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University

of Wisconsin

Law School Forum

ARGOYL

Volume XVII Number 4.

Spring 1987

2

War Story: The Voice of Leonard F. Schmitt Dean Cliff F Thompson

Lawyer Legislators, Part II

4

Tomislav Kuzmanovic

Opening Convocation Address

10

Justice Shirley Abrahamson

Twenty Years of Consumer Protection

13

Professor William Whitford

Visiting Professor: Alan Weisbard

16

William G. Moore

Alumni Notes

17

Additional Alumni Assist the Law School

17

Faculty Notes

18

Editor's Note

19

Mystery Picture

19

Spring Announcement

20

Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin Law School, published quarterly. Edward J. Reisner, Editor Earl J. Madden, Design Kevin H. Grohskopf, Layout Publication office, Law School, University of Wisconsin, Madison,

Postmaster's note: Please send form 3579 to "Gargoyle," University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison, WI 53706. Subscription price: 50¢ per year for members. $1.00 per year for non-members.

WI.

ISSN 0148-9623

USPS 768-300

Cover: Spring on the State Street Mall


2

ar Story: The Voice of Leonard F. Schmitt Dean Cliff F Thompson While visiting with our graduates in Wisconsin and around the country, I've heard some great war stories. A favorite is the following one by Len Schmitt, '29. I heard it three years ago when we chatted for a couple of hours in his hometown of Merrill, Wisconsin. The pleasant echo of the story in my memory convinced me that it should be shared. One problem is that war stories are properly part of the law's oral tradition and never seem quite the same when written. To preserve at least some of the tale's conversational quality, I asked Litishia Martin, a law student, to telephone Len and persuade him to tell her the story with a tape recorder running. She succeeded: Len warmed up and told her the story, which is transcribed below.

As district attorney I was prosecuting a man by the name of Emil Gutsdorf for illegal possession of beaver hides. The wardens' testimony was, and they established that they knew, that he was at a beaver pond down at a dead end road up in the northern part of Lincoln County. They parked their car where the dead end road joined the main highway and waited for him to come out. Finally, pretty much after dark around 9 or 10 0' clock at night, Emil came out with his old Ford, and he had a man sitting on the front seat with him. As he pulled on to the main highway and turned toward Tomahawk, the wardens pulled up behind him and followed him. It was raining very heavily, and as they pulled along side of him and flashed their light in his face, he kept speeding up and speeding up, and they kept telling him to stop, but he just kept going and the man in the front seat turned down the window and threw a bundle out of the window. The warden yelled, "Let's go back and get the package-we know that it's Emil Gutsdorf and we'll get him later." So they went back and they picked up the package in the ditch, and, sure enough, it contained three illegal beaver hides. So now we had the trial. Emil had had twelve previous convictions for game law violations so he did not take the witness stand in his own behalf. He put up a weak alibi. We were able to break down completely so that it appeared that the jury would only be out a few minutes. They went out at 2:00, and everybody expected them to be right back. But they didn't come back, and they didn't come back. The eminent Judge Reid had an important speech at Wausau that night before a Presbyterian Church group and was confronted with the choice of

declaring a mistrial or missing his appointment. But he was so sure that Emil was guilty, he didn't want to let the case go, so he cancelled his speech and stayed there. Finally, at about midnight, the jury dragged in and found Emil guilty. As I was walking home, I got about a block from the courthouse and the jury foreman caught up to me. He was a little laundry man in Merrill, and he said, "Len, I bet you wonder what happened to us and what took us so long." And I said "Yes I did." And he says "Well, we were 11to 1 for conviction right off the bat, and we didn't even sit down at the table, but there was one juror who said he was a neighbor of this defendant and he wouldn't vote guilty and he kept holding out and he says my neighbor wouldn't do anything like that, and he held out and held out. It got to be past 11:00at night and a couple of these big Dutch farmers from the town of Corning grabbed him, and one got a hold of one shoulder and one the other and they rattled his head up against the stone wall of the jury room a couple of times and they


3

Len Schmitt with John and Jackie Kennedy, 1960.

said 'Look, neighbor or no neighbor, this man is guilty and we're going out of here now with a unanimous verdict of guilty and you're going with us' and the fella finally saw the light and went along, and the jury returned the verdict." And then he says, "1 don't know if 1 should tell you all this." 1 said "Well forget about it Bill." So anyway Emil was sentenced to one year in prison then because of his previous convictions. About two years later, 1was up in Tomahawk at noon and went into a tavern where they serve sandwiches, walked up to the bar and ordered a sandwich. Emil

jumped up from a card table and came up to me, and said "I bet you don't know who I am" and I says "Oh yes I do-you're Emil Gutsdorf." He says "That's right," and he kind of smiled and he says "You know you gave me a rap once but I forgot about that. To show you I'm a good fellow let me buy you a beer." 1 says "Well, alright, Emil, I don't mind if I do have a beer with you." I added "By the way, Emil, that neighbor of yours almost saved you that time. He held out 'til the very end." And he says, "Neighbor, hell; Len, that's the man who threw the furs out of the car window."


4

Lawyer Legislators, Part II Thmislav Kuzmanovic In the Vol. 17, No.3, we presented the first in a three part series of articles on UW Law School alumni serving in the Wisconsin legislature. While the interviews were done last summer, we deliberately timed this presentation to appear after the November general elections. Before turning to four new lawyerlegislators, here is an update on those five featured last time: Robert Kastenmeier was re-elected for a 15th term in the US Congress; Tommy Thompson was elected Governor of Wisconsin; Donald Hanaway was elected Attorney General of Wisconsin; David Prosser was re-elec ted to a fifth term in the Wisconsin Assembly; and State Repre-

sentative Tom Crawford, as mentioned in the story, chose not to run for another term. All four of the Wisconsin legislators featured in this issue continue to serve the state: State Sen. Charles Chvala is in the middle of his term, and all three of the State Representatives were re-elected. In the final article, we will include Congressman F.James Sensenbrenner, Jr., State Senator Susan Engeleiter, State Representative Joseph Wimmer, and former Representative Steve Brist. Mr. Brist did not run for re-election, Sen. Engeleiter is in mid-term, Sensenbrenner and Wimmer were re-elected.

Representative louise M. Tesmer ('67) 19th Assembly District, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Admitting that it doesn't hurt to have a law degree, forty-four year old Democratic Representative Louise M. Tesmer says her legal education was aimed at a legal career. "In law school, you learn the analytical tools that help you understand the process. This helps a lot in the legislature, or any other policy making body for that matter." She remembers law school in a different light than a female graduate of the last ten years or so would. "1 remember it as a boys club of sorts. Law students were a homogenous group. At that time once you got into the real world upon graduation you realized how different people actually are." Tesmer feels that her legal education taught her how to deal with people and how to think analytically in various policy decisions.

