Inside the Bar

Improving Governance
Efficient, Effective Governance

by George C. Brown,
State Bar executive director

UNLESS YOU READ THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS' minutes, you probably haven't noticed that the roles of the Executive Committee and the Board of Governors have changed. Indeed, you probably haven't noticed the effect of the changed roles. But you will.

One result of the strategic planning initiative, begun in 1997, was a review of how the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee actually did their work to determine whether they were functioning as efficiently and effectively as possible. A Special Committee on Board Governance Structure developed recommendations, which the board adopted in June 2000.

The report called for measures to clarify the State Bar decision-making process, improve its operation, and thereby enhance service to its members. Recognizing that the organization is well run, the committee envisioned that the board would become a more deliberative body, serving more in the legislative or policy-making mode, and have the opportunity to obtain input from representatives statewide to establish the basis upon which the organization should be run. To give the board the time to deliberate and decide on the more strategic issues facing the Bar, the Executive Committee would take a more active role in implementing board policy as already authorized by the current Supreme Court Rules (SCRs).

Implementation of the report has taken place in two phases. The first phase began this fiscal year as the Executive Committee assumed greater responsibility for implementing board policies. The committee met monthly, and its work allowed the board to spend most of its time deciding issues of importance to the profession and the association.

The second phase began at the board's final meeting for this fiscal year. Historically, the Executive Committee has consisted of the officers of the association and four members of the board appointed by the president. The committee served as an advisory or "kitchen" cabinet for the president. The Board Governance Structure Committee proposed that the number of elected Executive Committee members be increased and that specific seats be established for representatives of the three State Bar divisions who serve on the board. That final change is what occurred at the May meeting. Six members of the fiscal year 2002 board were elected to serve on the Executive Committee; 13 members now constitute the Executive Committee. And, for the first time, one of the three public members of the board appointed by the supreme court, Tess Arenas, was elected to serve on the committee.

In facing the future, the Board of Governors now has the time to properly evaluate the strategic issues before it, and the Executive Committee now is more fairly representative of the board as it implements policy and fulfills its other respon-sibilities under SCRs. Ultimately, the members and the public should benefit.

Wisconsin Lawyer