Meet the 2011 State Bar election candidates

Candidate for Judicial Council Representative

Beth Ermatinger Hanan [email]

Member, Gass Weber Mullins LLC, Milwaukee

Comments

Currently, it is my privilege to serve as chair of the Judicial Council, and I believe my hands-on experience in developing and completing Council projects can bring value to the Council’s work in the coming years.

It’s important work, though it occurs without fanfare. Developing new rules for electronic discovery, and proposing rules for the citation of unpublished opinions are among the recent successes. Down the road, not too far, are proposed changes to rules affecting presentence investigation reports, and revisions to the criminal procedure code. Proposals to amend certain rules of evidence to better conform with recent case law and practice are also being developed. This work, all under the umbrella of improvement to pleading practice and procedure, is carried out by 21 volunteers from all areas of the law, and from all three branches of government. The Council’s work has been significantly enhanced in the last several years by the restoration of its budget to permit the addition of a highly capable staff attorney. Preservation of that budget, and the concomitant ability to increase the valuable output of the Council, is a priority for the coming year.

As a State Bar representative to the Council, my role is to identify Bar members whose interests are affected by particular rule proposals and to seek their perspectives. My experience on the Appellate Practice and Litigation Section boards has helped forge such links. If you elect me to another term on the Council, I will continue the good work already in progress, and endeavor to make the Council an even more valuable resource for your practice and our courts.

Practice

Member, Gass Weber Mullins LLC, appellate and civil litigation practice (2004 - present); Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., associate (1998 - 04); law clerk to Justice Janine P. Geske, Wisconsin Supreme Court (1996 - 98), interim law clerk to Justice David Prosser, Fall 1998.

Education

U.W. Law School, J.D. (1996)

Marquette University, B.A., Political Science (1978)

Professional activities

Wisconsin Judicial Council: chair (2010 - present), vice chair (2003 - 09); member since 2002

State Bar of Wisconsin: Bench-Bar Committee chair (2006 - 07), member (2002-07); Litigation Section board member (2006 - 09); Appellate Practice Section board member (1998 - 2000); Indian Law Section, member

Milwaukee Bar Association: Board of Directors (2009 - present), Bench-Bar Court of Appeals Committee (2002 - present); Community Relations Education Committee (1999 - 2001)

Wisconsin Defense Counsel: Amicus Committee chair (2009 - present)

Association for Women Lawyers: board member (2003 - 04), member (1998 - present)

American Bar Association and Defense Research Institute: member (1999 - present)

Author and speaker

Wisconsin Lawyer™ magazine: “Significant Wisconsin Supreme Court Decisions,” annually 2008 - 10, “To Cite or Not to Cite: Should Wisconsin Permit Citation of Unpublished Opinions?” August 2008, “Surveying the Boundaries: State and Tribal Court Jurisdiction,” June 2006

WDC Journal: appellate tips column

DRI’s Certworthy Seventh Circuit reporter

Presenter at various State Bar, WATL, and commercial seminars

Community activities

Parish trustee, board member of spirituality center, service as mock trial coach, Girl Scout leader and GED tutor in women’s jail.