"Law school wasn't so distinctive in preparing me for office, but it's distinctly an advantage to someone who is a legislator and lawmaker. Lawyers tend to think more in terms of issues much more than others:' She recalls Professor Hurst spending five weeks on the Dairy Queen statute comparing his dissection of the statute to an English literature professor discussing Shakespeare's Hamlet. "His class taught me the methods of reading a statute. To Professor Hurst, statutes were like literary treasures subject to all kinds of interpretation. How a law is going to affect people in hypothetical situations is very important. As a lawyer you tend to solve problems in a one to one manner. These combinations were ideal policymaking methods when dealing with a variety of actors here in the legislature: t


5

From her experiences, Tesmer feels that law school trained people to get to the core of the problem quickly and to think about alternatives when problem solving. Creativity, she adds is a great asset. "That is not to say that law grads are brighter and better than anyone else. We've been trained as technicians of the humanities. We've been taught to resolve conflicts of public policy on a broad basis." Tesmer has been elected to the Assembly since 1972. She became Deputy Speaker in 1981.But her road to elected office was not without its obstacles. While still in law school, she ran for municipal judge in St. Francis, a municipality currently in her district, and won. "I remember one of my professors laughing at me when I told him I was running for political office." Nevertheless, she kept at it and eventually earned her Assembly seat. Before serving in the Assembly, she was an Assistant District Attorney for Milwaukee County for five years. She sees her job now as a constant challenge. "The subject matter is always changing, the players always change and every session is a new forum and a new creative experience." She notes, however, that while some things change, some still stay the same. "For example, comparable worth is an issue whose time has finally come. But things like traffic laws and probate law revision are similar year after year." Tesmer cites traveling to and from Milwaukee as being necessary, but tough. "I'm close enough to be able to see my constituents more often, but it's still an hour and a half trip." At times, she explains, her job is chaotic. "Politics and everything that comes with it is wide open-not like a courtroom where order is the rule. Scheduling is sometimes a mess. Much of the stress inherent in this job builds up when there is no consensus on an issue."

Tesmer says although it's often difficult to find resolutions that are satisfying, some people that confront her have nowhere else to turn. "It's very satisfying, though, when you can use the process to help an individual or to make life better in Wisconsin. You've got to be able to give citizens recourse for lapses in the system. Otherwise, how will they have faith in it?" Repeat offenders, juvenile delinquents and taxation of the elderly are problems Tesmer feels have defied lawmakers over the years. "The repeat violent felony criminal offender should have a minimum mandatory sentence. There hasn't been a suggestion on trying to solve juvenile delinquency because we are only beginning to admit that there's a problem. And there's no acceptable solution for the elderly who must pay escalating property taxes while on fixed incomes." Some new ideas to try to solve these and other problems come to the Legislative Council Committee, on which she is a member. "We take new ideas and study whether or not they should be introduced as bill proposals. We deal with all legislative aspects. We review studies on current areas of legislatively proposed changes in laws and statutes." Tesmer's other committee assignments include: Chairperson of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee; Financial Institutions and Insurance; Judiciary; the State Building Commission; and the State Supported Program Study and Advisory Committee. "I'd say that law school helped me a great deal in learning about the Criminal Justice system. Some of the professors I had in that area were excellent. Being from Wisconsin and learning Wisconsin law first hand was probably the best part about learning the process." There is one goal which she would like to accomplish in the near future, becoming a judge again. "That's something I've always had in the back of my mind and I'd be honored to serve in that capacity."

'His class taught me the methods of reading a statute. To Professor Hurst, statutes were like literary treasures subject to all kinds of interpretation:


6

Senator Charles

J. Chvala ('79)

16th Senate District, Madison, Wisconsin With a strong interest in public policy and desire to be involved, Democratic Senator Charles J. Chvala, 32, ran for the State Assembly while still in law school. "I took second:' he said, "but it really gave me a lot of experience and strengthened my goal of achieving public office." Chvala considers his legal education to have been not only preparation for a legal career, but ideal for public office. He sees both elements of his private practice in Monona and public service as complementing each other. "A law isn't always implemented the way it was intended and as a practicing lawyer, you can see how rules affect people's lives. This is a very valuable tool. If there are problems, you can see what needs to be adjusted rather than waiting for a long period of time and seeing the unintended impact." Time, according to Chvala, is a very valuable commodity in the state legislature. "Lawyers are quite often pressed for time, but not to the extent that a lack of it would hurt their clients. In the legislature, you try to cover all of your committee assignments, learn as much as you can about the issues in a very limited time, and eventually become an expert at none." Chvala feels his legal training, especially at the University of Wisconsin Law School, was invaluable. "It helped a great deal seeing the broad perspective of public policy reasons behind laws. 'Where are we going, what are we really doing, how will this relate to society.' You had a chance to see how statutes were developed and how words are used as art:' He says that it's very tough when, as a lawmaking body the legislature is forced to use vague terms in laws. "Sometimes you have to use those nebulous words when defining something because there's just no way you can anticipate or agree upon solving problems. You try to cover the grey area and unfortunately leave much of the interpretation to the courts. I'm not saying that's bad, but if we had more time ... '' Once again, time is a problem. But to Chvala, the time spent in law school was like turning back the hands of the clock. "It was like returning to high school with the lockers and all. You got to know people much better than in undergraduate years:' Chvala rebelled against first year anxiety and pressure he thought was selfinflicted by staying loose.

"I remember a first semester party around November. It was nice to see everyone relaxing a little and breaking away from the books:' His instructors influenced him a great deal and as a result helped him enjoy law school more than he thought he would. "I really enjoyed the professors because most of them seemed genuinely interested in students and their futures:' He singled out Professors Zile and Church as being able to communicate their material to students "in a very positive way as opposed to trying to intimidate students in a Paper Chase manner:' Although Chvala claims to have "never been that much into the U.C.C.:' his experience as a whole in law school, the learning of what's behind a law and understanding why things are decided in certain ways, benefited him a great deal as a public servant. But once more time creeps into the picture. This time, re-election. "In order to be effective as a public servant, you have to be re-elected. It's a necessary element in the process. It really hangs over your head and it's a tremendous burden:' In addition to being expensive, Chvala feels it's tough to put one's legislative career on the line every two to four years. "People have to worry about finances, where money comes from. The incumbent has an advantage because he already knows the ropes. I've been fortunate because most of my votes have been the same as my constituent consensus. The way you vote on an issue, though, affects not only yourself but other legislators:' Tough issues can't be avoided, he says. "If you don't enjoy it, you shouldn't be up here:' The Joint Finance Committee is one place where there are a great deal of tough issues. Chvala is a member of that committee which controls the purse strings of the state. "This committee is really where the action is. This is where prioritization is a must. Often there are millions of dollars at stake. We have a major impact on public policy and I guess that's why I enjoy my job so much." He sees his job as challenging and rewarding in addition to being satisfying. It's a great feeling knowing that you've been involved in something that's had a major impact on Wisconsin law:' Chvala sees the legislative process as a positive involvement in the system.

'Sometimes you have to use those nebulous words when defining something because there's just no way you can anticipate or agree upon solving problems. Youtry to cover the grey area and unfortunately leave much of the interpretation to the courts:


7

"I remember the Sterling Hall bombing and I thought 'what a completely inappropriate response to a problem: So I began to work on political campaigns." Debate in this era was at times heated, and Chvala remembers one event distinctly. "I recall an argument in the 1970's against birth control by Gordy Roselip [former State Senator from Platteville] that really got me fired up. He said there should be no birth control and he didn't come right out and say it but it was his premise that we'd have no cannon fodder for future wars." From there, Chvala became a Madison School Board Student member in 197273 and was eventually elected to the State Assembly in 1982 before winning his Senate seat in 1984. Chvala, who also holds a political science degree from UW-Madison, hopes to have an impact on state government and

hopes to keep improving. He'd like to see some changes in current lobby laws which he feels are out of date. "I really enjoy what I'm doing here and if I can move up I will, but it's not an imperative goal." He points to his young family and his desire to enjoy them as something that puts politics in perspective. Moving up requires something there's never enough of, time, as well as a little luck. "Most of the time, it's out of your personal control because there are people above you." Chvala feels that law school was a seal of approval, a ratification of the fact you're intelligent, and it has enhanced the opening of doors. He also thinks that the state Legislature has a great deal of active, bright, intelligent people in it. "People complain so much about the number of lawyers, but the education and training you get really opens doors."

