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Vol. 72, No. 11, November 1999 |
Honoring the Past
Pioneers in the Law - The First 150 Women
"I was told that if I wanted a job at a law firm, I'd better learn typing and shorthand ...
we've come a long way, ladies." - Catherine B. Cleary, 1943 graduate of U.W. Law Schoolontributing to the state's 150th
birthday celebration, President Susan Steingass's "Pioneers
in the Law" project honored the first 150 women admitted to practice
law in Wisconsin, beginning with Lavinia Goodell in 1879. Over the next
64 years, 150 women became Wisconsin lawyers.
Nearly 700 people attended the "Pioneers in the Law" special
event and dinner at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison. Of
the first 150 women to practice law in Wisconsin, 12 were in attendance.
As part of the project, the Bar produced a 100-page book of biographies,
written by numerous volunteer authors, tracing the lives and accomplishments
of the women who pioneered the practice of law in Wisconsin. Research for
the book was challenging. While some women have statewide importance and
numerous biographers, and others merit local importance or interest, most
woman attorneys, like most people, lead lives that do not land them in the
biography section of the local library.
A time capsule sealed in the State Bar Center's cornerstone
in 1958 revealed, among other items, 22 letters from attorneys predicting what the practice
of law would be like in the year 2050. A few, opened early with permission, were surprisingly
accurate.
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The "Pioneers in the Law" video, which premiered at the special event,
was narrated by Greta Van Susteren, U.W. Law School graduate and cohost
of CNN's "Burden of Proof." The 20-minute video was distributed
free of charge to Wisconsin high schools, and is also available
online in Real Audio format.
Opening the 1958 Cornerstone
FY 99 presented the Bar
with another unique opportunity to "look back." Early in the fiscal
year, the State Bar's first full-time executive director, Phil Habermann,
reminded the Bar staff of a time capsule sealed in the State Bar Center's
cornerstone in 1958. To commemorate the start of construction on the new
facility, Susan Steingass opened the time capsule and found, among other
items, 22 letters written by attorneys predicting what the practice of law
would be like in the year 2050. With permission from Habermann and two of
the authors' families, Steingass read a few letters and uncovered some accurate
predictions.
One of the letter writers, Gordon Sinykin, a Madison attorney, suggested
that in the future attorneys would specialize and confine their pursuits
to particular fields. "Only in the smallest communities will the general
practitioner continue to serve all who may come to him," he wrote.
Habermann was on target when he predicted that in the year 2000 the offices
of the State Bar would have moved to new and larger quarters.
Improving the Present
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