Vol. 75, No. 9, September 2002

Your Image is in Your Hands

by Pat Ballman

"'Tis but thy name that is my enemy."

Juliet's famous dilemma with Romeo Montague is something like the State Bar's dilemma with the public perception of lawyers. The State Bar's branding efforts are helping improve the "name" of lawyers. But ultimately your own individual character and actions control your image.

As most readers now know, based on polls, survey results, input from advisers, and the work of a steering committee, the State Bar has developed a brand for Wisconsin lawyers - Wisconsin Lawyers: Expert advisers. Serving you. With the sample ads developed by the committee, the message that lawyers are problem solvers, expert advisers, and active in their communities is aimed at educating the public about the value lawyers bring to society. The tag line and ads are available for free use by our members, their firms, and local and specialty bars in Wisconsin. They can be obtained either in hard copy by calling the Bar, or downloaded electronically from www.wisbar.org.

The tag line, available in both Spanish and English, can be downloaded to add to your existing station-nery. The ads can be customized to add your name, your firm's name, or your local bar's name. And the tool kits, also available free from the Bar, provide background information and helpful guidelines on using the materials. On Aug. 13, the Bar began airing public service announcements on Wisconsin Public Radio, and soon will place ads in the print media, to support the positive identity of lawyers as expert advisers and public servants. The more members, firms, and local and specialty bars use the message, the more the message will sink in.

But as we all know, actions speak louder than words. As Juliet laments, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Words or names cannot change the underlying reality.

The themes of the branding initiative are based on survey results showing that what the public values most in lawyers is expert advice, help solving problems, and service to the client and to the community. The State Bar's branding effort can help, but if we want to change the public's perception of lawyers for the better, we also need to serve our clients (through expert advice and problem solving) and serve our communities.

The Public Trust & Confidence report (available at www.wisbar.org/bar/ptc/), a project of the chief justice, the director of state courts, the League of Women Voters, and the State Bar, found that consumers say they notice and appreciate when lawyers volunteer in the community.

There are at least two aspects to lawyers providing community service that are relevant to this. First, many members of the public are unaware that their child's soccer coach is an attorney, or that the person serving meals at the local soup kitchen is an attorney, or that some members of their volunteer village board are attorneys. We cannot allow ourselves to be cowed by all the negative lawyer jokes. We are members of a great profession and should be proud of it. And so we should not hesitate to let people know we are lawyers.

Second, some of us always have more pressing things to do, or feel uncomfortable in some volunteer settings. I am not going to argue why service to the community is important. We all know that it is. What I suggest is that volunteerism can fit into any life. If you feel burdened having to care for your children after work, take them with you to the soup kitchen. If you do not have the people skills or knowledge base to volunteer at a family law pro se clinic, pick up a hammer and work with Habitat for Humanity. If you cannot use a hammer, volunteer for a community board. There is something for everyone. We can all make society a little better with each effort.

And, you will improve not only society, not only your own personal reputation, but the image of lawyers in general.

The State Bar will do what it can. But ultimately the buck stops with each of us. Each of us can be a personal ambassador, not only with the use of the Bar's branding tools, but more importantly, by our actions - which speak volumes.

Wisconsin Lawyer