President's Perspective

Where We Come From, Where We Go

By Susan R. Steingass

As we planned for our new Bar Center, our association's first full-time executive director Philip S. Habermann told current executive director Steve Smay about an all-but-forgotten time capsule sealed within our current facility. During construction of the Bar Center 40 years ago, a storage box was placed in the cornerstone. That box, Habermann recalled, contained letters written by prominent lawyers of the day, predicting the legal profession's future.

On June 30, 1998, having been assured by experts that removing the cornerstone would not cause the building's collapse, several of us gathered to see what treasurers were hidden behind the cornerstone. Secreted in that space was a welded copper box containing, among other things, 22 sealed letters written in April 1958 by lawyers from around the state, including an admonition that they not be opened until the year 2050.

A sense of history and respect caused us to leave the letters sealed. But all that did was increase our curiosity! We hoped the writers of some of these letters, or their families, might be as curious about their contents as were we. Besides, the parallels between that time 40 years ago and now were compelling.

We identified three of these letters to be from lawyers whose place in our legal history and that of the State Bar goes deep: Janesville attorney Leon Feingold, who passed away in 1980; Madison attorney Gordon Sinykin, who passed away in 1991; and our first executive director, Philip Habermann, who has remained involved in the Bar all these years.

As many of you know, Gordon Sinykin and Leon Feingold were distinguished lawyers and fathers of lawyers who continue the tradition today. Leon Feingold graduated in 1937 and was a sole practitioner in Janesville until 1974, when he was joined in practice by his son David. Leon and his wife had four children, two of whom also are lawyers. David continues to practice in the Janesville law office his father founded and is heavily involved in the State Bar. Russ practiced for many years in Madison and now serves with distinction as a U.S. senator. Nancy is a psychotherapist in Madison, and Dena is a rabbi in Kenosha.

Gordon Sinykin was admitted to practice in 1933. He was a founder of the Madison law firm of LaFollette & Sinykin and a staunch supporter of the State Bar and the Wisconsin Law Foundation, serving as its director, executive officer, and president. He and his wife had three children. Daniel, a lawyer, lives and works in Madison. Phillip is an electrical engineer and his twin sister Susan works for the State of Wisconsin.

We called the Sinykin and Feingold families and Phil Habermann, seeking their permission to reveal the contents of these letters early. They were happy to agree and excited by the prospect.

With permissions in order, we opened these three letters with great anticipation. While their full text will be published later, here's enough to whet your appetite - some of their predictions about the then-future of the profession, which has become for us its present.

Phil Habermann predicted that the Bar Center would be enlarged by the addition of a second story in 1970 (it was, in 1969) and that in the year 2000 the "offices will have moved to new and larger quarters" (they will, in 1999). Experienced as he was in bar administration, Habermann predicted an exponential increase in the number of Bar members and staff, though the sheer scope of that increase was unimaginable. By 2050, he predicted, "Wisconsin will have 12,000 lawyers" (we had 19,000 in less than half that time) and Bar staff would soar to 16 (we have 85)!

Gordon Sinykin took a more systemic approach, projecting that "something certainly will have to be done before then to relieve the congestion in the courts" - a struggle that continues unabated to this day. He pegged the increase in specialization, predicting that, "Only in the smallest communities will the general practitioner continue to serve all who may come to him." He also predicted that the abstract of title would be a "museum piece," and that attorney's offices would have machines to file, index, tabulate, photograph, transcribe, "and even do some research."

Leon Feingold took a more global approach, predicting increased specialization and that, "Law relating to human relations will be more in the area of the social sciences such as sociology and economics rather than in the present categories of the law." He foresaw the increased importance of international law and order with the then-fledgling United Nations touching virtually everyone on the planet and curtailing "war and serious threats of war."

While acknowledging that it was "presumptuous" to predict the future, the process clearly intrigued him: "... at times one does look back on the past and does think of the future ... and perhaps my grandchildren or great-grandchildren ... in the year 2050, may have the opportunity of reading this letter," predicting that, at minimum, they would find it amusing.

Well said! No one can predict the future - but these three came suprisingly close. When their letters are resealed and, with others yet unopened, ensconced within the cornerstone of the new Bar Center next year, they will be accompanied by predictions from today's lawyers. May we all have their foresight and commitment. We all learn from what these three prognosticators have to say and extend our thanks to them and to their families for allowing us to share.

Wisconsin Lawyer