Oct. 21, 2013 – Seventy-nine lawyers who passed the bar exam, were admitted to practice in Wisconsin yesterday. Of the 172 people took the bar exam representing 31 jurisdictions, 82 percent passed.

The lawyers were welcomed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson and justices Ann Walsh Bradley, N. Patrick Crooks, David T. Prosser, Patience D. Roggensack, Annette Kingsland Ziegler, and Michael J. Gableman; Board of Bar Examiners Director Jacquelynn Rothstein; and State Bar President Patrick J. Fiedler.

New lawyers James Coates (left) and John Creagh are sworn in.

Krista LaFave Rosolino smiles as her dad, attorney Thomas LaFave, moves her admission into the State Bar of Wisconsin.

Congratulating the new lawyers, Rothstein read a quote from Abraham Lincoln "The leading rule for the lawyer, as for the man of every other calling, is diligence. Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today. Never let your correspondence fall behind. Whatever piece of business you have in hand, before stopping, do all the labor pertaining to it which can then be done."

Following three swearing-in ceremonies, Justice Bradley spoke to the new lawyers.

Recalling the late Marquette Law School Dean Howard Eisenberg in her comments at the 9:30 swearing in ceremony, “Dean Eisenberg who served on the Board of Bar Examiners wrote an article describing what he thought were the necessary qualities to meet the character and fitness prerequisites for bar admission – honesty, judgment, and courage,” she said.

Focusing her comments on courage and using the dean’s words, Bradley said, “Dean Eisenberg wrote, ‘a lawyer must be courageous, a lawyer must have the guts to tell the people things that they don’t want to hear, make decisions that will upset people take positions that are unpopular and assert claims before hostile tribunals.’ So what does it mean today to be people of courage in your legal careers?”

Bradley compared the bravery of soldiers and their courage to the rule of law, citing author of Flags of Our Fathers James Bradley, who said, “An independent judiciary is as much responsible for America’s freedom as the bravery of our military. Many countries have brave freedom fighters, but without judicial independence and integrity they will have no continuing freedoms.”

New State Bar of Wisconsin member Sarah Petre poses with her family. Petre works on federal policy in Washington, D.C.

New State Bar of Wisconsin member Kim Roegner and her dad.

New State Bar of Wisconsin member Edward Bremberger with his wife and dad.

Bradley also quoted Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Ryan in his welcoming address to the the 1873 U.W. Law School of new lawyers: ‘No country is free when their bar is not stronger than the army.’

“They both understood what countless legal scholars and what leaders of developing countries realize today as they come to visit our nation to study our Constitution and the legal system,” she said. “They know the backbone of our country’s success as a nation has been the rule of law. Unlike other countries, American has no unifying religion or ethnicity. What unites us as a nation are the values embodied in our Constitution. The framers of our Constitution demonstrated tremendous courage as they stood up to the King of England just like the leaders of other countries who are drafting constitutions today.”

“What does this characteristic of courage mean to you as you embark upon the practice of law,” Bradley asked the new members. “You are not going to be called upon to raise a flag on a remote island in time of war or write a constitution or stand up to the King of England. What does it mean to you to be attorneys of courage?

“It may mean that when you are putting together a deal and there is a wink and nod to do something under the table, that you will be an aggressive advocate and that you will not shade the truth,” said Bradley. “You will have the courage to do what is right when the pressure is high; you will have the courage to embrace unpopular causes to stand up for the victims who are poor and powerless; you will have the courage to join in the public debate when the independent judiciary is being threatened; you will make sure the voices who speak thoughtfully about the role of judges and the importance of the rule of law are not silenced.

“My challenge to you today is to that you reflect upon what it means for you to be a person of courage,” Bradley concluded.

The State Bar welcomes the following new members:

Visit the State Bar of Wisconsin on Facebook for admissions photos.