Room for debate

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For all the chatter the mandatory versus voluntary bar issue has generated in the last year, perhaps the legal community has heard enough – at least from potential future leaders of the State Bar.

Mere weeks before ballots go out to lawyers only six people attended a president-elect candidate forum hosted by the Milwaukee Bar Association this week.

This time of year, the MBA typically hosts a judicial forum, which generally draws a decent crowd.

But without any locally contested races or a state Supreme Court race, executive director James Temmer opted to invite the State Bar candidates given that they all practice in or around Milwaukee.

Temmer speculated that familiarity with candidates and their platforms or just a lack of interest in the race could have contributed to the slim turnout.

Regardless, the candidates seemed surprised by all the empty chairs, given the crossroads the bar appears to be approaching in terms of membership and service.

Jay A. Urban noted that it was “the lowest turnout by far” of any of the local forums he’s participated in, though James M. Brennan remarked that the attendance was not “atypical” of previous gatherings.