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Vol. 72, No. 6, June 1999 |
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.
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"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.
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