Representative Thomas M. Barrett ('80) 14th Assembly District, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Described as one of the up-and-comers in the Wisconsin State Assembly by his peers, thirty-three year old Democratic Representative Thomas M. Barrett feels his legal education was more a preparation for political office than training for a legal career. "I was too young out of college to get into political office," he said, "but to tell you the truth, I really didn't want to be working at the ripe old age of 23:' Before choosing to study law, Barrett consulted with a number of people about the type of advanced degree which would be of most use to him as a future public servant. "It seemed to me that from those conversations I felt that a law degree would provide me with better preparation than an MBA or a graduate degree in public policy. Really, it was the great variety of issues talked about and how certain issues were analyzed that led me to believe that this type of education would help me the most." So with his BA in economics and Phi Beta Kappa honors from UW-Madison, Barrett jumped straight into law school hoping to enter politics after graduation in 1980. The honors graduate was then elected to the Assembly in April of 1984 in a special election and was re-elected in November of 1984. In between, Barrett served as a law clerk for Federal District

Judge Robert Warren in Milwaukee, was an assistant bank examiner for the FDIC, and worked for the Milwaukee law firm of Smith and O'Neil. "Working for Judge Warren was really a great experience because we dealt with such a variety of problems; from criminal to real estate law. The exposure was tremendous." Barrett said that clerking made him want to get more involved in the political process and even if he was unsuccessful, he could always shift over to full-time practice. His interest in politics came at an early age. "The first thing I remember was the discussion of the Civil Rights Acts of 1966. It really stuck out in my mind because of all of the turmoil surrounding their discussion. Some kids wanted to be basketball stars, but I wanted to get into politics:' This interest can be sensed in the fact that Barrett enjoys what he does a great deal. "I love what I'm doing here because I'm constantly meeting new people and the tasks we face here at the Capitol are so diverse. It's a job," he said smiling, "that doesn't put you to sleep." Barrett's committee assignments, four of five of which he asked to be on, are as diverse as his interests. He serves as vice


8

chairperson of the Health committee and is chairperson of its subcommittee on Insurance for the uninsured. Others on which he sits include: Aging; Criminal Justice and Safety; Elections; and Energy. "There are a lot of hot issues in the health field these days. Hospital costs rise quickly and so do rates." He predicts a change in financing of hospital care in the near future because so many people can't afford the costs or the coverage provided by many insurance agencies. "And the organ transplant operations, for example, cost a tremendous amount, and the ethical questions involved in who should get an organ and the criteria for choosing these people are very tough and costly things to decide when human life is at stake." His interest in this area was so keen that he even attended a seminar on organ transplants this past year. Juvenile crime funding issues are also a concern of Barrett's. Currently he is working on a project which would increase the state's contribution to Milwaukee County for the incarceration of juvenile offenders. "The state's funding is based on tenyear-old statistics which are in dire need of updating. There has been a 26 percent increase in violent crimes by juveniles in the past year alone, but the state has not increased their help to compensate for the difference."

The toughest part of his job as a public servant, Barrett feels, is one's own conscience. "It's tough on an issue to do what you personally think is right compared with what your constituents want:' He cites as an example the drinking age bill. His constituents favored the change which would increase the state's legal drinking age from 19 to 21 years of age. "I was a Vietnam era teenager and I was 18 when the age was lowered in the early 1970's. I can easily relate to how younger people feel." It was the inevitable loss of federal highway funds that convinced him to vote for the increase. On his future, political or otherwise, Barrett wants to take a wait and see attitude. "I'm content where I am now, but there are a lot of different avenues for me to travel. Whether that means doing more than I am here, I just don't know." As a student, Barrett said he loved Madison just because of the great variety of people and viewpoints. But when he comes to town from his district in Milwaukee, he says he sometimes feels like "a faded rose from days gone by." "Allmy friends from school here are gone, and though I enjoyed law school more than I thought I would, like most lawyers I'm glad that I'll never have to be a "I-I, again."

Representative Rebecca Young ('83) 76th Assembly District, Madison, Wisconsin As a recent UW law graduate, fifty-two year old Democratic Representative Rebecca Young feels her legal education was geared toward a legal career. "I had looked at practicing law more as a post mid-life correction," she muses, "something that was practical yet challenging." Young came into the Assembly well seasoned earning her seat in 1984. She was elected to the Dane County Board from 1970-76 and was a Madison School Board member from 1979-85. "It's very helpful to know Wisconsin law within the framework of statutes and the courts. Law school was the ideal place for that type of learning. My past political experience helped a great deal, but law school pointed me to law, not politics. It would have been very difficult

for me to go out and practice law with a firm because the average age of a junior associate is younger than my age." She points to her other political experiences as being just as helpful for legislative preparation. She served as Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration and was a member of the State Highway Commission. "The point of practicing law isn't to prepare for the legislature. But law school had a very positive effect on me and was a good disciplinary and intellectual experience." Young feels that law school did give her some advantages. "It gives you an overall framework for applying similar legal solutions to similar problems in the real world; very helpful when analyzing new problems."

'All my friends from school here are gone, and though I enjoyed law school more than I thought I would, like most lawyers I'm glad that I'll never have to be a 1-U again: J


9 She cites as an example family law issues. In order to make changes within the system, the structure of the system itself and the framework behind the changes must be analyzed and understood. "It's very much like a puzzle. Sometimes you have to cut and shape your own pieces to make things work. Family law is very much like this because there are always exceptions and these issues are sometimes emotional." Her previous education consisted of a B.A. from Michigan in 1955 and a Harvard teaching M.A. in 1963. Her application of what she's learned hasn't yet stopped. "I thought that overall, the teachers in the law school were very good, in particular Professor Clauss. Her Administrative Law and Labor Law classes were very influential." Young considers herself a very issue oriented politician. "There's no better way to get involved. The best way to influence decisions is to make them. That's what keeps my political clock ticking." As a full-time legislator, one may think that time is not that big of a problem for Young when it comes to rational decisionmaking. "The hardest thing for me to do is to try to feel reasonably informed on what I'm voting on and then trying to make an intelligent decision." Other tasks are also difficult. "Bills are often a problem, too. It's often tough to find the best way to present a bill and sell it not only to your peers in the legislature but to the executive branch, too. But it's rewarding, especially when you do your homework." As an example, she talks about the Industrial Revenue Bond reform bill. First, there were problems with the bill in the Assembly, which were worked out with minority leader Tommy Thompson. These bonds, which are tax exempt, are used by municipalities to develop and revitalize depressed areas within the locality. Young felt that these bonds were being given away much too easily. "It was no cost to the municipality. These bonds were intended not only to revitalize but to promote jobs. Because they were being handed out, jobs were hardly a factor."

The change also had to be worked out with the Bond Counsel, a group of private attorneys that organize the sale of these bonds and stand to make a lot of money in the process. "They were really fun to work with and we were able to handle all the problems and work out not only the substantive problems but the political ones too." To be eligible for an IRB, municipalities must now estimate the number of jobs that would be produced and that number must correspond with a later study showing how many jobs were actually created. Young enjoys working on problems and coming up with solutions, as well as helping her constituents with various problems in the system. "It's a good feeling when you can help someone in a bind." As vice-chairperson of the Judiciary Committee, she feels her legal background is uniquely helpful. "I can see many issues early on that I most likely wouldn't have if not for law school." Other committees she serves on include Children and Human Services; Criminal Justice and Public Safety; Economic Development; Education; and the Governor's Advisory Bicycle Coordinating Council. "The Criminal Justice committee gets a lot of bills and it helps to know your way around the legal system. The way the law actually works in practice many times is different from its original intent." Currently, Young is pushing for a bill that would require appliances to be energy efficient. "Right now, one-third of our electrical energy is taken up by appliances and this has a substantial impact on utilities." She thinks that if stoves, refrigerators and other appliances were held accountable to energy use guidelines similar to a current California law, consumer energy costs would be held down in the long run. "If energy costs are low, that becomes a valuable attribute in attracting businesses to Wisconsin." As for her political future, Young enjoys where she is. "I have no aspirations for higher office. I love it where I am now."

