Friends and Fellow Lawyers:
I hope to see many of you at the State Bar Annual Meeting & Conference in Green Bay on June 16-17. I look forward to visiting with my lawyer friends to thank you for your encouragement and support for my year as your State Bar president.
Professional Development Opportunities! The CLE Committee and 16 State Bar sections have assembled an especially informative and interesting menu of CLE seminars, speakers, and programs. You can choose from among 25 programs (earning up to 11 CLE and 4.5 EPR credits) dealing with diverse topics such as Wisconsin criminal law and procedure, preparing appellate briefs, remedying financial exploitation of the elderly, speaking without fear, trust provision and estate planning techniques, and the care and keeping of clients.
Our two plenary sessions bring us national speakers on important current issues. Our opening speaker is former Solicitor General Paul Clement, who has argued more than 80 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. A former law clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, Clement will talk about the Roberts Court and inevitably will address developments relating to selection of a successor to Justice Scalia. Our closing speaker is Amy Walter, the national editor for the Cook Report and former political director of ABC News. She is also a frequent panelist on PBS’s Washington Week and Meet the Press. Amy will talk about the national political scene, including the unfolding 2016 presidential election.
Connect, Relax, and Have Fun! This annual meeting is filled with relevant learning and professional development opportunities. But work alone makes for dull lawyers, and we can’t have that. So, come prepared to enjoy the many social events and to have lots of fun while renewing old and making new friendships.
Ralph Cagle, U.W. 1974, is of counsel to Hurley, Burish & Stanton, S.C., Madison, practicing principally in professional responsibility law and serving as a mediator. He is also an emeritus clinical professor at the U.W. Law School.
On Wednesday, June 15, our kick-off-the-conference party will immediately follow the swearing-in of Fran Deisinger as our 61st State Bar president. That party is followed by Marquette and U.W. Law School alumni receptions and a late-night happy hour sponsored by the LGBT Bar Association. Thursday evening is our “Lawyers at Lambeau” Green and Gold tailgate party in the Lambeau Field Champions Room with its spectacular view of the playing field, offeringgreat food and drink and our two special guests, former Packer greats LeRoy Butler and Gilbert Brown. After that we will surrender ourselves to the mercies of our Young Lawyers Division colleagues for an after party extending into the wee hours at the Titletown Brewery.
Green Bay! The epicenter of our Annual Meeting is the KI Convention Center, the largest meeting facility in northeast Wisconsin. It serves as our host hotel and the site of our programs and meetings.
A trip to Green Bay is incomplete without sampling local attractions, including Lambeau Field, the Packer Hall of Fame, the National Train Museum, and the family-friendly Bay Beach Amusement Park and Wildlife Sanctuary – all within five minutes of the convention center. All this strongly suggests bringing families along for a great time.
So, let’s celebrate, learn, connect, relax, and have fun together in Titletown USA in June! To register, visit amc.wisbar.org.