President's Perspective
It's Been a Great Year, Thank You!
By Susan R. Steingass
As my year as president of the State Bar of
Wisconsin draws to a close, I want to thank all of you for the wonderful
year it has been. I was fortunate to follow Steve Sorenson, a president
who, through Project Vision, accomplished essential strategic planning
that guides this Bar - with forethought and introspection - into the
21st century. I am fortunate to be followed by President Leonard Loeb
who will open our new Bar Center and direct us forward to even greater
accomplishments, to be followed by President-elect Gary Bakke who will
carry on the work. But most of all, I am fortunate to have worked with
the greatest staff any volunteer could ever have, the staff of the State
Bar of Wisconsin, rightly known statewide and nationally for the
excellence of their work.
It has been a good year for the State Bar. Many things were
accomplished, but surely many challenges remain. There is not enough
room here to discuss everything, but here are a few.
State Bar Center
Front and center this year has been the new State Bar Center. Last year,
President Sorenson and Facilities Chairperson Gerald O'Brien steered the
Bar through the planning, site selection, design, and commencement of
work. Ground was broken in July 1998, and slowly the building has risen
from its foundations. As you pass by, you can see how the building has
taken shape. With the completion of the interior work, the move into the
new building will begin in August, with the grand opening on Sept. 17,
1999. You all are invited!
The completion of this project is truly a milestone of which we can
all be proud. Fifty years ago, Wisconsin lawyers built and paid for the
current Bar Center for those who came after them. We should be proud
that we have done that for those who follow us.
"Fifty years ago, Wisconsin
lawyers built and paid for the current Bar Center for those who came
after them. We should be proud that we have done that for those who
follow us." |
The new building has involved a lot of volunteer time in its planning
and execution. However, nowhere has the commitment been greater than in
the successful fund drive undertaken to support the new Bar Center. Much
of the Center was financed by our short-term reserves and the proceeds
of the sale of our current Bar Center. Above and beyond that, our
lawyers and partners have generously donated almost $1.2 million to our
campaign to raise funds to reduce the need for debt on the new building.
Campaign Chair Nathan Fishbach, Southern Regional Chair James Friedman,
and Northern Regional Chair Dean Dietrich, along with 30 members of the
campaign cabinet and 300 fundraising volunteers statewide, get
tremendous credit for their hard work.
The funds have come from everywhere! There have been 605 pledges,
representing 8,178 attorneys, more than half the resident membership of
the State Bar. These pledges have come from 52 Wisconsin counties and 19
states. There are 210 firms in the 100 Percent Club, and just under half
of these are solo practitioners. The largest participation in the
campaign - representing more than a third of all the pledges - was at
the "patron" level with gifts from $500 to $999. Dozens of business
partners contributed. As you can see, the campaign has been a fabulous
success, as much for the large number of volunteers who got involved in
this common goal as for the money it raised.
Local bar outreach and communication
This also has been a year to work on local bar outreach and
communication. It has been one of my highest priorities to get to as
many local bars as possible and ask them what they want from the State
Bar and to ask that we partner for the good of our profession and our
communities. For the first time, each local and specialty bar
association in the state has a State Bar representative to serve as a
conduit for information and ideas. The work this year culminated in the
largest ever Bar Leaders Conference held in Madison on April 16th. There
were 36 local and specialty bars represented, and the day resulted in a
successful sharing of ideas and a commitment to move forward
together.
First 150 Women
It was indeed an awe-inspiring experience to participate in the State
Bar's contribution to the Wisconsin sesquicentennial celebration. On
Oct. 28, 1998, we sponsored an event honoring the first 150 women admitted to the practice
of law in Wisconsin. Now in a time where roughly half of Wisconsin's law
graduates are women, the immediacy of this history was striking, even
shocking. Of these first 150 women, 28 are living, and 14 attended the
event with their families, friends, and colleagues. Catherine Cleary,
one of the first 150 women, gave an inspiring keynote address.
At the event, we premiered our excellent videotape honoring the
history of women in the law of this state as well as a book assembled
through the work of hundreds of volunteers and staff. The book contains
biographies of each and every one of these women, and photos of most.
More than 700 people attended the dinner and shared the celebration, the
largest event ever hosted by the State Bar. The videotape and book have
since been made available free of charge to all the schools in the state
to use in their curricula.
Meeting you
Great as all this was, as I look back on this year, I know that while
these highlights are important, what has been most gratifying is the
people I have gotten to know and work with. The volunteers - the Board
of Governors, the Executive and Finance committees, the local bar
leaders, committee and section members, and others too numerous to
mention - have made this year very rich for me and for the Bar. But most
of all, it has been my sincere honor and pleasure to work with the great
staff of your State Bar. Thank you all for giving me the
opportunity.
Wisconsin Lawyer