Vol. 77, No. 9, September
2004
Alphabet Soup
Many of the entities that affect the practice of law seek or require
funds from lawyers and all have an impact on the rules and policies that
govern lawyers. We need to know the ingredients in our "soup" so that
our informed discussion can add the right spice.
by Michelle A. Behnke
As a mother of two children I often turn to the
time-honored soup cure when my children are sick. However, my children
don't like soup! I have also learned, in the short time that I've been
president of this association, that many lawyers are not particularly
fond of the alphabet soup in which we operate. SBW, BBE, OLR, WisTAF -
the list could go on. It is not the acronyms that lawyers don't like -
we're used to those. It is the jumble of committees, boards, and
commissions that in one way or another affect the practice of law.
Keeping all of them straight and knowing who controls what is the hard
part.
Yes, the State Bar of Wisconsin (SBW), the Board of Bar Examiners
(BBE), the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR), and the Wisconsin Trust
Account Foundation (WisTAF) are all entities that affect lawyers and
their practice. But, there are other entities that affect the practice
of law. All of these entities seek or require funds from lawyers and all
have an impact on the rules and policies that govern lawyers.
Sometimes, it's hard to keep the alphabet soup straight. The State
Bar, pursuant to supreme court order, collects the assessments for the
BBE, the OLR, and the Wisconsin Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection
(formerly the Client Security Fund). Because these assessments appear on
your dues statement, you can write one check covering all of these
obligations. However, the State Bar does not set these assessments, and
the State Bar does not control how these funds are spent.
The Wisconsin Law Foundation (WLF) is the charitable arm of the State
Bar and allows lawyers to make charitable contributions for programs
like law-related education and local bar grants for educational programs
or projects. The WLF includes a fundraising letter in the dues mailing
seeking contributions, which can be made via the State Bar dues
statement.
The Equal Justice Fund (EJF) is a separate nonprofit fundraising
entity that was formed in response to the work done by the Commission on
the Delivery of Legal Services. The EJF seeks to raise funds for civil
legal services. WisTAF, a supreme court entity, collects the interest
earned on lawyers' trust accounts and, together with the money that it
receives from the EJF, distributes those funds to civil legal services
agencies.
Why am I making the distinction about the components of the legal
"soup"? I make the distinction because I often hear members say "The
State Bar did X," when in fact the actor was not the State Bar but one
of the other entities. If a member disagrees with the action and
believes that the State Bar is the proponent of that action, the member
is less likely to engage in discussion and debate on that issue. This
apathy results in silence, not discussion on the issues, and hinders the
State Bar's ability to enlist members' views.
I want to draw the distinction between these various organizations
not so that we draw a line in the sand, but so that our members
understand the various components of the system and how independent, but
related, they all are. To learn more about these independent entities,
visit their Web sites or search for archived articles on the WisBar Web
site. Please don't hesitate to share your opinions and let us know what
you think about the issues that affect your practice. Those opinions
will add the spice to our alphabet soup.
BBE: www.wicourts.gov/about/organization/offices/bbe.htm
EJF: www.e-justice.org
OLR: www.wicourts.gov/about/organization/offices/olr.htm.
Wisconsin Lawyer
