Cornered bars: Associations struggle to keep local ties alive

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Attorney Julianne Barker worried about isolation eight years ago when she left the Milwaukee area to open a solo practice in rural Vernon County.

Barker had worked for large and mid-size Milwaukee firms. Colleagues always were only a few feet away.

It was daunting, she said, going solo where other family law practitioners could be miles away. So she joined the Vernon County Bar Association shortly after opening Barker Law Office LLC in Hillsboro.

The group meets in Viroqua, which is 45 minutes away from her office, but Barker said she regularly makes the drive because it’s her best opportunity to visit with local lawyers.

“When people get to know you, it builds up credibility,” she said. “When a case comes up with someone I know on the other side, it makes it easier to approach them than if the person was a total stranger.”

But it’s not easy keeping those local bar associations vibrant, particularly when it’s mandatory those same attorneys join the 23,943-member State Bar of Wisconsin, said Eric Johnson, president of the Juneau County Bar Association. In the four years Johnson has been a member of the Juneau County Bar, he said, the association has averaged about 22 members.

“The vast majority of bar members are longtime, veteran attorneys,” he said, adding that he worries about sustaining the voluntary local bar without an influx of new members.

Vernon County Bar Association President Stephanie Hopkins has similar concerns, she said. Not all members of the 31-person Vernon County bar are as willing as Barker, Hopkins said, and participation at events is often lacking.

But like Barker, Hopkins said there is a need for local ties among attorneys. If the Vernon County organization disbanded, she said, it would cripple communication among area lawyers.

“I think we would lose out on staying connected and keeping in contact with the court and judge,” Hopkins said. “For a lot of lawyers, meetings are a chance to talk to the judge outside the court, something I think would be lost if the bar disbanded.”

Some lawyers don’t see the need for a local bar for such communication, though. Vernon County criminal defense attorney Bryon Walker said he is one of the local bar members who regularly fails to attend meetings and events.

Though he’s been a member of the local bar since 2006, Walker said, his heavy caseload and ability to forge bonds with area colleagues outside the bar have rendered him a fairly inactive member.

“I don’t have any real motivation to go in there,” he said, “and try and move the local bar association in my direction.”

As one of four criminal defense lawyers in the county, Walker said, he talks with his colleagues independently about local rules changes or relies on the State Public Defender’s Office to get statewide criminal defense news.

But even though he doesn’t get a lot out of his membership, Walker said, he thinks the local bar serves a purpose for attorneys.

“I think what they do is relevant and useful,” he said. “But it’s just not particularly pertinent to what I do.”

One way to preserve a sense of community for local bars struggling to sustain interest is to broaden the network of available resources. Wisconsin Supreme Court rules don’t mandate that every county maintain a local bar association, so several have combined over the years to salvage or expand membership.

Twenty of the 72 counties in Wisconsin participate in multicounty bar associations, primarily in the northern part of the state.

Since 1981, voluntary bar members in St. Croix, Pierce, Polk and Dunn counties have been part of the combined St. Croix Valley Bar Association.

Association president Christine Rasmussen said the 108-member organization attempts to hold at least two events, ranging from judicial forums to quarterly meetings, in each county every year.

“It allows the counties to share the burden and responsibility of administrating and organizing events,” she said. “If we didn’t have that merging of counties, perhaps some bar associations might have faded out.”

Absent an organized effort to maintain local communication, Rasmussen said, attorneys and judges would lose touch with local rule changes or be less inclined to work with opposing counsel.

Hopkins said she has discussed joint initiatives with other local bar associations, primarily in La Crosse and Richland counties, but conversations have not evolved to the point of merging operations. The Vernon County bar leader questioned if such a move would jumpstart interest.

“If I can’t get people to come out to events in Viroqua,” Hopkins said, “I’m not sure they are going to get in a car and drive to Richland Center.”

Walker agreed, saying he doubts combining Vernon County with neighboring bar associations would inspire participation from him or the other criminal defense lawyers in the area.

“By choice, we are very independent people,” he said, “and not organization minded.”

But after eight years in the organization, Barker said, sustaining a sense of community — however fragmented — is still worthwhile. She said she plans to stick with the 45-minute drives to Viroqua.

“On a daily basis, I don’t get much of a sense of belonging to anything,” she said. “So I like to belong to an organization where I know I can have that feeling when we get together.”

County bars compete for attorney participation

Going up against the State Bar of Wisconsin is a challenge for local bars trying to find members and develop programming to keep people active.

The statewide organization’s increase in continuing legal education courses make local CLE credit-worthy offerings a lost cause, said Eric Johnson, president of the 22-member Juneau County Bar Association.

“Some of the State Bar’s initiatives take that option out of our hands,” he said. “I don’t know why attorneys would want to pay for local CLE when they have this great Ultimate Pass they can sign up for and take all the courses they want.”

In an effort to give members information or services they can’t get elsewhere, voluntary bar leaders such as Stephanie Hopkins, president of the Vernon County Bar Association, bring in speakers or arrange social gatherings. But organizing programs that will draw members from across the county is not easy, she said.

Hopkins recently arranged for Wisconsin Appellate Court Judge Brian Blanchard and Jim Brennan, president of the State Bar, to speak with Vernon County bar members, but less than a week prior to the gathering, only 10 of the group’s 31 members had indicated they planned to attend.

Hopkins said the low level of interest is common for local bar events, despite the fact that the voluntary association is free.

“It’s hard to stay relevant,” Hopkins said. “We’ve had some initiatives in the last couple of years, but just don’t get widespread involvement.”

An elder abuse awareness clinic last year drew substantial public interest, she said, but only moderate participation from local attorneys.

“I’d say it was successful,” Hopkins said, “because of a very few involved.”

Johnson’s organization charges $25 per year to be a member, so it is important, he said, to provide services that make the investment worthwhile.

Juneau County bar dues are primarily applied to rental costs, Johnson said, and dinner at quarterly meetings to discuss local court rule changes.

With a small number of lawyers to draw from, Hopkins said, it’s not possible to organize large-scale events to spark participation.

But after eight years of working to generate interest, Hopkins said she isn’t ready to give up and will continue to work with what she has to attract member participation.

“We will do a Christmas party,” she said. “Everyone usually kicks in for their portion and it’s always been popular as a way to meet fellow members in a casual setting.”

— Jack Zemlicka