'There's no better way to get involved. The best way to influence decisions is to make them. That's what keeps my political clock ticking:


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Opening Convocation Address Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson Wisconsin Supreme Court In Vol. 16, No.3, we reported on a new tradition at our Law School, the Opening Convocation. In that issue we reprinted the first address to the Convocation, given by Emeritus Professor]. Willard Hurst. In August 1986, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson spoke to the incoming first-year class and their guests. Justice Abrahamson has a unique perspective to share with these new law students: she was a student here, receiving an SJD in 1962. While practicing law in Madison, she also served on our faculty, teaching tax law, until appointed to the Court in 1976.

Dean Thompson, faculty, Class of 1989, guests of the Class of 1989, and all others who are gathered here this evening to celebrate the opening of the 1986-1987 academic year and the beginning of the legal careers of the entering law students. Mark TWainwould often begin a speech with a dramatic pause followed by this announcement: "Aristotle is dead. Plato is dead. Goethe is dead. Nietzsche is dead. And I don't feel so well myself:' Mr. TWain'scomment aptly describes my condition this evening and probably that of many of the entering law students. I do not feel so well because of the nature of the speech expected on this occasion. Ideally the speech would set the tone for the next three years facing the new students and should remind the lawyers in attendance of the traditions and responsibilities of their profession. Furthermore, I am expected to deliver an address without orating. To express familiar thoughts-familiar at least to the faculty and lawyers in this audience-while appearing to explore fresh and novel ideas. To convey a meaningful message to the entering class, offering solace and sound counsel without appearing to do so too obviously. I am bound to speak to the occasion and am therefore circumscribed by it, while at the same time I must strive to rise above the limitations. I do not feel so well. Let us turn from me to the members of the Class of 1989. You have already received a great deal of advice about law school and know much about law school. You have probably read 1-ÂŁ and have watched The Paper Chase. You know what you are about-you have been very

successful in your previous academic careers. Like law students for the past twenty years or so, you have been selected on the basis of your intellectual qualifications and your academic achievements. Your paper records demonstrate that you are a select group representing this country's best and brightest. Yetyou new law students are probably not feeling so well either. How do you think my law school classmates and I felt in 1953?At that time it was said that there were two requirements for admission to most law schools: (11you had to have a college degree; and (21you had to be breathing. And either requirement might be waived. Despite their excellent qualifications, entering law students use such words as tension, stress, apprehension, anxiety, doubt, fear, intimidation, terror, and impending doom to describe the days before they begin law school and the first months of their legal education. Apprehension is so much a part of the law school experience that one student wrote of his first days in law school as follows: "The first few days of law school have been completely overwhelming. I've been determined from the first not to let myself be intimidated, but I can't ever remember being so anxious. The last several nights I've awakened at 3 or 4 o'clock in terror. What if I get called on tomorrow? Do I understand the case well enough to withstand Thomas's interrogation? How can I keep all those facts straight? Hell, I can't even remember what seat I sit in class. [If awaking in the middle of the night is bad] the nightmares are worst. The recurring nightmare is that I walk into class and everyone is furiously writing their exams and I'm late. I didn't even know we were having a test." In the convocation address last year Professor Emeritus Willard Hurst accurately characterized the first year as a bewildering experience. Professor Gilmore, a noted legal scholar and professor at Yale Law School, asked: "What is a law school? A place where ignorant armies clash by night; where the embattled forces of faculty and students have at each other in a never-ending fray? A place where normal young men and normal young women are, in a few months,

dehumanized? A place where the simple is made complex, the straight crooked, the clear opaque? A place where never is heard an encouraging word and the thoughts remain cloudy all day?" Some days it may seem that way. I know that law professors do not deliberately impose those feelings of apprehension, dehumanization and bewilderment. Be assured that the professors are speaking English and are imparting important information. Willard Hurst said he did not understand what was going on in his first year in law school until April. When he went to law school, examinations were given once a year, in June. Now exams are given at the end of each semester, and you will have only until November to figure out each course. I remember my first year of law school well-all too well. And when, thirty-three years later, I recall the feelings of apprehension, bewilderment and inadequacy, I am greatly relieved that tonight I am at the podium rather than a member of the class of 1989. But on the other hand, I would like to be with you taking the first-year curriculum again. I envy the excitement and joy you will have in learning a new discipline. I envy the excitement and joy you will have in discovering a different way of looking at society and its problems and possible solutions to some problems. As you go through your first year you will repeatedly ask yourself-as others


11

before you have asked themselves: Is what I am learning relevant for the practical, real world? This is an important but disturbing question. What is the real world? My friends in New York City and Chicago told me that my law practice in Madison was not the real world, because Madison is not the real world. They might even say the state of Wisconsin is

'How do you think my law school classmates and Ifelt in 1953? At that time it was said that there were two requirements for admission to most law schools: (I) you had to have a college degree; and (2)you had to be breathing. And either requirement might be waived: not the real world. My law clerks tell me that my being a supreme court judge and their working for the court are not the real world. I have yet to learn what is the real world. And that's the rub about the question of relevance of law school education. Relevant to what? What are you going to be doing your first year after law school? Your fifth? Your twenty-fifth? Your fortieth? Law students do not come to law school with well-defined career goals. If they do, they often change them a number of times-during and after school. Lawyers perform enormously diverse services. The law school trains people who will practice law in small firms in small communities and large cities. It trains people who will practice in large firms, indeed in multi-national firms, and who will regularly commute between Shanghai, Tokyo and San Francisco to complete arrangements for a multinational joint venture doing business in China. The law school trains people who will draft federal and state legislation, village ordinances and rules and regulations for police departments and other administrative agencies. It trains future law professors. It trains federal and state, trial and appellate judges. It trains people who will be governors, legislators and bureaucrats. The law school trains people who will go into finance and commerce. Over a lifetime a lawyer may have positions in government, industry, commerce, finance and education. I'm on my fourth career in the law -and that's not because I cannot hold ajob. The function of the law school is not

to train but to educate. Law school educates not only for your first year out but also for your last year. A law school education aims to prepare you for a career, not for a job, for a way of life, not for winning a case. The law school aims to prepare you to learn how to educate yourself during the rest of your life. That leaves the question of what kind of law school curriculum is best for preparing the law student for a life in the diversity of occupations we call lawyering. This is a subject often debated in student gatherings, bar associations, faculty offices, faculty meetings, and in the journals of legal education. There is little agreement in regard to either the style of legal education or its content. Traditionally law school classes have studied decisions of appellate courts and have, from these decisions, derived an understanding of law. You will have such classes at this law school. Sooner or later you will read a decision that I have authored. After you and the professor have thoroughly dissected the opinion, you may be amazed at how little I appear to have learned from law school and from my legal experiences. From the appellate decisions law students and legal scholars derive rules that we call law. Many students come to law school supposing that the law is a body of rules and that lawyers are people who know the rules. This conception of law school and lawyers is not totally wrong, but it is only part of the story. There are rulesthousands of rules, countless rules. You will learn some rules, but not all. Lawyers do not know all or even most of the rules. To learn all the rules is a fruitless exercise because they are constantly changing. Furthermore, when you master rules you recognize that many conflict. When you master rules you know that many are ambiguous or that their application to the fact situation at hand is unclear. And you will soon learn in Professor Macaulay's and other classes that there's more to the law than a rule derived from an appellate decision. There's the entire context of the casethe facts of the case, statutes, common law, societal values and conflicting economic interests. Some argue that law schools place too much emphasis on appellate decisions. Appellate decisions are not the real world of law. Legislation and administrative rules are as important as judge-made rules. Most disputes never get to court. Of those that go to court only a small percent get to an appellate court-let alone to the state supreme court. To many law students and the American public, the real world of law is the trial lawyer' s office and the trial court.

