Sept. 8, 2010 − State Bar President Jim Boll has created a new Public Education Committee to better advance the association’s strategic goal of increasing the percentage of Wisconsin residents who understand the importance, value and relevancy of the law and the legal system.

The new committee, chaired by Atty. Kevin Palmersheim and vice-chaired by Atty. Michael Rosenberg, will conduct its first full meeting on September 27, at the State Bar Center.

It is comprises three former SBW committees – the Law-Related Education, Public Image and Media-Law Relations Committees -- and will feature seven task forces that will focus on various aspects of the State Bar’s educational outreach to K-12 students, adults and the news media. Each task force is chaired by an appointee who will serve on the Public Education Committee and will coordinate the activities of their task forces with the committee’s priorities.   

Task forces and their assignments are:

• Public Image: Chaired by Atty. Michael Jassak, this task force seeks to improve the public's perception of the profession by building on the work of the former Public Image Committee to create and publicize bar-sponsored activities and programs that improve the public image of attorneys.

• Mock Trial: Atty. Ellen Henak chairs this task force, which will manage the Wisconsin High School Mock Trial Program. Mock trials bring our legal system to life for thousands of students who use facts and case materials developed by State Bar members to develop their arguments and build their cases.

• Court Education: Chaired by District 5 Court Administrator Gail Richardson, this task force will focus on the Judicial Teacher Institute and Court with Class programs, as well as other court-related outreach efforts, such as Jury Appreciation Month.

• K-12 Civics Education: Members of this task force, chaired by Atty. Russ Whitesel, will oversee the State Bar’s Project Citizen and We the People programs and seek other ways to improve the public’s understanding of the legal system.

• Adult Education: Atty. Celia Jackson will head this task force, which will create learning opportunities through community-based programming, including pilot projects scheduled in Madison and Portage this fall on issues related to Wisconsin’s OWI law and related concerns.

• Publications & Technology: Chaired by educator Janice Mertes, task force members will review existing LRE publications to determine if they should be updated and, if so, how they will be distributed.

• Media-Law: Chaired by Atty. James Friedman, the task force builds on the publications, seminars and other outreach programs of the former Media-Law Relations Committee to position the State Bar as the media’s “go to source” for clear and reliable information about the justice system. The ultimate goal is to improve the public’s understanding of the justice system through accurate media coverage.

Each Task Force Chair will be responsible for conducting the group’s meetings and activities to accomplish its goals.

The task force chairs have been asked to review and assess current State Bar public education programs and publications for relevance, efficiency and cost-effectiveness. When they meet later this month, committee members will review these findings and discuss strategic goals. In addition to directing legacy activities created by the former committees, members will develop an integrated strategic plan and budget for the new Public Education Committee for submission to the Strategic Planning Committee and other State Bar leadership in December.  

Related Materials:

Public Understanding of the Legal System - 2008, August 2008 

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