Vol. 75, No. 9, September 2002

Setting the Course

by George C. Brown,
State Bar executive director

Ever wonder how an organization the size of the State Bar of Wisconsin determines what it needs to do every year? After all, you are one of nearly 21,000 State Bar members nationwide, and each of you holds varying expectations for what the State Bar can do or should not do for you.

Many of you depend on State Bar CLE books and seminars to keep you up to date on the law and practice techniques. The numerous resources on the State Bar Web site, WisBar, are very much a part of your everyday practice and your life as a lawyer. So, too, the Wisconsin Lawyer, ethics consultation and opinions, and the Lawyer Referral and Information Service. Many of you fulfill your public service obligations by participating in a wide variety of State Bar-supported public service programs, like law-related education or the government relations grassroots program. Others aid their colleagues or the profession by working on the various member service programs, such as the lawyer assistance program, or on numerous State Bar committees, sections, and divisions. In addition, the State Bar must fulfill its responsibilities as established by the Wisconsin Supreme Court rules that govern the organization.

To do all this, the State Bar must have the resources to provide these products, services, and opportunities and to fulfill these responsibilities. Your dues dollars provide about 40 percent of those resources; the remainder comes from fees paid for CLE and other products sold in the competitive market, advertising, sponsorships, grants, earned interest, and miscellaneous revenues.

Traditionally, the annual budgeting process determined what the State Bar could do each year. With typically $500,000 to $750,000 more in requests than resources, the Finance and Executive committees made choices and presented recommendations to the Board of Governors for approval. In this manner, the annual budget became the annual work plan for the association.

While this has been a satisfactory process in the past, the problem with this approach is that budget drives the decisions for the association. However, an association that best meets the needs of its members and most effectively and efficiently fulfills its responsibilities should have articulated goals and objectives that drive budgetary decisions. This is accomplished through strategic planning.

For much of the last year, State Bar leadership has been engaged in developing the Bar's strategic plan. This draft plan is being presented to various Bar entities this month, and the final plan will be presented to the Board of Governors for approval. The plan will drive the decisions for next year's budget and beyond. Proposals that do not fulfill the organization's goals and objectives will not receive funding by the Finance and Executive committees and the Board.

To successfully focus the organization's resources, the plan must be reviewed and updated every year. Entities receiving Bar funding must report their progress on programs and projects so that good decisions can be made about the next year.

This is different from how the Bar has operated in the past. But if the Bar is to be successful in the future, it must look beyond the horizon to set its course.

Wisconsin Lawyer