Pair of candidates vie for State Bar’s top spot

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A Minocqua family attorney and Oshkosh bankruptcy lawyer are competing for one of the top spots at the State Bar of Wisconsin.

John Danner and Paul Swanson accepted nominations in December to run for State Bar president-elect in the upcoming State Bar Board of Governors election.

Ballots in the election will be mailed out by April 8, and bar members will be able to vote until April 22.

The winner will take office July 1.

Both candidates recently spoke with the Wisconsin Law Journal about their goals and reasons for running. The interviews have been condensed and edited for space.

John Danner

John Danner is an attorney at Harrold, Scrobell & Danner S.C., of Minocqua. He earned his degree from the University of Iowa College of Law and has practiced in Wisconsin since 1979. His areas of practice include family law, real estate and general litigation.

In his spare time, Danner, a former broadcast journalist, officiates at wrestling matches, something he has done for 30 years.

Although he generally considers this use of his leisure time to be a stress reliever, he acknowledged that there have been times when coaches have lost themselves in the heat of the moment and got in his face.

“I just say, ‘Hey, I’m a divorce lawyer. I deal with that on a daily basis. You’re fine,’” Danner said. “And they laugh, and we get along.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: Why are you running?

This is my fourth year on the Board of Governors and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to serve the bar. I’m humbled by the nomination, which is not something I sought. But now that I’ve been asked, I am deeply honored and feel that I have the capability of serving the bar as a whole. When I was a child growing up, my parents instilled in me the philosophy that if you can help, do so and be involved, and I am.

WLJ: If elected, what would be your goals for the bar? What kinds of things would you like to do?

It is our job to uphold the law. It is our job to seek the proper administration of justice for the benefit of clients, as well as the public as a whole. And we need to reassert ourselves in the minds of the general public that that is our role, that we are necessary to that process and that there’s more about the law than winning and losing a lawsuit.

As much as we need to improve our image to the general public, we need to improve our image to the lawyers that we serve. We are a mandatory bar. I also belong to a voluntary bar in Iowa. I think that we need to have this bar present itself to members so members want to be members in spite of the fact that they have to be members. And that’s going to take some work.

WLJ: What do you see as the biggest challenges that attorneys are faced with in Wisconsin? What should the bar’s role be in fighting those challenges?

The challenges facing lawyers, to a certain degree, vary by age. In Wisconsin and law schools around the country, fewer lawyers graduate from law school. On the other end of the spectrum, lawyers who are older are seeking to end their careers through retirement. There will come a time when we will end up having more lawyers that are retired than those coming into the state. So, as a bar, we need to think about how to survive as an entity with fewer dollars coming in from dues because we have fewer lawyers.

If you look nationwide at lobbying efforts by the health care professions and education professions, they have successfully encouraged Congress to allow student debt to be forgiven if they practice in certain areas with certain demographics. I would like to see the bar pursue that same benefit.

WLJ: What legislative change would you champion if elected president?

I serve on the judicial elections steering committee. In 2013, The Board of Governors nearly unanimously approved an effort to seek a constitutional amendment to modify how members of the state Supreme Court are elected. That is something I would continue to support because I believe in it. It’s good government. It’s not political government. It’s just the right thing to do.

WLJ: What are your thoughts on the ongoing arbitration over non-mandatory bar dues?

My position is that the legal system will work. Lawyers are entitled to object to the portion of the dues that are assigned to non-mandatory bar-related things. Whatever the outcome is, I’ll support it.

WLJ: Thoughts on the Netflix series on Avery?

I have not seen it. I don’t watch Netflix. I will say parenthetically that I visited my daughter one time — they don’t have regular TV, they have Netflix — and I saw The West Wing. I watched the last two years.

Paul Swanson

Swanson is an attorney at Steinhilber, Swanson, Mares, Marone & McDermott, of Oshkosh. He earned his degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1979. He primarily represents debtors and specializes in bankruptcy and insolvency.

In his spare time, Swanson enjoys skiing, sailing, biking and planning continuing legal education programs that are meant to be both fun and informative.

“I believe we should advance ourselves educationally, but we should also enjoy it,” Swanson said. “It should be entertaining, intellectually challenging and include some social interaction.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: Why are you running?

To be honest, I’ve always wanted to. I’ve been in leadership in the bar pretty much my entire professional life. It’s a goal I aspired to. It’s a worthwhile professional organization, and I’m proud of it. It would be a privilege to be the president.

WLJ: If elected, what would your goals be for the bar? What kinds of things would you like to do?

I really would like to provide more resources to the bar’s different sections, like the young lawyers division, to let them really do more. The bar does support the sections, but it’s my feeling that we could direct more resources and staff time to the sections. I’d like to give the sections an institutional person who is the rock, the person that has been around a long time and understands where the section has been.

Likewise, we do not support the young lawyers division like we should. We should give them more resources to do their thing. I was a young lawyer once. We used to have to fight tooth and nail for a budget. We really need to encourage our young lawyers because they are the leadership of tomorrow and, likewise, the sections.

WLJ: What do you see as the biggest challenge facing attorneys in Wisconsin? What can the bar’s role in fighting those challenges be?

The big challenge is to deliver the level of services with the resources we have access to. We can’t continue to raise dues. We need to live with what we have.

WLJ: What legislative change would you champion if elected president?

There are a couple. There’s the adult court waiver issue. Former Bar president Pat Fiedler really championed that issue. I believe it’s important. We’ve got too many people in prison right now. And then the Supreme Court 16-year term. I think that’s a little more difficult to do.

WLJ: What are your thoughts on the ongoing arbitration over non-mandatory bar dues?

I’m kind of a libertarian. I don’t believe we should force anyone to pay for something they don’t believe in. The arbitration process is expensive. I wish we could work it out. I have no problem at all refunding a portion of the dues related to non-core activities. If you don’t believe it, you shouldn’t be forced to pay.

WLJ: Thoughts on the Netflix series on Avery?

It’s so one-sided. The evidence on the other side of the ledger is so overwhelming. The series was not exactly fair and balanced. It does not show the system in a good light. It’s intentional and unfortunate that they haven’t told the whole story. Follow @erikastrebel