Vol. 76, No. 4, April 2003

Let Them Eat Cake

by George C. Brown,
State Bar executive director

Seinfeld fans will remember when Elaine's employer, the obsessively indulgent J. Peterman, purchased a preserved piece of the wedding cake from the marriage of the Duke of Windsor and American Wallis Simpson. Elaine, demonstrating her own obsessive self-indulgence, proceeds to eat the 60-year-old cake. She then tries to replace it with a fake, yet edible, current version of the cake from the local bakery.

Though the State Bar of Wisconsin is more than twice 60 years old this year, the anniversary cake served at the Members' Recognition Lunch will be fresh and from a local bakery. It will be but one part of the recognition of the State Bar's 125th anniversary that will take place during this year's annual convention in May.

In addition to a panoply of CLE seminars, you will have the opportunity to learn about landmark cases, events, and people that serve as the foundation for the law and legal practices of today. Chief Justice Abrahamson and Justice Bradley will address the history of the bench and the bar; appellate judges Snyder, Cane, and Brown will investigate the impact of the court of appeals on the practice and the issues of the day; and State Bar President Ballman, Judge White, and attorneys Strang and Ranney will address key issues, including the death penalty, the mandatory bar, individual liberty, and the increasing diversity of the profession.

The highly charged issues of corporate responsibility and the ethical responsibilities of the legal profession and the need for increasing public confidence in the legal system are the focus of the noon address of Michigan attorney and ABA president-elect Dennis W. Archer. Currently the head of a large Detroit law firm, Archer is a former mayor of Detroit and associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, and, according to the National Law Journal, one of the 100 most powerful lawyers in the United States.

Throughout the Bar convention you will be able to see historical photos and artifacts to inform and remind you of the important role that lawyers have played in the development of Wisconsin since before statehood in 1848, and how the practice of law has changed since those early days.

The convention will close with the annual Members' Recognition Luncheon, where we will honor those members who are celebrating their own anniversary of 50 years as lawyers in service to the public and the profession. As part of the celebration of the Bar's founding, there will be an anniversary cake for all to enjoy and there will be a reserved table for all State Bar past presidents. But there will be one suddenly empty chair. Past President Leonard Loeb passed away on Sunday, March 9. We'll miss you, Lenny.

Wisconsin Lawyer