Lindl tackles uncomfortable issues head on

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Bruce J. Lindl – Regal Ware Inc.

Attorney Bruce J. Lindl doesn’t mind making colleagues a little uncomfortable, especially when talking about diversity.

As the former chair State Bar of Wisconsin’s Diversity Outreach Committee and ongoing member, Lindl relishes the chance to discuss hotbed issues such as gay rights or immigration laws in an open forum.

Both topics were featured at last year’s Diversity Counsel Program, an annual event which Lindl has helped plan since he joined the committee in 2004.

He has also worked to expand the program from a half-day lecture to a full day of plenary sessions, interactive CLE classes and keynote speakers such as Juan Williams and Bill Proudman.

“The most interesting presentations are ones where there is an edge,” he said. “I like to walk away with something that I may not have been exposed to in my everyday job.”

Lindl’s day job is that of general counsel for Regal Ware Inc., a stainless steel cookware manufacturer
based in Kewaskum.

He joined the company in 2007 after four years with Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek and stints with Swedish software company ABB and Rockwell Automation.

Given the variety of his professional experience, it’s no surprise that Lindl has a passion for promoting diversity.

But he said the programs are not meant to force change on people, rather just getting them talking about it.

“As lawyers we’re paid for opinions,” he said. “But there are a lot of gray areas and we don’t want to get caught in the trap of walking out of the workplace and say ‘these social issues are perfectly clear to me.’”

He traced his interest in the subject matter back to his days as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin in the 1960s.

Lindl said times have changed and societal issues are so “polarized,” but he hopes the committee stays true to its mission of exchanging ideas.

Even after almost 40 years in practice, Lindl’s dedication to diversity is still fueled by the same virtues that inspired him during his days in Madison.

“I get my energy from those people when I’m working on that committee,” he said. “It’s like a shot of Vitamin C.”