To millions of television viewers, Perry Mason and Hill Street Blues are about the real world of law. This fall a new serialized drama entitled L.A. Law concentrates on the personal and professional lives of attorneys. The producers want to show how practicing law affects the lives of the practitioners. As for the trial court, I am sure you all

"Ihe function of the law school is not to train but to educate. Law school educates not only for your first year out but also for your last year. A law school education aims to prepare you for a career, not for a job, for a way of life, not for winning a case: know Judge Wapner. He presides every day on national television as the judge on People's Court. Judge Wapner used to be a California trial judge. Now he is an American folk hero. Many viewers have suggested that President Reagan appoint him to the next vacancy on the United States Supreme Court. I am not suggesting that you learn about lawyers and trial courts from television-although most Americans do. The Wisconsin Law School offers numerous courses-clinical and simulated practice courses-to give the law students hands-on experience and to offer the student training in lawyering skills. Much of lawyering-like much of teaching or judging or any other jobmay be repetitive and dull, entailing technical tasks which do not make rigorous intellectual demands. The law school does not teach these repetitive and dull tasks-and should not. The lawyer can master these technical skills on the job within a few short weeks or months of graduating law school. Clinical courses should train the student in reading, writing, speaking, listening, counselling, negotiating, and thinking-and not necessarily in that order. The real world of law, others say, requires that the student pursue the law as an intellectual, theoretical discipline. The most challenging professional tasks call for imagination, judgment and wisdom, and law must be perceived as a humanist discipline, incorporating the whole range of human experience. The law school and the students must bring to the study of law an understanding of history, philosophy, literature, sociology,


12 psychiatry, anthropology, and a dozen other disciplines. These disciplines are relevant in the real world of lawyering. Thus this Law School offers such courses as jurisprudence.Tegal history, comparative law, law and literature, law and psychiatry, law and economics. Neither you nor I need determine what is the best style or substance of an excellent legal education. Here at Wisconsin, you can sample them all-and I urge you to do so. The case method and

lawyers do not know all or even most of the rules. Th learn all the rules is a fruitless exercise because they are constantly changing: Socratic dialogue create skepticism and ignite an inquiring mind to search for underlying policies and values. The clinical experience gives the law student insight into the legislative, judicial and executive branches of government, professional ethics, lawyering and our system of justice. The theoretical courses enable the law school to provide a continuation of a liberal arts education. A good lawyer needs to know something more than legal rules. The something more includes skills of analysis and synthesis, the ability to read with attention to detail and the nuances of language, the capacity to identify the premises of an argument, and the ability to reason from those premises. The something more includes a tolerance for uncertainty and a sense of the direction of the law by understanding the social context of the dispute. The object of a liberal arts education, as our colleagues at the colleges tell us, is to enable women and men to think clearly, to fee intelligently and to act knowingly. The theoretical-the infusion of the social sciences and the humanities-does not compete with the case method or the clinical course in the academic enterprise. The case method, the clinical and the theoretical are partners equipping students to evaluate basic premises and chart new directions. A course well

taught-whether a case method course, or a clinical course, or a theoretical course-can fulfill the objectives of a law school education. I hope you have come to law school with a respect for the institution. The law schools strengthen our legal system by providing, along with a professional education, criticism and suggestions for reform. The American law school is the major center of legal research and scholarship in this country. And Wisconsin is a leader in research and scholarship. The books, pamphlets, monographs, empirical research projects and law reviews in which the professors and students explore knotty legal problems are read by judges, legislators, and policymakers. The legal system thus becomes engaged in a continuing examination and reform of the laws to achieve justice. Americans link justice and law. Although Americans believe that justice should be pursued through law, they recognize law does not always equate with justice. Americans have a love-hate relationship with the law and lawyers. One part of us glorifies our commitment to law as a means of justice, the other is outraged that our law fails to lead to justice and indeed sometimes perverts justice. Too often the public complains of too many laws, too much litigation, and too many lawyers. Yet when some injustice has occurred the place to go is a court of law where, despite the whole complex system, deficiencies and all, justice can triumph. America's views of law and justicethe legal system as it is and the ideal of how it ought to be-will be evident this academic year as we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the federal Constitution. Our country can take great pride in the federal Constitution. It embodies a commitment to democracy, to egalitarian values, and to the concept that justice should be pursued through law. But our history is also filled with our failures to realize these values. Our past is marred by slavery, racism, religious and ethnic bigotry and class and sex prejudice. We must remember this part of our past, a past that is not yet fully behind us. But more significant for us and for people around the world are our

successes and our continued commitment to realizing our ideals. The underlying conviction in America is that the legal system can bring justice. Lawyers in other countries practice in systems where the country's constitution has been suspended for years, where people are detained without due process, where judges interpret the law and decide cases as the country's executive branch dictates. These lawyers know and appreciate America's constitutional history and our

/Americans have a love-hate relationship with the law and lawyers. One part of us glorifies our cornmitment to law as a means ofjustice/ the other is outraged that our law fails to lead to justice and indeed sometimes perverts justice: history of an independent judiciary. Under adverse political conditions these lawyers strive to achieve a system of law similar to ours. They believe they will succeed in their fight. I hope that you come into law school with ideals and idealism and a strong belief that your ideals will be realized in my lifetime and yours. Erwin Griswold, former Dean of Harvard Law School, raised the unsettling notion that law students bring a larger measure of idealism to the law school than they leave with. I hope not. This law school provides the intellectual breeding ground for ideas and attitudes that make the law a vibrant force for good. The legal profession should serve not only the interests of clients but also the broader concerns of society. I hope a bit of Atticus Finch, the lawyer-hero in To Kill a Mockingbird, lives in each of us and that we can rise above personal and economic considerations to work in the cause of justice. One person-even one with limited resourcescan make a difference. When the roll is called, I hope each of you will be that person.


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enty Years of Consumer Protection Professor William Whitford In the fall of 1969, this editor was a student in a first year contracts class taught by Prof William Whitford. Instead of a normal book, the class received, in a seemingly endless series of installments, xeroxed materials which clearly reflected new ideas in the teaching of contracts. One of the themes featured in the materials was the emerging field of consumer protection. In this article, Prof Whitford looks back on twenty years of consumer protection developments, and offers his thoughts on where the movement is going. Prof Whitford is the George YoungBascom Professor of Law, and has taught at Wisconsin since 1965. He is currently on leave to Boston College.

I began teaching a little over twenty years ago. From the beginning consumer protection has been a primary research interest. It was an exciting area in which to initiate a scholarly career. The late 1960's and the first half of the 1970's was a time of great innovation in consumer protection regulation. Today the opinion is often expressed that the consumer protection innovations of this earlier period have been reversed over the past ten years, and that the state of consumer protection is now about what it was twenty years ago. This is only partly true. In this article I will reflect briefly on twenty years of consumer protection, concluding with a few comments about what it teaches about consumer protection and its prospects in late 20th Century America.

