It’s winter in Wisconsin. Whenever the temperature hovers in the single digits as it has recently, I’m reminded of a January meeting held a few years ago by the State Bar’s South Florida Chapter of the Nonresident Lawyers Division. Walking to the meeting with the sun beating down on my balding head, I observed people sitting outside a restaurant wearing thick turtleneck sweaters, huddled around their cups of coffee. The meeting was scheduled to be held outside, but was moved indoors because the temperature had plummeted (yes, they used the word “plummeted”) to 72 degrees.
Fast forward to early summer. It’s late June, the temperature is again in the mid-70s, but the turtleneck sweaters were moved to the back of the closet long ago. Lawyers are again gathering, but this summer they are gathering in Lake Geneva for the return of the State Bar annual conference.
Despite the many forms of social media that exist today, members still want to come together to connect, learn, and relax. The 2014 Annual Meeting & Conference will provide you just that opportunity. It is the place for you to meet with other members from across the profession in a time when we are becoming increasingly siloed both in our work and in society.
The 2014 Annual Meeting & Conference will provide you the opportunity to finally meet that lawyer from across the state who gave you the great practice tips on your section listserv, to get together with your law school friend that you haven’t seen for a long time, or to help your associate connect with lawyers from every corner of Wisconsin as well as Wisconsin lawyers practicing in other states. The Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, site of the conference, is family friendly, so you can bring the kids (or, in my case, the grandkids) to enjoy the waterpark and other kid-friendly activities.
The conference will open with a plenary session featuring Seventh Circuit judges Diane Sykes (Wisconsin) and David Hamilton (Indiana) debating constitutional issues from a conservative and liberal perspective. The closing plenary luncheon session features Karl Rove from the Bush Administration and Robert Gibbs from the Obama Administration debating major issues of the day from their political perspectives. In between, you can update your knowledge of the law through high quality CLE programming, connect with friends old and new, and enjoy a Thursday night beach bash complete with good food, cold drinks, and a steel drum band!
So mark your calendars for June 26 and 27 to gather at the 2014 State Bar Annual Meeting & Conference at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva. Special hotel pricing will allow you to extend your stay through the week and even arrive a day or two early. And if you do arrive on June 25, be sure to attend the opening reception that evening.
For more information, visit http://amc.wisbar.org/.
