Wisconsin Lawyer
Vol. 75, No. 8, August 2002

This is Your State Bar Center
The Bar Center is a Members' Building

by George C. Brown,
State Bar executive director

For seven days in July, 23 Wisconsin teachers gathered at the State Bar Center to listen, discuss, debate, and otherwise learn about the history and principles of the U.S. Constitution and our constitutional government. Called "We the People ... The Citizen and the Constitution," this summer institute was presented by the State Bar's Law Related Education (LRE) Committee with funding provided by the Center for Civic Education of the U.S. Department of Education and the Wisconsin Law Foundation.

While here, these elementary through technical college teachers built a community of interest around this vital topic. In leaving, they took home with them new knowledge and techniques to use in their classrooms and a new appreciation for the rule of law in our society.

This program is just one of the many ways your State Bar Center is being used by members from throughout Wisconsin. In the three years since the State Bar Center moved from downtown Madison to our present location near Interstate 90/94 on Madison's northeast side, many more members have visited and used the current State Bar Center compared to the old building. We host dozens of CLE seminars each year and there is plenty of free parking; the old building could only hold small CLE programs and attendees could almost count on receiving a parking ticket because there was only ramp or on-street parking. Most of our committees, sections, and divisions hold their meetings here, as does the Board of Governors.

In addition, because the Bar Center offers a neutral site for lawyers and clients coming from different parts of the state, dozens more members hold depositions, mediations, and arbitrations in the Bar Center. Many of these lawyers seldom set foot in the old Bar Center. Members also stop in between clients to use an office or a conference room for a few hours. Some of the supreme court's administrative committees meet here, as do citizen panels, such as the Governor's Task Force on Ethics Reform in Government, on which our members serve.

Last year, the Bar Center held more than 400 meetings involving our members. There were days when the parking lot was filled to overflowing. That demonstrates to me the tremendous difference between the current Bar Center and the old Bar Center. When the building is full of members, I truly know that this Wisconsin Bar Center is a members' building.

State Bar members receive free room rental to meet with clients or host a meeting of a voluntary law-related entity. To reserve a room free of charge, simply contact the State Bar customer service representatives at (608) 257-3838.

Wisconsin Lawyer