The Developments I have grouped the major consumer protection developments into six categories, as described below: Product Safety: At the beginning of the period the courts were changing the common law standard of products liability from a negligence to a strict liability standard. At about the same time Ralph Nader successfully championed major federal legislation. In the late 1960's the National Highway Safety Act was adopted, authorizing the Department of Transportation to mandate safety equip-

ment on motor vehicles and to direct manufacturers to order product recalls. In the early 1970's Congress adopted the Consumer Product Safety Act, creating the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The Commission can order the removal of unsafe products from the market or mandate the inclusion of warnings. Disclosure Regulation: Throughout the early 1960's Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois championed Truth in Lending legislation, featuring the then radical view that creditors should be forced to calculate interest rates in a standard manner and then disclose this and other credit information prominently. Douglas was defeated before the legislation was finally enacted, under the leadership of our own Senator Bill Proxmire. Once Truth in Lending was adopted, however, the logjam was broken and Congress quickly passed a wide variety of legislation mandating disclosure of contract terms. One of the last and the most significant of this string of legislative enactments is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, requiring most product warranties to be labeled as either "Full Warranty" or "Limited Warranty," and requiring various terms to be stated conspicuously. Advertising and Deceptive Practices: After Ralph Nader blasted the Federal Trade Commission as a do-nothing agency in the late 1960's, President Nixon appointed the now Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger to turn the agency around. He moved to the Office of Management and Budget after six months and was replaced at the FTC by a prominent Philadelphia corporate lawyer, Miles Kirkpatrick. The two of them replaced all the top staff-our current Associate Dean, Gerald Thain, was plucked from the lower ranks to head the Division of National Advertising-and together with this new staff initiated an innovative and aggressive program of regulation of national advertising and diverse deceptive practices. For example, the agency sought to prohibit the manufacturers of Wonder Bread from representing their product as a health food for kids. It proposed that false advertisers be required to run "corrective ads." Rules were pro-


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posed closely regulating the selling practices of certain sensitive industries, such as the funeral parlor industry, and placing restrictions on the content of advertising directed at children. Debt Collection: As part of Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, federal financed legal services were provided the poor. The Legal Services Program's consumer protection activities focused primarily on debt collection issues. They brought many test cases. The leading case interpreting the unconscionability section (Section 2-302) of the Uniform Commercial Code, Williams v. WalkerThomas Furniture Co., (350 F.2d 445 (D.C.Cir. 1965))was brought by a legal aid agency. Legal Services also played a role in bringing a series of cases to the United States Supreme Court which tested the applicability of procedural due process to various historic debt collection remedies, particularly ones that permitted the creditor to take action by self help (such as repossession of automobiles) or by ex parte court order [e.g.. replevin). The first of these cases arose from Wisconsin. Sniadach v. Family Finance Corp., 395 U.S. 337(19691.The court invalidated a long-time Wisconsin statute that permitted wage garnishment by ex parte court order. Legal Services was also active in promoting adoption of legislation and administrative rules protective of the defaulting borrower, particularly if low income. At the state level by far the most far reaching legislation of this nature is the Wisconsin Consumer Act. At the federal level, the Federal Trade Commission was persuaded to adopt rules effectively repealing the holder-indue-course rule for consumer transactions and mandating a three day coolingoff period for most door-to-door sales. Although not a project of the Legal Services Program, towards the end of the 1970's Congress adopted a massive reform of the Bankruptcy Laws, which among other things made bankruptcy a much more available and effective remedy for consumers overburdened with debt. Consumer Self Help: Most consumer protection legislation now provides for recovery of attorney fees and a modest amount of exemplary damages (e.g., two or three times actual losses) whenever a consumer successfully litigates a claim under the legislation. The idea is to provide consumers a financial incentive to litigate violations, thereby aiding in abetment. Ideally such legislation would motivate a section of the private bar to specialize in such cases. Efforts have also been made to revitalize small claims courts, and to establish consumer arbitration systems, so that con-

sumers could obtain redress without the need for an attorney. Political Organization and Direct Action: Throughout this twenty year period the dream of the most ardent consumer activists has been the establishment of a grass roots consumer movement that would be a significant participant in the marketplace and the political system. The particular forms proposed for these new consumer organizations are widespread. Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, has been one model, but that organization has always had a rather limited, upper middle class membership. "Public Interest" Law Firms undoubtedly received the most publicity, at least in the legal profession. (SeeWeisbrod et al., "Public Interest Law: An Economic and Institutional Analysis" for a scholarly justification for the emergence of public interest law firms. Most of the articles in this compendium were written by University of Wisconsin faculty members, many of them from the Law SchooL1Early in this twenty year period, a moribund Consumer Federation of America, a membership organization, was revitalized, with an important assist from the AFL-CIO, to lobby Congress for pro-consumer legislation. Others worked to form consumer buying co-ops. Reflecting disenchantment with the legal process in a few cities consumer direct action groups were formed to picket merchants that would not voluntarily provide redress to consumers deemed entitled to some remedy.

The Retreats Product Safety: Wisconsin's junior Senator, Bob Kasten, has been the principal sponsor of proposed federal legislation that in many respects would return the country to a negligence standard for determining a manufacturer's liability for defective products. The legislation has yet to be enacted, but several states have adopted legislation setting caps on recovery of general and punitive damages. The specific regulatory statutes remain in place, but during the Reagan administration the agencies charged with their enforcement have been inactive, and suffered substantial budget cuts. Since the basic legislation is in place, under a new Administration it would be possible for regulatory activities to return to the 1970s' level without further Congressional action, other than some budgetary enhancement for the enforcement agencies. Disclosure Regulation: All the legislation remains in place, and it is believed that compliance with it has been substantiaL Violation of a disclosure regulation,

when it occurs, often is on a standard form contract, which makes it easy to detect and amenable to a class action, seeking a remedy for all consumers affected. Legal services lawyers regularly comb standard form contracts looking for an "out" for their clients by finding a violation of some technical disclosure regulation. This activity no doubt accounts for the high level of compliance with disclosure regulation, despite very little enforcement activity by enforcement agencies. At the same time, however, doubt has arisen about how useful disclosure regulation is. There is a widespread feeling that despite the disclosure, consumers pay little attention to the information. On the other hand, truth in lending enhanced public understanding of interest rates. It used to be that interest rates were always quoted as between 6 and 9 percent, and lenders strongly believed that nobody would ever accept an interest rate purporting to exceed 12%. Though it may not affect their shopping and saving behavior, consumers now have a clearer understanding of what credit costs them. Advertising and Deceptive Practices: Almost all of the FTC's initiatives failed to bear fruit. Many of the test cases initiated in the early 1970's were not litigated to successful conclusion, often because a Commission judgment upholding the complaint was reversed on appeal. Even where the Commission obtained a favorable court ruling (see Warner-Lambert v. FTC, 562 F.2d 749 (D.C.Cir. 19771;cert.den., 345 U.S. 950 (1978!,upholding the corrective advertising remedy.], changes in personnel at the Commission resulted in few cases being filed in which the new precedent could be applied. In the late 1970's Congress passed legislation specifically prohibiting the FTC from completing various innovative rulemaking proceedings, including the one concerning advertising directed at children. With the Reagan Administration, changes were made at the Commissioner and top staff levels of the FTC that has pretty much insured that new consumer protection initiatives would not come from the FTC. An exception has been attacks on anti-competitive aspects of occupational licensing (e.g., restrictions on advertising by lawyers). The Commission has been fairly assertive in this area, which can be seen as pro-consumer activity. Several years ago the then Chairperson of the Commission (James Miller, now head of OMB) proposed that Congress amend its basic authorization statute to restrict the Commission's jurisdiction by restrictively defining "deception," but this legislation was not adopted. As


