Young Lawyers Division 2000-2001

MARCH/APRIL 2000

Spotlight on Mike Bedke

By Christine Y. Lebel



Would you race 150 miles across the Sahara Desert to combat domestic violence? Mike Bedke would. In fact, the former ABA YLD Chair and spouse of current Chair Rachelle DesVaux Bedke would do, and has done, a whole heck of a lot in the fight against domestic violence.

Though a finance and real estate lawyer by trade, as a former volunteer, president, and board member of Bay Area Legal Services in Tampa, Florida, Mike Bedke saw that an alarming number of the cases handled by legal services organizations involved components of domestic violence. His concern led to his involvement with The Spring of Tampa Bay, Inc., Florida's oldest and busiest domestic violence shelter. He recently spurred interest in fundraising for the shelter by entering and seeking pledges for his participation in the Marathon des Sables (Marathon of the Sands), a Sahara Desert footrace. He thought his participation in such an endurance event would be of particular interest to men, to whom he wanted to convey the message that domestic violence is not solely a "women's issue." The result was extensive area press coverage on the issue and a successful fundraiser that made twice the money of any previous fundraising event for the shelter.

Bedke has not kept his anti-domestic violence message local, either. Through the ABA, he has been able to combat domestic violence on the national level. In 1994, he accepted an appointment by former ABA President Roberta Cooper Ramo to a special task force on domestic violence. That task force evolved into the current ABA Commission on Domestic Violence, of which Mike served as chair for the past two years before stepping down this term to join the ABA Standing Committee on Membership. Notably, both his predecessor (Chris Griffin) and his successor (Judy Perry Martinez) on the Commission had been ABA YLD chairs.

The Commission project of which Bedke is most proud is the Safety Planning Brochure, which contains practical advice on leaving abusive relationships. The brochure, underwritten by the Tort and Insurance Practice Section, has been translated into several languages and is distributed nationally and internationally, with the support of many well known corporations such as Delta Airlines. The brochure is only one way in which the Commission seeks to educate corporate America about the fact that domestic violence adversely impacts its bottom line by affecting its most valuable resource, its employees, through absenteeism and lost employee productivity. Through this project, the Commission hopes to recruit and channel the resources of corporate America toward the eradication of domestic violence.

Bedke hopes the benefits of education about domestic violence will continue with the Domestic Violence Institute to be presented this May at the Spring AOP in Washington, D.C. The Institute will bring together crusaders against domestic violence from across the nation to discuss the best ways to continue "transforming victims into survivors." The idea for the Institute germinated in Mike's efforts with the Commission; he obtained the Department of Justice funding for the project.

With regard to his significant volunteer accomplishments, Bedke defines himself as "old school." He believes strongly in commitment to the profession and the community. "I would absolutely encourage . . . young lawyers to get involved in the ABA YLD." Not only is it a fun and easy way to fulfill one's commitment, he says, it's also an excellent way for young lawyers to establish that often-elusive credibility that will allow one to build one's career through the many opportunities to speak, publish, and otherwise engage in issues facing the profession.

Indeed, it was the ABA YLD that gave Bedke the start that led him to the Commission on Domestic Violence and beyond. As a newly minted lawyer, he had the good fortune of coming under the wing of a mentor, Sherwin Simmons (former head of the ABA Tax Section and current head of the Commission on Multi-Disciplinary Practice). Simmons encouraged Bedke to attend an ABA Annual Meeting and it was there, overwhelmed by the size and apparent complexity of the meeting, that he encountered young lawyers who "adopted" him and initiated him into what new attendees often feel to be the "mysteries" of the ABA YLD. He recalls hearing a speech at that first meeting, during which the speaker said, "I met my best friends in the YLD." At the time he thought it a corny sentiment at best. But now he knows better, having met his wife, and, indeed, some of his own closest friends, including Tracy Giles and Angela Williams, through the ABA. He's never looked back.

Christine Y. Lebel is an associate editor of The Affiliate and practices law with Zevnik Horton et al. in Los Angeles, California.