although MDP appears to be the lightning rod issue of the Seize the Future initiative, the State Bar also will work in FY02 to examine ways that lawyers can unbundle their services and will monitor the ABA's work on multijurisdictional practice.

Editor's Note: Financial reports from FY01 will appear in a later edition of Wisconsin Lawyer, upon completion of the annual audit.

Wisconsin Lawyer