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a result the basic statutory framework remains unchanged, and with a change in personnel the Commission could return to its early 1970's form. Debt Collection: The test case litigation has yielded little consumer benefit. The courts have not utilized the unconscionability section of the DCC in a way that makes it a significant consumer protection device. In a series of decisions the Supreme Court applied the due process clause to debt collection remedies in a way that required little significant change-with the exception of wage garnishment, where Supreme Court decisions have led to the effective abolition of ex parte wage garnishment. Legislative changes, particularly at the state level, have been more significant. Though no state has adopted legislation as comprehensively pro-consumer as the Wisconsin Consumer Act, many states have restricted deficiency judgments and broadened exemptions. The Federal Fair Debt Collection Act puts more severe restrictions on the activities of collection agencies than many states have previously imposed. In the early 1980's creditor interests made a major effort to convince Congress to restrict the availability of a bankruptcy discharge to those consumers judicially determined to be unable, except with great hardship, to pay their debts. This heavily lobbied initiative was mostly rejected by Congress, though a face-saving, largely symbolic restriction on the bankruptcy discharge was enacted (Bankruptcy Code 707(b)). Bankruptcy remains a more available consumer remedy in this country than in any other Western nation. Consumer Self Help: The special remedies (attorney fees, exemplary damages) designed to stimulate con-

sumer litigation have been only moderately successful, at best. Few lawyers make a living out of litigating such cases. As a result, private litigation has not been a significant force to inducing compliance with consumer protection legislation, with the exception of disclosure regulation for the reasons stated above. Small claims courts are generally more attentive to consumer interests than they were twenty years ago, but only a small percentage of consumers litigate in them nonetheless. As a result small claims courts remain primarily courts in which creditors can obtain collection at low cost. Political Organization and Direct Action: Grass roots consumer organization never really got off the ground, except in a few isolated communities. Consumer issues have proved not to be a viable political organizing device. Public interest law firms continue to exist, but to a large extent they are foundation financed. Significant exceptions are the organizations affiliated with Ralph Nader, which along with a few others receive a significant amount of grass-roots financial support.

Summary Though there certainly have been retreats in the past ten years, they have not been as extensive as the developments that occurred in the first ten years of the period under discussion. Consumer protection remains much more expansive than it was when I began my teaching career. At the same time important lessons about how best to protect the consumer have been learned. Reform efforts that I have put under the headings Consumer Self Help and Political Organi-

zation have been modestly successful at best, but not primarily because of political opposition. We have learned that consumers seem unwilling to expend the time and effort needed to protect themselves in our litigation and political systems. Since few people regard consuming as the activity that merits the highest priority for their time-especially in these times in which the two wage-earner family predominates-perhaps this inattention to consumer protection should be expected. It means, however, that if we are to have consumer protection, it must be dependent in significant part on public agency enforcement. There remains the question whether more consumer protection than existed twenty years ago, or even more consumer protection than we have now (as I would favor), is a good thing. As I have just argued, there is always an element of consumer protection that is paternalistic-it necessitates some government official seeking to protect people in their marketplace transactions when commonly they could have protected themselves if they had only been willing to devote enough time and energy to the task. Thoughtful reflection might have led the consumer to question the misleading advertising; if she would take the time to read and understand a standard form contract, she might discover the abusive terms that could be avoided by shopping elsewhere or not buying at all. In our culture government action to protect people from their own folly is always likely to be controversial. But then merchant action to exploit the understandable and expected follies of consumers is likely to be viewed with disdain as well, creating the demand that consumer protection regulation is formed to satisfy.


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Visiting Faculty: Alan Weisbard Alan Weisbard comes to the UW Law School from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law where he is an assistant professor specializing in ethical problems in medicine research. He will instruct a course in bio-ethics and the law in the spring, and will teach other courses at the Medical School and in the College of Letters and Science. After graduating from Harvard University in 1972, and continuing his work in economics as a graduate student there, he went on to Yale Law School, where he earned his J.D. in 1977. Weisbard said he had long been interested in "how society deals with science and technology." A course in medicine and the law at Yale prompted his specific interest in the legal ramifications of medicine. And when his wife began to pursue a masters in Health Education, he said, her interests inspired him to investigate the field further. In 1980, Weisbard was appointed Assistant Director for Legal Studies for

the President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Through 1982, P.C.E.M.R. investigated and reported on the increasingly polemic issues surrounding compensation for research injuries, decisions regarding lifesustaining treatment, genetic engineering, and similarly controversial questions related to medicine. Weisbard pointed out that these issues are new, and are issues with "relatively few precedents." For this reason, he said, he teaches Bioethics and the Law as one might approach a course in jurisprudence. Medicine is a field where, Weisbard said, "law and ethics come close together in a vivid and interesting way." Weisbard said he was attracted to the University of Wisconsin because of its "leading program in medical ethics." And he was interested in the Law School because "it is known nationally for its interdisciplinary work."


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Alumni

otes

The firm of Schulz & Schapenkahm, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, announces that Sean Duffy ('86) and Stuart Eiche ('78) have joined the firm, and that the firm has changed its name to Schulz, Schapenkahm & Eiche. Wheeler, Van Sickle & Anderson, Madison, Wisconsin, announces that Patricia Thimmig ('78) and Stuart Mondschein ('78) have become shareholders. Floyd Wheeler ('31) has become of-counsel after 55 years in practice. Laud Roman ('85). former law clerk to Chief Justice Nathan S. Heffernan of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, has joined the Madison, Wisconsin, firm of Clifford & Relles. Agatha Melamed ('72) has been made a partner in the Los Angeles office of Bryan, Cave, McPheeters & McRoberts. Ms. Melamed is in the litigation department.

Robert Onan ('64). a partner in Jensen, Parker and Onan, in Minneapolis, recently delivered a paper in German to several European business groups entitled "US Product Liability Law TodayHow Manufacturers and World Traders Can Cost Effectively Prevent, Contain and Manage Their Litigation Exposures. Steve Long ('77) was awarded the 1985 Lon O. Hocker Memorial Trial Lawyer Award by the Missouri Bar Foundation. The award is presented to the leading trial lawyer in the state who is under 36 years old. Mr. Long is a member of the firm Shughart, Thompson & Kilroy, in Kansas City. Lynn Sarko ('81j, formerly Assistant US Attorney for the District of Columbia, has joined the Seattle law firm of Keller Rohrback.

Thomas Grogan ('82) has been appointed Legal Counsel for the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Ellen Kozak ('69) is the author of Every Writer's Practical Guide to Copyright Law, published by Inkling Publications of St. Paul, MN. Ms. Kozak, who is in private practice in Milwaukee, is also the author (under the pseudonym "[arrod Comstock") of a series of science fiction novels published by Pinnacle Books. Quarles & Brady, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, announces that Michael S. Weiden ('69). Ann M. Meyerhofer ('79). and Michael L. Zaleski ('66) have become partners in the firm. Mr. Zaleski will be in the Madison, Wisconsin, office. Greg D. Richardson ('81) has accepted a position as Regional Director of Justice Fellowship, based in the Washington, DC, area.

