Vol. 77, No. 12, December 2004

• Annual Report: Mission Possible

President's Message
Mission: Succeeding in the Practice of Law

This past year, the State Bar focused on developing and delivering programs to help members succeed in the practice of law. Consequently, the Bar will soon implement a Law Office Management Assistance Program (LOMAP) to assist members in solving the administrative and business problems associated with a busy law practice. In FY04, the Bar also began webcasting CLE seminars so members need not leave their office or home to earn credits, a service especially important in helping our nonresident members earn mandatory ethics credits. We also created a manual about nontraditional work options, so that fewer lawyers need to make an all-or -nothing choice between profession and family.

The State Bar formed the new Agriculture Law Section, devoted to the concerns of lawyers who represent farmers and farm-related businesses. We addressed the twin issues of multijurisdictional practice and the unauthorized practice of law, so that this profession can continue to serve the public well in an age when the practice of law is no longer confined by boundaries of time or geography. We undertook a training program, named in the memory of past Bar president Leonard Loeb, to assist new lawyers in learning the art of practicing law. We also made our association more efficient. The Board of Governors modernized its rules and bylaws, adopted new measures to improve and strengthen this organization's lobbying, and created a program to identify, develop, and support future bar leaders.

And we continued our profession's dedication to public service. Our mock trial program saw, for the first time, a team composed entirely of deaf students. Our members spoke to school children about the importance of this great profession to society and showed them that Wisconsin lawyers care about their communities. The State Bar also initiated a new pro bono endeavor, because no system of justice that serves some but not all in society can long survive.

We have accomplished much this year, but much remains to be done so that this organization can continue its mission of serving lawyers and the public. Your organization is in good hands..

George Burnett, president, State Bar of Wisconsin

July 1, 2003 - June 30, 2004

Mission: Gaining Operating Efficiencies through Technology

Two goals - improved operations and financial stability - often go hand-in-hand in achieving the State Bar's overall mission to improve the administration of justice and the delivery of legal services and to promote the professional interests of Wisconsin's 21,518 lawyers. One way in which the Bar is achieving both goals is through the effective use of technology.

Our two Web sites, WisBar and LegalExplorer, offer Wisconsin-specific legal content and are portals to innumerable sources of information relevant to members and the public. WisBar's redesign, to debut in 2005, will make the site an even more valuable resource. WisBar's new Marketplace offers a secure way to easily locate and purchase State Bar products or register for CLE seminars. Through a strategic partnership with LegalSpan, a national provider of technology solutions, the Bar was able to avoid investing in expensive technology in offering CLE seminars by webcast. Webcasts allow members to "attend" by computer from virtually anywhere, saving members time and money, too.

The Bar also sends information electronically for faster delivery, to link the reader directly to related information and to save time and money on printing and mailing. Various newsletters, practice alerts, legislative updates, time-sensitive notices to the membership, and CaseLaw Express are all examples of practical information delivered quickly. Using email regularly assists in Bar operations. For instance, sending dues reminders by email significantly lowers the cost of collecting membership dues. These and other examples represent real savings that can be allocated to other member and public services.

We have streamlined operations in many other ways that ultimately benefit members: we digitally record all CLE seminars for delivery via the Internet, realizing transmission savings; and most Bar publications - including this magazine - are designed in-house and sent electronically to printers, saving time and money.

Finally, 2004 marks the end of the fifth year since the "new" State Bar Center opened its doors in August 1999. Members join together at the State Bar Center in hundreds of meetings and CLE seminars each year. This is your Bar Center. As many of your colleagues already have done, use the Bar Center for meetings, depositions, and mediations and arbitrations as you work every day to improve the administration of justice and the delivery of legal services.

George C. Brown,
State Bar executive director

Mission Ongoing: Educating the Public About the Value of Lawyers

In May 2002 the State Bar implemented a long-term, concerted effort to brand the legal profession - that is, consistently use a unified message to educate the public about the value lawyers bring to their clients and communities. The message - Wisconsin Lawyers: Expert Advisers. Serving You. - mirrors three key qualities that the public values most about lawyers: expert advice, problem solving, and community service.

In FY04, the Bar expanded its public education efforts to promote regional awareness, including:

• broadcasting 30-second television spots on WISC-TV 3 of Madison and UPN-14 of Janesville, reaching 23 counties and 645,000 potential viewers for each showing. The spots highlight lawyers who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to community or pro bono service.
• erecting roadside billboards in the Fox Valley/Appleton/Green Bay area, producing more than 7.7 million impressions; then moving the billboards to the Eau Claire area, reaching more than 325,000 commuters. The billboards promote Wisconsin lawyers and the State Bar's consumer Web site, LegalExplorer.
• airing 60-second ads on WHBY, Green Bay's top talk/news radio station, reaching more than 450,000 listeners in 23 counties. The scripts focus on how lawyers can help the public with legal concerns arising from common occurrences such as job loss, home purchases, domestic violence, and end-of-life planning.

A Branding Tool Kit offers lawyers, law firms, and local bars assistance in incorporating the brand into their communications. The kits are available for free download.

President-elect's Message:
Mission: Encouraging Member Involvement

So far, FY04 has proven to be lively, as incredibly important issues and matters of policy have been brought before the State Bar. With your help and hard work, we'll tackle such important issues as improving access to justice, encouraging pro bono service, funding civil legal services for poor people, revising the rules of professional conduct, and defining the unauthorized practice of law, among others.

With high levels of member participation, there is almost no end to what we can achieve. For instance, State Bar members have responded to the need for legal representation of poor people by creatively contributing to their communities and working jointly with their association to create a pro bono initiative. This important program seeks to organize pro bono efforts statewide and to garner more support and funding for civil legal services for the poor and the working poor.

This is an exciting time for the legal profession. Dealing with controversial and significant issues gives us the ability to leave our imprint as we work together to find solutions. As your president-elect and colleague, I encourage your participation in your State Bar of Wisconsin.

Michelle A. Behnke, president-elect, State Bar of Wisconsin, July 1, 2003 - June 30, 2004

Fiscal 2004 Financial Results at a Glance ...

Fiscal 2004 Revenues

Wisconsin Lawyer