Public Trust and Confidence
Restoring Belief in Lawyers

by George C. Brown,
State Bar executive director

WHEN THE LETTER ARRIVED, I FEARED IT WAS THE TYPE of letter that appears angry but really is rather sad, where the writer demonstrates that he knows very little about what a lawyer can do under the law, or where the writer's expectations are unrealistic. So the writer is upset and expects the State Bar to solve the problem.

But this one was different. Hand-printed on five-hole-punched lined notebook paper, it was written by a man who had been through a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

. . .

"My belief in humanity and good fine lawyers has been restored because of one fine lawyer and gentleman," he wrote.

"The reason I write to you sir is because never once has our best interest ever been less than #1 to him, we are small potatoes with very little if any money and he had no reason to have to represent us in our chapter 13, he is always having to go to court or deal with our case in some manner and never once, never has he asked or even hinted about more money, he is always available to us and contacts us right away when he knows something. It bothers me terribly that I can't give him something even though he has never asked, he's been our comfort in all of this turmoil we've been thru.

"People need to know that attorneys like him are out there who do really care about people and their rights, and not their next Mercedes payment."

. . .

This letter is one of the most heartfelt and heartwarming letters I have ever received. You can feel the writer's pain and his obvious relief at finding an attorney he knows will help him "keep a roof over our daughters heads." And you can see that the client is not a little surprised that he is receiving such help.

But we know that the vast majority of Wisconsin attorneys are more like the attorney in this letter than not. We know that most Wisconsin attorneys work long hours for their clients and wake up nights thinking about them. But the public doesn't always see that. In fact, they often see the opposite in the media, or, unfortunately, sometimes they experience it themselves.

This is why the State Bar joined with the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the League of Women Voters to create the Public Trust and Confidence in the Justice System initiative in Wisconsin. After a year of extensive research, the committee created a report that was presented last fall to the Board of Governors and to the supreme court. Since then, various efforts to implement the recommendations of the report have begun. And President Gerald Mowris has made implementating these action plans a cornerstone of his year as president. I urge you to review the report.

So thank you, Mr. Lawrence Curka of Milwaukee, for sending me this letter. You asked me to somehow recognize the efforts of your lawyer. I hope I have done that.

And thank you, Attorney Dayten Hanson of Milwaukee, for being the lawyer you are.