Additional Alumni Assist the w School The tradition of celebrating graduation anniversaries by making special gifts to their alma mater is well established among Wisconsin's undergraduate alumni. Until last year, however, efforts law graduates to recognize such milestones had been sporadic. As individuals, alumni have been generous to the But, by and large, contributions come from them as individuals, not recognition of their membership in a oarticular class. That changed in 1986. Two Law ;chool classes, those of 1936 and 1961, made special efforts to mark their 50th and 25th anniversaries with class gifts to the School. The Class of 1936 was particularly successful in its undertaking, raising a total of $50,000-$1,000 for every

"year out." Alum Joseph Fishelson, President of Red Head Brass Co. of Shreve, Ohio, got the 50th Anniversary Fund rolling by providing his class with an exceptionally generous matching gift incentive. Mr. Fishelson agreed to match, dollar for dollar, contributions made by his classmates during the year leading up to last May's alumni weekend. The "challenge" worked, and contributions from others in the class reached $25,000 by the deadline date. Those contributions, together with Joe's gift of an equal amount, resulted in the "Class of 1936 Fiftieth Anniversary Fund." The youngsters in the Class of 1961 did something similar to mark their 25th reunion. During the year leading up to

the alumni weekend, several class members made exceptional gifts to the Law School's Capital Fund, then in its concluding phase. With such generous contributions earmarked for endowment, the more than $7,000 in additional gifts raised for a separate "Class of 1961 25th Anniversary Fund" is quite credible. Special thanks to Jerry Shea ('61) for his leadership in this undertaking. While these class efforts were taking place, the estate of Elizabeth Brandeis Raushenbush, mother of Professor Walter B. Raushenbush, made a testamentary gift of $40,000. This sum was added to the Justice Louis D. Brandeis Scholarship fund which the Raushenbush family had previously established at the Law School.


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Faculty Notes Charles Irish taught "Tax Reform Issues in Newly Industrialized Countries" at the Academy of International Taxation in Taiwan, August-September 1986. He also consulted with officials from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and government officials in the Eastern Caribbean about tax policy in the region last November. Keeping busy, Prof. Irish spoke to groups of lawyers, accountants, lay persons and the University community on the Tax Reform Act of 1986. He did not, however, have anything to do with the new W-4 form. Walter Dickey recently returned to our teaching faculty after a term as Director of the Wisconsin Division of Corrections. Prof. Dickey had been appointed by Governor Earl, and served almost four years as the head of the prison system. Ann Althouse has had her article, "How to Build a Separate Sphere: Federal Courts and State Power," accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of the Harvard Law Review. John Kidwell's article, "Should Lawyers Read Economic History?-The Patent System in the Industrial Revolution," was recently published in the American Bar Foundation Research Journal. Lynn LoPucki is servicing as Chair of the Association of American Law School's Section on Creditors' and Debtors' Rights. Professor LoPucki has created a computer-role playing method of teaching this course at the Law School.

Thomas Palay has had two articles on health maintenance organizations published recently: "Relational Contracting, 'Iransaction Cost Economics and The Governance of HMO'S," in the Temple Law Quarterly; and "Organizing an HMO By Contract: Some Transaction Cost Considerations," in the Nebraska Law Review. William Whitford has published an article entitled, "The Appropriate Role of Security Interests in Consumer Transactions," in the Cardozo Law Review. Prof. Whitford is also currently chairing the Association of American Law School's Contracts Section. Zigurds Zile presented a paper on "Implementation of Environmental Law in the USSR" at the conference on Soviet Administrative Law in Trento, Italy last December. Gordon Baldwin is serving as the Chairman of a Subcommittee of the ABA Section on International Law & Practice charged with studying Title XII of the Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986. Howard Erlanger is an Independent Review Officer for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instructions. He reviews briefs and other documents submitted by parents and school districts in disputes over special education placements and writes decisions.

Ted Finman served as the Chair of the UW-Madison Task Force on Enrollments. In addition to an official report, Prof. Finman also published an article on the new, reduced enrollment policy for the Wisconsin Alumnus magazine. Stuart Gullickson is engaged in a two-year study of practice in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The study will result in a book to be published by Continuing Legal Education in Wisconsin. This court is one of only three federal trial courts which had declined to enact local rules, remaining free to innovatively apply the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Gary Milhollin published an article, "Dateline New Delhi: India's Nuclear Coverup," in Foreign Policy. While teaching at the University of Toronto as Bissell Professor of CanadaU.S. Relations, Richard Bilder delivered four lectures on "When Neighbors Quarrel: Canada-U.S. Dispute Settlement Experience." The lectures will be published in book form by the University of Toronto. Prof. Bilder was at that University on leave during the fall semester. Frank Remington received the Distinguished University Achievement Award from the UW-Madison Alumni Club at its recent Founders Day event in Madison.


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Editor' s Note Not surprisingly, the recent publication of remarks by Robert 1. Habush (Vol. 17, No.2), on the liability "crisis," has brought comment from our readers. It is actually gratifying that so many people read our publication, not limited to our own alumni. Watch for another viewpoint on the issue in an upcoming issue. On 28 January 1987 the Law School was visited by Eugene C. Thomas, President of the American Bar Association. Mr. Thomas is a partner in the Boise, Idaho, firm of Moffatt, Thomas, Barrett & Blanton, and knows Dean Thompson from his term as Dean of the University of Idaho Law School. In an all-school assembly, Pres. Thomas mentioned that Dean Thompson would be giving him a ride to Milwaukee and the State Bar of Wisconsin Mid-winter Meeting after the

Mystery Picture

assembly. This, it seems, caused some concern since Pres. Thomas remembered that the Dean traveled about Idaho by motorcycle! More seriously, Pres. Thomas called on all lawyers, and lawyers-to-be, to take an active role in the political process, especially with respect to international justice. He reported on a recent tour of China where he witnessed a criminal trial involving the theft of scrap aluminum. According to Pres. Thomas, China has a long way to go before reaching the level of protection we equate with criminal law. Another letter has come in regarding the mystery picture in Vol. 17, No.2. Margaret Baggot Dadd identified herself. Margaret is now a "part-time lawyer in a small town general practice," married

to a county judge and the mother of four children. As I am writing this column, a letter identifying the person in the last mystery picture has finally arrived. Until today it looked as if this picture would be the first to defy identification. Was it a mistake to use a photo with only one person in it? Finally, T. Dennis George ('66), of Seattle, came to the rescue: the student pictured is William F. Broll ('66), now practicing law in San Francisco. Dennis was present and remembers the picture being taken. The mystery picture in this issue originally appeared in the 1969 Law School Bulletin. Four students are shown in the Student Lounge; and, on the table, is Vol. 2 of the Wisconsin Statutes dated 1963. Who are these four students?


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University of Wisconsin Law School 44th Annual Spring Program May 1-2, 1987

SPRING PROGRAM SCHEDULE Friday, May 1 6:00 p.m.

Tripp Commons, Memorial Union 800 Langdon Street Benchers Reception and Dinner Featuring UW Law School Professor Gordon Baldwin, speaking on "The Northwest Ordinance: Fundamental Law or a Trivial Pursuit?" Benchers members and guests

Saturday, May 2 11:30a.m, The Wisconsin Center, 702 Langdon Street Reception Noon

The Wisconsin Center, 702 Langdon Street Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Law Alumni Association and Luncheon: President Howard Pollack presiding. Business will include the election of officers and directors and the Dean's report to the Alumni. Special recognition of the following reunion classes: 1937, 1942, 1947, 1952, 1957, 1962, 1967, 1972,1977 and 1982. Members of these classes are invited to present brief remarks. Presentation of Distinguished Service Awards.


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