President's Perspective
Partnering Combines Resources to Increase Results
By Steven R. Sorenson
Partnering has become a cliché of the '90s. Just as we have
heard about corporate downsizing, team management, employee empowerment
and other business catchphrases, more than one of us has had 
about as much "partnering" as we
can possibly handle. But is it really a concept we should shrug off as
trendy or meaningless? Given the economic situation of most lawyers, the
image problems suffered by the profession and the dwindling number of
lawyers in community and governmental leadership positions, partnering
may well have a valuable place for the State Bar of Wisconsin.
This past summer I challenged Wisconsin lawyers to embark on a new
program of aggressive involvement within their communities and their
profession. A significant part of this challenge involves creating
effective and efficient partnerships. Partnering, which Webster's
dictionary defines as "the cooperative involvement of one or more
parties in a single purpose," is a worthy goal of the State Bar.
Effective use of partnering can provide the catalyst for the Bar to
accomplish community and professional service projects, thus satisfying
the goals and objectives of the State Bar's Project Vision strategic planning
process.
This past month I experienced firsthand an example of successful
partnering. The State Bar Joint Committee with the Wisconsin
RealtorsTM Association met with the Wisconsin Realtors
Association's Attorney Committee. The result of these two associations
pulling together was a "white paper" policy statement analyzing a
recurring problem in real estate practice that affects both real estate
professionals and lawyers. The action plan allows real estate
professionals, lawyers and representatives of the Land Title Association
to effectively partner in creating proposed statutes and regulations to
meet the concerns of all three professional groups. This type of
partnering avoids future potential problems, allows for the combined
financial and personnel resources and provides a united front that
should effectively move the measures through the Legislature and
regulatory agencies.
Recently, the newly established Equal Justice
Coalition developed its mission statement that commits to partnering
between the legal business and legislative communities. Here a societal
problem, which obviously could not be met by the resources available to
any one of the organizations, is being attacked by a coalition that
represents the partnering of diverse organizations that often are viewed
as protagonists. Another example of partnering is the Wisconsin Supreme
Court and the State Bar combining their resources and efforts to improve
the administration of justice by supporting public service programs like
Brown Bag Lunches with the Court, Volunteers in the Courtroom and the
Sesquicentennial Celebration.
Another example of partnering is the Midwest Solo and Small Firm
Practice Conference to be held next April in La Crosse. Many solo and
small firm practitioners avoid national conferences because they often
require extensive travel, too many days out of the office and lofty
expenses. In recognizing this difficulty, the partnering agreement
between the Midwest bar presidents led to this Upper Midwest conference,
which will be accessible to many more solo and small firm practitioners
at a significantly lower cost than the national programs. This
partnering effort combines resources with the efficiencies of local
involvement, providing an excellent forum for an under-serviced group of
lawyers. As the boundaries between states continue to melt away, such
partnering programs need to become an inherent part of every state bar
association.
There are more examples of State Bar-supported partnering that
deserve our accolades, including: the joint efforts of the Board of
Attorneys Professional Responsibility and the State Bar; the ethics and
practice programs for Wisconsin lawyers by the State Bar and WILMIC; the
State Bar and Wisconsin Medical Association jointly drafting guidelines
about the ethics of expert testimony; and the interaction between
lawyers and the accounting community regarding tax issues.
Partnering should not stop with the State Bar. We need to look to
more localized programs.
At a Project Vision meeting of the
Winnebago County Bar, the suggestion was floated that local projects
could be better handled if partnering became a part of a local bar
association's vision statement. The group suggested the bar consider
working with the local Chamber of Commerce to develop public service
programs and with the public schools to meet the needs of the
community's young people. This type of local involvement, which mirrors
the State Bar's cooperative programs with the Department of Public
Instruction and the Attorney General's office, are classic examples of
where lawyers can have an impact in their local communities by
partnering their local bar associations with other local organizations.
This type of cooperative venture is to be encouraged. The Winnebago
County Bar Association should be congratulated on its foresight and the
model it will present to other local bar associations. Other local and
specialty bar associations that further successful partnering also
should be congratulated.
As advocates, it is not always easy for lawyers to appreciate the
advantages of partnering. However, it is incumbent in today's world that
we recognize the need for this type of cooperation. Recently, the State
Bar has advocated the creation of a Wisconsin Legal Information Network.
The idea behind this network is cooperation. The effort seeks to combine
the resources of the U.W. Law School, Marquette University Law School,
the State Law Library system and the State Bar to provide legal
information at little or no cost to the general public and to lawyers,
judges, clerks and related professionals. Concern has been expressed as
to the advisability of such a program; territorialism is mentioned. Some
try to measure contribution to determine the benchmarks of equality in
such a partnering program. Those most closely involved with the program
have not been persuaded by any of these considerations, but others, who
see their role as supervisory, question involvement by wondering,
"what's in it for us?" and "is our share disproportional in light of
other contributors?" Still others view the concept of sharing through a
proprietary screen wondering, "If one partners, does one give up too
much turf in exchange for too little benefit to one's constituents?"
This type of provincial attitude must not thwart projects without which
many societal and professional needs will go unmet.
Although I believe the Wisconsin Legal Information Network will be a
reality, I am concerned about other partnering programs that have a less
rosy future. In October the Wisconsin Legislature missed an opportunity
to continue what had been a tremendously successful partnering
arrangement between the State Bar and the Legislature. For several years
legal practitioners with unique expertise worked hand-in-hand with the
Legislature and other interested organizations to draft legislation that
would have been delayed for years but for the voluntary efforts of
lawyers and the State Bar. Now that those drafting privileges no longer
exist, this partnering program will become a historical footnote unless
reversed. With fewer lawyers involved in the legislative process, the
need for these voluntary services is acute.
The hope is that we continue to recognize the need of working
together on projects to improve the administration of justice and
service to the public. We need to reinforce and strengthen our
relationships with the Wisconsin Legislature and the Governor's office.
We need a partnership agreement that recognizes the advantages to the
public in maintaining the State Bar's drafting privileges. We need to
expand cooperative programs with our local business associations, our
Chambers of Commerce, our Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, our churches and
similar organizations. We need to encourage and support the lawyers that
work on partnering programs within the school systems, courthouses,
community centers and other organizations whose goal is to prevent
juvenile crime and educate our youth.
Partnering is a bright light that can lead us successfully into the
future. Partnering will make our organization a stronger, more
responsive part of the Wisconsin landscape. Remember, the whole is
greater than the sum of the individual parts in a partnering effort; the
result is greater, too.
Wisconsin Lawyer
