Aug. 16, 2023 – The Wisconsin Bar Stewardship Trust has been created to protect certain assets of the State Bar of Wisconsin by placing these assets in a Trust subject to control by selected Trustees and Trust Protectors.

The purposes of the Trust are the same purposes as the State Bar of Wisconsin; however, the corpus of the Trust is under the control of the Trustees. The Wisconsin Bar Stewardship Trust Agreement is now posted on the WisBar website (login required).

The State Bar’s Board of Governors approved the creation of the Trust in June to ensure protection of these select assets for future uses as needed.

For more background, see the July 19 InsideTrack article written by Past President Margaret Hickey. The initial Trustees and Trust Protectors have been selected by the State Bar Executive Committee. The initial Trustees are:

• Cheryl Furstace Daniels
• Susan Steingass
• Kathy Brost
• John Danner
• Elizabeth Reeths
• Christopher Rogers
• Larry Martin

The initial Trust Protectors are:

• Robert Gagan
• Diane Diel
• Jill Kastner

The State Bar of Wisconsin’s Finance Department recently finalized the transfer of funds to the Trust. The Trustees will now develop procedures for the administration of the assets being held in trust. The final amount that was transferred to the Trust was $5 million.