In one
of his first acts as leader of
Levine,
who became president of the State Bar of
Wisconsin in July, has appointed a committee to study the standards to be
admitted to practice law.
Alone
among the states, Wisconsin lets lawyers practice without taking a bar exam,
but only with a diploma from the
Levine
is a
Last
month, Levine appointed the committee. Its report, due by the end of next year,
could recommend ending the bar exam by extending the so-called "diploma
privilege" to graduates of all accredited law schools; making all lawyers,
including those trained in Wisconsin, take the exam; or no change.
Levine
made his own views clear when he campaigned for the office: abolishing the exam.
Short of that, he would extend it to all lawyers, even those from UW and
Marquette. In either case, the standards would be the same for everyone, he
said.
No
matter what the committee recommends, it would be up to the Supreme Court of
Wisconsin to change the rule.
There
are differences of opinion within the Bar.
"The
diploma privilege has been and is a wonderful opportunity for young lawyers who
graduate from
As a
There
might even be an advantage to
"The
bar exam isn't that hard for anybody who was paying attention during law
school," said Thomas L. Shriner Jr., a partner in the Milwaukee office of
Foley & Lardner, who graduated from the Indiana University School of Law.
His firm pays for a bar prep course and fees for associates who need to take
the exam.
Shriner
is chairman of a bar commission appointed before Levine took office charged
with looking at the overall structure of the organization. Its report is
scheduled to come out at the same time as that from the Levine committee.
"I
clearly would vote for the diploma privilege," said Walter Dickey, a
professor at the UW law school who was appointed to Levine's committee.
"It means you don't have to teach for the exam."
However,
he is not in favor of extending it beyond UW and Marquette. At both schools,
graduates must pass special courses in
While
Levine could appoint a committee to look into diploma privilege, he has not
been able to be so direct in implementing another of the issues on which he ran
- making membership in the Bar voluntary. Now, to practice in
There,
too, the Supreme Court makes the rules, but Levine wants to hold a referendum
on the question among the approximately 22,000 Bar members, about 6,900 of whom
live out of state.
Holding
such a referendum would require the approval of the Bar’s Board of Governors.
Its executive committee has asked for a report on the possible financial impact
of a voluntary bar before considering the matter, Levine said.
Annual
dues are $441, of which $224 goes directly to support the organization, with
the rest put in special funds such as one to support legal services for the
poor.
Shriner
said his committee also will look at the question of mandatory membership.
"Having
all the lawyers in the state as members of the Bar is a sound principle,"
Dickey said. "But I have no objection to having referendums," he
added.
Levine's
probable successor does.
"The
referendum is pointless as far as I am concerned, because it is ultimately the
Supreme Court that will decide the issue," said Thomas J. Basting Sr., a
retired
He also
opposes abolishing or extending the diploma privilege. "The current system
has worked well for many, many years," said Basting, who holds a law
degree from UW. "I have heard no compelling reasons why it should be
changed."
Levine is
not worried about such attitudes on the part of his successor.
"I
am interested in the issues whether I am president or not," he said.
"And when I leave, as past president I still get a vote" on the bar
leadership.
"What
he will accomplish is to raise these issues and get them before the Bar and get
an airing of them, which it seems his initial objective is here," said J.
David Rice, a lawyer in