Wisconsin Lawyer
Vol. 78, No. 8, August
2005
Setting Priorities
In the coming year, the State Bar will face diverse issues that
members feel strongly about. The Bar's challenge in shaping a unified
statement on the issues is to encourage 21,000-plus members to let their
Board of Governors' representatives know their opinions.
by D. Michael Guerin
I submit my first column as your State Bar president with great
humility. I am truly honored to have been elected by my peers to guide
the Bar through the coming year. More important, I have always felt
privileged to be a member of our profession. I am not hesitant to say
that I am proud to be a lawyer.
So how did a former soda truck driver and street cop become State Bar
president? With a lot of help along the way. I hesitate to name names
out of fear that I'll omit someone critical, but I'm willing to take
that chance and identify a few people who were instrumental in my
success.
Obviously, without my family and my law firm partners, I would not
have undertaken this important responsibility. However, I also owe a
special thank you to the members of our profession whom I have met in my
lifetime. Lawyers are really neat people and they do good work. Beyond
that, they are wonderful role models and make lasting impressions upon
clients, opponents, cops, and kids. The lawyers who influenced me, many
of whom have died having received no special recognition or awards, have
been role models, mentors, and friends not only to me, but also to
thousands of people.
I periodically joke with other lawyers that we are fortunate to be in
this profession because it is indoor work and involves no heavy lifting
or hairnets. On a serious note, however, what we do substantially
affects people's lives every day.
In the coming year, the State Bar will face issues as diverse as
whether to take a position on the "Definition of Marriage" amendment to
the Wisconsin Constitution and whether to appeal the $50 WisTAF
surcharge. We also anticipate the Wisconsin Supreme Court will schedule
further hearings on both Ethics 2000 and the trust account rule. The
feedback I have received on all of these issues is generally split.
These and other issues illustrate the challenge facing the Bar in the
coming months in representing the 21,000-plus lawyers who comprise the
State Bar. Each of us has his or her own opinions - lots of opinions -
on pressing issues. Everyone who wants to express his or her opinion on
these issues should and does have an opportunity to be heard. However,
we cannot just sit back, do nothing, watch the process, and then
complain about the result. The only way that the decisions of the Board
of Governors can truly reflect the sentiment of the Bar as a whole is
for all of us - private practitioners, corporate counsel, government
lawyers, court commissioners, and judges alike - to contact our Board of
Governors' representatives and give voice to those opinions.
In the end, however, the Board of Governors - which itself has
diverse and varied membership in terms of experience, background, and
opinion - must fashion the divergent opinions of the Bar members with
respect to each of these issues into a united, cohesive statement by the
Bar. The seeds have already been planted to begin to grow this sense of
unity. Despite diverse views on social and political issues, the Board
has established parameters for a strategic plan to be implemented by all
sections, committees, and divisions, in which each body creates goals,
implements actions to accomplish those goals, and reports on its level
of success. The Board hopes that this system will result in a more
cogent, organized Bar.
Another ongoing project is a study committee directed to take a fresh
look at the legal needs of indigent people in Wisconsin. In appointing
committee members, I intentionally selected persons whom I perceived as
having no vested interest in the outcome of the study; however, they all
have a keen interest in ensuring that resources are available to provide
necessary legal services to all persons. It is my hope that the
selection process will result in an unbiased review and innovative
recommendations as to what the Bar can do to improve legal services in
this state.
Finally, it is vitally important that the Wisconsin Lawyers
Assistance Program (WisLAP) has all the tools necessary to fully carry
out its mission to provide lawyers confidential assistance for alcohol
or drug problems, stress, and other personal issues. The stresses of our
professional and personal lives can sometimes be overwhelming, and some
people are simply unable to cope on their own. They, their families, and
their friends ought to be able to turn to this organization for
direction and assistance. Also, although Keith Sellen and the Office of
Lawyer Regulation are the "prosecutors" for ethical violations, I can
tell you that they are more than willing to work with people who reach
out for help.
We are all members of the same great profession. I am confident we
can find and promote issues of common interest, and that we can work
together to advance both our profession and our satisfaction with it. I
really do not think there is any issue more important to all of us than
ensuring that all Wisconsin lawyers realize that they have the support
of their fellow lawyers, the State Bar, and the community.
I'll say it again - I am proud to stand and say, "I am a lawyer." My
hope is that by the end of my tenure, all of you will feel the same
way.
Wisconsin
Lawyer