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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    March 01, 2004

    Inside the Bar

    Come spring, a lady's fancy turns to civil rights, public education, health care law, managing a law practice, continuing legal education - Whap! - and golf.

    George Brown

    Wisconsin Lawyer
    Vol. 77, No. 3, March 2004

    Golf, Anyone?

    Come spring, a lady's fancy turns to civil rights, public education, health care law, managing a law practice, continuing legal education - Whap! - and golf.

    by George C. Brown,
    State Bar executive director

    George BrownLast fall, my neighbor died just short of her 101st birthday. Jo had been raised in Madison, the daughter of a well-known local merchant. By the time I came to know her, she was in her early 90s.

    We didn't see each other regularly, especially during the winter months, but come spring, we would talk from time to time. And almost always, Jo talked golf. She had learned to play on the first golf course built in Madison, a nine-hole course she occasionally still called the Lakewood golf course. Today, it is the 6,398 yard (par 71) Maple Bluff Country Club, site of this year's annual State Bar golf tournament, to be held on May 7, 2004, the last day of the State Bar Annual Convention.

    Jo's long life spanned nearly the entire 20th century and was divided almost equally by the landmark ruling that lawyers nationwide are commemorating this year, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Jo was 52 the year Brown struck down laws segregating public schools and became the law of the land, and she lived almost long enough to see the 50th anniversary of that decision.

    The 50-year legacy of Brown in the quest for equality and civil rights is the subject of the Annual Convention spotlight program on Thursday morning, May 6. NAACP Chair Julian Bond will be the keynote speaker, followed by a panel discussion moderated by president-elect Michelle Behnke analyzing the impact Brown has had on Wisconsin law. That afternoon, three panel discussions on the law and public education will evaluate Brown's impact on access to education and the development of recent alternatives to traditional public education.

    The Thursday Showcase CLE Luncheon will feature a discussion on continuing efforts to improve access to justice in Wisconsin. Featured speakers and panelists include Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, Gov. James Doyle (invited), Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, and state Rep. Mark Gundrum, chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

    The impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on health care providers and private companies, proposed changes to the Wisconsin Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys, doing business in Canada, unbundling of legal services, white collar crime, spoliation of evidence, fee splitting, and various aspects of mediation and arbitration are but some of the more than 100 topics to be covered during the 24 CLE programs presented during the three-day convention.

    Special events include the president's reception following the presidential swearing-in ceremony on Thursday evening, the always popular Law Practice Section symposium breakfast Friday morning for those who want to talk about the business of lawyering, and the 50-year member reception and member's recognition luncheon on Friday. And don't forget Jo's favorite sport. She would have liked to welcome you to her course.


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