New column to spotlight BOG

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“Every man who says frankly and fully what he thinks is doing a public service.”

So says Leslie Stephen, a 19th Century British philosopher. Saying frankly and fully what one believes, while not being public service on all counts, contributes a very valuable function to society, in that it enables others to be aware of what concerns us.

As a person in society, and specifically, a criminal defense lawyer who finds himself on the unpopular side of many arguments, I have gotten used to being chastised, made fun of, and generally dumped on. Does this deter me from saying frankly and fully what I think? Never!

My fellow practitioners: greetings. My name is Theodore J. Perlick-Molinari, or as most courts, clients, friends, and fellow attorneys know me as, T.J. I was elected by my peers in Milwaukee this spring to serve on the State Bar of Wisconsin Board of Governors (BOG). I humbly take on that task this fall. In conjunction with that, the Wisconsin Law Journal has asked me to provide my commentary and opinions regarding the latest happenings and developments vis a vis the BOG.

When it comes to wading through the BOG, anytime you gather 50-odd lawyers in one room to discuss and hopefully agree on something, it is inevitably going to be interesting. A friend of mine who serves on a similar type of Board once told me to think of it this way: Take a group of people who make a living convincing other people that they are right. Next, put them all in the same room. Then throw in a topic that is sure to arouse strong opinions.

What do you get? A room full of strong-minded, intelligent, sophisticated arguers who are not likely to take no for an answer. Wading through the BOG may be putting it lightly.

From what I have already witnessed as a newly-elected guest to the meetings, there is no issue too small to spur debate. What I will endeavor to report to you, as members of the bar, are the goings on and hot button topics through my own lens.

As I mentioned before, I am a criminal defense lawyer from the criminal capital of the state, Milwaukee. I got my undergraduate degree at Columbia University and returned to Wisconsin to attend Marquette University Law School.

When I graduated, I started my own firm because the economy was soft, and my resume was thin. I eventually built a name for myself in my field by taking private bar appointments from the State Public Defender. After about two years of this, I managed to convince Attorney John Birdsall that I was someone worth bringing on board at his well-respected firm, Birdsall Law Offices, S.C.

Since I joined the firm, I have continued my work in criminal defense, focusing on defending those accused with operating while intoxicated offenses. This work has been extremely rewarding and intensely rigorous in ways I could have never anticipated.

My ultimate aim here is to discuss the BOG and my opinions regarding what we are debating. Some high-profile issues that will be on the agenda this year are the diploma privilege, the independence of the judiciary and a mandatory versus voluntary bar. Each of these issues by itself could consume an entire year’s worth of meetings. Each of them is of utmost importance to those of us involved in the legal system.

To be sure, the debate will be intense, the opinions will be diverse and the results will be unpredictable. Wisconsin is a large state with individuals from all walks of life. The population of attorneys is no different. Hopefully, we all find common ground in advocating for what we think is best to do to forward the interests of the State Bar of Wisconsin. I look forward to being with you as a columnist and enthusiastically encourage you to contact me with questions regarding the BOG or this column. I expect frank and full thoughts and guarantee the same in return.

Theodore J. “TJ” Perlick-Molinari is an associate with the Birdsall Law Offices S.C. in Milwaukee, where he has committed himself to the defense of people charged with serious criminal and drunk driving offenses. He represents Dist. 2 on the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Wisconsin. He can be reached at [email protected].