Vol. 78, No. 6, June
2005
Is There a Difference?
I hope that my year as president shows
that member participation in the State Bar is open to a wide variety of
practitioners and viewpoints, because all of our voices are valued and
needed to advance members' and the public's interests in the
law.
by Michelle A. Behnke
It seems like only yesterday that I was preparing for the
May 2004 State Bar Annual Convention and my swearing in. Almost from the
day the election results were announced, I received attention for being
the first person of color to be elected president of the State Bar of
Wisconsin. Often the questions were about how it felt to be the first
rather than what I hoped to accomplish during the year. As my year draws
to a close, I took some time to consider what difference, if any, my
election and service made on the organization. Perhaps the many visits
that I made to local bar organizations will spur members to become more
involved in the State Bar. As I stated often, involvement can take many
forms: writing letters, serving on committees, running for the Board of
Governors, responding to a survey, participating in the State Bar's pro
bono program, or just giving feedback on the products and services that
the State Bar offers and the issues that come before the association.
But this outreach effort was not unique to my term or different because
of my race. Many presidents have traveled the state to reach out to
members.
When the association faced important issues such as the WisTAF
petition and the Ethics 2000 petition, members responded to the calls
for feedback. The Board of Governors took that feedback and employed new
decision-making techniques to allow for problem solving, not just
"political" debate. While I suggested bringing in the consultant to
teach the Board this knowledge-based decision-making process, the
process employed is not new in the association world and my race
certainly had nothing to do with the suggestion.
Hundreds of lawyers served on committees to further the work of the
association. Many dedicated lawyers spent thousands of hours coaching
high school students in mock trial teams. Other lawyers reached out to
their colleagues who were experiencing difficulties with stress and
alcohol or other drugs. Still others worked to develop the Law Office
Management Program. Likewise, the dedicated men and women on the State
Bar staff kept member service first in their minds. As only one of many
examples, our State Bar staff worked diligently to launch the new and
improved State Bar Web site. Two years in the making, the new site has a
stronger search engine and more information as well as the ability to
allow individual members to track their CLE credits. Again, I can't take
credit for the commitment of these lawyers or the State Bar staff and I
don't think they worked harder or differently because of me or my
race.
So what is the difference? Perhaps the difference is simply that
members will see that the organization is open to a wider variety of
practitioners. Maybe members will see that all voices are needed and
valued.
Perhaps I've encouraged a few students of color to consider law as a
career or Wisconsin as a place to practice or encouraged attorneys of
color to be willing to step into leadership roles within the profession.
The demographics are changing, and our state will look different over
the next 20 or 30 years. This profession needs to be ready to serve a
diverse population, and the composition of this profession needs to
reflect the changing demographics. Our law schools do a tremendous job
of recruiting a diverse student body. We must encourage these students
to remain in Wisconsin so that Wisconsin will be well positioned for
serving our changing clients.
In many ways my year was a typical Bar year. We accomplished many
things. Members willingly stepped forward to serve their profession. The
State Bar staff shared its collective expertise and experience to move
the organization forward. That said, in some ways my year was different.
The fact that the lawyers of this state elected a person of color sends
a powerful message to young people of color and practitioners in a
variety of settings: You are welcome and your opinions and thoughts are
valued and need to be added to the collective work of the legal
profession.
It has been an honor to serve this profession and this association
for the past year. The passion and commitment of the vast array of
volunteers will remain with me for the rest of my career.
Wisconsin Lawyer
