NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 3, 2018
CONTACT:
Kristen Durst
State Bar of Wisconsin
(608) 250–6025
Bus Tour Highlights Need for More Rural Lawyers
Will make stops in Lancaster, Potosi, Black River Falls, Whitehall, and Pepin on Oct. 5 and 6
Madison, WI – A bus of lawyers and law students will be departing from The State Bar of Wisconsin on Friday, Oct. 5, 2018, and heading to Buffalo, Jackson, Pepin, Trempealeau, Crawford, and Grant counties to connect with local judges, attorneys, and community and business leaders.
The Greater Wisconsin Initiative Bus Tour is an effort to help address the needs of rural Wisconsin communities where populations are aging and retiring, including Wisconsin’s lawyer population. The tour will highlight the many benefits of practicing law in smaller, rural communities to younger lawyers and law students.
In Wisconsin, the majority of lawyers in practice in urban areas. Out of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, fifteen counties have 10 or fewer attorneys actively practicing law. Nine of those counties are in northern Wisconsin.
“This tour will offer networking opportunities both within the legal community and communities–at–large,” says State Bar of Wisconsin planning group member Chad Schimmelpfenning. “We hope to encourage young lawyers to consider living and practicing in rural areas," where Schimmelpfenning says they can quickly make an impact on their communities. “Whether it’s advocating for change or providing services to the less fortunate, rural practice puts those attorneys in an immediate position to lead.”
Greater Wisconsin Initiative Bus Tour Details:
· Bus Departs from the State Bar of Wisconsin in Madison on Friday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 a.m.
· Will stop in Lancaster on Friday, Oct. 5 at approx. 9:15 a.m. for a tour of the Grant County courthouse.
· The tour next heads to Potosi where they will have lunch at Potosi Brewery, 209 S. Main Street, and will meeting local attorneys and judges. At 12:30 they’ll tour the Potosi Brewery.
· Dinner reception on Friday, Oct. 5 from 5:45 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Best Western Lodge, 600 Oasis Road, Black River Falls.
· Networking lunch in Pepin on Saturday, Oct. 6 11:45 a.m.–2:00 p.m. at Villa Bellezza, 1420 3rd St..
For more information on the Greater Wisconsin Initiative, visit http://www.wisbar.org/aboutus/leadership/Pages/Greater–Wisconsin–Initiative.aspx.
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The State Bar of Wisconsin is the mandatory professional association, created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, for attorneys who hold a Wisconsin law license. With more than 24,000 members, the State Bar aids the courts in improving the administration of justice, provides continuing legal education for its members to help them maintain their expertise, and assists Wisconsin lawyers in carrying out community service initiatives to educate the public about the legal system and the value of lawyers. For more information, visit www.wisbar.org.
