Vol. 76, No. 3, March 2003

Leading the Modern Bar

by George C. Brown,
State Bar executive director

One of the cornerstones of the modern bar association has passed away. Attorney Philip S. Habermann, 89, the first full-time executive secretary of the Wisconsin Bar Association, died in Madison on Feb. 11, 2003.

Phil was hired by the Wisconsin Bar Association in December 1948. At the time, he was the first full-time director of the Legislative Council, an agency of the Wisconsin State Senate and State Assembly. The "little legislature" was composed of legislators from both houses who met to study broad problems in state government. Phil's responsibilities included research and coordination of the activities of the various subcommittees.

His experience in the Legislative Council, and previously as assistant secretary of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and as executive secretary of the Maine Municipal Association, served Phil well as he worked to set up the first full-time office of the Wisconsin Bar Association.

The hiring of full-time staff was a major turning point for the association. Numerous returning WWII veterans were taking advantage of the GI Bill to complete college or earn professional degrees. The legal profession was rapidly growing and new lawyers expected the bar association to help them. Phil brought a working knowledge of association management and the state legislature to the association that allowed it to begin quickly serving the demands of its increasing membership. Phil also brought a familiarity with the practice of law, and a belief in sound business principles for managing a law office that he had developed from his undergraduate degree studies in economics and taxation.

As associations nationally acquired more responsibility for educating members, providing practice resources, and shaping legislation, the need for professional management grew. In 1957, the voluntary Wisconsin Bar Association became the mandatory State Bar of Wisconsin. Phil's title change from executive secretary to executive director indicated the leadership's perceived need for greater professional management of the restructured association. During the remainder of his career, Phil oversaw the growth of CLE, the creation of Judicare, and other improvements in member and public services.

Throughout his 26-year-career, Phil Habermann and the State Bar of Wisconsin were at the forefront nationally of the many changes in bar association development. Bar leadership and Phil Habermann set the cornerstone of tradition for innovative member services and public services that continues today. That innovative service is the reason that the State Bar of Wisconsin has long been recognized by other bar associations as one of the best state bars in the country.

Wisconsin Lawyer