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Profile:
Gerald Mowris
A Time to Take Stock
The State Bar has many good programs that Bar members and the public often
know little or nothing about, contends New State Bar President Gerry Mowris.
He aims to change that.
DID
YOU KNOW THAT Wisconsin's teachers are learning how to help their students
resolve conflicts through peer mediation, thanks to a joint project of
the State Bar of Wisconsin and the state Department of Justice? Or that
the Bar, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Supreme Court, provides instruction
about the workings of the justice system to teachers, who can then pass
along that information to students? Were you aware that volunteers from
the Participation of Women in the Bar Committee bring children to visit
their mothers in prison to ease the trauma of separation?
Madison attorney Gerald Mowris would wager that many Bar members have
never heard of these and many other projects of the Bar and its various
committees, sections, and divisions. That's why, as the newly sworn-in
State Bar president, he's breaking a tradition of sorts. Unlike most of
his predecessors, Mowris is launching no new presidential initiatives
during his term. Rather, his emphasis will be on boosting awareness about
the Bar's existing programs.
"When these programs are started, often there's a big hullabaloo," Mowris
points out, "and then they're forgotten. But these are good programs -
in many cases driven by volunteers, both attorneys and Bar staff members.
One of the things I want to do is to publicize the availability of these
programs out in the communities, so that more people are aware of what
the State Bar does. Even lawyers often don't know about these programs."
Page
2: Building on Past Efforts
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